Table Names / Table Numbers

Names vs. Numbers

A hotly debated topic in wedding circles is whether is it better to name the tables at the wedding banquet, or to have numbered tables. There are pros and cons to each idea, for instance it can be difficult thinking of names for 12 tables when your theme is something simple. Numbers might be seen as the easier option, unless you have difficult family members that are likely to cause a fuss when they discover they are at table 6 and your friends are at table 3.



Numbers are the easy option in many cases because it causes less stress and hassle, in our case numbers are easier because we can’t agree on table names!



Some recent ideas for table names I’ve seen are retro sweets, Scottish islands, types of pasta, places the couple have visited, types of wine, shades of colours…. the list is endless, but this only works when you have a theme this fits with. If your theme is “summery chic” then you can use “summery” words or ideas for table names and this can lend itself to the decorations etc for the tables.



Once you have decided on numbers or names you need to think about holders…. there are stands you can buy off “good ol’ eBay”, or you can follow our lead and buy cheap pine picture frames from Ikea, spray paint them to match your colour scheme and then take advantage of online photo printing services that offer you free prints, stick your numbers/names jpgs in with your pictures and hey presto you’ve got glossy table numbers/names!! Some wedding venues might provide these so it might be worth checking before you part with any money buying them





There are a variety of options out there for you to explore, remember at the end of the day it’s what you want for your day. So long as it is special to you then it does not matter what anyone thinks.

Stationery (part 2)

And so to continue, we've covered a few of the pieces of stationery you might need for your wedding, now let's review the others you may want.

* Order of Service cards - these are rather useful no matter what type of ceremony you're having. For a religious ceremony you can include the hymns, readings and any other information relating to the ceremony. For a civil ceremony you can detail the readings and any music you might be having for the ceremony.

For our wedding I decided to try and make these myself, so with advice from Jac at LTC I bought little bits and pieces (card, vellum, leaves for decoration and squares of cards) and gave it a go. I have to admit it was scary at the time, but thanks to Jac they've come out great!

* Photo Upload cards - these are a relatively new category of stationery. Basically they're little business cards or notes that you can have made up to put on the tables at the wedding reception to ask people taking any digital photography to upload the pictures on to a special Photobucket account, or other website. (Just make sure the cards have the weblink and any required password noted on them!!)

* Table plan and Place cards - Clue is in the name on this one! If you are having a formal wedding banquet then a table plan and place cards are a great idea. You can decide where to seat everyone to make things easier for the caterers (in case you have any one who has a special menu - vegetarians etc). It's also nice to try and "mix" both sets of families up so that they can get to know each other.

* Thank You cards - self explanatory really but an absolute must. These really are essential for any bride and groom to buy/order/make etc. It's polite to thank people for presents and for being generous on your special day, but I leave it up to you to decide whether or not you thank people for attending the event as well as those who gave gifts or whether you just thank those for their gifts.

Steps to being a "Super Bride"

As we all know planning a wedding can be a costly business! As soon as you mention the "wedding" word, prices seem to skyrocket and suddenly you're thinking it might be better to elope.
There are so many ways to save money when planning your wedding, for instance you could buy a dress from the High Street from the likes of Littlewoods, Marks & Spencer, Monsoon? They sell some really pretty dresses and at a fraction of the price of bridal shops they are a steal! Failing that when you're dress shopping tell the assistants in the bridal shop your budget and that way they will point out dresses that you can afford and steer you away from the ones that will break the bank.

Other ways to save are to hunt around for bargains, eBay will soon become a favourite for many brides to be. You'd be amazed at the things you will find on there! So far I've managed to get all the favours, favour boxes, thank you gifts, cuff links for the attendants and many other things from shops on eBay and at very good prices. So long as you're not afraid of hard work this route might be for you!

Often a lot of brides to be want to make their own stationery, which for those who are creative and not in any way artistically challenged, it's a great way to save money. Again EBay will have the bits and bobs you need, failing that there are many websites out there with everything you will need. But if like me you want something professional looking then there are a variety of shops, sites etc to buy stationery from or you can have it custom designed for you to suit your theme. Some of the stationery and gifts for our wedding is coming from www.littletigercreations.com which is run by a close friend of mine. She has been great and helped me work out what I wanted from my stationery and made my ramblings turn into an actual creation.

For the cars, do you know anyone with a "posh" car? Does your uncle drive a Rolls Royce? Can you sweet talk him into taking you to the church/hotel? Failing that ask the car companies if they offer any discount for booking more than one car, or if they would give you discount if you are only needing the car for a short time? It's worth asking, you never know you might get £50 off the price and at the end of the day wouldn't you rather the £50 in your pocket?!