Where can I go to have a cheap but elegant wedding reception? I am very creative and I am willing to do all the decorating myself. I am also looking for a place available for short notice (May 2007), if we have to we will also provide our own food.
We rented a gazebo at a small, local park. We were able to decorate it ourselves and have food delivered and set up as we wanted it. As it was a park, alcohol was not permitted, but we didn't mind this restriction at all. If you do have your reception outside, be sure to consider this when planning your menu and the timing of the cake being delivered. Nobody likes to eat "warm" shrimp cocktail, or have the flowers melting off of the cake!
Alicia.
I am planning our wedding as I write this. We have rented a quality park shelter for our wedding and reception at a reasonable price.
We can have it dawn to dusk at 110.00. Our ceremony will be outside with a arch I bought at Michaels for 9.99 and I went to Walmart for tulle, vining and Ribbon.
My reception will be Indoors mainly with the option of outdoor fun for any children. Indoor shelter is my rainy day back up.
I'm decorating from my local dollar store and Michaels. My colors are pastel blues and lavender. I've bought my tablecloths, plates, cups, plastic ware and anything that is workable from dollar store. At Michaels they have $1 bins and I picked up my ribbons. a lot of my flowers for .59 to .99 each. I made my own bouquet and found favors at Michaels in their clearance bins.
Go budget hunting and you'll be surprised what you can find. In 2 weeks I've spent a whole $50.00 on all my reception ideas using double heart and love as the theme.
We are burning CDs for our own ceremony music and dance music off our computer. Being this is not our first marriage we opted to be very thrifty but elegant and comfortable. Hope these ideas help some.