Vendor Insights || Guest Mingling

Larry James, Guest Author

Often at the reception there will be many people who do not know each other very well. Waiting for the reception to officially begin, the food to be served, etc., can be awkward.

To help get the party started and help your guests to get better aquainted, place cards at each place setting that say things like, “Ask someone you don’t know to dance,” “Give someone you know a hug,” “Make a song request to the DJ,” “Offer to buy someone a drink,” “Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know,” etc. If there are 10 to a table, you only need 10 different cards for each table.

Place cards are a good idea, especially if you have dateless friends and relatives. Even the most socially gifted guests will have high-school cafeteria flashbacks when forced to sit down with a bunch of strangers. Having “assigned seats” is not restrictive. It’s smart and considerate – and will make conversation mingling (and matchmaking) so much easier.

If the idea of assigning numbered tables at the reception seems impersonal, give the tables names relating to love. Arrange in alphabetical order to assure that there is still a navigable organization so the guests can find their seats.

Here are a few words of love to consider: Happiness, Serenity, Bliss, Joyful, Amour, Adoration, Tranquility, Harmony, Delight, Heavenly, Enchantment, Cherish, Lovely, Memories, Inspiration, Romance, Forever, Eternity, Unity, Pleasure, Charm, Believe, Dreams, Fortune, Passion, Genuine, Priceless, and Desire. A thesaurus comes in handy when trying to elaborate on your list!

You might consider including wedding pictures of both of the parents on the tables. Add some text to the pictures for the benefit of those who do not know the parents.

Copyright 2009 - Larry James. This idea is adapted from Larry's Wedding Website. Larry James is a non-denominational minister and performs the most "Romantic" wedding ceremony you will find anywhere! Call to check availabilty: 480-998-9411 or 800-725-9223. You will find more than 430 pages of Wedding ideas, tips. Check out Larry- http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/tips.html http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/

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Themes || Ahoy Wedding

Weddings are no longer a place for only classic traditions. Brides are reaching to more colorful pieces that are eye-popping and help to uniquely set them apart from every other bride. Bridal showers are the best place to begin your color palette of design with a beach wedding as your inspiration.

For one bride, her attraction to fuschia and pumpkin orange wedding colors helped mold the perfect setting for a nautical dream. With less than a month to her wedding, I created special nautical pieces that matched her wedding colors for a table-scaping wonder.

To create your own matching pieces used for this bridal shower, you will need to visit your local Hobby Lobby, Michael’s or craft store to purchase materials. Try to piece together materials that represent boating and beach themed items. Purchase a hot glue gun, coordinating paint colors, tea light candles, faux fish netting, sea shells, sand, and glass stones. Use your imagination and picture your wedding day to create the best centerpieces as you set sail to your wedding fantasy.