having small inexpensive wedding this winter any ideas?

Question

i already have the dress and the church we are having the reception at the church too going to rent tux need flower girl dress decorations food ideas but i am not spending a lot of money 50 guests tops any ideas welcome

Answer 1

Hi and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

I just LOVE small weddings and trying to help people decorate and stay in a budget....so here are my ideas/suggestions:

~ You have the venue AND dress.....GOOD!

~ You say you are having a winter wedding. Does that mean you want to have some kind of a "winter theme?" If you do, then I would suggest a "snowflake" theme. You can find lots of snowflake items on www.orientaltradingcompany.com

~ Personally, I am NOT a fan of "themes" as I think unless you spend oodles of money....it's really hard to pull off. Instead, what I would suggest for you, would be to simply go with a few "colors"....one being black from your fiance's tux, and the other color coming from the dress you pick out for your flower girl.

~ Right now would be the time to look for dresses for the flower girl. There are so many from Target.com (or in the Target store if you have one by you), and JCPenney.com (or a JCPenney store if you have one by you). Here are some really cute ones:
http://www.target.com/Girls-Perfectly-Dressed-Jacket-Dress/dp/B000W43GUA/qid=1194900244/ref=br_1_5/602-5466241-9753411?ie=UTF8&node=145232011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1
http://www.target.com/Girls-Perfectly-Dressed-Striped-Dress/dp/B000W4CH64/qid=1194900244/ref=br_1_11/602-5466241-9753411?ie=UTF8&node=145232011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1
http://www.target.com/Girls-Perfectly-Dressed-2-pc-Jacket/dp/B000W454XM/qid=1194900386/ref=br_1_1/602-5466241-9753411?ie=UTF8&node=145232011&frombrowse=1&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=145232011&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=2
http://www.target.com/Girls-Perfectly-Dressed-Tulle-Dress/dp/B000XD8MK4/qid=1194900443/ref=br_1_7/602-5466241-9753411?ie=UTF8&node=145232011&frombrowse=1&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=145232011&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=3
http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=42249&CatID=50655&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=133bc07&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CmCatId=42249|42445|50655
http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=42249&CatID=50655&GrpTyp=SIZ&ItemID=135bc01&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CmCatId=42249|42445|50655
http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=42249&CatID=50655&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=133bc0d&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CmCatId=42249|42445|50655

It so easy right now to get a beautiful flower girl dress and some nice black shoes (velvet?). I love either something with gold/black or pink/black. I think it would be easy to coordinate table centerpieces around either gold or pink.
Personally, I would STAY AWAY from any color scheme of red or green....that is too "holiday."

~ Does the church have linen tablecloths you can use? I hope so. If not, and if you have a Family Dollar store in your area, go there. You can get a nice tablecloth for $5!! OR....ask friends, relatives for tablecloths. It looks so much more elegant than paper or plastic!!

~ Centerpiece ideas: Wow....you could do so many things that are inexpensive! Here are some:

~ Get clear round bowls like either of these:
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/bubava52ea6o.html
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/cylindervases2.html

Fill part way with colored "vase gems" in whatever color you go with for the flower girl dress....gold? pink?:
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/vasgemmarsto.html

And float some candles in them in whatever color....again...gold? pink?
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/floatcan.html

For an added touch you can sprinkle some silk rose petals, and put it on a mirror, which would also be pretty. EVERYTHING above can be purchased at stores like Walmart, Michael's, or online.

~ Food: Chicken! Easy and inexpensive! Bake some chicken, serve with baby red potatoes, a vegetable, rolls, a salad....dessert!

~ Ham would also be nice. Get a few hams and put in roasters. Make up "cheesy potatoes"...mmm..., have a salad, a jello, rolls....dessert!

~ For the church: If you can afford it....go to Walmart, Costco, or ANY grocery store with a florist...and get some flowers for each side of the altar. I work in a church as a secretary and we have pretty vases that we use. They only hold about 8-10 roses? and some greens. Very pretty. I buy roses from Walmart all the time and they are only $10 for a dozen. You can special order too. If you really are ambitious, you can even make your own bouquet and boutonnieres. Just look up instructions online...it's really easy!

Good luck and I hope you have a beautiful small winter wedding!

Email me if you need more ideas. I have different centerpiece ideas too, but I don't want this to be a novel!!!

Answer 2

Small Winter Wedding Ideas

Answer 3

Since it will be a winter wedding, I think it would be nice to stick with simple comfort foods....something nice and warm to break up a winter's day. Because you want to do it on a budget, I would see if I could recruit family members to make some of the things that they do best: a large crock of chili or beef stew, chicken soup, biscuits or cornbread, mac-n-cheese, and the like. Hot cocoa with all of the trimmings -- whipped cream, marshmallows and peppermint schnapps or Bailey's for the adults (if you drink, this is the only alcohol I would provide). Make sure to have something vegetarian unless you know none of your guests are. I have been to some weddings with some fancily catered spreads where I have wished that it would have been something like this. Just simple, good food with friends.

Decor? I would do simple pine wreaths or boughs, red candles, ribbon...stuff that is easily gotten from the local craft store. I would play up the winter theme as much as possible...especially if you are having your wedding after Christmas because you should be able to get some post-holiday deals.

Answer 4

i love the iced branches idea. even throw some evergreen branches around the base of your vase and some glittery small ornaments in the greenery.

you can probly get some really cute ornaments to give as favors from your local dollar tree. or maybe target or walmart if not too expensive.
maybe snowflakes or stars

depending on your reception site you can always swag christmas lights and greenery around the cake table, head table... maybe where the food is being served if you can find the outlets.

not sure about the exact date but if it's close to or after christmas everything will be on sale around that time!
or another not too expensive favor would be to get mugs from the dollar store, fill with a packet of cocoa and candy canes. wrap in organza or gift paper, like mini gifts.
you can find lots of great gift paper that's not too christmasy looking, like silver or gold or solid print colors.

you should be able to find a flower girl dress at jcpennys or other department stores... just get a pretty holiday dress for her.

for food i would suggest a ham and a turkey.
mashed taters with gravy
green beans

oh if you are doing a cake... shop rite, if it's in your area, sells by the slice/serving, a 50 person cake is $75.

you can also do a dessert table, pies, cookies, cake rolls....

serve hot mulled cider, cocoa, eggnog... along with your other drinks.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
having small inexpensive wedding this winter any ideas?
i already have the dress and the church we are having the reception at the church too going to rent tux need flower girl dress decorations food ideas but i am not spending a lot of money 50 guests tops any ideas welcome

Answer 6

I just read this great idea about iced branches. This would be so perfect for centerpieces. You can also use those tal curly branches in floor vases as decorations near the door or the head table etc.

Here is the web site with the directions, it is so easy and you can do it with a variety of things, colors etc.

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/icedbranches.html

Good luck!

Answer 7

I ran off to cancun during december and got married and paid for all my guests to stay at an all inclusive place that included the ceremony all under 11,000 dollars. Small guest list but it was the wedding of my dreams with horse carriage and all.

Answer 8

We had a small wedding last year in Frankenmuth, MI during Snowfest. Everything was snowflake themed. We used iced branches as centerpieces in tall glass cylinder vases filled with fake snow - on a mirrored square with several small votive candles around - added glass pebbles for extra sparkle - added in blue and white hydrangeas for color here and there and in my bouquet too. We served warm spiced cider before dinner - hot chocolate with marshmallows for the kids. We gave glass snowflake ornaments tied to a white chocolate dipped pretzel wrapped in cellophane to our guests as favors. We used mini snow globe photo holders for place cards with our engagement photo on one side and guest name and table number on reverse. When we left the reception to take a horse-drawn carriage ride - our guests lit sparklers instead of throwing rice, birdseed, or blowing bubbles.
Here are some sites for you to check out - Congrats!!
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=searchMain.jsp&event=link.itemDetails&demandPrefix=12&sku=2/1379&mode=Searching&erec=5&No=16&D=snowflake%2Bornament&Ntt=snowflake%2Bornament&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&y=12&N=0&x=15&sd=Glittery+Snowflake+Ornaments
http://cgi.ebay.com/SNOWFLAKE-Wedding-Invitations-Set-Favors-Thank-You-50_W0QQitemZ200143812984QQihZ010QQcategoryZ102470QQcmdZViewItem
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2567/images/2567_MEDIUM.jpg
http://www.askginka.com/themes/winter_christmastheme.htm

Answer 9

They hired a gorgeous horse driven sled to go around town in and for pictures. It looked so romantic to see them drive up to the hall, with the sleigh bells jingling, and him help her down.

Answer 10

Any family member good with a camera or video?