Rather than stocking up your reception bar with every type of alcohol imaginable (which could cost you!), why not consider a signature cocktail that shows off your creativity and style?

A signature cocktail can reflect your theme, colors, décor or it can simply be your favorite drink that you like to mix at home. Give it a creative name, create a sign or station for it, dress it up with fun accessories like garnishes and straws – and toast to your special day!

Thinking of hosting a barbecue reception for your wedding?

Planning a barbecue reception starts with the details. To take a barbecue from a traditional neighborhood affair to a casually gorgeous wedding event, set the mood with the little things, like burlap menus, wooden signs or a creative utensil display. All of those mason jar ideas you have been meticulously collecting? Here’s the place to implement them in all their full glory.

Here’s a little industry secret: lighting can make or break an event space. Celebrity wedding planners Preston Bailey and Colin Cowie swear by lighting to transform their spaces into areas fit for the glitterati, but for the average bride, lighting can appear to be an unnecessary add-on. Well, let me shed some light on the situation (pun intended): this techy detail may often be overlooked, but, particularly for indoor venues, it’s an absolute necessity. It creates a mood and can give your décor, flowers, cake, and, yes, even you and your guests, picture-perfect illumination.

Unfortunately, not only do couples nix the idea of lighting because they may not fully understand its importance but also because quality lighting can get pricey. For those who want to save without skimping, check out DIY Uplighting, a company that actually rents out lights for uplighting purposes. (FYI, uplighting is exactly what it sounds like – lighting that shines from the floor up.)

Lights are $19 each for a rental period of seven days. They only rent out modern LED lights, which use minimal power and don’t get hot, so be assured no fire will break out while you’re burning up the dance floor. We recommend renting enough lights to space approximately 6-12 feet away from each other. The closer you put them, the more of an even wash of color you will get. Each light features seven colors to choose from — red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, and white – which you can mix and match, or cast a one-color glow over the entire room.

So ditch the harsh fluorescents and turn to DIY Uplighting for professional-quality lights that will allow you to bask in the glow of your wedding day.

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Underneath the shade of palm trees, Sarah and Steven exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony conducted by Steven’s father, surrounded by 30 of their nearest and dearest at Casa Ybel Resort in Sanibel Island, Fla.

“We wanted to make sure that we had our closest family and friends who really love and care about us at our wedding and wanted to be able to be ourselves and have a great time without the formalities,” says Sarah.

After the ceremony and as the sun dipped below the aquamarine waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the couple headed down to the sandy beaches to bask in newlywed bliss as their photographer, Wes Weber, captured soft, sunset-lit moments. Later, they shared a lively patio dinner with their guests underneath strings of twinkling lights. After the couple cut into the two-tiered wedding cake, an impromptu dance party broke out and lasted throughout the night.

Sarah, 29 & Steven, 29 

Sanibel Island, FL

Wedding Date: November 17, 2012

Number of Guests: 30

Wedding Cost: $20,000

Wedding Ceremony Location: Casa Ybel Resort

Wedding Reception Location: Casa Ybel Resort

Peonies make perfect wedding flowers. In fact, they are one of the most popular flowers for weddings.  They’re luscious and showy, yet delicate. They smell incredible – and they come in every color except blue. You can mix them with other flowers, or let them stand alone. They’re also perfect for barn weddings (in Southern German, they are known as the “Bauernrosen” or Farmer’s Roses.)

I stole these beauties from my own garden. The whitish pink ones (shown above) are actually from a plant that was originally in my husband’s grandmother’s garden many moons ago. That’s the thing: peony plants can live in a garden for 100+ years!

If you get married in the spring and happen to have a peony patch to steal from, then you will save a bundle on wedding flowers! (Just remember to dip your flowers in a water bath to get rid of ants.) Otherwise, they cost around $10 a stem.

Here are a few ways to display them at your wedding:

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