Say "I do" to a wedding at home
By Lori Steiner
Your wedding. You want it to be perfect. The perfect day. The perfect dress. The perfect location. For many, that perfect location is home. Yes, home. The familiarity and intimacy of your own home can be the ideal place to begin your new, married life.
But remember, this is YOUR day, not a house tour. Focus on the wedding and your guests. Don’t try to redecorate every room in the house. Do you remember whether the walls were paneled or painted at the last wedding you attended? Unlikely. Your focus was on the celebration. Remember that as you prepare for your big day.
Start with your guest list and make room for the festivities! Move your living room furniture to the basement or garage so you can accommodate chairs, flowers and your guests. Arrange for a tent in the backyard in case of rain.
Address a few essential details:
Parking – let a valet company handle parking.
Bathrooms – consider renting additional facilities. You can add flowers on the counters and wedding bells hung from the doors.
Neighbors -- either invite them or make sure they understand that there will be lots of cars and music (or to them, noise).
Now that the basics are out of the way, the fun begins. Pick a theme – elegant, earthy, or dramatic. Select a color scheme and start with the flowers. Elegance can be created with lots of white – flowers, candles, chair covers. Earthy evokes jam jars filled with daisies and lavender bundles and baskets tied with ribbon. Dramatic brings out gemstone colors – ruby red, emerald green, cobalt blue. Let your imagination go but decide where to save and where to splurge.
Clear glass vases filled with blossoms can be clustered throughout the room. Create an aisle with rose petals. Decorate the chairs with sprays of roses and white ribbon.
If it’s an evening wedding, lead guests to your front door with luminaries. Simply pour sand into white paper bags, nestle a votive candle inside each bag, and light. The glow will be magical.
You deserve it. It’s your wedding. It’s your home.
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