I Went to __ and __'s Wedding and All I Got Was...

If a Save the Date is the first impression guests have of your wedding day, favors are definitely the last. Favors are not a requirement, but they are a way for the couple to thank guests for sharing their special day with them. If giving favors is meaningful to you, go ahead. If if it's not in your budget, no worries, I doubt your guests will even notice. There are ways to supplement favors so that your guests can still go home with something to remember your big day; programs, place cards, and photos, are all favors on their own.

BUT.....if you're dead set on having favors at your wedding, I've found some cool, unique favors that will definitely leave a lasting impression on your guests.

For a bride or groom with a sweet tooth,
a candy buffet with personalized treat bags would be a cute idea.

Cute play on words.

Awesome idea for an Asian-themed wedding

Being from Philadelphia, these LOVE glass coasters are so fitting.

Personalized lip balm

My fiancé likes to collect matchboxes, so these would be pretty
appropriate for our wedding.

Tea leaf favors.

(Photos from Beau Coup and Pinterest)

Does it Really Matter Where You Sit?

From what I've heard and read, doing a seating chart for your reception is a lot harder than it seems. That aunt can't stand that uncle, so they can't sit together. Those cousins don't get along with each other so they have to be sat at different tables. That's where the seating chart and place cards come in. Place cards have evolved from folded pieces of paper to creative favors that guests don't want to discard at the end of the night. I've found some awesome place card inspiration from Martha Stewart Weddings and Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Skeleton keys with satin ribbon

Seating assignment in a bottle.
I like this idea for a beach-themed wedding.

Pinwheel place cards. Cute for a spring wedding.

Vintage typewriter keys. I love this idea for a vintage wedding.

My favorite idea I found. Lucite place cards hung to look like a mobile.
Guests can take their cards as a favor.

Find old pictures of each guest and use it as their place card.
This idea would take a lot of time and effort,
so it may be best for a smaller wedding.

Greet guests with a cocktail and their seating assignment.

Reception Fun

I always thought that when you went to a wedding reception you had dinner, danced a lot, took advantage of the open bar, signed the guest book, and listened to a bunch of drunken toasts. Apparently there are a ton of other things that you can have at your reception to make sure your guests have fun. Pinterest, Style Me Pretty, and DIY Bride have posted some awesome ideas for receptions.

Put these coloring kits at tables where kids are sitting.
Ask them to make a card for the bride and groom.
This is a good idea to keep them from getting
bored during the toasts and speeches.

A s'mores bar for a winter wedding, of course.

Photobooths are the most popular trend at weddings today.

Who Wears the Cake?
Whoever has more money in their glass gets a face full of cake.
You can use the money as extra cash for your honeymoon,
or if you're feeling philanthropic,
you can donate the money to a charity of your choice.

Cute photo idea that guests can do throughout the night.

Each bottle represents a year.
Guests write notes and slip them in whichever bottle they want.
The couple opens the bottle for that anniversary.

If you're an Instagram addict like me, this is an awesome idea.

A Wish Jar.
Guests write and sign wishes and give advice to the couple.

Wedding Do or Don't: Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses

I love this trend. Gone are the days where all of your bridesmaids have to wear the same dress, color, cut, shoes, jewelry, and hairstyle. Bridesmaids have the freedom to accessorize their dresses to show off their own personal style (with the approval of the bride, obviously). 

Not all of your bridesmaids are going to have the same body type, so why assume that one style is going to look good on all of them? A flat-chested girl is going to feel more comfortable in one style, while a girl with a larger chest will feel more comfortable in a different one. To me, a bride should want her bridesmaids to feel as comfortable in their dresses as possible. A comfy bridesmaid = a happy, confident bridesmaid.

Of course there are guidelines that a bride can follow to ensure that her bridesmaids look coordinated, without looking too random:

1. Same color, different styles

This is good for a bride who wants to embrace the trend, without straying too far from tradition. 

2. Same color, different shades

This is a great way to showcase the trend. 

You can go from each end of the color spectrum, or stick to a few key shades.

3. Same dress, mismatched accessories

This is a good way to let your bridesmaids express their individual styles, while still looking uniform.

4. Complementary color palette

Whether it's jewel tones or pastels, make sure the colors really complement each other, or else you run the risk of looking like your bridesmaids picked random colors.

 

The rules are pretty limitless when it comes to your bridesmaids. It's really just up to the bride to keep communicating with her girls to make sure that they like their dresses. Whether you choose to keep them in the same dress or mismatched, the most important thing is that they're happy. The last thing you want is for your bridesmaids to be trash talking the color or style choice to anyone who will listen (and trust me, they will).

(images from Belle the Magazine)

Is this a wedding or Prom?

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I like to think that I'm pretty low maintenance. I don't wear a ton of make up on a daily basis, the only hair products I own are shampoo, conditioner, and a small can of hairspray, and I go to the salon maybe three times a year. So naturally, I want my wedding look to reflect my style, while upping the glam factor just a little. The last thing I want on the biggest day of my life is to be walking down the aisle with 100 bobby pins in my hair and an up-do that will take 2 hours to take down. 

Don't get me wrong, up-do's look great on certain girls, just not me. If you know me, you know that my hair pretty much does nothing but lay straight and hold curls for about 15 minutes. I wish I could pull them off, but in my past experience, every up-do I've had made me look like a pageant queen or a 6-year-old going to Glamourshots. (If you don't know what Glamourshots is you obviously didn't grow up in the 90's, and for that, I feel sorry for you) I'm not entirely opposed to a casual up-do, but I definitely don't want to look like I'm going to Senior Prom either.

Here is some hair inspiration for your viewing pleasure. I still don't know what I want, but thankfully I have a lot of time to think about it.

(Pictures from Style Me Pretty)

STD (Not What You Think)

The Save the Date (STD) is a couple's first introduction to the wedding guests who haven't had a chance to meet your bride/groom-to-be. To me, the STD is extremely important. I believe that it should coincide with the theme that you want for your wedding. It sets the tone for the type of wedding your guests can expect.

Most STD invitations that I've found have been very traditional, with one or two cute pictures of the couple looking very much in love, "Save the Date" written in a scripted font, and the wedding date. Don't get me wrong, these are a nice way to tell everyone to clear their schedules for your big day; however, if you're someone who gets at least two Save the Dates a month, they all tend to look  the same. After browsing Pinterest and other wedding planning sites, I've found some adorable Save the Date ideas that will definitely grab your guests' attention and leave them saying "I can't wait to go to this wedding!"

Adorable luggage tag invite for a destination wedding.

This timeline is a cute spin on the traditional engagement picture invite.

I love this idea, especially since my fiancé loves going to the movies.

Last Christmas we played a joke on my mom with a fake lottery ticket, so I know she would find this one funny.

(Sidenote: You can see us pranking her here)

Another cute idea is to send out Save the Date "tickets."

I found this one to be really funny. Right to the point.

VIPS (Very Important Planning Sites)

One of the best websites to find inspiration for not just a wedding, but for anything in life, is Pinterest. If you don't know what Pinterest is, click here and prepare to have your life changed. (Not really that serious, but Pinterest is pretty awesome) 

I follow a lot of different boards, but for obvious reasons, I've been following a lot of wedding boards lately. I'm in shock at how many amazing ideas I find from other pinners. I could never be that creative in a million years, but hopefully seeing a bunch of DIY ideas, I'll be able to find my craftier side.

Here are just a few of my favorite pins that I've found. I don't know if I'll end up using all of them at my wedding, but they're too awesome not to post.

(all photos were found on Pinterest)

I definitely want to do this.

A framed picture with different significant dates (birth dates, date they first met, date they got engaged, date they got married)

A floating lantern send off at the end of the night

Since we are both Jewish we're going to get married under a chuppah. This one is spectacular.

Love this idea. A wish tree. 

Guests write wishes or advice that they have for the couple and hang them on the tree

HAPPY PINNING!

ROY G BIV

Apparently your wedding colors should be dependent on the time of year that you're having your wedding. (I guess its some sort of unspoken, unofficial rule) Never one to follow the rules, I don't really care what time of year I get married, I'm going to choose the colors that I want. I've found a cute, helpful website called The Perfect Palette to help me find different color palettes to try out.

While we haven't picked a date yet, we have tossed around the tentative idea of a New Year's Eve wedding. I've always wanted a winter wedding, and what a great time to have all of your family and friends together to celebrate. From what I've read online so far, blues and reds seem to be the most popular colors for winter weddings. I also happen to like idea of having silver or gold mixed in with my wedding colors, while not being the primary color.  The Perfect Palette has provided some great color combinations that include silvers, golds, blues, and reds.

(All images from theperfectpalette.com)