Jaiden & Riley Andus

My cute cousin Jaiden and her good-lookin' now husband were married June 15th in the Provo City Center Temple June 15th, 2018.

Jaiden didn't want to have "wedding colors" so opted for the bridesmaids to be in black and have a lot of greenery and use the colors from the bouquet and decorations and it turned out to be very pretty. She had a more urban theme and the Bright Room was perfect for her vision. 

I helped Jaiden to find her florist and she bounced ideas off of me for food, decorations and set-up.

My favorite part of the reception was the fact that she used food trucks for her food to make it more of a party. If you know Jaiden, you know how fun, chill and go with the flow she is. She wanted her guests to have fun and feel like they were at a party. She had food trucks from Sweet Chimneys and Tacos Don Rafa. I loved that she had live music for the couples first dance which added a sweet little touch and set that apart. Her exit was AMAZING! She had confetti and yes it was awful cleaning up but made for some pretty cool pictures! Congrats Jaiden and Riley!

Here are some pictures from her special day.

Photography: Carly Jane Photo

Kaitlyn & Brandon Nichols

My beautiful sister was married December 17, 2016 in the Payson, Utah temple. Her reception was at Castle Park and it was gorgeous.

Her colors were gold, mauve and burgundy. She was going for a romantic, fun atmosphere and as you can see she definitely accomplished that. I assisted and was able to help her plan her dream wedding on a flexible budget. Luckily the groom is also from Utah and his family was able to help since they had one big reception and a more intimate family and close friends dinner.

She didn't want her wedding to be Christmas themed and the flowers and decor were perfect for the what was in season. My cousin Jenna Kendell did all of her signs and they turned out so cute! I loved the variety of the hot chocolate, donut and popcorn bar super cute and trendy!

I helped Kaitlyn find her bridesmaids dresses, order the donuts, help with the layout and flow of the reception, decorations, and was on sight (even though I was the Matron of Honor) for help etc. It was a great day!

Photography: Heather Kay Photography

Designing Your Layout

I am currently planning a wedding for my friend. She was so thankful I had mentioned to her the importance of designing a layout of the reception. i.e., where you want the chairs, tables, decorations, etc. She had also told me that her venue was asking for a layout down the road so they could help set up and get tables and chairs where they need to be so she was thankful I had mentioned it to her now. Her wedding is still a little over three months away but since I'm in Oregon and she is in St. George its even more important we are ahead of the game.

I recommend all brides start designing the layout of their reception four months prior to their big day so they can figure out how many decorations, and table cloths amongst many other things you will need. The layout should not only include tables, chairs, which decoration, centerpiece and flowers go where, but a detailed map of the venue. You will want to decide what door you want guests to come through, and which rooms you will be using on the day. You also need to know where all the outlets are so if you have lights and music you can plan out where it's all going to be plugged in and that will determine which tables go where.

If you are going to have a formal dinner then you need to strategically place where the head table is going to be so all the tables can see you. Remember the head table needs to be rectangular- you don't want guests looking at your back all night and guests don't want to! Have your immediate family sitting at the table closest to you. A lot of people forget about this and in the end only a select few tables can see them. You also can decide what guests you want at each table at this point as well. Remember not to over-cram the tables. Don't ever put more than 10 guests at each table.

Designing your layout is critical so that your reception setup will run as smooth as possible, and those helping will know what to do so they can get it done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Make your layout look very nice. This can take a while so take your time and don't rush this or it may reflect in the appearance and layout of your reception.

Wedding Décor

Decorating the reception and ceremony is very hard work. You need to start thinking about decorations right after you have your venue or you will be in trouble. There is a lot of space you need to fill and it takes a while to find décor that matches your theme, tone and colors. 

If every time you look at your budget and you notice that it keeps shrinking, that's good because you're planning a wedding. But if you realize you still have a lot of things to get and you're close to running out then decorations are one of those places you can go cheap with. 

We're lucky now that there is Pinterest. I wish I would've had Pinterest when I was planning my wedding.There are tons and tons of DIY wedding decorations and the supplies is actually inexpensive. For example, you can find instructions for decorations such as tissue paper flowers, candle votives, signage, and tons more.

You can get really creative with décor. A good friend of my mom helped us with decorations and she was awesome at it. She went out to thrift stores and found vintage looking frames that we spray painted my colors and put engagement pictures in. I've mentioned before, that I had my reception outside at a friend's house where they have a pool. We used that pool to our advantage. We made a large styrofoam heart and poked it full of red and white plastic table cloths from the dollar store and voila we had an awesome floating pool decoration. That heart is still hanging in my master bedroom. We also cut the bottoms off of 2-liter plastic pop bottles and spray painted them in my wedding colors to look like flowers in the pool. I also borrowed a gazebo from a friend and some shepherd hooks that we drove into the ground and hung these glass jars with floating candles and stones, as well as pretty flower arrangements hanging on. If you have friends or family that have resources like these left over from other events, try to use them to cut costs. 

If you need help thinking of ideas that's where I come in. Let me be of help to you brides. There is so many fun, trendy decoration ideas out there right now. The possibilities are endless. 

Flowers

It's crazy how many flowers you need for a wedding, you need even more when you are doing a ceremony! When I originally met with my florist I didn't even think of half the flowers I was going to actually need for my reception. Your florist will help you know how many flowers, as long as you tell her X amount of people in the family/bridal party, X amount of tables, decoration ideas etc. In my Budget 101 post, I said to plan for 10% of your total budget going to flowers and that is pretty accurate. To help you spend less on your flower allotment you can order in-season flowers and the overall cost will drop dramatically. 

Here are the typical people and places you have flowers:

-bridal bouquet X2 if you are going to have a throw away one
-Groom boutonniere
-Groomsmen/Best Man boutonnieres
-Bridesmaids/Maid of Honor bouquets
-Mother of the Bride and Groom corsages
-Father of the Bride and Groom boutonnieres
-Grandparents of the Bride and Groom boutonnieres/corsages
-Flower Girls
-Rose pedals down aisle/ flower girl throws out
-Cake flowers
-decorations-entrance, food, guestbook, and gift tables
-centerpieces for dining tables

-Before you meet with your florist collect pictures of flowers you like from Pinterest, other websites, or friend's weddings etc. 
-Bring your exact color palette that she can have
-Print pictures because your florist will want to take these for herself so she can get ideas 
-During your visit, make sure to tell her your budget for flowers and ask her to estimate an overall price 
-Have her show you shapes of bouquets 
-Ask her about set-up charges and if/when she needs a payment by a certain date 
-Make sure you like her and her style
-Some florists do a mock-up bridal bouquet arrangement. See if she does, and ask her to do one for you


Flowers add a lot of beauty to a wedding and are a must-have. You can change the theme or overall feeling by the flowers you choose. Though this will depend on the individual bride, I believe flowers are an area that you can cut costs on. Like I said earlier just using in-season flowers are a way to do so. Below is a list  you can use to see what's in-season for you!

In-Season Flowers 

January/February                      March/April                       May/June
-Anemone                                 -Allium                            -Amaranthus
-Bells of Ireland                         -Freesia                           -Astilbe
-Daffodil                                   -Lilac                               -Gladiola
-Forget-Me-Not                          -Tulips                             -Hydrangea
-Heather                                   -Viburnum                       -Garden Roses
-Hyacinth                                  -Muscari                           -Love-In-A-Mist
-Violet                                      -Ranunculus                      -Peony
-Calla Lily                                  -Wax Flower                     -Pincushion
                                               -Lily                                -Sweet Pea
                                                                                     -Veronica 
                                                                                     -Zinnia

July/August                              Sept./Oct.                          Nov./Dec.                       
-Coreopsis                                -Aster                               -Jasmine
-Cosmos                                  -Marigold                           -Poinsettia
-Daisy                                     -Chrysanthemums               -Amaryllis
-Dahlia                                    -Dahlia                              -Holly
-Godetia 
-Lavender
-Lisianthus
-Queen Anne's Lace
-Tuberose
-Sunflower  
-Herbs