How to Bring Your Wedding Party Together Before “I Do”

Photo: Courtesy of lover.ly

Your wedding day is going to be one of the happiest days of your life. All of your friends and family are there to mix, mingle, and most importantly, celebrate you, the newlyweds! The people you love most will be front and center, right beside you throughout the entire ceremony to support you through it all. Although it’s easy to imagine that the day will go perfectly, pairing up complete strangers to walk down the aisle before you might be a little stranger for some. So what do you do? Well, we’re here to give you some great ideas for pre-ceremony events that will help your wedding party meet each other in a no pressure, casual environment without all the stress of your wedding day. Scroll though the ideas below to see what you can do to unite your wedding party and have a good time all at once!

Go Bowling

There’s nothing like a fun night at the bowling alley with your friends. Something about greasy food and strikes just helps people bond! As an added plus, the competitive nature of the game will help your wedding party engage in some friendly rivalry and get to know each other in the process.

Host a Watch Party or Tailgate Party

Calling all sports fans! This idea is a perfect way to bring your wedding party together in a casual environment. Whether you all gather around the TV in your living room to cheer on your favorite team or you host a tailgate party at the stadium, a little food and a good game can turn a group of acquaintances into friends in no time.

Throw a Potluck Dinner

We all love good ole fashioned home cookin’, so why not round up some of your favorite dishes and host a dinner for your wedding party? Each guest can bring a dish of their choice and when dinner is done, you can all sit around the table during dinner telling stories about each other and building those connections that will make the walk down the aisle more fun and less awkward.

Have a Game Night 

While Minute to Win It isn’t the craze on TV anymore, that doesn’t mean the competitions aren’t still the best ice breakers ever. This idea is a low-budget way to get your wedding party moving, shaking, and competing to win their claim to fame for the night. An alternative to this would be to pull out your favorite board games and get to playing! Once the rivalries come out, the stories will be soon to follow and you’ll have a great opportunity to celebrate old friendships and new connections before the wedding rolls around.

 

 

Ceremony Program Perfection

We’ve all heard it said that, “It’s in the details.” For some, that can be referencing the flowers and the dress, but for others it goes so far to encompass the text on the programs. If you’re someone who understands that …

Bridal Brunch

One of the most trendy options for a bridal party is hosting brunch for all the girls. The great thing is that it’s classy, timeless, and completely up to you to style it how you wish. Whether you like a …

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Frugal Flowers

We all know flowers are expensive. Those big and beautiful event centerpieces come with a large price tag and trying to create your fairy tale wedding  with tons of blooms can zap your budget in a heartbeat. We encourage you to use professional florists for the majority of your event because there is truly no substitute for an expert, but you can always use these tips and tricks for your home, in the workplace, or on easily manageable details at your event. Here are 3 helpful hints to make the most out of your event funds without compromising beauty for budget.

Tip 1 – Hidden Secret

Do you have any bubble wrap or styrofoam laying around? Get it out, because you’ll need them for this. Give life to your floral arrangements by giving them volume or helping them float on water. By cutting a little hole in a piece of bubble wrap (and avoiding the bubbles), you can give your flowers a skirt that will allow them to float. Also, if you use a solid vase that isn’t see-through, you can use pieces of foam to not only keep your flowers in place, but fill up some extra space without buying more flowers.

Photo: Courtesy of Christine de Beer

 

Tip 2 – Recycled Vases

You can easily save hundreds on flowers and the vases they’ll be in by reusing old bottles, containers, and jars. Not only do the fun vases add some character to your wedding, but they also can have sentimental value as well. Keep up with pretty bottles, jars, and anything else that speaks to you and then you can use them for your event, keep them, and reuse them in your home or at your desk. It will save you money while giving you unique and long-lasting centerpieces.

Photo: Courtesy of weheartit.com

 

Tip 3 – Tape It Up!

Arranging your own flowers can be hard if you don’t have much experience. Have no fear, though, because we have discovered the trick that our lousy flower arrangement skills have been missing for YEARS. Dig your scotch tape out of the drawer and make a tape grid on top of the vase, creating little squares for your stems to fit into. This little tip will help you arrange flowers in the best and most beautiful way, giving them the perfect look for your guests.

Photo: Courtesy of marthastewart.com

Picture Perfect

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and you’ll cherish the memories of it forever. All the planning, scheduling, and list making has been completed in preparation for your “I Do’s”, but you might consider making one more list before the day arrives. Creating a shot list of poses and pictures for your photographer is a great way to ensure you get all the pictures you want, and it provides a checklist for the photographer so that they are able to go above and beyond to take the pictures you want and more. Plus, sitting down and thinking about what you’re looking for in pictures will help you and your photographer better capture your big day. We love to help our clients out, so here’s some great picture ideas that you can add to your shot list!

Before the Ceremony

• The dress
• The bride getting ready
• Mother of the bride helping her get ready
• The bridesmaids getting ready
• The bouquet
• The rings
• The accessories (shoes, jewelry, veil, garter, etc.)
• The groom getting ready
• The groomsmen getting ready

Photo: Courtesy of MODwedding.com

 

During the Ceremony

• The venue before guests arrive
• The details (flowers, programs, decorations, guestbook)
• Guests and family
• Mother or bride and mother of groom during their walks down the aisle
• Bride walking down the aisle
• Bride’s first look
• Groom’s first look
• Bride’s father giving her away, kiss on cheek
• The vows
• The rings
• Important ceremony traditions/unique ceremony pieces
• The kiss
• Bride & groom during their walk down the aisle

Photo: Courtesy of Kathlyn Dragna Photography

 

After the Ceremony

• Bride with her family
• Groom with his family
• Bride and groom with each family
• Bride and groom with combined families
• Bride and bridesmaids
• Groom and groomsmen
• Bride and groom with wedding party
• Flower girl and ring bearer
• Bride and groom

Photo: Courtesy of Kimbry Studios

 

At the Reception

• The venue
• Tables, gifts, and decorations
• The cake
• The food
• The arrival of the wedding party
• The newlyweds greeting guests
• Toasts (best man, maid of honor, bride and groom to each other)
• Father/daughter dance
• Mother/son dance
• The first dance
• Entertainment
• Reception events (cutting the cake, feeding cake, bouquet toss, garter toss, games)
• Guests
• Guests with bride and groom
• The send off
• The bride & groom in the send off car/carriage

Photo: Courtesy of weddingwire.com

 

Just for Fun

• The bride and groom’s shoes
• Wedding party reaction to bride and groom kiss
• Props for bridal/bride & groom portraits (firefighter suit, baseball bat, basketball and whistle, Bible, superhero shirts under suit, lightsabers etc.)
• Bride & groom praying together

 

 

April Showers Bring May Flowers

All the rain has been giving us serious bouquet dreams because you know what they say: April showers bring May flowers! We’ve been drooling over these gorgeous bouquets and thought we would share them with you too. Save this post for a rainy day or enjoy it when the sun is out and shining – we don’t mind either way. The bouquets are grouped by season, but, as always, what you do with your special day is up to you and many of these bouquets would be a perfect fit no matter when your wedding day was. Enjoy!

Winter Wedding Bouquets

Photo: Courtesy of artfullywed.com

Photo: Courtesy of blog.beau-coup.com

Photo: Courtesy of mywedding.com

Photo: Courtesy of theknot.com

Photo: Courtesy of borrowedandblue.com

Photo: Courtesy of colincowieweddings.com

 

Spring Wedding Bouquets

Photo: Courtesy of colincowieweddings.com

Photo: Courtesy of theexcitedbride.com

Photo: Courtesy of weddingchicks.com

Photo: Courtesy of Ken Kienow

Photo: Courtesy of Erich McVey Photography

Photo: Courtesy of Paige Winn

 

 

Summer Wedding Bouquets

Photo: Courtesy of heyweddinglady.com

Photo: Courtesy of photokisses.com

Photo: Courtesy of ahandcraftedwedding.com

Photo: Courtesy of modwedding.com

Photo: Courtesy of stylemepretty.com

Fall Wedding Bouquets

Photo: Courtesy of brides.com

Photo: Courtesy of rusticweddingchic.com

Photo: Courtesy of budgetbride.com

Photo: Courtesy of theexcitedbride.com

Photo: Courtesy of intimateweddings.com

Photo: Courtesy of stylemepretty.com

 

Now get to it and use your newly acquired flower power to customize your own beautiful bouquet!

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