Are you planning your first wedding? Are you looking for guidance through the process? Then you’ve come to the right place. Our wedding experts have created articles that will help answer the most pressing and common concerns couples have at this stage of planning. Don’t worry about researching everywhere for the information you need. We’ve made it easy for you.

If you’re struggling to put together a fun and fabulous wedding reception for all of your guests, we’ve got great entertainment and decoration ideas. You’ll also find information on writing and presenting the dreaded wedding reception speech (a good resource for the best man and maid of honor if they are feeling a less nervous about this part).

You’ll also find articles about planning that seating chart for your reception. Even if you’re not at that stage of planning yet, you can probably imagine how difficult it will be to make everyone happy with their seating assignments.

Of course, the reception is only part of the wedding. You definitely don’t want to forget those delightful wedding favors your guests can keep forever as keepsakes, right? Well, we have plenty of articles to help you choose the right favors for your celebration, even if you’re on a tight budget.

Additionally, many of our articles here tackle important etiquette issues. For instance, you’ll find answers about whether or not to include the lighting of a unity candle in your ceremony or whether or not you need a wedding planner. Other articles will help you choose a caterer, pick a theme for your wedding, or purchase the perfect accessories for your beautiful dress.

Remember if you have questions about wedding planning, then we have the answers.

General Wedding Reception Ideas

What is Your Wedding Style? | When you’re planning your fabulous wedding, you want to make it a reflection of your personality. Sure, the groom’s tastes and input is a little important – he should help set the budget and create the guest list, of course. But the wedding day is really about the bride and that’s why the wedding should be a reflection of your style ...

Wedding Guest Books | While you already know who has promised to attend your wedding, that doesn't mean you'll know who all actually did arrive. Plus, you probably want something a little nicer than a box of response cards to remember who shared your special day. That's why a guest book is such an important idea. Like most parts of your wedding, you'll find plenty of choices for ...

Wedding Reception Planning Tips and Advice | Let me start off with a shocking statistic that you probably didn't know: nearly 40% of your entire wedding budget is going to be spent on your reception. That's something you'll want to keep in mind as you are setting the budget for your entire wedding and deciding what you can afford. Now let's talk about how you're going to spend ...

Wedding Reception Decoration Ideas | Wedding receptions are basically just very large, very expensive parties for your friends and family members. Like any party, the decorations do matter. When you first step into your reception location, you may realize it's not a very festive spot, but it's up to you to turn things around and make the place beautiful ...

Wedding Reception Entertainment Ideas | Wedding receptions are like giant parties for all of the most important people in your life. Besides the food and the alcohol, you also need some excellent entertainment to keep your guests from sitting in their chairs and getting bored. You definitely don't want your guests checking their watches after ...

Guide to Wedding Reception Speeches | When you're planning your wedding party, you will obviously be including a best man, maid of honor, plus a few groomsmen and bridesmaids but what about a flower girl and/or ring bearer? The question of whether to place someone in these roles for your wedding is going to be an important one for you to answer if you have young children in ...

Reception Accessories for a Memorable Wedding Reception | Although your ceremony is important, the real treat of any wedding is the reception. After all, it's the largest and most expensive party most of us will ever throw for our friends and family members. And, of course, you want everything to be special starting with the cake. Choosing Your Wedding Cake ...

Sample of Wedding Reception Format | Although booking the vendors and making choices about cakes, menus, and entertainers are critical parts of your reception planning, you can't overlook another vital element: the schedule of events. Even if you're normally a spontaneous person who hates even hearing the word “schedule,” you still need to put one together for ...

Creating Seating Charts for Weddings | Putting together a seating chart is one of the most important – and difficult – parts of planning both your ceremony and your reception. That's why it's a good idea to follow some of the tips below so your seating decisions will be a little easier. Ceremony Seating : Ceremony seating can be pretty straightforward. Traditionally, one side ...

Avoid Wedding Reception Disasters | When you've spent so much time and money planning your wedding reception, the last thing you want to see happen is a disaster that ruins everything – or, at least, seems like it does. The good news is that most common disasters can be averted with a little bit of planning. MIA Entertainment : A reception without entertainment is like ...

Sample of Wedding Ceremony Order | While most of your time and energy will probably be devoted to planning your reception, you can't leave out another important part of your plans: deciding on the order of your ceremony. You'll need to speak with your officiant about his or her suggestions for the order (generally they have more experience on these matters), but ...

Putting Together a Wedding Day Emergency Kit | No matter how much you plan. No matter how much you try to cover all your bases. No matter how well you prepare. There’s a good chance that something may go wrong on your wedding day. The good news is that small problem doesn’t have to explode into a wedding-ruining disaster if you have a done a little preparation for just such a ...

Dealing with Wedding Stress | While a wedding is an incredible and wonderful day, those weeks and months leading up to that phenomenal experience can be full of stress and tension. Sure, stress can be healthy when it makes you give it your all but when it just keeps reminding you about everything you have to accomplish and how little time you have left then it can be disastrous ..

Wedding Etiquette for Everyone in the Wedding Party | Once all the engagement celebrations have died down, you’ve got to get down to the nitty gritty of planning the big event—there are invitations to pick, DJ’s to book, and dresses to be bought among many other things. Your wedding day is yours to cherish forever and you want it to be spectacular. However, it takes a lot of ...

Miscellaneous

Who Pays for the Wedding? | One of the big questions on most couple's minds when they're starting to plan a wedding is who pays for what. After all, a wedding is an expensive event to put together and the costs can be daunting. Today, there are no hard and fast rules about who pays for the wedding. Often families divide up the costs based on what ...

Do You Need a Wedding Planner? | A few decades ago, most weddings were planned by the bride and her family with a little input from the groom and his family. Wedding planning was something private to be handled just by the people who cared most about the event. Today, more and more couples are turning to wedding planners for assistance in putting together ...

Wedding Dances; The Etiquette and Ideas | Although your reception needs to have plenty of time for people to mingle, talk, and do their own thing, you'll also need to set aside time in your schedule for some very important wedding dances. Some of these dances are traditional and are almost always included in the wedding festivities; others are optional and ...

Wedding Candle: The Unity Candle Tradition | Weddings are full of symbolism, but nowhere is this more obvious than with the lighting of the unity candle. However, you may be surprised at how this romantic tradition became part of so many modern weddings. While the tradition's exact origins are not known, experts believe it developed in the ...

Tossing the Bouquet Tradition | One fun part of many wedding receptions is the bouquet toss. The bride gathers all of the single women around her, then she turns her back towards them and throws the bouquet into the anxious crowd. Why might they be anxious? Well, the tradition says the woman who catches the bouquet will be the next to get married and ...

Garter Tossing Do’s and Don’ts | Wedding receptions are often built around a specific schedule of activities, including the first dance and the cutting of the cake. Some of those activities are a little bit more risque than others. The garter toss would definitely be one of them. Tossing the garter is a very old wedding tradition that ...

Choosing Wedding Cake Toppers | Traditionally, wedding cake toppers were just little bride and groom figurines that didn't have much personality. Some of them were made of cheap plastic which just didn't look very good on the tops of gorgeously decorated wedding cakes. The good news is that you can now buy wedding cake toppers in hundreds of styles, particularly ...

Choosing a Wedding Cake to Match Your Wedding Theme | When you've gone to all of the trouble of choosing a theme, creating matching invitations, decorating the reception hall and ceremony location for consistency, and everything else you've done to make your wedding theme stand out, you don't want to have an ordinary wedding cake. Instead, you want to select a cake ...

Understanding the Meaning of Your Wedding Flowers | When you’re planning a wedding, you definitely are faced with numerous decisions. From picking the perfect wedding invitations to finding a delicious wedding cake to hiring entertainment for your reception, all of the details really need to be in place for your special day. One of those important details is picking your wedding flowers ...

Making a Memorable Wedding Toast | Wedding toasts are a fairly common part of receptions. Generally, a guest or member of the wedding party stands, asks for the other guests' attention, says a few words, and asks everyone to drink their champagne in honor of what was just spoken. Toasts are different than wedding speeches in that they are usually much shorter. While ...

A Do-It-Yourself Wedding | With the costs of weddings exceeding the price of a new automobile or the down payment for a home, many couples are finding it harder and harder to stretch their budgets enough to have that dream wedding. Vendors can be expensive as most couples quickly discover. That's why some couples have chosen to have a do-it-yourself wedding ...

Choosing a Catering Company for Your Dream Wedding | Choosing a caterer for your wedding reception is one of the most important decisions you'll be making. The food bill is actually one of the largest reception expenses and can vary greatly from caterer to caterer so does the quality of the food. That's why you'll need to be selective when you're choosing ...

Tips for Cutting the Wedding Cake | Cutting the wedding cake is one of the most anticipated parts of your reception. Sure it may not be the biggest moment for the two of you – that was probably when you said “I do” - your guests will want to see this special moment. Plus, it's definitely one of the events you'll want photographed for posterity ...

Beach Wedding Dresses for the Beach Wedding | Having a beach wedding? Beach weddings are becoming increasingly popular. If sand and surf are where you’re headed for that special day, the big question is, ‘what to wear?’ Of course, a seaside wedding is more casual than a church ceremony. Generally, you can dispense with the ten-foot long train and the long, formal ...

Bridal Advice

Bridal Beauty Advice for the Perfect Wedding Day | One of the most important parts of your wedding is your attire. Because you're going to be the center of attention, you want to look stunning and that begins, of course, with your wedding dress. You probably have a particular wedding dress style in mind already, but remember that the dress ...

Bridal Accessories for the Perfect Wedding Ceremony | While your wedding dress is probably the most important part of your planning for the big event, you'll also need a few other touches to make the entire event seem amazing. Some of these are, of course, optional but do add something special to any wedding ceremony ...

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Modern Wedding Invitation Planning

Choosing the perfect modern wedding invitation, as well as the accompanying wedding stationery, is a difficult decision. There are so many options, styles, and colors to choose from that it’s important to have a plan before you begin shopping for wedding invitations.

Modern Wedding Invitation Elements

It is still best to purchase the main components of your wedding stationery package simultaneously to avoid having your thank you cards delivered, but your wedding invitations backordered. A modern wedding invitation still has enclosures like response cards with envelopes, but can also include items like menu cards, place cards, favor cards, pew cards, and reception cards. Typically, you should choose one overall pattern or design for your wedding stationery to maintain a consistent look.

Remember that even modern wedding invitations need to be mailed at least 6 weeks if not 8 weeks prior to your wedding, especially to out of town or overseas guests. It is important to see a printed sample of your wedding invitation choice prior to ordering, and therefore, you should account for sample printing time. This will ensure your font, ink color, paper color, and any other element you choose look just as you imagine.

Modern Wedding Invitation Design Elements

There are many wedding invitation choices and styles that meet modern expectations and tastes, but it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these terms so you can effectively communicate your wedding invitation desires with the stationer.

In addition to everyday cardstock, linen, and parchment, you’ll have a choice of modern wedding invitation paper, such as:

• Handmade paper like cotton, rag and hemp
• • Industrial paper like corrugated cardboard and brown craft paper for a hip, edgy vibe
• • Jacquard paper that is screen-printed with the illusion of a lace layer over the wedding invitation
• • Opaque overlays like vellum
• • Rice paper, which is thin and elegant, but only accepts letterpress printing

The paper you choose could also be corrugated or exude a torn appearance with a deckle edge.

Your wedding invitations can also feature modern elements such as die cuts, where a shape like a flower or a seashell – depending on your theme – is cut out of an overlay. You can also opt for additional modern features, such as pocket, bi-fold, or z-fold wedding invitation. For a more personal touch, you can have a monogram or design embossed, where the illustration is raised on the wedding invitation to give depth and texture to the wedding invitation.

Modern Wedding Invitation Ideas

A modern trend in wedding invitations is mixing styles for a fresh, unique twist while still maintaining consistency and legibility. For example, you might choose one font for your names and a different font for the rest of the wedding invitation. Be careful not to mix and match too much, as you don’t want your wedding invitations to appear misprinted.

Embrace all your modern wedding invitation choices and embellish with a vellum overlay and chiffon ribbon, or use a deckle edge and handmade hemp paper to give your casual wedding a trendy look. As long as you order your wedding invitations and stationery on time, your modern wedding invitations are sure to impress your guests, as well as make for a treasured keepsake.