1. Don't rely on your friends to set-up the wedding decor day of the wedding, even if you are 3 peas in a pod. Many brides make this mistake. Their friends listen to the sagas and the woes of the bride, and the emotional impulse to help becomes an offer. Yet, what the bride doesn't realize is that her friends don't actually mean they can help the day of the wedding; the day they have spent big bucks for the flight, their outfit, the present, and so forth. What happens if the friends run out of time when getting ready and don't get to the decorations?
2. Don't do everything yourself, especially the week of the wedding. Cutting your budget is important, but make sure you realize the consequences before you oust the paper company and get stuck gluing and printing 200 menus, 200 programs, and 200 place cards, the night before the wedding. Check with your wedding planner for sound advice in ways to trim your budget.
3. Order more alcohol than necessary. Alcohol is one of the most surprisingly expensive, yet important items of a wedding. It is also a great way to say, "thank you for coming to our wedding, please enjoy a few drinks on us." A good formula to use is 2 drinks per person, per hour. If your guests aren't huge drinkers, shrink this down to 1.5 drinks per person, per hour. For example, if cocktails start at 5pm and the reception ends at 11pm and you have 100 guests, allow for 1,200 beverages. This seems exorbitant, but can you imagine running out of alcohol at 9pm when the band has 2 more hours of stage time? Your guests will begin to pieter out leaving you on the dance floor by yourself.
4. Be wary of floating candles and flowers in the pool. If your site has a pool, pond, or some sort of body of water, you may want to just leave it be. Floating candles and flower arrangements tend to either blow out, topple over, or cluster in the corner. They may look pretty at first, but wait until you see your pictures and they look like dark, peculiar blobs in the background.
5. Don't allow open mic for speeches. Drunk slurs and emotions never make for good speeches. Leave the speeches to the best man, maid of honor, and parents. Let your guests write their endearing thoughts in your guest book.
6. Check with the venue before scattering petals and confetti. Petals and confetti can make for an intense mess and an even more intense clean-up. Before coming across the "extra fees" section of your bill, consult with the venue coordinators.
7. Avoid soup for plated meals. Even if you are having a winter wedding, soup is a bad idea. By the time the service staff serves all 200 guests their bowl of soup, it is beyond luke warm. Stick to salads, appetizers, and other 'easy to carry' items.
The Knot's pick of best outdoor sites features the Redwood Grove at the UC Botanical Gardens. This place is beautiful ~ the tall redwood trees create a very magical and romantic setting while the amphitheater creates an atypical but intimate ceremony site. We coordinated Christine and Tom's wedding here last August. Everything from the floral arrangements to the voluptuous redwoods was stunning and caught the guests by surprise.
