Creative, inexpensive wedding themes and favors

Planning a wedding can be overwhelming and expensive. So many options have been done to the point of being a cliche. Tired of the boring, old tulle wrapped candy? Who wants to be like everyone else? This article will delve into different options and fresh looks at some traditional themes.

Whether you are getting married in Vegas or wish you could, Casino Night makes an excellent theme with plenty of options for decor, favors, and activities.

Twinkling lights, playing cards, dice, and poker chips can make flashy centerpieces. There are many wedding themed playing cards out there like "Two of a Kind" or "King and Queen of Hearts." These decks of cards even make great favors, so they are a twofer. Chocolate poker chips are fun to play with and to eat.

Some couples have fallen in love with Asian accented themes. Whether you like the culture or just the food, this theme is a lot of fun. Cherry blossoms are big in pink or red and black. Take-out boxes can be personalized to just about any color and can hold goodies like candy or can be used for decorations with votives or flowers to fit other themes.

Another spin on the Asian theme is paper fans. These are usually inexpensive, and calligraphy can be added to symbolize "love" or "peace."

Wedding-themed fortune cookies are available in different colors and flavors. These are decorative and munchable!

Your romance may be a love story full of hearts and kisses or a high-octane, action blockbuster full of adventure. Use your story to create a night at the movies for your guests. Punch up a boring slide-show of childhood pictures with a moving musical score and sound effects. Personalize popcorn boxes, and place movie style candy at each table for an additional treat.

Add slogans like "Must see" and "Critically acclaimed" to pictures of the happy couple and bridal party to make your own movie posters for centerpiece decorations or place cards. For an extra fun bonus, place 3D glasses, film reels, and award trophy replicas around the tables.

A salty breeze flutters your veil, and the sand squishes between your toes as you stare into the eyes of your soul mate. Capture the peaceful feeling of a beach wedding with coral, sand dollars, seashells, and starfish. Use light blues and sandy hues to accentuate the serenity or tropical tones celebrate luau style.

Guests may choose to leave well wishes message-in-a-bottle style, with pieces of paper and a wine bottle. Colorful mixed drinks with umbrellas quench thirsts, and fresh fruit tickles taste buds. Rather than limping with sore feet thanks to uncomfortable heels, bridesmaids can revel in flip-flops.

Everyone loves candy. Whether you choose colorful lollipops, licorice, or jellybeans, candy is easy to coordinate with color schemes and is one favor that is almost guaranteed to disappear before the party is over. Many couples are even setting up candy buffets for guests to gorge on. If the couple has a favorite candy such as M&Ms or chocolate bars, personalized versions are available through a variety of websites. Guests will be on a sugar high after sharing Kisses. Thrifty tip: If your theme includes a specific color, watch for holiday versions of your favorite candy such as pastel pink, blue, or green for spring/Easter, red, white and blue for Independence Day, orange for fall/Halloween, and red and green for Christmas. You might be able to pick these up on sale or clearance and save them until you need them.

Many couples share a love of sports or a special sports team. You may choose to display your sports passion by incorporating your team's colors into flower arrangements or the bridal finery or by placing props like sports equipment around the tables. Personalized items like golf balls and tees are available from many vendors. Foil wrapped chocolates resembling baseballs or footballs are inexpensive guest favorites.

Spring

Spring symbolizes new life and new beginnings. Fresh seasonal flowers make great bouquets; tulips, daisies, lilacs, and lilies are common bouquet fillers. Pastel colors abound. Butterflies and grass are new spring themes, showing up in bouquets, centerpieces, hair, and cakes. Rather than just traditional rose petals, flower girls may toss whole spring flower heads or petals from spring (also less expensive) flowers.

Summer

Summer is all about bright colors and sunshine. Centerpieces should be playful and can include plastic beach pails or watering cans filled with flowers, colorful fruits and vegetables that are in season like tomatoes and oranges, mini sailboats, and anything else that means summer to the happy couple. Don't forget the pictures of the happy couple having fun on a nice summer day!

Autumn

Fall weddings can be some of the most beautiful. Color pallets include browns, golds, and oranges. Flower girls throw fall leaves instead of flower petals, and pumpkins and gourdes make perfect natural, eco-friendly centerpieces. Candy corn makes a tasty snack and the colors compliment the fall pallet. A truly adventurous couple can even tie Halloween into the wedding by wearing masks or costumes or choosing music like Monster Mash.

Winter

It may be cold outside, but you have your love to keep you warm. This is the one time of year when capes are appropriate wedding apparel (unless you are having a superhero wedding). The Christmas holiday season has a lot of built-in decorative ideas like poinsettias, holly, and mistletoe. Ornaments and twinkly lights abound, and color pallets include Christmas red and green, light blue, and silver. Although it may be messy, flower girls can throw imitation snow or snowflake confetti.

Rather than plain tulle wrapped treats, embrace the tulle and make it your own. Add embellishments to match your theme or symbolize your union. Use peacock feathers, flowers, leaves, jewels, sequins, or anything else to punch things up. You may also plan to add other goodies to the treat bags such as fortune cookies, small toys, and candles.