Planning A Wedding Party

Several of my friends have recently got married, and having been involved in planning their special day I can tell you that there is a lot of planning and thought that goes into a successful wedding party. First, you need to plan a budget and figure out how much money you are going to be able to spend, and if either families are going to be helping to pay for anything. Traditionally, the bride's family would pay, but now a days, more and more families are splitting the costs. One of the couples I know decided that they were not going to use credit cards for anything, and did not want to have bills to pay after the wedding and the party were over. This meant looking for ways to save a few dollars here and there but they made this decision wanting to start married life together on the right footing financially.

First off, I truly believe that the invitation sets the stage or tone of what the event is going to be like. Whether you are planning a Saturday night affair, or a day in the park, your invitations will serve as a window into what is going to come later on. Many bridal magazines have sample invitations and websites. You can even call some companies and ask for samples to be sent to you. Another option is to do them yourself with your computer and a good printer.

You may have a theme that you want to use. My friends got married in Winter so their theme was snowflakes. They had a warm color theme of chocolate brown and gold, and incorporated this into the decorations as well. If you take this approach when planning your wedding party it helps to determine the type of event your guests will expect and creates a themed impression that will be memorable. You may wish to decorate each table with flowers, although for a night time affair, many people also choose to use candles or a combination of the two. For your centerpieces and decorations, this should follow your theme and color scheme. In the example where warm brown and gold were used, My friends chose ivory and cream colored flowers that were glued onto large branches to create a winter wonderland theme.This contrasted well with the darker shades but was a richer color than just plain white.

Try to plan the event so that the invitation is the first thing the guests see so that  your wedding party, outfits, and even wedding food all follow one continuous theme throughout the night.