Cheap Wedding Reception Ideas

With gas prices over $4 a gallon now, good cheap wedding reception ideas are needed to stay within your wedding budget. With a little creativity, you can do just that.

It is possible to have a very nice reception and not spend thousands of dollars on it. Quite a few pages on this site deal with different ideas for creating an inexpensive wedding reception.

First, sit down with creative family members and do some brainstorming. Include your mom, grandmothers, sister, aunts, cousins, anyone who is imaginative and willing to be helpful. Include good cooks and anyone with an artistic flair. Some of these ladies have been to a lot of weddings and will have some great cheap wedding reception ideas for you.

Perhaps one of these ladies is a fabulous baker or cook and can help out with preparing food or even by baking your wedding cake for a low price.

My grandmother baked the most beautiful wedding cake for my mother when she got married. My grandmother's sister created a beautiful wedding veil for my mother. And my grandmother's other sister made some delicious dishes to serve at the reception. Various cousins served the food and helped clean up so her family really came through for her. So be sure to check with your family first.

For more ideas, gather some close friends from school, work, or church for another brainstorming session and see what ideas they can come up with. Most people are happy to share ideas and help with a wedding as it is such a joyous occasion.

You will be amazed at how many will give you helpful advice and how many will offer to help you out as well. Of course, if they help you, you should invite them to the wedding. So don't invite anyone to a brainstorming session if you have no intention of inviting them to the ceremony and reception.

If someone you know has a large yard, maybe out in the country where parking is not a problem, ask if you can have your reception there. Let the owner know that you will take care of all of the decorating, setting up, and cleaning up.

In case of rain, make sure you have a backup plan. For instance, the reception could be held in the property owner's home, a barn (that would have to be cleaned out ahead of time just in case), or you could rent a tent to be brought out and set up if the forecast calls for rain.

Some couples rent a tent and set it up even when the weather is perfect. It can be used for the meal and to keep insects off of the guests and food. Dancing and mingling could still be done outdoors under the stars in the evening.

Renting a tent is also great for keeping the hot sun off of guests if you have an afternoon reception as well. Air conditioning will have to be provided if it is a hot day so be sure and plan for that in your cheap wedding reception ideas budget.

Instead of hiring a band or a DJ, put together a wedding music mixed CD or purchase a wedding music CD at a party store or a wedding supply store. If you choose to make your own, pick out your favorite songs and burn them on several CD's. Choose someone to be in charge of playing and changing CD's during the wedding reception so it goes smoothly.

One of my favorite cheap wedding reception ideas is to borrow furniture. Instead of renting tables and chairs, see if your church or that of a friend will allow you to borrow their tables and chairs. You will need one or two friends with pickup trucks and good backs to transport the tables and chairs and help you set them up.

Make sure you pay them for the gas and provide them with cold drinks during the moving process. Don't forget to make arrangements with them to load up and return the furniture after the wedding as well.