The Budget Bride by Marjorie

We have a guest, Marjorie, blogging today with wonderful ideas for your wedding that will help keep you within budget - inexpensive, yet beautiful all the same.

The Budget Bride

Congratulations! You’ve just become engaged and you’re dreaming of a beautiful summer wedding. You find tons of information browsing Internet wedding sites—but then, something takes your breath away. You read on TheKnot.com, a popular wedding website, where newlyweds spent an average of $28,427 on their wedding and related events in 2012. That’s way out of your budget range. Can you have your dream wedding parties for a fraction of that cost?  

Party World (partywedding.com) to the rescue! Yes, you can have an elegant wedding, engagement party, bridal shower, and bachelorette party—on a budget. For 30 years, Party World, a Tacoma-based family business, has helped hundreds of couples select elegant invitations, decorations, centerpieces, tableware, and favors from its huge collection of colors and styles for every budget and taste. 

Bulk Confetti

This Tacoma-based wedding resource is available nationwide, through its website at partywedding.com, where you can browse through wedding themes (such as Western or seashore or butterflies)  and color combinations  (such as black and white, gray and yellow, pink and brown) and get ideas for what is possible on a limited budget. At the click of your mouse, you can order all of your wedding accessories, table decorations, invitations, catering supplies, balloons, confetti, and attendants’ gifts in whatever quantity you need. Shipping is free for orders of $65 or more. 

Corby Howell of partywedding.com is a great resource person if you have questions or need ideas. As a first step, she says, browse the website’s wedding section, and select a decorating theme and coordinating colors. Some of the most popular themes have been Love Birds, Vintage, Luau, Butterfly, Daisy, Beach, Red Wedding, Country Western, and Calla Lily weddings, and ideas are constantly being updated. 

Many couples plan the wedding and parties around a color, the season of the wedding, or the flowers (or snowflakes) appropriate to the season. You can browse through all the color choices in tableware, accessories, and cake tops to get ideas. There are also custom-made pew bows in the color of your choice. 

Corby notes that wedding and party accessories are available in ensembles, which generally include a matching guest book, pen with holder, ring pillow, flower girl basket, and unity candle. There are cake servers and knife sets, toasting glasses, and cake tops that coordinate with the set as well. You will find lovely Burlap, Feathers, Butterfly, Cowboy, Rose, Rustic ensembles, and many more to fit your theme or color scheme.

Bell and Dove Centerpiece

Partywedding.com also has a wonderful selection of solid colors for tableware and napkins to match any theme. One elegant touch is to choose custom-printed napkins. You can find napkin printing on the website, with excellent customer service. There are also coordinating table decorations for the reception and parties with everything you need—table covers, table centerpieces, and confetti, as well as place cards and place card holders. To complete the theme, chose hanging decorations, such as dangling cutouts, streamers, hanging centerpieces, and balloons. Balloon bouquets are very popular, and partywedding.com has a terrific selection. 

Corby says: "Pre-wedding celebrations as well as the wedding and reception create great memories and we enjoy helping to make them all special. Helping customers is a priority and we will do all we can to fulfill their needs." Call for assistance with ordering or for party ideas at 1-800-933-3948.

Thank you, Marjorie, for your encouragement and great ideas!

Rustic and Burlap Wedding Ideas

Rustic Wedding from Hortense

A recent, popular trend is for a rustic or vintage burlap wedding. In exploring ideas in the rustic wedding theme, think natural materials like burlap, twine, woods, bronzes, antique golds. Add to these traditional, even old-fashioned touches such as laces, crocheted shawls, simple leathers. An outdoor wedding fits with this theme, or perhaps a simple chapel setting could inspire your direction.
Picture beginning with a graceful, lacy dress in white or delicate beige. Whether accented with pearls or antiqued ornamentation, this is can be your focus and inspiration for your ceremony accessories and wedding reception decorations.

Burlap and Lace from Lillian Rose

In the ceremony, several vintage and rustic collections include guest book, flower basket, garters and unity candles. Rustic Romance from Hortense is classic with burlap, ruffles, twine, and heart ornament. The Lillian Rose accessories in their Burlap and Lace design, burlap is also featured and adds cotton fabric flower with pearl and rhinestones, crocheted lace and a peacock feather. In addition to the flower basket, guest book, pen, garter and ring pillow, there is a stunning bridal bouquet, boutonniere, hair clip and pin - perfect for keepsakes since they do not require special preservation.
For additional decorations and reception supplies, large burlap runners for walking down the aisle and smaller runners for serving and dining tables are simple yet lovely for the country, old fashioned feeling. Favor bags and silverware holders serve as warm table decorations, too.
All these ideas can give you a good start to your rustic, burlap wedding plans.