Short on cash or big on the idea of a casual, family friendly outdoor wedding?

The Perfect Picnic Wedding

Perfect if you are getting married in a park, backyard, or a tiny old church set in a big grassy field…

You could have a very small private ceremony in the church and then celebrate with a larger party of guests waiting to receive you outside. For a list of small churches in the US please visit roadsideamerica.com (image above is from this site).

Picnic Wedding Essentials

One of the most important items you will need – picnic blankets! Stick with tradition and pick red and white checkers, or find fabric that matches your wedding colors and make your own (you may find it less expensive to buy a large bolt of fabric and make your own anyways). You can buy the handmade one below at etsy.com for around $20 (and she offers a discount if you purchase more than one). These blankets could double as a wedding favor for each family that attends as well (you might have to come up with a contest to figure out who gets to take the blanket home for mixed picnic groups).

Deluxe Picnic

I wasn’t able to find a caterer in the US that provides this service, but in the UK you can pick up a biodegradable picnic basket filled with treats from the Arch House Deli in Bristol for less than $20 per person (converted from British pounds). Perhaps you could find a local catering company that would provide the picnic blankets and a picnic basket packed with goodies for each group of guests (let me know if you find any companies that do that!).

Picnic Event Tips

Don’t forget to be considerate of older guests and offer cushions as well as normal seating if necessary.

Provide picnic themed activities to keep the kids busy.

This cute picnic basket from bestpricetoys.com will be fun for younger children.

Plan for the weather

Bring large sun umbrellas, gazebos, and a play tent like the one below from Ikea to offer children some shade (or a quiet place to nap). You might want to bring something to weigh down the blankets if there is a chance that it will be windy. Make sure sunscreen and plenty of water is available for the guests.

Today we start a new continuing feature here at weddingsetups.com: a look at wedding traditions from around the world. You can use these articles to honor your family’s heritage during your wedding ceremony, wherever it takes place. Or, you can celebrate the bride or groom’s culture during a pre-wedding party (an article with ideas for these parties will follow).

German Wedding Traditions

Festive Felony

In the smaller villages, the bride may be ‘kidnapped’. The groom looks for her in the local pubs, often picking up the tab for all of the customers or inviting them along in the search.

Housewrecker

There is a house party before the wedding that ends with all of the dishes getting smashed for good luck. The “lucky” bride and groom have to clean up the mess.

German Wedding Food

The bride and groom snack on bread when they first arrive at their home after the wedding, to symbolize that they will never go hungry.

Wedding Cake

The traditional wedding cake is Baumkuchen, which is often made in stacked rings but can also come in the shape of a rectangular cake or small squares. The one below is from konditorei-werner.de, warning: if you visit this site it will make you want to fly to Germany for some dessert!

German Wedding Attire

Tasty Accessories

Traditionally, the bride carries bread and salt to symbolize a good harvest and the groom carries grain, which is a symbol for good luck and health. This is also an aspect of traditional Polish Weddings, to read all about them please visit polishwedding.blogspot.com – a very useful and informative source. Photo: Polishwedding.blogspot.com.

Yes, but how far can you throw it?

In Germany the bride passes her veil on to the next woman to be married, rather than throwing the bouquet.

German Wedding Decorations

Sharing a Cup

Another tradition is for the bride and groom to drink from a special cup that lets them both drink at the same time. This is based on the “Legend of the Maiden Bridal Cup” and you can buy one of the beautiful cups at mayhemltd.com.This cup would also make a thoughful gift to the bride from the groom. The cup, and it’s beautiful story could also be used to propose!

Flower Horse Power

In Germany, real flowers are used to decorate the cars, rather than the ribbons, bows, and plastic flowers often used in North America.

Important German Words

Wedding: Hochzeit

Bride: Braut

Groom: Brautigam

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• How to pick your perfect wedding dress (myweddingideas.net)

Last week, in the first part of our Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst series, we focused on The Bride. This week we focus on one of my favorite topics, food.

Part 2: FOOD

A good meal goes a long way to a great wedding!

Tips

1. Select a menu that your guests will enjoy – consider age range, lifestyle, etc.

2. Butter cream frosting and real whipped cream are tastier than their counterparts, but they do not have staying power. You can have your tasty cake and eat it , too, but make sure your venue will have room in the refrigerator and limit the display time before the cake cutting begins (particularly if the venue is warm – and most are…). While we’re on the topic of cakes – make sure your cake it out of harm’s way and on a stable surface.

3. Don’t miss out on the sample tasting your caterer offers – you want to make sure you like their recipes!

4. Use caterers, bakeries, and other vendors that have good reputations and staying power (they’ve been around for a long time or you know them personally and trust them). You only need one good relationship with a company that provides weddig services and then you can ask them to suggest other companies for everything you will need. You can also check online wedding forums for reviews or pay for a one-time consultation with a wedding planner and get recommendations.

Here’s a great example of why it is important to use a reputable business! A British online news service, The Bromley Times, reports that 29 weddings guests became ill after eating improperly cooked chicken and unpasteurized eggs at the reception. During the investigation, it was discovered that that the venue’s fridge was also malfunctioning. (Powell, Doug, “This is why we got married at city hall…”, Barflbog)

Sources, Additional Information, Great Articles:

Cohen, Gabriel, “Wedding-Food Disasters”, Gourmet

Shin, Jeanette, “Avoid Wedding Cake Disasters”, Food Editorials

Here are some of the funniest comments I’ve found from people about their real-life wedding disasters: Disaster Stories at Tressugar.com.