What a great New Jersey wedding Ceremony!

You’ve thought about the ostrich feather centerpieces, ordered your bouquets, and stocked up on dollar store rose petals for your flower girls. But did you think about decorating your ceremony space? Grand cathedrals and gracious mansions may not need (or allow) much decor,but for many couples, the focal point of their New Jersey wedding ceremony (hey, you know I can’t resist a plug, lol…) needs a little ambiance. 

Now, I  know that your budget, whatever it is, is probably shrink wrapped around your wedding day needs already, so I figured I’d call in some expert help for this dilemma.

My colleague Kerry McCullough, was the perfect person to weigh in on how to have a beautiful ceremony space without spending a ton of money. After planning her own wedding, she realized that many other couples faced the same challenge that she did; how to create a memorable and festive celebration without rolling the change in the couch….She started  Maryland Budget Wise Weddings, a great website that helps brides on a budget to plan an affordable wedding in the Maryland area.   But many of her ideas span geography, and here are some that might just work wonders for your own ceremony space.

Making the Most Out of Your Ceremony Décor

You can do yourself a huge favor by selecting a beautiful setting for your ceremony so that you won’t have to over-do it with decorations.  For instance, public parks often have gorgeous gazebos on the water, in the mountains or on a beach.  It is very inexpensive to reserve these areas for a few hours/the day (usually around $100 or less). 

In these types of outdoor settings that have a nice backdrop, you can tie the whole thing together with a simple arch (rent for about $35) and some kind of arrangement to each side of the arch.  I recommend renting 2 plants similar to the ones below (rent a 4-5’ plant for about $30 each)…       

These plants are still tall and dramatic, but cost significantly less than the typical ceremony floral arrangement (usually $75-100 each).  You could also do something as simple as tiki torches with white ribbon around the base of the torch if it’s an evening outdoor wedding.

For the chairs/ pews, consider saving money by only decorating the first few reserved rows and the very last row (what people see when they first walk in).  You can also save a lot by using ribbon instead of flowers.  If you feel like something is missing, just slip one flower or some baby’s breath into the ribbon to give it a little more umph. 

If you are getting married in a church, consider doing it during a religious holiday season like Easter.  The church will be beautifully adorned at no extra cost!  If there is a choir loft, let some children drop silk rose petals on the new couple as they exit the church.  It’s a fun and sentimental extra touch. 

Don’t forget to transfer your flowers/ plants/ chair sashes to the reception so you don’t have to double-buy!

Francine and Michael!  Great couples all.  The first two loomed giant  on the silver screen; Francine and Michael starred in their own romantic flick; their wedding. And truly, how could a wedding be more romantic?  Combining  the expert coordination and decor expertise of Renita Prince, (creator of “Fabulous Weddings on Shoestring Budgets), a beautiful loftspace in Brooklyn, crystal clear skies and and “Old Hollywood theme” would be enough. Adding to the glamour, however, was the fact that the wedding took place on Valentine’s Day weekend, which was also the one year anniversary of the couples’ engagement. Swoon, swoon!

The modern, rustic/chic loft space was transformed with a crimson draped ceiling, mirrored balls and a fabulous ostrich feather arrangement for the bridal table.  The guest tables were graced by more feathers, combined with deep crimson roses for an elegant, sophisticated touch.  Candles everywhere, sparkling glassware and tables namd after famous screen stars completed the atmosphere. 

The ceremony was introduced by a hand shot video that Michael had put together, telling their love story. Then it was my turn to talk about their eighteen year partnership! We quoted passages from the movie, “The Notebook”, and Michael and Francine  read their vows to each other  from an antique velvet bound sketchbook.  We ended the ceremony by inviting their two beautiful children, Mikey (who was dressed in classic “40’s newsboy garb, right down to his  cap!) and Waverly to be part of a “sand pouring”.  Each color of sand symbolized their individual personalities, and the patterned vessel represented their lives blended together as a family.

After we did the “I DO’s”, the party started! From the first sip of their signature sangria to the last crumb of Renita’s incredible cake (topped with silk lovebirds), the evening was a rousing party; the perfect celebration for these Valentines!

(Oh, and you’ll all get to have a peek too; this wedding is going to be featured on TLC’s brand new show, “Four Weddings” this spring. I’ll keep you posted!

There is just so much fun stuff here, I just don’t know where to begin!  With the pencils, I guess!  The pencils are from Social Designer; a company that, by their own description, “curates and creates smart products that tune into the greater good”. This particular product is a subscription that will bring you 25 different,  fantastic colored pencils ever month for 20 months. Yes, that’s 500 different colors and they are indescribably beautiful! 

Now that would be fun enough by itself, for anyone lucky enough to get them as a gift of adventurous enough to buy them for ourselves, but it gets much better.  My colleague Lea Redmond, who owns a totally fun company called Leafcutter Designs  has designed a wildly cool project using these magnificent pencils. And I was lucky enough to be chosen as a participant.  And you all are going to be dubiuosly lucky enough to be part of it too, since I’ll be blogging about it every month!

Each month, she will be sending out 150 colored pencils and the 150 of us who get them will be writing with them, about them, about the inspiration each romantically named color gave to us.  And then she’ll post them on her blog.  It could only be more fun if there were chocolate involved….but…wait…there MUST be a pencil named “Chocolate!”

Here is my first month’s post, written with  a pencil named “Liz”;

Your wedding is going to be just as personal and unique as you are, so why shouldn’t your invitations give your guests a little clue as to just how great the day is going to be? A fabulous, hand created invitation from Christine and her great company, “Take it Personally by Christine”.  Her customized designs can incorporate your theme, your colors or your quirks, insuring that your invitation will be like no other!

A long time graphic designer, she got finessed into helping with her sister’s bachelorette invitations. Well, of course the expectations were over the top, and she knew she had to wow everyone…but little did she know that in addition to helping launch a new couple, she’d be launching a new business!  Her business has grown in all kinds of happy directions!  Now, in addition to wedding and shower invitations, Christine designs baby shower invites, birth announcements, birthday party invites and graduation announcements, so you could be friends for a long long time!  And what a great friend to have!  And as if that weren’t enough of a reason to visit her site, she’s running some great specials if you order by the end of February.  It’s a short month, so go there RIGHT NOW! You’ll be able to cross “order invitations” off your list!

?  I  do!  And if we’re working together on your wedding, you answers will help us shape the most important part of your wedding day; your ceremony.   Here are some of the things that I’ll want to know!

How and when did you meet?

What made you realize that your fiance was THE ONE?

Tell me about your proposal experience!

What does he or she do that you find totally adorable? Totally infuriating?

What does he or she do that makes you laugh ?

What are your hopes and dreams for your life together?

What does it mean to have your friends and family at your wedding?                                                        

Heavy lifting!  But great fodder for thought, and the answers find are sure to give you more insight into your relationship. Never, ever a bad thing!

or anything else that is meaningful to you! You don’t have to recess from your ceremony through a tunnel of crossed swords; you can have an archway of anything that is meaningful to you! Your “sword bearers” need to be seated on the aisle, and they need to know the last words of your ceremony so they can rise and cross implements!

Let’s see; could be tennis rackets, golf clubs, chefs’ knives, whisks, slide rules, rakes…….I can hear ya thinking!!!

What a sweet, intimate wedding! From the minute I arrived, Shelita and Derrick’s gathering treated me like I was one of the family! It was a wonderful, personal moment, and the perfect way to start a new year! A new marriage and their move to a new house! All the excitement that they deserve!

See more reviews of Celia Milton, Celebrant on Project Wedding.

Is frightening, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great time to have a wedding! Winter typically means lower rates for your wedding venue and sometimes the professionals that will be doing your flowers, photography, and music. We get lonely in the winter; we yearn to see other human faces and leave our respective buildings!

Winter presents you with wonderful opportunities for color themes,(white, silver, blue, snowflakes; you get the picture…), musical selections (”Baby it’s Cold Outside”, “Let it snow”, etc…), the welcoming aroma of hot cider or chocolate when your guests enter your wedding space. It gives your New Jersey Wedding Officiant (shameless plug alert) a chance to talk about winter as a time of contemplation and the subtle signs that the rebirth of spring is on the way. It provides your guests with a delightful break from the zen like quiet (okay, okay, I’m an optimist; maybe the grey slushy mess) that happens in this stretch before April will EVER show up!

                                  So go buy those bridal white snowboots, reserve the four wheel drive white Jeeps, and make those plans!