Need Christmas wedding reception ideas!

[aellos]

So I'm having a Christmas wedding THIS DECEMBER.
Yes I know, sooon.
But it's going to be a very simple wedding.
And cheap.
We basically are only doing an actual wedding because we get the church and reception hall free.
And the ceremony will already be decorated because they decorate with tons of poinsettas at that time of year.

But I still need table/reception hall decoration ideas. Especially center pieces.
And I need to do it on a very poor budget!

So I need brainstorming help! I'm checking out pinterest and all the like.

And just because I love showing things off- my wedding dress: http://www.unique-vintage.com/sale-unique-vintage-something-borrowed-ivory-floral-pearl-swing-dress-p-12174.html

[MikeysGrrrl]

Pretty dress Congrats on your upcoming nuptials, very exciting!

I love smaller low budget weddings personally, I think there's something so romantic about all the DIY touches that are front and center in weddings and receptions like that.

Some ideas that come to my mind are paper flowers, vases with ornaments and pinecones in them, tree trimming beads with an ornament on the ends to decorate along the wall or head table front, garland, twinkling lights

Here are some links below to some of the ideas
Ornament filled vases
http://www.oneperfectroom.com/2010/12/christmas-vignette.html
paper flower                     
http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2009/07/09/topping-it-off/   
Wedding themed ornaments
http://www.occasionsonline.com/christmas-ornaments-turn-wedding-decor/                   

[kaoskat]

I have no advice, but that dress is beautiful! Congrats and good luck!

[NoDivision]

I love the look of ornament filled vases, I was going to suggest that It can be done pretty cheaply. The vases don't all have to match, so scour your local thrift store, and dollar stores often have a lot of cheap glassware. Maybe a few different sized pieces on each table. And ornaments can certainly be budget friendly, too. Add a few candles and some little touches of greenery and I think that would be a really nice centerpiece. We used to get evergreen boughs cheaply from places that sell Christmas trees. A lot of places are happy to sell the pieces that they trim off of the trees for very cheap, or just give them to you.

Maybe some paper doily snowflakes? http://slugsontherefrigerator.com/paper-doily-snowflakes/ I love making paper snowflakes so I might be a bit biased, heh. But starting with paper doilies saves a lot of cutting and gets a nice intricate look.

[melodys_angel]

That's a beautiful dress

Try maybe a few white flowers and stones inside a glass container with a bit of water?  Simple and effective

[GazeboMouse]

White, gold and red petals/confetti/cut out paper circles scattered can look pretty too.
(If you can stretch to it, it's nice to put a disposable camera on each table so guests can take pics of each other too! We didn't think to do this at our wedding, and there were people who were there but who didn't appear in our formal wedding photos! Umpteen years later we don't have pictures at all of some of our old friends)

[Kiwi]

Sounds like some really neat ideas. You may want to check out Pinterest (when you have a couple hours to spare, that site is addictive).

I definitely agree with the disposable cameras on the tables. We found (I believe) a 5-pack of cameras at Michael's for a reasonable price (don't remember how much now). A couple of those gave us one for each table, plus an extra to use at home in the morning and the rehearsal the night before. Plus you don't have to actually get them developed - you can get them transferred to CDs (we did it at Walmart), so you can see what pics came out and pick and choose what you want to print. That saved us a lot.

[Kaeldre]

Cute dress and gratz on your upcoming wedding!

A big decorated Christmas tree for guests to place their gifts under!   Maybe make the ornaments on said tree escort cards?  Home-made gingerbread men cookies as place cards?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

A snow cream and ice cream reception bar!