Friday, July 3, 2009

How To Decorate Your Wedding On A Budget

These days, everybody's doing everything on a budget, including weddings. But that doesn't mean your wedding has to be anything less than the perfect day you've always dreamed of. While it's been said that "less is more", we here at Outer Banks Country Store would like you to know that when it comes to your dream wedding, you get "more for less"! Here are our tips for decorating in style while spending less.

By doing the decorations yourself, you'll save a lot of money. Wedding & event planners spend a lot more when they're doing the shopping for you. Let's face it, they don't have to be frugal because they're spending your money! And rentals can be just as pricey. We offer elegant decorations at affordable prices and once your wedding is over, you can use these same items to decorate your house! Let's start with color. You can either choose your favorite color scheme or decorate seasonally, depending on the time of year you're getting married. Take our Pip Berry garlands, for example. We offer a large variety of colors to choose from, including Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter color combinations. Use our Burgundy, Burgundy & Cream, Red, Red & White Mix, or Red White & Green for Christmas weddings. Or use our Orange Mix, Autumn Mix, Pumpkin, Butternut, Harvest, Mustard, or Burgundy & Orange for Fall weddings. We have great shabby chic colors that are perfect for Spring & Summer weddings, such as Cottage Blue & White, Pink & White, Butter Yellow & White, light blues or light greens. Or if you're totally unique and want something more edgy, we have color schemes like Black & Tan. And of course, we have the standard wedding whites & creams for a classic and elegant look.

Once you've settled on your colors, it's time to think about all the places you'd like to have decorated at your event, such as buffet tables, individual table centerpieces, etc. We offer Pip Berry Garlands, Candle Rings, Floral Picks & Sprays, all in matching colors! We suggest wrapping your garlands with lights to set a romantic mood. Our Brown Wire Christmas Lights are perfect because the cord matches the brown stem of the berry garland, so you don't notice it. The lights are white for an elegant look. You don't want to go with colored light bulbs for a wedding, as this makes it too much of a garish atmosphere, and doesn't reflect the seriousness of the day. Plus the white lights go with any color, and thus won't clash with your wedding colors. The idea is to enhance the decorations, not distract from them. Another choice for lighting, is our Brown Wire Rice Lights, sometimes called Teeny Bulbs. These are not your typical Christmas light shape, but rather a smaller pinpoint of white light. These little tiny lights have a more star in the sky look to them, and are a little brighter than regular Christmas lights. Here at Outer Banks Country Store, we offer both styles of lighting in several different cord lengths and sizes. There are 10 count lights, 20, 35, 50, 100, and in the Rice Lights only, there is a 140 count "dancing strand" of lights. This large strand of lights has several settings for blinking & fading lights to add a little fun!

Back to our Pip Berries, we suggest using our berry candle rings in corresponding colors. Use our 4" berry rings around pillar or jar candles on the tables. If you're not using jar candles, you'll need a drip tray to catch the melting wax. We offer wooden candle trays in different sizes that can be custom painted to match your berry ring colors! Color coordination is definitely the key when decorating for your wedding. We also offer these berry rings in a 2" size. Two inches is the inside diameter of these rings, so they will fit perfectly around a standard votive candle cup. Using votive candles, a lot of them, all over the reception room adds a very romantic, twinkly flair to the occasion. You may want to stay with unscented candles, so as not to overwhelm your guests. Also keep in mind, that lit candles may not be a good idea if there are going to be small children at your wedding. But, these same 2" berry rings are also the perfect size to use as napkin rings! These napkin rings can also become party favors. You can always play a game to see which guest at each table will get to take home the whole set of napkin rings for that table! (For example, passing a napkin around the table while the music plays, and when the music stops, whoever has the napkin gets the prize! Or you could play musical chairs at each table!) But back to the candles, if you're looking for that warm, romantic glow at your reception, without the danger of real, lit candles, try our Battery Operated Wax Pillar Candles. They come in three sizes, 3" x 3", 6" x 3" and 9" x 3". They're made of real wax, but they're battery operated with an LED flame. They have a large, flame shaped tip that even flickers like a real candle! The tip gives off a warm, amber glow. And they're available in lots of different colors. These are a great choice and a heavy, high quality product that you'll be very happy with. And you'll be able to use them again and again! Just replace the battery, which you can get at any department or hardware store.

We also suggest using our Pip berry floral picks to make your centerpiece arrangements. Using coordinating colors, mix & match colors and sizes of our 18" tall and 23" tall berry sprigs. This will add color and depth to your centerpiece. Be sure to choose colors in the same family as the berry garlands and candle and napkin rings you will be using, so the room has a consistent flow to the decor. At Outer Banks Country Store, we also offer plenty of canisters & containers to display your berry centerpieces. If you're getting married in the Spring or Summer, one great suggestion is a garden themed wedding. In which case, we offer unique tin watering cans in a variety of colors that are just the right size for table centerpieces! We also offer tin buckets in so many shapes, sizes & colors, that you'll be sure to find what you're looking for. If you're going for a country or cottage look, you can get creative by using our metal milk cans or pitchers as flower vases.

An exciting new trend in weddings is to offer cupcakes or mini, individual cakes in lieu of, or even in addition to, the wedding cake. We offer what is called a Cupcake Tree for displaying these beautiful little cakes. Again, presentation is everything! Our special occasion, metal dessert tray or "cupcake tree", has 3 circular tiers and is off-white, with little hearts cut out all around the sides. They can be used on the dessert table, or display one in the middle of every dining table, with the number of cakes corresponding to the number of guests at each table. This also makes a wonderful wedding favor at the end of the night. Remember, the idea is to give away something that your guests will get excited about and be sure to use over and over again once they get it home. Gone are the days of the candied almonds and labeled matchbooks. Get creative! Do something that will be remembered for years to come! And remember, creativity doesn't have to be expensive.

See all of our wedding decor at www.outerbankscountrystore.com

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