Weddingbee boards

Hi hive!

So it recently came to my attention that my fiance doesn't feel like his sense of style is being expressed through our wedding reception. Because of our budget of $5K (CDN), we had decided on an informal picnic-style reception. Now, I firmly believe that it's possible for us to incorporate his definition of "elegant" into our laid-back picnic, but he's having a hard time believing it. Help me prove him wrong, hive! I really really want this wedding to be about BOTH of us, not just me!

Here are some of the things he thinks make something "elegant":

• Simple & smooth lines/designs (not too cluttered, swooping; i.e. a curve instead of a corner)
• Minimalism
• Continuity
• Matching (ex. blue napkins with a blue picnic blanket, green with a green one)

Basically, some of the things we've brainstormed are to have solid-coloured picnic blankets, rather than ones with a pattern, and we're planning on minimizing the decoration on our cupcakes & stand. Does anyone have any other ideas? We're mainly looking for ways to spruce up our reception (which will be entirely outdoors) -- we're doing okay with stationary and such.

Thanks, hive!

@peachesandtuplips: We do have a colour scheme that we plan on incorporating into things (and I agree -- linking everything to our central scheme will help things be more continuous). I like the idea of pillows (though I'm wondering if they'll be too expensive...). We have already decided on our centrepieces, though, but thank you for the suggestion! I will definitely check out that Snippet & Ink website, thanks!

I suppose I should add a couple things just so that everyone knows:

• Our colour scheme is ivory-sapphire-emerald&topaz (the ivory is meant to be in highest concentration, sapphire second, and emerald and topaz are meant to be in equal concentration at third place).
• We've already decided on our main centrepieces -- a single daisy (probably fake) in a clear blue bottle (like this: http://www.myotherdrive.com/file/308.541718.19022008.65729.0067fi/blue-bottle.jpg but smaller, like a cooler bottle size), but if you guys have any suggestions of methods of which to steady these so that they don't fall over on the ground, that would be awesome!

@GreenDani: Thanks for the link! I checked it out and thought that everything was so cute -- I especially like the picnic basket. I'll definitely point that out to my fiance. Unfortunately, we've already discussed the china situation and decided to stick with (very good quality) plastic plates, so that they'll all be the same, rather than mismatched.

@jduck84: The bottoms will be slightly concave (I'm pretty sure; most bottles around here are). One thing I've considered is putting rocks in the bottles, but we're planning on using fake (gelatin) water in the bottles, and I'm afraid that only pebbles would fit through the opening. Plus, it's more of an issue of the ground being uneven than needing to weigh the bottle down. Thanks for the pillow suggestion!

@nybride09: We're going to have a long table for the food (serving it on platters: we're planning on having soup, salads, hors d'ouevres, and a make-your-own-sandwich bar).

To steady your vases go to a dollar & or craft supply store  and buy a few bags of coloured/clear glass beads [you see them with candles all the time] that match your theme or you can even get 1$ bags of small river stones of various sizes & colours. As long as they can fit in the vase they should do the trick.

If stones or decorative glass is too big what about sand? If you don't actually want to buy any [or can't find anything you like] you could always go 'borrow' some from a local beach or playground, then you don't have to worry about what to do with it afterward, you can just give it back.