Must haves and must not haves

I found it helpful

I'm team small BP too!

Yes and my FH's brother!

It is super considerate of you to think of that of yur friends Is your MOH your only bridal party?

Thanks Kaytee! I wasn't sure if anyone would read something so long, but I thouht is might be helpful for anyone else trying to narrow things down.

Hey Melissa,This list is great!!!! Although I don't have anything on not have Lol I want it all!!! In all honesty, one thing I didn't want was a huge bridal party! Im getting married a bit older than most of you, and alot of my friends are married already with kids so I didn't want to ask them to shell out all this money, when I know they have bills to pay.

It was a great read

HI Karen!

I am so happy you went sooooo far back and found my post!

I actually have not had my wedding yet (June!).

Our plan is to begin our reception at 7:30pm. I have also worded my invites to make it clear that hors-d'oeuvres will be served, and not a sit down meal. We are hoping our guests will understand the meaning and eat dinner, due to the time of our reception....but we are planning on LOTS of food in case!

I read that about 12 pcs count as a meal replacement- and that seems low to me, but we are not trying to replace a meal. In a before dinner reception 3-4 pcs per person are usually budgeted. So we are going middle of the road and counting on 6-7 pcs a person. We have to order by the dozen, so we will round up depending on attendance.

We are also going to have a simple pasta bar later in the night when everyone has been drinking, because empty tummies and booze don't mix! I'm not totally set on details of this yet, but I would like to have two or three sauces and some toppings like peppers and chicken to add.

My venue will serve alcohol until 2 am, and closes out at 2:30. I'm not sure I think that everyone will be there that late, I expect things will die down between 12-1am....but I'll still be dancing!!!

Hello!

I know you posted this a while ago but I was hoping you could maybe give advice since you managed to figure it out

You mentioned that the dancing part of your wedding was very important to you, and this is one of my personal priorities as well! Our mutual priorities is the food and making sure our guests are well fed! How did you manage to make sure that everyone was fed for a night of dancing? (May I ask how late your reception lasted?)

Because of our very tiny budget for our guest list, the best option for us is probably a cocktail reception with tons of hors-d'oeuvres, but I don't know how many hos-d'oeuvres we should serve per person. Any advice on that? I am trying to look at different catering menus and seeing what would be best prior to asking the caterers' advice.

Thank you in advance!!!

Karen

Baking can be quite calming and fun!

I'm not a pro- but I can make pretty things of they are simple!
My mom is trying to talk me out of doing mine, because she thinks it will be too much work. ....but I'm going to ignore her. I am taking a few days off before the wedding, so the day before will be baking day. And I'm quite efficient.....it's an enjoyable hobby for me. I think it might help calm me down (I'm sure I'll be stressed by then)

We havn't decided on a hotel yet but we have 3 that are in walking distance from our reception hall as well which is perfect for us and other out of town guests! A limo would be nice in reality but so much extra money that can be spent on other things! That is awesome that you are making your own... My mom owned a bakery but she didn't specialize in wedding cakes and I didn't get any of her talent when it comes to decorating cakes. I can bake some wonderful things... Ask me to decorate and forget it LOL.

Totally hear you on the Limo! We are just arranging town cars to pick up and drop off when needed for our group! The hotel is walking distance from our reception venue, so no issues there. A limo is a big expense for just a few hours, most of which you won't need them!

I'm also with you on the cake- I'm making my own, because I can. I've done several weddings before, so I know that this is feasible for me....and only one tier to cut with cupcakes to serve! I dont expect cake to taste great after being frozen for a year, so I'll make an anniversary cake fresh when the time comes!

Must Haves:

A good photographer to capture all the important moments of the day. We love looking back on photos and memories and this will be one of the most important days of our life so I want it captured beautifully
A good DJ & MC. I want to have a party at night with everyone on the dance floor. Also in general music plays a big role in my life and so I want the night to be filled with great music!
Make-up artist & hair stylist! I wear makeup (really only mascara).... But I don't want to look how I always do on my special day and so a professional will really help make me look elegant. I also suck at doing hair. It is either down and straight or its up in a bun after I have just gotten out of the shower!
Late night lunch. I must have a late night lunch because if guests are drinking, I want them to be eating as well so they aren't drinking on an empty stomach and the food can soak up some of the alcohol.
Cash bar. We must have a cash bar because it saves me a TON of money! Also I feel that the wedding guests will be more controlled this way and won't drink too much and get stupid or so hammered you black out and such. I just want a good time but nothing too crazy!

Must not haves:

A Limo... We don't need to pay the extra money to have a limo for just a couple of hours. We will be renting a nicer vehicle for the day as our car usually has a lot of construction workers in it.
Open bar... Already explained why we want a cash bar. I just can't afford to pay for open bar and don't want people going to crazy or wild!
A multi-tier cake. We are just having a nice one tier cake for us to cut and then cupcakes (3 different flavour options) for the guests. People always tell us we need to get 2 tiers because its tradition to save your 2nd tier for your first honeymoon and then you eat it together. I am not a huge cake fan to begin with and my fiance doesn't care for sweets and desserts. It would likely go to waste and I don't see the point in spending extra money to add another layer of cake.

We are hoping to book the Toronto Music Garden for our ceremony- the permit restrictions require us to wait until Nov. 1 to book! I'm not a patient person and I'm getting antsy to book the site! If that doesn't work there are a lot of parts around the have great views and scenery- we want tohave the city skyline and nature around us. We really love the city we live in!

I promise i'll post a picture soon- I just never take any!

AGREED!! It's a good day if I remember to put on eyeliner and that's all. And while I am good with my hair, I'd rather have something special I can't do just any ol' day! Hair and makeup... definitely a must-have for me!

Hi Melissa

I love your idea of must have, maybe have, and must not have I think it's a great way to establish your priorities and like you said, stay within budget.

I love your idea of having your ceremony in a park! What kind of park will it be? Is this where you will also have your sit-down dinner?

I'm glad you're creating all these discussions in the community! It would be great to be able to recognize you with a picture of yourself! I can't wait to see what discussions you'll start next!

I'm looking forward to see your decoration ideas for your venue!

I think hair and make-up artist is a must have for me. I don't wear make-up during the week at all and on week ends usually just lipstick, I wouldn't even know where to begin. Same thing with my hair during the week its always in a ponytail or half up half down. I wanted something glamourous for our wedding