The year is 2006. Hello Magazine has just released the EXCLUSIVE wedding photos of Katie Holmes’ & Tom Cruise’s monumental Italian wedding festivities. You’re awestruck by this forever romance, but more importantly, the exquisite embellishments of their flawless wedding décor. You vow to one day have a love like TomKat’s, moreover, a wedding just as ravishing.
Fast forward 16 years.
The Good News: You’re not marrying one of the world’s wealthiest & most powerful scientologists (we hope).
The Bad News: Your wedding budget is not $20 million.
The Best News: (Because sometimes, marrying the love of your life just won’t cut it) You can still achieve an incredibly elegant, dazzling wedding design within your budget with the 5 tips & tricks below! Now, that’s something to jump up & down on Oprah’s couch about.
1. Bistro Lighting
If you're not a sucker for a starry, twinkling string light, you're a liar. It's an inexpensive way to fill an open space and create a romantic ambiance to dance & dine beneath all night.
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2. Silk Centerpieces
“🎵I know something you don’t, I know something you will never know🎵”
Your guests will never know that your floral arrangements are faux. These eco-friendly options (talk about... going GREEN 😏🌿) will not only save you money in florals, but labor & delivery fees, as well. Plus, you can get a return on investment by selling them after! Talk about...saving green😏💵 (I'm so sorry).
*Pro tip- place arrangements on higher pedestals - even if the quality of the arrangement isn't 100% perfect, your guests aren't going to be standing on their chairs with monocles to thoroughly inspect*
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3. Bulk up on your sweetheart table, tone down on your guest tables
"These centerpieces aren’t elaborate enough," said no sane wedding guest ever. If you're looking for an extravagant aesthetic, but are working with a modest budget, you can create the illusion by going over-the-top at your sweetheart table, and adorning guest tables with something much simpler (votive candles & flower petals, etc.) because
A. The sweetheart table is the focal point of the room - the first thing guests will notice, and where guests’ attention will be directed anytime they aren't dancing/eating.
B. Guests want to be able to see & speak with each other from across the table. Huge floral arrangements tend to get in the way of that.
C. When it comes to your photos, you'll get maybe a few details shots of your guest table centerpieces- they otherwise won't make the cut for many photos. Your sweetheart table, however, will be in a ton of photos.
*Pro Tip- ask your florist to repurpose your ceremony décor for your sweetheart table!
4. Use Large Palms/Leaves Instead of Flowers
For a garden-chic, glamourous greenhouse atmosphere, garnish your wedding with greens galore. It's an earthy, cool vibe and relieves your wedding of feeling stuffy or try-hard. It also allows you to fill large portions of space with beautiful plants for a fraction of the cost of what you’d pay for petals.
5. Tapered Candles & Candelabras
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Tapered candles & candelabras add an enchanting mis en scène to your space, are dripping with allure, and, you guessed it- are a whole hell of a lot cheaper than traditional flowers. Picture the 17th Century elegance and romance of Beauty & The Beast and Phantom of the Opera sans the creepy hostage storylines…which brings us back to our dear Katie Holmes.
*Editor's Note
Katie received a fairy-tale ending of her own after filing for divorce from Tom Cruise in 2012. In The Pre Nup's version, she’s living her best life free from the shackles of a religious cult, but still looks back fondly on that iconic wedding décor.