It is not difficult to organize vegetarian fare if you understand the term “vegetarian”. To most of us, a vegetarian diet means abstinence from meat, fish and poultry products. We need further clarity regarding eggs and dairy products. If you wish to offer “ovo-vegetarian” fare you can include eggs as the term “ovo” means eggs. Another option is to serve “lacto-vegetarian” food which means you can use dairy products. This is a necessary option because your choices become very limited if you can’t serve even basic white sauce and cheese. For greater convenience look at the “ovolacto-vegetarian” option so that the use of eggs and dairy products is permitted. There are some vegans who do not consume eggs or dairy products. Some may avoid even honey. Such people are too rigid and you may not wish to go to such extremes, but the choice is yours.

If the bridal couple wishes to have a vegetarian wedding, they must first discuss the matter with their family. There will be elders and seniors who will expect non-vegetarian food and may be disappointed with vegetarian fare. Some guests also will be upset with vegetarian food. Have the same kind of spread you would have had with a non-vegetarian menu, except that you don’t add the meat. Do not select ethnic fare as it may not go down well with your guests. Another smart move to make would be to spread the word in advance that the meal will be vegetarian. This way the guests are prepared and may even look forward to the vegetarian fare. You could even make a mention in your wedding card about the vegetarian reception.

Once you have decided to have a vegetarian reception, go that extra mile to find a good caterer. Take some trouble to find one who can be innovative and at the same time give popular choices in mind. A Jewish caterer may be able to do justice since certain Jewish receptions are meatless. There are some restaurants which offer exotic vegetarian food. You can have a meal there, taste the food on their menu and decide if you want to hire them for your wedding reception. Make sure they are experienced with large parties and off-site catering. Be clear about what you want, a formal sit-down meal or an informal buffet. Once you have found the right caterer, discuss the menu, offer your own ideas or recipes and finalize the menu. If you can’t find a suitable caterer or want to cut down the expense, you can even explore the do-it-yourself option. It won’t be easy but nothing is impossible.

You may have to go around in circles to find a vegan cake. Egg substitutes such as flaxseed or EnerG egg substitute may be used as an alternative to eggs.

Don’t hold back if you want to do something different. Put in a little extra effort and make it worthwhile.

Balloons are able to be used in a wide variety of ways when it comes to a wedding ceremony. As a backdrop for where you will be exchanging vows, you can use a single arch of balloons or you can use a standing heart arch. Some balloon poufs can then be tied to chairs and the end of the pews in order to decorate the aisle or walkway. Along the doorway, you can include balloon topiaries or clusters which is a creative way to welcome and greet your guests. By taking the time to decorate with balloons at the ceremony for your wedding, you are going to provide a very subtle celebration touch.

If you would like to create a spectacular first impression at your wedding reception, you may be interested in framing the entranceway to the reception hall with a beautiful spiral balloon arch. In order to have an incredible effect, you can transform the entry by using a tunnel of arches. As each guest enters into the reception, they will be able to guide their eyes right to the most important table in the room, The Groom and Bride’s table. Make sure that the Bride and Groom’s table has a very special emphasis – you can frame it by using columns, an arch, or a well known free form heart. Some of the other areas that are going to need to be decorated are the gift table, the cake table and the dance floor. Can you imagine dancing under a canopy created with balloons or surprising the guests by putting the focus on your first dance as a couple with a balloon drop?

Using centerpiece that include balloon can be very unique. The decision of air-filled or helium balloons depend solely on the reception room, no matter if it is a restaurant banquet room, a ballroom, or even a country club. When the centerpieces are combined with silks, tulle, glitter, chocolates, creative accents or candy, they can be very touching.

When it comes to balloon decorating at a wedding, the possibilities and ideas are endless. You are going to need a truly exciting and elegant atmosphere for the most special and important occasion in your life, your wedding day. On this day, you call the shots.

The way you enter is very important. Make your entrance at the wedding a one to remember. Star by acknowledging your guest as they are an important part of your wedding. Pause and let them have a good look at you and let them take a picture or two of you. You could either wave, take a bow are give them a high five. Make your guest an important part of your entrance at the grand finale and make your moments joyous.

There are no hard or fast rules about the order in which you should have the meal or the dance or any other ceremony in your wedding. After the meal comes the First Dance, you could have the Best Man’s Toast just before the meal begins. You could have your First Dance after your entrance. After you have thrown your bouquet you can have a garter toss. It is up to you to have the rituals and other formalities in any order or sequence you wish. Shuffle the ceremonies; this will make your wedding unusual and the guest eager.

It is entirely up to you to give yourself and your guest an experience that is unique and memorable. The choice of music and sound is also very important in creating a unique ambience. Choose music that your guest may not be listening every day either at work or when shopping at a mall.

Your wedding venue could be easily transformed into a Spanish Villa if you play flamenco fusion Latin guitar flamenco fusion. You could have a live band playing at your wedding, or play some beach music that would transport your guest to tropical seashore.

There is no limitation to the choice of music that you could have at your wedding venue. Artists like Louis Prima, Dean Marin and Andrea Bocelli have played at weddings. The whole idea here is to give your guest an experience that they have not encountered before, so you have no limit to try out a whole set of new things.

Thanking your guest over the mike will mean so much to them. To express your heart-felt gratitude and appreciate their presence and participation is a classy thing to do and this would also help incase you have missed out on thanking anyone personally.

You could personally choreograph your First Dance. You could rehearse before your wedding and even get some professional dancers to waltz, swing dance or do the tango with you. Create something that you and your guest will always remember. A little hard work will always pay back and you will never forget the moment your guests respond to your performance.

Use the right lighting in order to give the venue depth. Use colored beams on the walls and use vibrant projection for the dance floor, a special spot light for the cake. Different kinds of lighting could create different effects and different atmospheres. Use the right kind of lighting that would create a good ambience.

Do not play songs that are common at weddings, instead choose music that is rare but catchy. Update your music list and choose songs that are new – the choice of music is very important to have your guest enjoy themselves.

Make sure to keep your guests involved into the evening celebration or else they will want to leave early. Make sure that your MC makes announcements about what’s coming up in the evening – this will keep your guests hooked on and wanting to see what happens. Creating a little bit of excitement and eagerness could be a lot of fun, so go ahead and plan a wedding that would be different and unique.

If the couple and their guests are all fans of some particular fad like Star Trek, there are games they can play that would be fun and that you can play sitting down. If the whole group belongs to card clubs, they could plan to have a tournament where people are constantly changing tables and getting to know each other better.

Should the group like to go sing karaoke, they could take turns getting up to sing and leading the rest of the group in song. Of course, there would be some who would want to get up and start dancing to the music.

If the wedding couple were senior citizens, they might have their reception at a senior center and that would open up a whole different list of things to do. This type of group might really enjoy making puzzles together or playing scrabble which might seem boring to a much younger crowd.

One thing that always seems like fun is “roasting” people, either the wedding couple, their wedding party, or even the parents of the couple, depending on their sense of humor.

Showing slides of the wedding couple on a large screen might be fun especially if some of the pictures were of them as small children, or even as teenagers. Trying to guess who the pictures are might even be fun and get some laughing started.

Another thing that might be really fun at a reception is to have the children get up and put on skits or sing or dance while the guests sit and enjoy watching them with all their energy.

Since the active video games of Nintendo Wii have come out, there are people both young and not so young who are enjoying bowling sitting down, or tennis or boxing or golf, or baseball. If the couple and their guests are really into this kind of thing, they could take turns with this and laugh while others are trying to play.  Be careful, though, since your guests might really begin to sweat playing these games even though they are sitting down.

Then there is the game where the groom is blindfolded and tries to pick out which perfume is that of his new bride. He might be asked to walk around, with a guide of course, since he will be blindfolded, and sniff different female guests until he can recognize the scent of his wife. This one could be embarrassing for him if he can’t remember what her perfume smells like.

Of course, that game could be turned around. Can the bride recognize the cologne of her new groom? That might be an interesting twist. I wonder how he would react if she picked out the best man instead? That could be a serious problem!

If the wedding has been quite casual and has been in an outdoor setting, the guests can be offered light refreshment at the buffet table with background music. Perhaps there is a teen band who would be thrilled with the chance to perform.

One suggestion is that the wedding photos could be taken in the yard where the other guests can observe the photographer at work.

Providing that you have enough available space, another yard area could be set up with volley ball nets or horseshoes allowing guests to choose to play while they are waiting. Cards could be made available for those guests who might like to start a euchre or canasta tournament with people moving from table to table.

If the wedding is on a very warm day and there is a swimming pool available, guests could have been reminded to bring their bathing suits and towels. Of course, children have to be provided with an adult to watch over them while they swim. For smaller children, a kiddy pool could be provided.

For a beach wedding, this is perfect as the water is readily available. A small pool should still be brought for the little ones and your party should be set up in an area where there is some shade available. In this case, some guests could get some of the picnic tables together and the refreshments put there for the party.

If the wedding is taking place in a park, there should be a building where there are picnic tables set up for the refreshments.  This is very important should the weather turn to rain. You may want to contact the park beforehand requesting use of this area for that specific day. It would be a disaster if you arrived and found that this area was already being used by another group. You might suggest on your invitations that guests bring their own lawn chairs for their comfort.

Blankets could be brought also for those who might not want to sit at picnic tables for a long period of time. They can also be used for children with toys to entertain them.

If the wedding is either at a park, beach, or in a back yard, you may choose to have friends with camcorders to do the recording of memories. You might have a friend who would be willing to bring a camcorder and walk around, speaking to each of the guests, and asking them to give a message for the bride and groom. What a wonderful way to keep the memories of your blessed wedding day. Wedding photos get taken, everybody enjoys the reception, and the newlyweds leave for their honeymoon with smiling faces!

Since you plan to have your wedding reception last all night, you probably won’t be planning an early wedding. It would be better to have the wedding itself not even start until 6 or 7 p.m.  You probably would not be having an outside wedding unless it is during the summer when it stays light until 10 p.m.

With the party going on all night, you will want to have it take place where there will be sleeping quarters available. If it is a small group, you could have it at someone’s home but more than likely, it would be more sensible to have it at a local hotel where guests could have their own rooms to go to when they get tired. You might want to check into child care also for those with small children who will have to go to bed earlier than the adults.

Of course there will be food available during the beginning of the reception, and keep in mind if you have the wedding at 4 or 5 pm that this is supper time for most people and they will expect a full meal. If you have a buffet, you might want to have a backup for later in the night. You could continue to have snack foods available later in the evening and during the night hours. Will you be providing a breakfast or expecting the guests to have a continental breakfast provided by the hotel?  This could get very expensive.

You will probably have a band or DJ during the early part of the reception. Perhaps after midnight you could have taped music ready to play after they leave.

If your family and friends are involved in card groups, you might consider having cards available for later and have tournaments going on at different tables. You could do this at the hotel or even if you were at a private home.

Assuming there will be alcohol served at the reception, you need to decide if there will be an open bar or will the guests be paying for their own drinks. Also, you are responsible to make sure that any guests who have been drinking do not drive after the party should they decide to leave.

Of course, there will be someone will a camcorder taping messages from the guests to the wedding couple and taping all the dancing especially when the children get out there and act silly.

Have a wonderful reception and happy memories to share.

Whatever you do decide, you ought to consider outdoor activities (weather permitting, of course). You may already be planning to have the wedding outdoors. This is a great idea. It’s refreshingly different and seems to be more and more common these days. If you live near a lake or the ocean, consider holding your wedding on the beach. If you can do so, on private property or get a permit to do so on public property, you may even be able to set up large tents so that in the event of rain the show can go on.

Another option is just to have the reception outdoors. Make sure, if you do so, that you are in an area that is not residential or get a permit for the noise from the DJ music (assuming you will have that at your reception). You will also need to check with city officials if your reception or wedding are held at night, before having an outdoor wedding ceremony or reception.

If you do go with an outdoor reception, or partially-outdoor reception, there are a lot of possibilities this opens up in terms of the entertainment for your wedding guests. The standard indoor activities, of course, can still apply. Those include the throwing of the garter and bouquet, DJ music, drinks and dancing.

But the nature of the outdoors opens up the options of having things like volleyball, swimming (if it’s nice out—make sure to plan ahead for this), and tropical themes. You can light tiki torches and have little huts set up as drink stands. If you are into paradise motifs as many people are, these types of things will make your wedding night a beautiful one the guests will never forget.

Again, there are so many options, it’s impossible to think of (let alone list) them all. Get creative and make sure you think of all the details. Once again, don’t forget shelter. If the wedding is indoors at the church (for example), have a contingency to send the guests back to the building where the wedding was held and hold the reception there, in the event of inclement weather.

You’ll also want to accommodate guests by reminding them to bring a change of clothes and sandals, to prepare for reception activities involving sand and water. Also, even if it doesn’t rain, if it is chilly out as the night progresses, your guests may still want to stay outside. To keep them warm bring along supplies for a bonfire or rent professional outdoor heaters. These types of things can be easily incorporated into your existing wedding budget and will add a special touch that night (even if the temperature is mild).

Another really fun song is the hokey pokey. You know this one—you put your left foot in and shake it all about and you do the hokey pokey. And the hokey pokey spells fun, no matter which way you look at it. It is a MUST if you plan to entertain the younger generation at your after-wedding party!

Some other fun things are to have the kids stand on each side of the dance floor, males on one side and females on the other. Have them walk across to the other side and choose a dance partner. This can be for a fast or slow dance, but it sure does enhance the romance and makes them move. If they are too shy, have adults join in and dance with the shy ones.

Kids also like surprises and games. So play some name that tune, and take their requests for songs. Young ones know a lot of really cool and fun songs, and you’d be surprised how up-to-date and vast the music selection is with professional DJs (especially if you tell the DJ in advance before the wedding what songs you’d like by giving him a list).

One option is to have a kids’ karaoke—or have karaoke in general, and encourage the kids to join in. The idea is that the children should be entertained as much as the adults. You also want to leave a sweet impression in their mind about the sanctity of marriage (as well as how much fun weddings can be). You don’t want them to grow up believing that marriage is boring all the time!

You can also have contests with prize giveaways. Everyone loves prizes, but especially kids! You could have some for the adults and some for the kids. All you have to do is ask a trivia question, or have a dance contest. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it involves fun and laughs! Kids love to laugh and we all love to hear them laugh. Perhaps you could even try something really different and have a comedian (family oriented jokes of course) or other entertainment.

Even though the modern wedding ceremony is still commonly traditional in style, receptions are increasingly informal and exciting. Have an out-of-this world reception that the whole family can enjoy – it lightens the mood and gives everyone a good feeling they will most likely associate with you and your spouse for years to come.