The Budget: $5,000
Relaxed Outdoor Romance (Guests: 50)
Great Grilling: “Serve delicious barbecue fare cooked over an open pit. Menu items to include: steak, ribs, chicken, salads and farm-fresh vegetables like corn on the cob, green beans, split peas and artichokes.”
Down-Home Drinks: “Serve wine in old-fashioned decanters. Also offer spiked lemonade, iced tea and water. Use big galvanized tubs to hold ice and bottles of beer.”
Step Lively: “Book a bluegrass group to provide lively music. Gather your guests for a home movie or photo collage of yourselves presented against a crisp white bed sheet.”
Decadent Desserts: “Have an enormous cheesecake topped with seasonal fruits. Or serve a big ice cream cake.”
Budget Breakdown
Food/drinks:$2,000
Cakes:$600
Tables/flowers:$640
Linens:$320
Bluegrass group:$850
Bouquet:$50
AV equipment for movie:$50
Total: $4,510
Swanky Cocktails & Comfort Food (Guests: 60)
“You can transform a restaurant, community hall or the party room of a nightclub into a fantastic setting for a glamorous cocktail soiree,” says Samantha Goldberg of Gold Events in Chester, New Jersey. “To achieve a light, airy feeling, work with a palette of sky blue, raspberry and ivory. Give tables a standout look with arrangements of blue hydrangeas, burgundy-hued flowers and white orchids. Place the blooms in square vases with submersible floral lights for a warm, glowing look (flowersandsupplies.com). Complete the table with a collection of six votive candles in varying sizes.”
Best Bites: “For the biggest impact, think small. Serve an assortment of comfort finger foods like mini Angus burgers, chicken satay, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup in shot glasses, petite macaroni and cheese casseroles, tiny sandwiches from the carving station and classic pigs in a blanket. Have the wait staff pass these treats until it’s time for dessert.”
Signature Sips: “In addition to an open bar, stocked with alcohol and mixers purchased by you, choose a few signature cocktails. Consider the season when making your choices. An apple-cinnamon martini is ideal for autumn, for example, while a raspberry champagne cocktail is tasty any time of year.”
Dance Party: “For $500, you can book a DJ for five hours. Have him play tunes that get everyone dancing!”
Cake Cutting: “Skip the traditional cake in favor of individual mini cakes in your wedding colors. You can also have the wait staff circulate with trays of penny candy and dainty desserts like tiny tarts or bite-size brownies or blondies.”
Budget Breakdown
Food/drinks:$3,000
Cakes:$100
Flowers:$300
Linens:$200
DJ:$500
Favor/donation:$300
Venue rental fee:$600
Total: $5,000
The Budget: $10,000
Sophisticated City Brunch (Guests: 75)
“Lots of great city restaurants have adorable backyard patios you can rent,” says Tina LaMorte of Oh So Fabulous in Maywood, New Jersey. “To complement a summer brunch reception, work with a crisp, fresh color palette of brown, yellow and white. Dress your tables in white linens and finish them with yellow polka-dot ribbon laid out in a grid pattern. Use the same yellow ribbon to tie a hand fan to the back of each guest’s chair. Arrange clusters of daisies in old-fashioned jars, tied with white eyelet ribbon. Place three jars on each table and surround them with tons of frosted white votives. String white eyelet paper lanterns along the top of the area.”
Brunch Bash: “Serve comfort foods like Eggs Florentine, crepes, cold pasta dishes and a cold soup like gazpacho. Have a meat-carving station as well as a sushi station.”
Bar None: “Arrange for the restaurant to greet guests with pre-poured mimosas and bellinis. Put flavored lemonade and iced tea in large old-fashioned containers with spigots so that guests can easily serve themselves.”
Smooth Tunes: “Hire a sophisticated jazz trio to provide some light but elegant background music.”
Cake Walk: “Serve cupcakes that can double as favors. Have them individually wrapped in small boxes, topped with ribbon and a sticker. Stack the boxes on a table, alongside a galvanized bucket filled with containers of plain and chocolate milk on ice.”
Post-Reception Revels: “Treat some of your closest friends and family to cocktails on the town. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to enjoy a memorable outing.”
Budget Breakdown
Food/drinks:$6,100
Cake upgrade:$300
Centerpiece trees:$350
Ficus trees:$280
Linens:$220
Gold napkin rings:$50
Musical trio:$1,200
Lighting:$600
DJ:$650
Candy bar:$250
Total: $10,000
Easygoing Elegance (Guests: 100)
“By making some savvy choices, you can stretch your budget to have a traditional sit-down dinner,” says Goldberg. “If you opt for a Sunday night in November, you can find a package at a banquet hall or catering facility for about $65 per person. At that time of year, I would go for a cozy, autumn feel. Centerpieces of gold trees (rent them from a party store), decorated with votives and surrounded by fall flowers, set a chic tone. Dress up ivory tablecloths with gold crinkled-organza overlays. Accent the ivory napkins provided by the venue with glam gold napkin rings that can be purchased inexpensively. ”
Dinner Service: “Have an upscale sit-down dinner featuring a salad with cranberries, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette, filet of beef with sherry and mushroom sauce and a veggie like butternut squash. Finish with a tiered carrot or red velvet cake. For about $300, you can upgrade from the cake included in the wedding package to a more ornately decorated confection.”
Chic Cocktails: “Greet arriving guests with champagne flutes of cider and sparkling water and passed hors d’oeuvres. In addition to the open bar included in the price of your reception package, you can serve a few special cocktails that represent you and your fiancé—maybe the drink you shared on your first date.”
Musical Notes: “Set an elegant tone by having a musical trio perform at your cocktail hour. Once you move into the dining room, have a DJ play tunes that will get guests on their feet.”
Sweet Endings: “Treat your guests to an end-of-the-night candy bar. Set out a colorful selection for guests to scoop into decorative boxes and take home as favors.”
Budget Breakdown
Food/drinks:$6,100
Cake upgrade:$300
Centerpiece trees:$350
Ficus trees:$280
Linens:$220
Gold napkin rings:$50
Musical trio:$1,200
Lighting:$600
DJ:$650
Candy bar:$250
Total: $10,000
The Budget: $20,000
Summer Beach Soiree (Guests: 100)
“For an elegant beach reception, keep the décor summer chic; use a broad stripe or checked pattern in pale blues and white or terra-cotta and greens,” suggests Jennifer Brisman of Jennifer Brisman Weddings in New York City. “Guests can sit in classic white outdoor folding chairs around small cocktail tables. Instead of flower centerpieces, highlight your waterfront atmosphere with oversize hurricane candles and an amazing display of seashells and sand votives. (Fill a regular votive candle holder a third or halfway with powdery white or natural sand, then nestle the candle in.) Place piles of oversize pillows on the beach for lounging.”
Fresh Catch: “Offer a lavish raw bar that includes lobster tails, giant prawns, oysters and jumbo lump-crab cocktails. Pair the seafood selections with a variety of homemade-style Tuscan breads and flavored olive oils and a huge, beautiful salad of greens and garden herbs with cucumbers, colored peppers and a lemon vinaigrette dressing.”
Perfect Pairings: “Add a wine-tasting component by serving regional wines selected to complement the seafood dishes.”
Summery Sounds: “Hire a six- or seven-piece band to perform fun, classic summer tunes like ‘California Dreamin’ ’and ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’—and anything else the two of you especially like by the Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet, the Eagles and the Beatles.”
Fun Favors: “Compile a CD for your guests to take home. Select the same or similar songs that the band played and present them in personalized packaging with your monogram and wedding date. This makes the best memory!”
Budget Breakdown
Food/drinks:$9,450
Venue rental:$2,500
Cake:$600
Rentals (tables, chairs, place settings):$3,000
Music:$2,750
Decor:$1,200
Favors:$500
Total: $20,000
Rustic Wine Country (Guests: 200)
“Many country venues feature fabulous barns,” says Corridan. “Some of them are even part of a vineyard. If yours is, start your party with a wine reception and then walk to the barn; if there’s some distance, transport guests in horse-pulled carriages. For the barn I suggest a color palette of merlot, avocado or a rich navy blue. Seat your guests on dark bentwood chairs at long feasting tables that accommodate 50 guests each. Any type of in-season flowers will work for centerpieces—hydrangeas, roses, larkspur, delphinium, sunflowers; arrange them in old-fashioned French milk containers for the best effect.”
Fabulous Fare: “Treat your guests to a hearty meal of steak or lamb, potatoes, rice and steamed vegetables. Have waiters serve the entrée individually, but the accompanying dishes can be laid out on large, attractive platters arranged down the center of the table.”
The Pour: “Serve beer and wines to complement your meal. If your event is at a vineyard, partner with the pros there to select the appropriate wines.”
Foot-Stomping Fun: “Hire a contemporary country-western band to entertain your crowd.”
Homemade-style Goodies: “Finish with a dessert buffet that has your wedding cake as the centerpiece. Opt for a traditional cake—carrot with buttercream frosting or any flavor with a fudge frosting—but make it look homemade. Fill out your buffet with brownies, frosted cookies and handmade candy.”
Budget Breakdown
Food/drinks:$12,000
Barn rental:$1,200
Table/chair rental:$1,480
Table decor:$350
Fabric for draping:$300
Floral centerpieces:$920
Band:$2,000
Horse-drawn carriage:$350
Cake:$800
Dessert buffet:$600
Total: $20,000