I’m sure you’ve heard about the royal wedding favors the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Will and Kate!) gave to their guests–pricey scarves with a British flag design. Very nice, right? The company in India that manufactures the scarves produces high-end scarves costing as much as 300 pounds (which is about $495.) Will you be spending that much for wedding party favors?

If you have the bucks to give your guests lavish favors, good for you! But if you’re like me and have to budget for big events, you just might be interested in a way to sneak some royal elegance into your wedding at a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the cost for an extravagant scarf. Find a fleur-de-lis favor!

What’s a Fleur-de-Lis?

For starters, it’s a symbol of royalty. When you examine the coat of arms of the House of Windsor (Will’s last name!), you’ll notice a crown of red and gold above the shield, with a lion standing above the crown. Inside the crown are two gold fleur-de-lis (right photo)—a centuries-old symbol of royalty and honor.  Designers have used the “lily flower” (fleur-de-lis in English) to create a stunning collection of favors to give your tables the royal touch.

And now, here are a few of our favors with a fleur-de-lis motif!

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I know you’re out there! This is for all those thousands (okay, maybe dozens) of engaged couples whose love of the thinking-person’s game of chess brought you together. Maybe you met at a high-school chess club or a chess tournament.  Or did you check each other out on a dating site, where you both put “chess” in your list of passions or likes? Now that you’re going to mate for life, here are a few ideas to move you toward a chess-themed wedding–from your color scheme right down to your unique wedding favors!

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Made for Each Other!

Black-and-white weddings have always been the height of elegance, so your love of chess lends itself perfectly to a time-honored wedding palette. If you want to create some eye-popping accents, add touches of red or silver in your flowers, your centerpieces, your gown—whatever suits you.

I’m not suggesting you overwhelm your event with chess references—maybe just something in the save-the-date cards (Checkmate! He Made a Great Move! He Captured His Queen!), the reception table centerpieces and the favors. When you choose black and white for your wedding colors, you made your planning fairly simple.

There’s an abundance of white wedding gowns with touches of black, and your bridesmaids will look smashing in black dresses with black accents.  Same with the groomsmen, whose red-rose boutonnieres dazzle on those black tuxedos with white shirts.

Of course, you can really go all out and request that your guests wear formal black or white—it will make for some stunning wedding photos, but some of the guests might not be smiling, like poor Aunt Irene, who was just dying to wear her new lavender-satin pants suit. Oh, well. At least the rest of your event will be stunning. Before I show you your perfect favors, take a look at some ideas:

I promised you chess-themed wedding favors, and here they are.  The “Check Mate!” King and Queen Place Card/Photo Holders are the perfect touch for your reception tables. When guests take them home and add their favorite photos, they’ll be pleasantly reminded of your perfect match—and the winning move you made in planning your wedding!

I caught an article on the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy blog that made me wince. Apparently, funeral homes are taking a hit during the economic downturn, too,  so many are now offering their grounds for less-somber occasions—like weddings—to supplement their income.

USA Today reported that 10% of funeral homes “owned or offered a community or family center in addition to traditional funeral facilities” in 2011.

Okay. Clearly, having your wedding at a funeral home has to have upsides along with the downsides, and I thought it might be fun to explore what those might be. We’ll start with the upsides:

• Many funeral homes have lovely gardens and grounds
• Their “rooms” are often elegantly appointed
• The price is right (I can’t help but believe that only an amazing deal would attract a bride- and groom-to-be)
• If you time it right, you can save on flowers
• There’s probably a make-up artist on staff
• They’ll have plenty of tissues for the weepers during your ceremony
• You can ask them to throw in couple of plots while you’re negotiating for your wedding
• Now you can invite 96-year-old great-Aunt Beulah without worry

The downsides:

• It’s a funeral home
• You might not be thrilled with the “dressing room”
• There’s really no indirect way to say “Happy Memories Funeral Home” on an invitation
• Dance music will have to be kept low so you don’t “wake the dead”
• You can only hope your pastor or rabbi remembers why he or she is there when the ceremony begins
• A few uninvited guests might show up
• Good luck finding what would have to be seriously unique wedding favors (I do love the little favor box in the photo on the right, though!)

Well, there you go. The pros outweigh the cons.  Looks like passing up an opportunity to have your wedding at a funeral home would be a grave mistake.

For some couples, finding their wedding style can be a bit of a challenge. In the current issue of Bridal Guide magazine, Karen Bussen, an event planner and author of Simple Stunning Weddings, offers some good tips for working through your tastes and priorities to arrive at your ideal wedding style.  Karen works with engaged couples to smooth and speed up the process of nailing their wedding style, and I’m passing along a few of her suggestions:

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Karen’s first questions to an engaged couple are about themselves: How did you meet? Where did you meet? What are your interests? Are you outdoorsy, foodies, high school sweethearts?

Next, she asks them to describe the mood they envision for their wedding, and she recommends thinking in adjectives: hot and spicy? vintage? elegant and understated? whimsical and funky? Try some out to see what clicks with both of you.
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Write down your wedding priorities. Is it the food? the guest list? an eco-friendly event? the budget? Karen also says that if family members are contributing money and involved in the planning, you should play it safe and run everything by them to make sure their budget squares with your wedding plans.

After you’ve honed in on your wedding style and budget, Karen says, find your venue. Why? “This is your most important decision, because the venue will drive your choice of everything else, from the dress to the decor to the food.” As an example.: “Let’s say your mood will be earthy, but natural and elegant. You know you want something outdoors, with a certain number of people and you’ve agreed on a budget. So maybe, you’ll decide on a farm or a small inn.”
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If you choose, say, a farm, everything follows from there—sourcing your food and flowers locally, using seasonal flowers or even fruits for centerpieces, etc. Instead of a classic jazz trio, you might prefer a bluegrass group or a zydeco band. And, she says, it doesn’t mean you have to go casual. You can go rustic, but elegant in your choice of centerpieces, etc. Even some garden wedding favors can add a touch of elegance to your tables.

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For an urban chic mood, perhaps you’ll rent a modern art gallery, put in long tables, use a row of narrow, clear cylinders with a single flower in each for centerpieces and swanky cocktails. But if sustainability is also a priority, simply choose organic produce for the meal.

All this sounds like a simple, pain-free way to plan the wedding of your dreams—for both of you!
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Can you believe it?!  2010 is right around the corner.  What an absolutely fabulous time for wedding festivities!  If you’re planning to ring in the New Year as a New Bride, you’re not alone.  An estimated 4.7% of all weddings happening in January, so you’re in good company.  Planning a New Year’s Eve or a New Year’s Day wedding seems the perfect way to begin your new life together.  In case you didn’t already know, here are some reasons why I think NYE and NYD weddings are so popular:

1. People are already celebrating, so why not let them celebrate YOU!?
2. You can save money on decorations because everything is already so darn festive!
3. It’s a holiday!  Most people are already off work, so no one has to lose vacation time or worry about getting up for work in the morning.
4. New Life, New Year, New You–the symbolism is perfect!

If you’re starting the upcoming New Year with a trip down the aisle (or planning to be a 2011 NYD bride), these festive wedding favors will help you and your guests celebrate in style!

Cheers to a Great Couple! Pop the cork on the party and let the celebration continue each time your guests use this unique wedding favor.  “Dressed” like the bride and groom, this corkscrew and bottle stopper set let the fun begin!

Time To Celebrate! This too-cute, silver-toned champagne bucket wedding favor is right on time!  Complete with “ice” and “bubbly”, this kitchen timer adds a fully functional touch of fun and fond memories of your party and makes a practical wedding favor.

Have a Confetti Shower! Who needs to throw rice when you can pop some confetti?!  Just open the tube, and watch the biodegradable tissue-paper confetti be launched into the air by a safe, spring-loaded device.  It’s eco-friendly and fun!

Let’s face it!  Balloon centerpieces are nothing new, but when you add the element of fantasy and a weird creative genius, you’ve got some spectacular.

Great ideas lurk just beneath the surface

Take a look at these underwater creations that would be perfect for a beach or aquarium-themed party or an over-the-top beach wedding.  Although some of them are more than 40 ft. long and much too big for an average room, you can still let these creatures inspire designs from the deep for your next adventure.

While it took balloon artist Jason Hackenwerth three days to create these designs, you can create a tall balloon centerpiece for your beach wedding in a snap.  Here’s a great video to show you how:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDN4vPYsTh4

An ocean-full of favor ideas!

To complement these great designs, add some beach-themed party favors to your table decor.  Accenting your table and enhancing a beach-themed centerpiece, these seashell place card holders would have your guests longing for the shore.  Simply place the name card in the slit on top, and you’re done!