Some of the cool ideas offered include:

• Peach or raspberry Bellinis for guests, made with some fruit picked from the garden.
• For canapés with the early drinks, lots of different bruschettas made with garden tomatoes, garlic, and plenty of home-grown basil and a minty bean humus as well.
• Plates of just-picked baby vegetables – radish, mini carrots, peas, purple-podded mange touts, and the late, mini broad bean ‘Stereo’ – on plates covered in ice.
• Crisp courgette wedges with anchovy mayonnaise and stuffed courgette flowers with goat’s cheese and honey.
• Fresh salads and new potatoes served with dinner.
• Lebanese tahini salad, home-made mint jelly and platters of salad scattered with blue borage and orange marigold flowers included with the main wedding meal.
• Flowers such as, Cosmos ‘Purity’ and dill flowers for decor, table centres of potted acidanthera, and a bouquet of roses, alchemilla and sweet peas.

I LOVE this idea; they offer some great creative ideas, and I see how you could expand it to all sorts of cool events – grow your own… potluck, graduation, baby shower, birthday, the list goes on and on. Growing your own food and flowers for a major event is a super way to cut costs and makes for such a charming event too. Plus, it’s so versatile. You could grow all sorts of different items for various events.

Read the series:

• Grow your own wedding: part 1
• Grow your own wedding: part 2

See more ways to save money on your wedding.

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Adjust your ring: You don’t really need both engagement rings AND wedding rings. That’s a little bit of overkill. You can also save money by greening your wedding ring, which cuts out things like pricey (and earth-hateful) diamonds and gold.

Adjust the invites: Go paperless which saves on stamps and paper costs – not to mention all those trees. Digital invites are so not lame anymore either. There are some totally amazing digital wedding invitations out there nowadays.

Adjust the cake: Have one small and beautiful cake that’s decorated and decked out in wedding bliss style. THEN have a plain old sheet cake tucked away in a back room at the reception. Cake decorating and extra layers cost more.

Adjust the clothes: You can opt out of totally formal wedding attire or go used or borrowed. Some vintage gowns can be had for a fraction of the cost of a newly made wedding gown, and you’ll have something more unique.

Adjust the setting: For a summer wedding, you may be in luck with clear skies. You can hold a wedding outdoors at a park or some nice friend’s big backyard. You can even (gasp) forget the chair rentals. People can stand if your ceremony is short, or sit on the grass. It’s casual but still special.

Adjust the food: At a reception you don’t need full meals like in the movies. Cake, drink, and some fun snacks and treats are good enough.

Adjust the photos: Among my group of friends I know about two really great picture takers, and one amazing photographer. If you have a camera and at least one or two pals who can shoot, don’t hire a pro. Wedding photo albums are overblown ideas anyhow – I mean, how often do people actually flip through them?

What other ways can you think of that will save money on a wedding?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy