Choosing Your Details: Make Them Matter
I know…you’re engaged, full of hope, and planning details off of your extensive Pinterest and IG collection. Every day that passes, you’re presented with new “Must Have” inspo, and suddenly your budget has been multiplied by five. Realistically, you know full well that these decor pieces are not worth going bankrupt over, but it’s tricky deciding which ones to keep, and which ones to cut. Here is my rule of thumb:
Decor should serve two main purposes: 1) Adding noticeable, impactful aesthetics or logistics that guests will appreciate, or 2) Creating personalized touches of you and your S.O’s personalities.
If it’s not going to drastically affect the atmosphere and you’re thinking of purchasing it just for the sake of having it, ask yourself why!!
With that being said, here are some of my favorite ideas…
Cocktail Napkins and Koozies
Have a pet or favorite saying/quote? Napkins or koozies are a great place to showcase these! If the budget is tight, consider choosing one or the other, not both. These are both things that add fun pieces of your personality, but are often left behind by guests. Consider having enough koozies for half of the guests or enough cocktail napkins for cocktail hour only, as it typically goes unnoticed at the reception anyway!
What we went with: Seeing as how we met on Bourbon Street, we customized our napkins to say: “Every great love story begins with a cocktail….At least ours did.” Figured we needed napkins anyway, and this was a good place to insert some of our love story! We ordered enough for each person to have 5, and I can tell you that we have a box of about 250 of them in our apartment right now, which were never used! As mentioned above, we chose between napkins and koozies because we didn’t see a need in having both! Just an added cost that guests don’t typically pay too much attention to anyway!
Verdict: Worth It (If you’re customizing with your personalities!)
Photo from Deline Photography
Mini Tissues
Definitely not necessary, but pretty darn adorable! I’d say this is on the NOT NEEDED list if you’re running tight for cash! They were extremely affordable and added a cute detail to our ceremony, but also not something that greatly impacted guests! If they are on your Must Have list, I’d suggest going through Etsy! We ordered ours for $1 each and they came pre-assembled. We got to pick the color box to match our ceremony colors, and each one held a single precious tissue for guests “happy tears”!
Verdict: Not Necessary (but affordable!)
Flip Flops
For me, personally, this was a Must Have. I am ALWAYS the first person at every party/event to take my shoes off and go barefoot, especially when in heels. For this reason, I knew it would be a piece of my personality coming through, as well as helpful for any guest wearing impractical shoes. They went in a HEART BEAT…getting a variety of sizes was a good call, because everyone from our younger cousins to the older men were wearing them! If you want guests dancing all night, this added detail will help create that atmosphere, and are worth every penny. Old Navy usually offers a $1 sandal deal at the end of summer, or you can look at reception flip flops, which is what we used!
Verdict: Worth It
Interactive Cocktail Hour Station
I think this is the best place to insert a personalized touch!! If you follow my Insta, you’ve seen how many options there are to rent a truck/cart/bicycle/van/bus/etc filled with your favorite food/drink! For us, we chose Oysters XO, which ended up being a crowd FAVORITE. They are basically models who walk around shucking oysters for guests in an interactive and entertaining way. For us, it was a great way to represent our lowcountry atmosphere, as well as our love for fresh oysters! Consider your favorite food/beverage, and invest in an interactive display of that item.
Some ideas include a:
candy bus
coffee cart
champagne bar
s’mores bike
cigar bar
beer wagon
martini truck
Verdict: Worth It
Ceremony Guides
Ok, I’m giving you my (always) honest opinion here, and telling you that if you plan on printing off guides to showcase the bridal party and sequence of prayers, nobody effing cares. I’m sorry, but it’s the harsh truth. The only time someone is reading those is when they are trying to figure out how many blessings are left before they can get a fresh glass of champagne. For this reason, I’d say to leave them out (if budget is tight), UNLESS you get creative and use these as a place to insert your personality!! We customized ours off of Etsy with a timeline of our love story, details on the upcoming honeymoon, a thank you to guests for being there, a count of how many states they had traveled from, and even a quiz of “how well do you know us” with answers at the bottom! It kept them entertained during the boring parts of the ceremony and added in a bit of us!!
If your wedding is outdoors during a hot month, you can also turn these into fans (DIY with popsicle sticks and glue, or off of Etsy)! These are a good call for keeping guests cool and entertained, but shouldn’t be a huge money-sucker.
Verdict: Not Worth It (Unless customized and made fun!)
Menus
I think menus are a great way to add color to the tablescape, but definitely do not need to be expensive! If you’re looking for a place to save, consider doing one menu for each table. In the case of stations, you can put food labels at the station itself, to let guests know what the options are. Or, if you’re set on having one menu per plate, look into Etsy, Zazzle, or Minted for customizable templates, and you can even print them yourself on small card stock paper to save some cash!
Another great way to consolidate costs here is to put guest names on each menu and have them serve as table place cards.
Verdict: Worth It (If done affordably)
Welcome Bags
I’m going to go ahead and say these are a must for destination weddings. If you’re having a local wedding and guests aren’t traveling for the most part, they are less necessary IMO!
Why? Anyone coming from out of town can really appreciate things like snacks, water bottles, a list of local things to do (your favorite restaurants, activities), etc. I do think this is another great place to put your personalities in! We labeled our snacks as “her favorite,” “his favorite,” and “our favorite.” We also included an item that the location was known for (salt water taffy), and of course—a hangover kit—because our guests know that we don’t mess around with a party!
If you want to have a welcome bag, consider saving money on the packaging (customized canvas bags are beautiful, but costly!)…gable boxes or gift bags from Amazon are a much cheaper way to package the items! Also, look for items in bulk…Costco is a great place to get candy, water bottles, etc. We got 100 customized mints that said “mint to be” on the wrapper via Etsy for $40!
Also…a great thing to include in welcome bags is a hand written welcome note for each guest! Is it time consuming? YES. But, it’s one of the small details that make a huge difference to guests, especially ones that have traveled far to be there with you.
Verdict: Worth It (Esp For Destination Weddings)
Seating Charts
Acrylic is very “in” right now, but I can speak from personal experience when I tell you that it is NOT worth it to splurge on an expensive seating chart!! We got ours from Etsy and it was gorgeous, but after spending a few hundred dollars on it, I was PAINED to have to throw it away after the wedding was over. There are plenty of inexpensive options out there, especially DIY options. My suggestion for seating charts is to either find an affordable solution, OR use it as an opportunity to showcase your interests! For instance, if you’re an avid gardener, maybe have table assignments listed on potters. Whatever the case, keep in mind that guests look at this ONE TIME and then walk away from it, so it really shouldn’t be an area of great expense!
Verdict: Not Worth It! (But could be a good place to show your personalities)
Photo from Green Wedding Shoes
Fun Fact Sheets
Another great thing to personalize! We did these for $10 total (ordered cardstock and designed them ourselves on Microsoft Word!)…seriously, so easy! We scattered them around the Inn where guests were staying, as well as put them on tables at the welcome party and even a few in the bathrooms!! They were a fun way for his extended family (who I hadn’t spent a ton of time with yet) to get to know me better, and for mine to get to know him!
Verdict: Worth It (And affordable!)
Creative Table Numbers
I spent WAY too much time creating our rehearsal dinner table numbers, and although they were adorable, they probably went unnoticed by the majority of guests!! I formatted these myself on PowerPoint and then printed them on cardstock and had framed. Although we didn’t spend any money on the creation of them, they were definitely a time sucker!! If interested in following suit, the way we went about it was finding pictures of the two of us from each year, positioning the pictures next to each other on Powerpoint, and putting the year number below. We then created a table seating chart with “table 1990, table 1995, etc, corresponding to the year on each picture and letting guests know where to sit. They were a fun way to show our personalities, but also not necessary if you’re tight for time!
Table numbers are something people look at once (when searching for their table!) and then go unnoticed. I recommend choosing an inexpensive option here!
Verdict: Not Worth It
After Party Decor
Not necessary!! At this point in the night, guests are drunk and not paying attention to any of these details! I’d suggest investing in one of your favorite late night snacks (we did a pretzel and cookie bar), beer and wine options, and a speaker to play music!
If you are someone looking to add fun touches to the after party for cheap, consider having a Shotski (we customized ours off of Etsy), and boozy ice pops (got in bulk from Costco)!
Other than the fun, inexpensive add-ons, don’t stress too much about this portion of the evening! An after party has never been the “make it or break it” part of the event.
Verdict: Not Worth It
Image from Bespoke Bride
Image from The Knot
Beach Games
Having a wedding on the beach? These oversized games are SUPER FUN, but definitely not something I’d worry about investing in!! Ours cost a LOT and we ended up leaving them all behind, since we had no room in the car to transport them back with us!!
Ours included lifesize jenga, tic tac toe (with “L” for Lexi and “A” for Adam), ring toss, and a customized cornhole board with our names! We also had a giant canoe filled with canned beers, wines, and spiked seltzers. Again, fun but entirely unnecessary and a good place to save money. Having live music and cocktails on the beach is a much better place to invest, as it directly impacts the atmosphere and gets guests going!
Verdict: Not Worth It
Image from Rustic Wedding Chic
Bookshelf of Cocktails
A MUST! Your rentals vendor will likely have a bookshelf or way to display cocktails, and I strongly urge you to consider using it! We got two of them and placed one on the walk from the ceremony to cocktail hour (filled with champagne glasses), and then the other one was placed by the bar at cocktail hour (filled with our signature drinks). Not only was it a great piece visually, but logistically it was a game changer. Right after the ceremony is when guests make a bee line to the bar, and end up having to wait in line! These allowed guests to serve themselves the first round and then approach the bar in waves, instead of all at once. There is nothing worse for a guest than waiting in line, and these really helped prevent that!
Verdict: Worth It!
Tablescape: Expensive chargers, napkins, glasses, linens, etc
Another fun place for aesthetic creativity, but extremely unnecessary. Go for the more affordable options, as truly NOBODY notices these details except you (and perhaps previous brides who now appreciate the small things!)…chargers end up getting removed after the first course most of the time, and plates all look the same when there’s food on them! Other than the details picture of the table, which you most likely won’t save anyway, it’s honestly an expense that is unnecessary. You can still have colorful/unique pieces on the table, but they absolutely don’t need to be top-of-the-line items!!
