Wedding Venue Idea #6 The Botanical Gardens

Its picturesque setting and the sweet floral aroma in the air, makes the botanical gardens an ideal choice for many couples to hold their wedding ceremony and in many cases is quite inexpensive.

As getting married at the botanical gardens is always a popular choice, you will need to book well in advance. Most gardens request at least 3 months notice. Some gardens will only allow one couple per day and you may need to work around their schedules as some require special events to only take place outside the gardens official opening hours.

Questions To Ask
What time can my ceremony occur?
What is the fee?
Is the fee a flat rate or an hourly charge?
Are there any additional charges for a photography and video permit, or is this inclusive?
More Information
Brisbane City Botanic Gardens
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney
Botanic Garden Perth
Botanic Gardens of Adelaide
George Brown Darwin Botanical Gardens

7 Tips For Choosing a Wedding Reception Venue on a Budget

Saving money on wedding reception venues can be achieved with a little planning.

Are you looking for tips to reduce the cost of your reception venue? For many engaged couples planning a wedding, choosing the reception venue will be one of the biggest decisions that they will need to make, as for most couples the  wedding reception venue is also responsible for the biggest portion of their wedding budget.

If you are looking to hire a wedding venue on a budget, take a look at these  great budget conscious wedding  tips that may end up saving you money in your wedding planning budget.

1. Host an off-season wedding. Hotels and banquet halls generally charge higher rates during peak tourist season, as they know that their premise will be in more demand.

2. Getting married on any other night other than a Saturday night will generally ensure a cheaper rate.

3. Don’t mention the word ‘wedding’ when calling for initial quotes as this usually guarantees a mark-up, just casually ask for a quote on a party or an event.

4. Non-traditional locations are becoming more and more the norm. Leave no stone unturned in your search for a cost-efficient perfect venue. Many wineries organize tours of their vineyards and facilities. Always try to liaise with the manager of the venue as they can offer the best deals. Don’t be afraid to haggle.

5. To save additional costs provide your own table decor and centerpieces.

6. Get an itemized quote for the reception venue to ensure you know if there are any fees if the reception runs later than agreed. This may also help you to trim some areas of the reception that are an unnecessary cost.

7. Some venues offer cheaper rates if you book their reception hall just for the day. This would mean a morning, or early afternoon ceremony with your wedding reception to finish late afternoon/early evening.

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Do-It-Yourself: Wedding Favours (Bonbonniere)

Wedding bonbonnieres a classic wedding favour

Wedding Bonbonnieres are small gifts that are given out to each guest. The cost associated with this can be expensive, which is why many couples opt to make their own. Depending on the number of guests attending your wedding, this can be very time consuming, which is why you might like to consider holding a  ‘bonbonniere working bee’ with your bridal party.

One of the simplest (and more budget friendly) bonbonnieres is to put some confectionery like sugar coated almonds inside an organza bag. You can opt for traditional white sugar coated almonds in a white organza bag or go for something a little  more brighter, with coloured candy almonds in bright coloured organza bags.

Organza bags can be bought quite cheaply from craft stores. Inquire with the manager to see if you can get a discount price for buying the bags in bulk.

Daily Wedding Blog: Cupcake Wedding Cake

There has been an increasing trend to ditch the wedding cake and offer wedding cup cakes! So instead of cutting each guest a slice of wedding cake, the guests get their own cup cake. This method will save you a significant amount of money without compromising the look. You still arrange the cupcakes tiered (you will need a cake stand) so it looks like a traditional cake.

If you feel that you still would like to participate in the symbolic cake cutting, you can do buy a cake stand, that allows for a small cake to be placed on top. This cake can be shared by the bridal party, or just the bride and groom.

The great thing about this type of cake if you decide to make it yourself, is that you won’t have to spend a lot of money to make practice cupcakes.

Things to consider:

Sketch a design of the cupcakes before you begin. Will each layer have exactly the same designed cupcakes or will each layer be different?
You can bake the cupcakes up two days before serving, but you cannot frost them. Store the cupcakes in a container in a cool dry place.

Book Your Wedding Reception in Your Hotel

Some couples are now choosing to hold their wedding reception in the hotel in which they will be spending their wedding night.   The benefits of this being, is that the couple will be checked into their honey moon suite early on in the day, and do not need to worry about missing the check in deadline after the reception.

Ideally, you should be able to negotiate a package deal which will include the reception venue and honeymoon suite.  Ensure that you get all early negotiations in writing, to avoid problems later on.

Wedding Dance Video from Scotland

One of our readers sent us this link of a wedding dance video from Scotland. It’s a different take on the wedding dance videos and features a special guest. I must say, I am loving the wedding location too!

Grease Themed Wedding Dance

Something tells me that the Grease soundtrack is probably a common theme for “impromptu” wedding dances. We love this one. The bride and groom are having a ball, as is the entire bridal party. On a side note I love the colour scheme of the bridesmaid’s dresses and the groomsmens vest. Nice touch!

Daily Wedding Blog : Avoid renting ‘Wedding’ chairs

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Don't hire 'wedding' chairs

Here at DWB we are always trying to help our readers find ways to trim the cost of weddings. One way which we believe that could help you save some money is by trying to source chairs for your wedding outside the usual wedding rental outlets.

Have you considered asking your local university or high-school if they can hire out their chairs? They generally have a fair amount of chairs for special occasions such as graduations and are happy to rent them out, as this means extra revenue for the school.   These chairs can be perfect for park and other outdoor ceremonies. Also check out your local community halls as they usually keep back-up chairs for their functions.

If you are planning on hiring seat covers for the chairs, don’t be to worried if some of the seats have a few scratches, in reality the seats that are a little more worn out will be cheaper and if you are planning on using seat covers anyway, the scratched will be hardly visible,  if at all.

Cut The Cost Of Your Wedding Cake

Cut The Cost Of Your Wedding Cake

Don’t feel obliged to stick to the traditional tiered wedding cake. There are many different options these days when it comes to wedding cakes, and they are quite likely to be cheaper options than the traditional tiered cake. Browse magazines, ask friends, visit cake shops and see what’s available to you.

Here are some ideas we have put together to get you started.

- One of the new trends emerging is the tiered wedding cupcake where the cupcakes replace the traditional wedding sliced cake. It’s cheaper and aesthetically pleasing. You can buy stands cheaply from most department stores or alternatively you could hire one.

- Order a plain wedding cake and decorate it yourself. Search the internet, wedding magazines and visit bakers for inspiration.

- Hire an apprentice chef to bake your wedding cake. Be sure to check out a folio and sample their work first.

Have An Early Wedding Reception

Everyone knows that Saturday weddings cost more as this is the day that most couples will likely wed. The reception venue will subsequently cost more as well. Find out if your venue will offer a reduced rate for an afternoon reception. You could have a morning ceremony with an afternoon reception ending at around 5pm The venue could then host another evening event and therefore be happy that their establishment has been booked for the entire day.

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