wedding ceremony, wedding-planning-101.com

Are you ready to walk down the aisle with style?

So often we talk about how to plan your wedding reception, from centerpiece ideas, chair backs to favors and food.  But aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?

Before you can enjoy a fabulous evening of family, friends and festivities celebrating your new union in marriage, you need to get through the wedding ceremony.  The ceremony is your day’s main attraction, what everyone came to see.  Here’s how you can make it look good.

The wedding ceremony venue is important in determining your décor.  You want your wedding theme to be carried through each part of your wedding from the ceremony and into the following reception.  For wedding ceremonies taking place in a church most likely décor will be a bit more traditional, with pew and altar floral arrangements, aisle runners, bouquets and boutonnieres for the bridal party. If your ceremony is taking place outdoors or indoors banquet venue you might have a little more room to wiggle in some different stylish touches in your aisle decorations, floral arrangements and accessories for the bridal party.

Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to add some style to your wedding ceremony from the traditional ceremony décor to a few fun ideas that will mix it up.  Armed with a couple DIY wedding projects and tips you can get a great look without a huge dent into your wedding budget.  Music to any bride and groom’s ears.

pomander chair back, theknot.com

The Prelude

Set the stage for the main attraction, let’s talk aisle décor.  Silk flowers make gorgeous and affordable accents for ceremony chairs or aisle pew markers.  Consider using any of our fall or winter DIY chair backs to fit your wedding theme.  Pomander or kissing silk floral balls also make an easy and beautiful accent with out any prep work or time.  They are available in a variety of colors from tangerine orange to traditional red roses;  save by ordering them in bulk they run around $7-$10 a piece.

Thursday’s how to post featured two different DIY wedding aisle runner ideas, maybe not the first DIY wedding project you might think of.  But making your own aisle runner will add some style and personal touches also saving you possibly $50-$60 or more.   Finish the backdrop of your ceremony decor with floral arrangement around your altar.

bridesmaids, austinweddingblog.com

Act I

Who’s up to start the ceremony before the bride takes her fairytale walk down the aisle?  The bridal party.  Make them look good with the right accessories and special touches.  A traditional look for bridesmaids will be matching dresses and small clutch bouquets.  Make sure to have arrangements set for fittings well in advance of your wedding date so there are no last minute surprises.  Pre-made silk flower bouquets are the perfect accessory for bride’s maids and hassle free.  Ordering in bulk will save you even more money.  Give them a finished look by adding satin ribbon or Velcro bouquet wraps.

If you want to break from tradition and mix up your bride’s maid’s look try something fun like the picture shown, brightly colored leggings in various colors will catch everyone’s eye.  The same guidelines pertain to the groom’s men’s look, remember back to Jillenne’s wedding we loved the men’s blue chuck taylors that matched the blue wedding theme.  Way to add a fun quirk that will make guest smile and show off some personal style.

flower girl sash, marthastewart.com

Other members of the bridal party to think of are your flower girls and ring bearers.  These little participants can’t be left out when it comes to planning their wedding look.   While the flower girl will have her hands busy with a basket of petals she still needs her own flower to match the bride’s maids.  Pick a larger silk floral bloom and make this cute DIY flower girl sash to add to her look.  Another great DIY wedding project from marthastewart.com an announcement banner to walk down the aisle announcing the start of the wedding party.

white orchid bridal bouquet, afloral.com

Act II

In act II all eyes are on you.  Next to your dress guests will be eyeing your bridal bouquet.  Take the time to design the perfect arrangement that will add a pop of color and style to your look.  Build a bouquet will give  you choose ideas for the type of silk flowers and accents like ribbon or stem wraps, don’t forget little touches like jeweled or feather sprays and bouquet brooches.  Once you’ve got your bouquet flowers set carry the look over into your groom’s look.  Refer back to our easy DIY boutonniere post to make your own groom and groom’s men’s boutonnieres.  A little time on this project will save you tons of cash with the cost coming out at around $2-$5 a piece.

wedding car tags, theknot.com

Prologue

It’s time to transition from the wedding ceremony to the reception.  Carry over your wedding look and festive mood as guests move from one location to the next.  Whether your reception is a room away or guests have to hop in their cars to get across town send them on their way with a favor from the ceremony.  That’s right break with tradition, who says they can’t get a wedding favor until the reception?  This would work great if your transitioning from an outdoor venue.  In the hot months have available parasols or oriental fans, in the cooler months little wraps for the women to drape around their shoulders.

If your reception venue does require guest to travel provide these great car tags for them to attach to their cars.  This will help keep the wedding party together and lead the way to the reception.

Pulling it all Together within your Budget

From all your ceremony needs into your reception festivities the right DIY wedding projects paired with a few tips and a plan can help you stay within your wedding budget.  Silk flowers are the perfect fit for projects with a bonus they are affordable and yet still beautiful.  Browse through all of afloral.com’s resources like our weekly DIY wedding project posts, wedding design ideas, build a bouquet center and you tube videos to customize your whole wedding look.