Ceremony decor

I've got a few ideas now for the way I want to decorate where our ceremony will be held. We've got to choose decorations that are minimal and easy to clean up since our ceremony and reception are taking place in the same location. After we say "I do," the room is going to be reconfigured for the dinner reception. I really want to have rose petals lining the aisle on either side because since we're getting married on hardwood floor, we can't have an aisle runner. I'm not the most graceful person and a thin piece of fabric on a freshly waxed wood surface doesn't seem very safe to me. Add heels to the equation and it's just not a good idea! I know if we use the petals on the floor they'll have to be swept out of the way afterwards, but I figure if we use silk petals instead of real ones that won't take too long. Plus in not using real rose petals we won't have to worry about any residue being left over on the floors. I'm also debating using pomanders. I'm a little obsessed with them right now, in fact. I've read up on how to make them with tissue paper and it seems like an easy enough weekend project I could recruit FI for.

Let there be light!

I've always loved the look of paper lanterns. I think they are perfect for adding color in a fun way to a wedding. Needless to say, I will be using them in my wedding decor. The place where we're getting married has two huge windows and I've seen lanterns used in them before, although I had plans to use them long before I ever saw that done. The main concern, obviously, is that since they will be hanging from a high ceiling I will not be able to light them. I think just the hot pink lanterns alone though, even without being lit, will be bold enough that it won't matter. If it really ends up bothering me there's always those battery-operated LED lights.

Neato photo boards

Some couples have slide shows at their weddings with different shots of them growing up through the years. I think this is a great idea, but unfortunately our venue doesn't have all the equipment to do that without us having to put up a big tacky-looking white screen. Therefore I thought it would be neat instead to make photo boards! Yes...make them. I don't think I'd find one with our colors, not to mention these things are surprisingly expensive! I found some instructions by searching Google (God I love my Google!) and it really only requires ribbon, batting, corkboard and foam, and a stapler. R and I practically grew up together since we met back in middle school so we have a ton of pictures of the two of us. I thought we would make three boards to fill up space on the large gift table provided; one of just FI with his cute little baby pics and all his sports photos, one with my childhood photos, and then one filled with pics of the two of us together through the years. I think it will turn out quite well! Here are some examples of what the finished product will look like: