Did you mention chosen colors or a theme? Nature inspired actually covers a lot of ground. Budget will play a huge role... sometimes, do-it-yourself weddings end up nickel and diming you to death... if you do it right, though, you can save a small fortune! My advice would be start making lists. Get all your important ducks in a row first. When, where, how many guests, colors, theme... You'll need to book a minister, invitations, music/entertainment, food, cake, bar/drinks, photography... you'll need alternate arrangements in case of rain or bad weather... you'll need to think about parking for guests, powder rooms (bathroom facilities) for guests... And remember, you're the bride... so you won't have time to do anything on the day of the wedding, except get ready... you'll need lots of help. And you'll need good rest the night before. You'll need seating for the guests during the wedding... then there's the reception... tables and seating. Are you doing buffet? Or large sit down catering? Dance floor? The wedding will be outdoors by the lake, and will the reception be indoors, or outdoors? Timing... you want everything timed so it all goes well, and there are no large gaps where guests don't quite know what to do. Just a few questions to ask yourself, and keep in mind... weddings are often hectic, and the better you can plan ahead, the better prepared you'll be in case something comes up you weren't expecting. You'll sort of want the theme to carry through... from the bouquets and boutonnieres, to the table decorations and any hall decorations... bridal table, cake table, gift table, card box, etc... a word of caution - gift table and card box should be near the bridal table or where there will always be someone to keep an eye on it - as far from an exit as possible. You mentioned dish strainers above... and I just recalled seeing small pasta sieves at a large store in really nifty colors... those could be lined with moss and planted with succulents or annuals... then the guests could take them home. The ideas are so endless that when I did my own wedding, I hardly knew where to begin! I began using Google, and using key words that helped me locate pictures of what I sort of hand in mind... I ended up at a second hand store buying about 50 coffee cup saucers, spray painted them white, sprinkled on glitter while still wet, and I found a sale at Hobby Lobby on tall white scented candles at 50 cents each. I hot-glued a ring of matching flowers to each saucer, and it turned out fabulous. It was a November wedding with white and burgundy as colors, all silk flowers for ease of prepping ahead, mostly roses. Everyone has contributed such nice ideas... and if you spend a few days going through wedding how-to books, magazines, the internet and its many wedding sites and blogs, craft magazines... you'll have so many ideas, I know you'll find the right one for your wedding. I think key for you will be keeping lists... keeping a budget... and checking things off your list as they are accomplished. In fact, I know some of the wedding sites have lists you can print to help you out a bit. Candy bars are really popular right now, but if it will a summer wedding, that might not work out. Photo booths are also popular... where you hire a photographer, and they set up a booth like you see at malls, and you get to take 4 snap shots, then they go right into a wedding album, and the guests can write a personal message. My son and daugther-in-law just did that and it was so much fun! Centerpieces... depending on when the wedding is, there should be plenty of flowers available in a rainbow of colors... once you've chosen your main colors, you shouldn't have any problems matching up potted centerpieces in any container type you like... baskets, shells, boxes, colored plastic flower pots, clay pots, anything can be a container as long as it holds some soil. And don't forget keeping a list for gifts, and sending thank you cards... it's the personal touches that mean the most. :-) I wish you the best! Here is a link that might be useful: One Link of Many...

We are flying in for 10 days. Staying in the St. James area at the Tamarind cove resort. Western shores so the sunsets should be fantastic. Things are coming together and it should be quite memorable. But would really like to hear suggestions from some ladies as to what they find romantic and or romantic happenings they have experienced. Have thought about nothin else but our upcoming day. Thanks and good luck to you on your day in Barbados. Where will your ceremony take place?

Susan, I understand! The more celiac friendly and vegan friendly dishes you have, the less people will feel singled out. For instance, the groom's cake could be GF vegan. If your people don't usually have a groom's cake, introduce it! It's much nicer than having special diet cupcakes and having to stave off the people who don't need them. Just try to make sure that those who do actually get some during the first cuts. Also, there doesn't have to be butter on the vegetables, or flour in the sauces. Stuff like that makes it a lot easier. And if there's a quinoa dish you can pass it off as trendy, and still have something besides pasta to feed both the vegans and the gluten frees. This recipe is from a Japanese friend for "Chinese" salad! It scales up beautifully, and stays well mixed in a huge bowl. Chinese Poultry Salad 1/4 lb. cooked turkey breast or chicken, shredded, per person 2 oz. maifun rice moodles 1 head lettuce, shredded {I usually just slice with one of those green plastic knives.} 2 TBSP toasted black sesame seeds 4 stalks green onion, sliced thin Deep fry maifun in very hot oil. They will puff up immediately. Turn over on other side and remove from heat. Drain on paper towel. Try to keep white. [Break off small hanks and kind of spread them out to a single layer without a lot of further breaking. Get them in and out in five seconds. Let oil come to heat between batches. Use a spider or skimmer if you have one. They'll break up as you toss the salad, or you can pull them apart. Try to fry the noodles no more than 12 hrs. before you're going to use them, but if it's a dry climate they'll keep a bit longer. Don't put them in plastic for a long time. Put paper towels above and below to store.] Toast sesame seeds [put a fine layer in a small frying pan, no oil, on medium heat, shake occasionally, until they start to jump or pop.] [Assemble the salad at the last minute so the noodles and lettuce stay crisp and the seeds don't get soggy. You can just dump the ingredients in the bowl and toss with the dressing (use as much as you like) and you're done.] DRESSING [makes more than you'll probably need so if scaling up, make less multiples of the dressing than the number of recipes you're doing] 2 TBSP sugar [You can use less to taste] 1 tsp salt 1 tsp ajinoinoto (MSG) (opt.) 1/2 tsp ground pepper 1 TBSP Asian sesame oil [the dark thick pungent kind] 1/4 c. salad oil (Canola) 3 TBSP Japanese [rice] vinegar Combine, blend well, chill. Yield: 6-8 Servings

Happy New Year. Yesterday before DD took the Mega Bus back to Chicago, we went to the Iowa Arboretum to look at their facilities and wedding information. I used to be a member back in the mid 1990's. It has grown (no pun intended) a lot. We decided on this location, selected a tentative date, and decided to do a reception and a wedding at this location. Call to pastor to check dates available was made to reserve the date with her and give a couple alternative dates. Hope all works with the originally selected date, cause who knows if the alternatives will be available in a week. DH and I are really happy with this selection. The venue is not far from us in the country. Wonderful people there too. Iowa Arboretum @Mdln have you seen Asrai Garden floral designs? They are stunning and we might use them for the bridal party flowers, if we can get them here appropriately. DD is looking into logistics. OR I am totally using their look to find a local florist that can create something similar. There is also The Foxglove Studio for flowers in Chicago. Asrai Garden The Foxglove Studio