• Guests will begin to arrive up to 30 minutes early and up to 10 minutes late

Reception

• Guests will begin to arrive up to 30 minutes early and up to 10 minutes lateReception

• Guests will begin to arrive up to 30 minutes early and up to 10 minutes lateReception
• Have your meal, speeches, cake cutting & first dance one after another so you don't have to keep getting everyone's attention throughout the night
• Reception lines can take a long time - mingle with guests at their tables instead

Comfort

• For the bride, take a pair of comfortable shoes for the reception - they're there if you need them
  

Bride's Emergency Kit

Health

  Prescription medication
  Panado
  Bandaids

• Beauty
  
    Dusting powder
    Tissues
    Bobby pins
    Baby powder (spills on a white dress - dab with water and then baby powder)
    Hairspray
    Brush or comb
    Clear nail polish (for runs in stockings)
• Attire
  
    'Throwaway' garter
    Spare buttons
    Comfy shoes
    Spare stockings
    Safety pins
    Sewing kit
    Sewing tape (for ripped hems).
    White chalk (temporarily hides stains and marks)

• Misc
  
    Directions to reception
    Phone numbers of all service providers
    Safety pins (for corsages if required)
    Mobile or change (for emergency calls)
    List of to-do's
    CHAMPAGNE & glasses!

Misc

• The bouquet and garter catchers
  
    To add a bit of entertainment to the bouquet and garter throwing, have the lady who caught the bouquet sit on a chair while the guy who caught the garter puts in on her leg. This works really well with the right sort of music in the background.
    Another alternative to the garter toss is to blindfold the groom and have all the single female guests sit with one leg in the air. The groom then picks a leg and puts the garter on it.
  
  
• Kiss for a Charity
  
    At some weddings, the bride and groom kiss only when guests clap, or tap a glass, or toast.  Instead, select a charity and kiss only when a donation has been made to the charity in a jar supplied by the bridal couple.
  
  Giving Away
  
    If your father plays a musical instrument, have him play as you enter the church while your mother walks you down the aisle.  This includes both parents in the ceremony.
  
  Flower for Mum
  
    After her father has given the bride away, it is a sweet and sentimental gesture for the bride to turn and give her mother a flower from the bouquet as well as a kiss on the cheek.
  
  Doves
  
    As the couple exit the church or complete their vows at a garden ceremony, doves are released as a symbol of their love.
  
  
• Butterflies
  
    Butterflies can also be released at the end of the ceremony instead of doves.
  

Decorating

• Table centrepieces
  
    A really neat idea for table centrepieces is to buy tinted brandy balloons, fill them with flowers and place a candle in the middle. Other ideas for centrepieces are floating candles or floating flowers in a shallow dish. Remember that it's illegal for florists to arrange candles in flowers.
  
  
• Punchbowl Decorating
  
    To make the punchbowl more festive, freeze a silk flower into some ice and float it in the punchbowl.  You can also freeze the flower into some punch so as it melts, the punch is not watered down.
  
  
• Photographs
  
    Display pictures at the reception of the bride and groom.  Some growing up, others together, others even with their bridal party.
  
  
• Balloons Etc
  
    Go to a wholesale party store to purchase large amounts of balloons, etc.
  

Memories

• Cameras on Tables
  
    A great idea which is becoming very popular is to supply a disposable camera on each of the tables at the reception for the guests to take their own photos. This way you will get all the action that the formal photographer did not. Attach a little note to each camera so that the guests know what they are for. For some ideas on what to say, have a look at our camera poems page.
  
  Guest Book Alternatives
  
    Have a photo from your engagement blown up and framed with an extra wide border around the picture. Guests can write their personal notes on the border with gold or silver pen.
    Have a wedding banner which is placed over the entrance to the reception. Half way through the reception, pull it down and have all the guests sign it.
    Take polaroids of the guests as they enter.  Then place the polaroid on a page in the book.  Have the guests sign around their own picture.  That way, when the bride and groom go back to look at their guestbook, with each signing they also get to see a picture of the guests - making it more memorable
    Frame the invitation with a large mat around it.  Have the guests sign this instead.
    Give each guest a piece of material with their invitation and have them write with a permanent marker or embroider a message.  Have these returned before the wedding to be sewn together.  This can then be hung at the reception and later used as a chair cover or hung at home.
  
• Wedding Portrait
  
    Use a piece of wedding wrapping paper as the mat for your portrait.
  

Dances

• "Snowball Dance"
   
    This is a dance which will probably have to be explained by the DJ/MC so everyone has the right idea. It starts with just the bridal couple dancing on the dance floor. After about 20-30 seconds they split up and grab a partner each. They dance for a while and then split to find new partners. Eventually, all the guest are on the dance floor.
  
  
• Bridal Waltz
  
    For a really personal touch, have your bridal waltz written by a song writer.
  

Budgeting

• Wedding Brunch
  
    If you are a little tight on money but still want a nice reception, instead of dinner, serve brunch.
  
  
• Wedding cake
  
    A great idea to save money is to serve the wedding cake as dessert. You can also have the baker make a second cake and keep it in the kitchen for cutting up. This way you get get to keep your original.
  

Breaking With Tradition

• Birdseed
  
    Substituting birdseed for rice is much more healthy for the birds.
  
  Bubbles
  
    Bubbles are a new alternative to throwing confetti or rice at the bride and groom as they exit the reception. The bubble concentrate is specifically made for wedding purposes because they don't have any dyes found in normal bubbles. This can create a spectacular moment as the couple exit the church.
  
  Wedding Bells
  
    Hand out small bells tied together with ribbon that match the wedding.  These can be rung as the couple leave the church.
  
  Garter Toss
  
    For a bit of entertainment, blindfold the groom.  Have the bride and bridesmaids put their leg out and then have the groom try and choose his wife's leg for the garter toss.
  
  
• Bilingual Vows
  
    Couples are now exchanging their vows in two languages.  If he is French, he speaks his in French while she may speak hers in English.
  

Guests

• Receiving Line
  
    Instead of a receiving line, when the bride and groom leave the church at the end of the ceremony, go back inside and let the guests out row by row, greeting them and thanking for coming as you do so.
  

Bridal Party

• Flower Boys
  
    If you don't have a little girl to be flower girl but have a little boy, make him both ring bearer as well as flower boy.  Fill a top hat with petals that he can scatter down the aisle and attach the rings to this.  This way he can perform both duties at once.