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Have young guests feel important by having them ring their bells to
announce your arrival at the reception.
Have a wandering violinist play love ballads during the receiving line.
Pamper your guests while they wait in the receiving line. Have a prettily decorated bowl of punch
set up nearby. Instruct your catering manager to have the wait staff serve tiny hors d'oeuvres to
those standing in line, along with cocktail napkins printed with your names.
Have a hilarious slide show of your and your fianc 's family histories running in a dark corner
throughout the receiving line segment of the reception.
Make your grand entrance into the reception to a trumpet fanfare (live or recorded), or have the
best man announce your entrance and lead a round of applause.
Ice sculptures are back and looking beautiful as the finishing touch to a buffet or bar or posing as
a unique punch bowl or service platter. Picture a giant ice clam shell filled with raw oysters on the
half shell, or a swan bearing a bounty of fruit. Some suppliers will customize the sculpture by
freezing flowers, greenery, or whatever your whim dictates, within the ice.
An easy trick to enhance a punch bowl is to float ice cubes with a rosebud or other edible flower
frozen in the center of each. The '90s host always offers enticing alternatives to alcoholic
beverages. Sophisticated options include the new non-alcoholic wines and beers, as well as
flavored sparkling waters.
For a truly personalized cake topper, make yourselves the tiny bride and groom. Have a
photograph taken in whatever costume you feel is appropriate: your wedding clothes, your
favorite sports clothes, etc. Mount the photo on stiff craft paper, then cut out the figures. Have
fun selecting a backdrop for your cake topper: a paper house, a toy car, doll's furniture, or a spray
of flowers.
Crisply starched Battenburg lace napkins (surprisingly inexpensive and available at many gift
stores) add a graceful touch to the head table. Have the table setters fold the napkins into a fan or
lily shape so that their lacy edges stand up.
During the cocktail reception, consider having a professional mime amuse guests while they enjoy
drinks and appetizers.
Make inexpensive, original place cards out of home-made cookies, each iced with a guest's name.
Consider gingerbread men and women, or heart and bell shapes iced in your wedding colors.
For a regal touch at each place setting for your dinner reception, make napkin-rings from lengths
of ribbon, looped and then sealed with a daub of wax impressed with your initials. Stamps and
sealing wax are available at most stationery stores.
Specialty rubber stamps depicting charming Victorian illustrations, often available at arts and
crafts supply or toy stores, are great for decorating place cards, menu cards, or table-assignment
cards.
An update on table assignments: instead of using numbers, identify each table with the title of a
love song or a line from a poem.
Keep the mood light at an informal wedding reception by decorating tables with balloon
sculptures, the kind that clowns create from long, thin balloons.
Make the gift table look special by setting a display of family wedding portraits at one end.
Include portraits of both sets of your parents and grandparents, if you can. Place small folded
cards in front of each portrait, calligraphed with the names of each couple and their wedding date.
Before the toasts start, introduce each member of the wedding party with an anecdote or rhyme.
A touching way to honor your parents is to serve them the first slices of your wedding cake
yourselves, before having the cake cut up by the caterer to serve to guests.
Place a colorful square of cloth at each reception table place-setting and a few fabric pens on each
table. Ask guests to sign the squares, then use them to create a one-of-a-kind wedding wish quilt.
Add a personal touch to the place settings of the bride and groom with monogrammed goblets, or
share a two-handled loving cup as the French do (for toasts only!)
Make the bride's chair special with a garland of greenery and flowers or a swag of tulle and
ribbons.
Research local party rental and display suppliers for striking reception decoration ideas. Lattice
arches, chair covers, live trees, and giant silk floral arrangements are a few of the exciting options
available to rent, at surprisingly affordable prices.
A thoughtful touch for thirsty guests is to place two or three bottles of water at each table.
Provide a selection of sparkling and still types. Tie a ribbon around the neck of each bottle.
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