The Makings of a Reception

As I mentioned in my last post, the budget I was hoping to stick to has gone out the window. With the photography cost and my estimate of the rental costs, I'm up to $7,000! Yikes! And that doesn't include food, all the little details, stationery, bouquets, decor and so on. (I am not including the cost of my dress in the budget because I already had the money to cover that cost...thank goodness!)

So to continue on with the dreaded budget talk I'm going to share with you how I'm trying to be as cost effective as possible when it comes to the reception.
1) I will not be renting enough tables to allow everyone to sit down at the reception. Every wedding I've ever been to, there are always guests who prefer to stand during the reception thus leaving tables unused. (Maybe this is because I've never been to one with a sit down meal?)
2) I am not renting china, glassware, flatware, etc.
3) I am not getting custom printed napkins.
4) We are not having a sit down meal.
5) We will not be having large elaborate centerpieces.

Now to elaborate a little on these things...
Because we are not renting tableware, I have purchased plasticware. Yes you read correctly, I said plastic. Sam's Club has some very good quality and pretty good looking plastic plates, cups and forks so that's what I went with.
These are the plates we will be using. The larger for the food we will be serving and the smaller for the cake. Cost breakdown:
Dinner plates (40 count pkg.): $8.82
Quantity:6
Total Cost: $52.92
Cake plates (70 count pkg.): $8.24
Quantity:3
Total Cost: $24.72
(Source)

These are the forks we will be using.
Cost breakdown (300 count box): $8.68
Quantity:2 (we'll have way more than we need)
Total Cost: $17.36
(Source)




And these are the cups we will be using.
Cost breakdown (200 count pkg.):$7.48
Quantity:1
Total Cost: $7.48
(Source)





As much as I would love to be able to afford some pretty custom printed napkins with our names and the wedding date on them, it's just not in the budget. However if at all possible, I still wanted to be able to use purple napkins. And I found just the napkins I was looking for at a great price and the exact color! Where? Dollar Tree. Don't underestimate the power of dollar stores....especially Dollar Tree because they're a true dollar store.

These are the napkins we will be having at the reception. I purchased 13" Lunch Napkins as well as 10" Beverage Napkins. Both will be in the purple color shown here. Cost breakdown:
13" Lunch Napkins: $1.00
Quantity: 12
10" Beverage Napkins: $1.00
Quantity: 12
Total Cost: $24.00
(Source)



Because we are not having a sit down meal and the reception will not be held during a "meal time", we are opting to serve finger food/hors d'oeuvers. So what's on the menu? As of right now, this is what we have:
-Fruit Salad with fresh strawberries, pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe, raspberries and kiwi
-Cheese tray
-Crackers
-Rolled meats: turkey and ham, possibly chicken
-Fresh mini rolls
-Sausage Balls
-Vegetable trays with fresh carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower and ranch dip
-Relish trays with: sweet pickles, dill pickles, green olives, black olives
And to drink we will have:
-Grape punch (Still looking for recipes. Will be served in a punch bowl.)
-Ice cold water (Served in the dispenser below with round slices of lemon in the water.)
-Raspberry Tea or Peach (I'm still undecided about what kind. This tea will have caffeine for those that would like it and will be served in the dispenser below with either fresh raspberries or peaches in the tea.)
As far as the actual food costs go...I won't know exact numbers until the time comes to purchase the food. However, I'm estimating that it will be somewhere around $500-$600.

The only serving ware items I've bought for the reception are:
-a package of round basic serving trays with lids
-Two 2.5 Gallon Drink Dispensers (This was a little bit of a splurge but they will eliminate the need to have some prepare drinks for the guests and enable the guests to help themselves. And they can be used after the wedding or sold.)
Cost breakdown: $39.99 each
Quantity: 2
Total Cost (including shipping & tax): $97.38
(Source)


-2 Fifth Avenue Crystal Portico Cracker & Dip trays (Not included in the budget because I bought them months ago when Belk had a 50% off sale.)
(Source)

-2 Fifth Avenue Crystal Portico 3-tier Buffet Servers (Not included in the budget because I bought them months ago when Belk had a 50% off sale.)
(Source)





-1 round crystal punch bowl (for punch) purchased at a local Antique Mall that included 9 cups (The cups won't be used for the wedding. But the bowl and cups can be used or sold after the wedding.)
Total Cost: $22.00
(Source: yours truly - not sure why it looks green, I assure you it's not!)



-1 square punch bowl (for the fruit salad) purchased at a local Antique Mall for $12.50 that included 11 cups and 11 hangers (The cups won't be used for the wedding but this punch bowl will have a place in our home because it matches the shape of our square dishes.)
Total Cost: $12.50
(Source: yours truly)



As I mentioned before, I made all the centerpieces for our tables myself. I decided to make more than we will need for the dining tables so we can use them to decorate the food, cake and gift table and anywhere else I like.
Cost breakdown (per centerpiece): $7.33
Quantity: 24
Total Cost: $175.92
(Source: yours truly)




The only other decor we will have at the reception will be balloons. Now I know some people have mixed feelings about balloons and weddings. However, I assure you they will not be used in a tacky or cheesy way. There will be no balloon arches or shapes at our wedding!
I'm not entirely sure how I'll use the balloons yet. My mom and I talked about blowing them up without helium and hanging them on silver curling ribbon from the top of the tent using different lengths of ribbon to give a staggered affect. That's most likely what we'll do to avoid the $80 rental fee of a helium tank. But I have no idea how we would secure them to the tent (tie them to the frame? tape them? would they hold, would we be allowed to tape?) because I don't know what the underside will look like as far as the frame goes but we'll figure something out. I couldn't find a good picture of what I'm envisioning so you'll have to take this (<--) one and use your imagination. I think it would be a cool effect if we can swing it. (Source)



-2 packs of Lavender Purple Pearlized Balloons
Cost breakdown: $6.99 (72 pack)
Quantity: 2
Total Cost: $13.98 (plus shipping)
(Source)


-2 packs of White Pearlized Balloons
Cost breakdown: $6.99 (72 pack)
Quantity: 2
Total Cost: $13.98 (plus shipping)
(Source)


-1 spool of Metallic Silver Curling Ribbon (100 yards)
Total Cost: $1.89 (plus shipping)
(Source)


So the grand total for the reception at this time is: $1011.21 (estimating the food costs at $600). Not too shabby in my opinion. And I'm pretty sure that covers everything we'll need (except for the cake)!

In what ways are you keeping the cost down for your reception?

DIY Centerpieces!

Believe it or not, I've already started working on the centerpieces for the reception tables! Yes I suppose I am crazy since the wedding is over 300 days away! lol But since I have the time and the materials I'd be a fool not to get what I can done now rather than wait. I'll have my hands full closer to the wedding. My mom's running joke is that I'll have everything done and planned out two months before the wedding and will then have nothing to do! lol And honestly, she's probably right or at least close. When I have things I'm working on for a big project they eat at me till I can get them accomplished. You have no idea how hard it is not to get the invitations done now! lol But I'll wait on those as hard as it is. Anyways on to the centerpieces!

I originally wanted to do submerged centerpieces. I love the look of them! Plus, they make a big statement without having to use tons of flowers...which is ever so helpful on the budget. Here's a picture of a submerged centerpiece I love.

(Source: unknown)

As much as I love the look of submerged centerpieces it soon became clear to me that I wouldn't be able to incorporate them. Why? Because of budget reasons, time and labor. My mom is doing all my floral decor including the bouquets. I read on a florists blog that submerged centerpieces have to be put together the day of the wedding at the wedding location to avoid messing them up. This picture got my attention and I instantly fell in love with the look.

(Source)

But how on earth would I recreate something even close to that!? There's no way I can afford orchids...as much as I'd love to be able to. While browsing Save-on-crafts.com my vision came into being with my mom's help. Here is my completed vision:

(Source: yours truly)

What do you think? I absolutely LOVE them!!!!! I am so glad that what mom and I had envisioned in our heads really worked and looks so amazing, stunning, beautiful, and expensive!

So now I bring you the materials list and step by step instructions on how I made my centerpieces.

(Source: yours truly)

Materials Needed:
A) Clear Glass Cylinder Vase 10 1/4" tall and 3 1/2" in diameter.
B) Natural Curly Willow Branches 27 to 30" long.
C) Purple & White Preserved Orchid Blooms 2 1/2" wide (3 blooms per vase).
D) PVC Grass Onion Bush 24" tall.
E) Glass Nuggets of your color choice (mine came from Michael's but they no longer carry this purple color).
F) Natural Sheet Moss 1.5 oz. bag (make sure you get natural and not artificial).
G) Mini Glue Gun and glue sticks (not pictured).
H) Scissors (not pictured).
I) 7" Round Centerpiece Mirror (not pictured).

(Source: yours truly)

Instructions:
A) Cut curly willow branch to just under the height of the vase (9.5 - 10 inches).
B) Cut two pieces of grass from the bush.
C) Curl the grass using scissors (keep them closed), just like you would curl curling ribbon.
D) Place enough glass nuggets in the bottom of the vase to cover the bottom and allow for the willow branch to stick down in them.
E) Using a mini hot glue gun glue an orchid bloom into place on the willow branch. You decide on where and at what angle to glue the bloom, it's entirely up to you. Start either at the base or top of the branch though when placing the first bloom.
F) Let the glue set for a few seconds and then place a small pinch of the sheet moss over the glue. Make sure you can see no hot glue and be careful not to burn your fingers! Tweezers can be used to aid in this process.
G) Repeat steps E and F two more times placing the remaining blooms on the willow branch. Again, it's up to you to decide on where to place them, how to angle them and how much space to leave between each bloom. (My centerpieces will be going on round tables at the reception so I tried very hard to make it so each of the blooms faced a different direction. This allows every guest to see a bloom no matter where they're seated at around the table. In picture "G", I rotated the branch three times to show this.)

(Source: yours truly)

Once you've followed the above instructions, you can do the next step in whatever order you find to be easiest.
A) Place your willow branch with the blooms inside the vase and insert (on at a time) the curled grass. You decide on how you want it to look. (I chose to stick the end of the grass into the glass nuggets and then let it curve around the inside of the vase. I tried to get one piece of grass to start from the base on both the left and right side.)
B) Then repeat with the other piece of curled grass.
This part can be a little frustrating and tricky because there isn't room to get your hand into the vase once the willow branch is in place. You may find it easier to put the grass in first and then put the willow branch in.
C) Sit back and admire your work!!!
Note: I prefer that the top orchid bloom not stick out above the top of the vase so if yours does just cut off a little more from the bottom of the willow branch to shorten it. *If you have any questions about the DIY process feel free to leave me a comment or send me an e-mail!

When I placed my order with Save-on-crafts, I was initially worried about how fragile the orchid blooms would be. However, they stand up pretty well when working with them. I didn't have any break while putting them together. I will say though that you need to order a lot more blooms than you really need because through shipping, some of them get the tips broken off.

COST BREAKDOWN FOR ONE CENTERPIECE:
1) Cylinder Vase $3.99
2) 7" Centerpiece Mirror $1.12
3) Glass Nuggets $0.50
4) Curly Willow Branch $0.33 (it's actually less than that because you don't use the whole branch for one centerpiece)
5) 3 Preserved Orchid Blooms $1.26 ($0.42 per bloom)
6) 2 Pieces PVC Grass $0.0093124 ($0.0046562 each piece of grass, $1.49 a bush w/ 320 blades of grass)
7) Natural Moss $0.12 ($2.99 for a 1.5oz bag-I'm making 24 centerpieces so I divided 2.99 by 24 to get the price.)
GRAND TOTAL PER CENTERPIECE:
$7.33!
Note: I already had the hot glue gun and glue sticks on hand so I didn't incur a cost for those.

I cannot believe I was able to use real orchid blooms (although they aren't fresh they're real!) in the centerpieces. I absolutely love how they turned out and I'm so glad I was able to make them myself! And the best things about them....the cost was low, they can be made in advance and I can give them to special people as gifts if I so choose, sell them or use them to decorate! LOVE THEM!! :)

So let me know what you think...Do you like how they turned out? And can you believe I made each one for under 8 bucks!?

Did you have a DIY project that saved you a ton of money and turned out exceeding your expectations?