Tie a napkin round your neck: Place Settings

Trying to be budget conscious yet true to our style, we have worked with a budget that allows us to spend more on what we like and less on what is not as important to us. Examples of this are a splurge on invitations but skipping the calligraphy and personalized stamps, a splurge on our ceremony venue but a skimp on our reception hall, a splurge on photographer and writing a videographer out of the budget, and a splurge on a DOC which has saved our sanity. One of the main spend vs save options has been with our caterer.

We love our caterer. Their food, service, and professionalism has been amazing. They have risen to our expectations and their reputation. Being food lovers, the fiance and I are so happy we chose them and a menu that provides variety, taste, and health options. We splurged on appetizers (ceviche, bacon wrapped prawns and scallops), entrees (steak and salmon), even dessert (ice cream buffet) because we know that good food means happy people and good food is remembered. But with all this splurging, we had to figure out a way to save on. We've provided our own alcohol and shortened our guest list, but there was also more we could do.

Our caterer also takes care of our food related rentals (linens, stemware, utensils, plates, chaffing dishes, table number holders, etc). We always wanted something nice in the form of our table setting, but knew this was where we could potentially save.

While I love fancy linens, utensils, stemware, and plates.

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And I longed for the cleverly crafted details of a Martha Stewart styled wedding.

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I knew we had to go for something on the simpler side.

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We chose the basics of each item. White cotton linens, for a clean look. This would also allow our centerpieces to stand out.

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Napkins folded flat also gave the clean lines look. I really like the addition of a bit of flowers for a touch of color.

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And I liked the white on white look (table cloth, napkins, plates).

Here is the place setting we looked at during our catering consultation. Each item is the basic, bare bones, starting off product they provide. It's definitely on the more economical side of things, since we have to pay for each item (plate, utensil, napkin, glass) we rent, but we figured as long as the food is good maybe no one will notice the simplicity of it all.

We liked the over all look, which is a bit simple but has enough style. The wave-pattern design on the plate reminds us of our vases. The napkin has a little bit of lavender folded into it, this is standard at their weddings and matches the inspiration above as well as one of our wedding colors. The stemware (water, wine, and champagne glasses) is smaller than their other, more luxurious option, but as long as the drinks are flowing, the guests won't mind. And the silverware is a bit fun. It's hard to notice in the photo (taken by a Blackberry) but the fork and knife are different in style. The fork has a simply detailed bottom handle, and the knife has a sort of "w" shaped bottom handle. It's slightly reminiscent of an upside down heart, so we chose that :)

All in all, we are happy with our decision and can't wait to see everything in place.

How did you decide on your place settings? Did you go for a more detailed, colorful, textural look, or a simpler, monochromatic look?


Blog title is from song in Disney's Beauty and the Beast

p.s. time is flying by so fast!! Right when I thought I had everything under control, I realized that so many details are still in the works. Wish me luck w/ the next few weeks :)