We did this for our own wedding too. We purchased different kinds of orchids from a Trader Joe's store (they could not convince me to use my own orchids hehehe). Besides, I own mostly cymbidiums and no on in their right mind will use a full size mature cymbidium for centerpieces for wedding guest tables. They will occupy the entire table :) We also bought some woven baskets from an arts & crafts store and used them to house the orchids in the center of the tables. The baskets are just a bit bigger than the orchid pots so we had room to put in some extra decorations like ribbons and other cut branches from other plants in our gardens. But even bare, the orchids in a crafted basket looks great. Since we bought different kinds of orchids, each table was unique. And the guests decided to refer to their tables by the orchid names instead of the table numbers. "We are at the purple dendrobium table over there." It also made it easier for them to find their tables after they move about. But it must have been a psychedelic experience for those who had one too many drinks. And since they were not my orchids, we decided to raffle off the centerpieces to the guests at the end of the evening. Even after several years, some of our friends would tell us that the orchids they brought home from the wedding are still doing well. And since we bought them in bloom for the wedding, they bloom around our wedding anniversary too. And I think that is neat. They see the orchids bloom and they are reminded of our wedding :)

Well, I've made a basket to use for the cards at her shower.... because of the wine theme, I tried to weave what's supposed to look like an Italian urn. I bought a few fake grape clusters and raffia to decorate it. I was going to attach them to the handles or rim -- or maybe make a raffia "belt" to hang the grapes at the front of the basket 'belly'. I'm not really sure how to decorate it at this point. Maybe I should weave a completely different basket??? This pic shows the color/shape well -- I made it quite large because she'll only have one shower and it will be a 'fee' shower:

Italian Beef Sandwiches. Very juicy, (read sloppy!) but so easy and delish. It's cheap, too, if you buy chuck roasts on sale. You braise the beef with garlic and onions, bay leaves, salt and pepper for several hours until the meat shreds, serve it hot with all its juices on Italian rolls or other hearty rolls. I'll be more precise with the recipe if you'd like, but that's about it. I guarantee a hit!

To me... that has been done to death. The 'surprise' is not a surprise anymore. IDK, I find it kind of stupid, I guess for lack of a better word, IDK if it's due to the songs that are picked or due to it looking like they are trying to "show up" other people having weddings; and as you say, it's no longer a surprise. When I married my 3rd husband, it was a wedding just for us, we went away to Cypress Gardens in FL, I had my dress (never had a real one before) he had his tux and we did it for the memories of our day and our love. Weddings are getting very commercialized from the decor, flowers, cakes, location. It's not about spending money, it's about marrying the love of your life. If the bride & groom want to dance to a romantic song, I like that, I enjoy seeing the love in their eyes as they dance close. Seeing these choreographed numbers at weddings takes that away...