GUEST POST from Kelly Trout of One Creative Cookie
Whether you choose an intensely intimate wedding or a no-holds-bared weekend-long celebration with hundreds of friends and family members, the details of your day are often what gives your celebration that special sparkle and truly makes it your own. But what happens when the day is done and so many of those details are now rendered obsolete and must be discarded? Printed materials, venue decorations and party favors are three areas where you, or your guests, may be left wondering “What now?” with the details that were so right and such an integral part of your wedding day plan. To help you think about alternative ways to express yourself and add those details that make your wedding day shine, here are some suggestions for the biggest post-wedding clean-up quandaries:
{Printed Materials} Save some trees!
Printed programs that coordinate perfectly with your invitations are so tempting, but what happens when the ceremony is over and programs are no longer necessary? Individual menu cards are equally lovely, but ultimately have a limited life-span in the overall plan of your wedding.
Forgo traditional printed programs and menus in favor of gorgeous chalkboards! Feeling like a DIY project is in order? Add chalkboard painted panels to salvaged picture frames and windows and embellish them with flourishes and pertinent information. Looking for help? Talented calligraphers, like Jen Maton of If So Inklined, can chalk your wedding program, menu cards, table numbers and so much more in keeping with the theme and style of your invitations!
{Venue Decorations} Plant a tree!
Cut flowers are beyond gorgeous and decidedly have a place in any wedding, but what to do with all of those blooms once they have adorned your wedding? It is always a lovely idea to send them home with friends and family or to donate them to a local hospital, nursing home or women’s shelter, but what if you want something more lasting?
Consider using live in-season flowering plants, trees and herbs that can be relocated to your new abode after the wedding. What a wonderful anniversary remembrance to see a plant or tree that adorned your wedding blooming in your yard year after year. No permanent residence just yet? Herbs can adorn a sunny corner of your kitchen or take this hint from Sherry and Pat of Southern Blooms: “In the spring we often use annual blooming/flowering hanging baskets for aisle decor. These can’t necessarily be planted, but can be enjoyed for their seasonal life-span hanging on a front porch or planted in a planter.”
{Party Favors} Offer a sweet thank you!
Every bride has attended a wedding where there was the perfect party favor…until you got it home and had to find a place for it. And what to do with the extras you ordered to be sure you had enough?
Offer your guests a sweet thank you in the form of an edible favor. Choose a treat that is meaningful to you and your fiancé, a local delicacy, or perhaps a custom treat that carries the theme of your day. One Creative Cookie offers both hand-decorated cut-out cookies and edible icing printed cookies that can carry the theme of your day, celebrate your new monogram or express a shared passion. The best part of an edible treat is that it provides your guests a sweet send-off that they won’t have to find a home for after the wedding…we’re betting that after your great celebration, their treat won’t even last the ride home!
The post It’s All In the Details: 3 Ways to Express Yourself and Reduce Post-Wedding Clean-Up appeared first on Charlottesville Wedding Blog.
