Everything You Need To Know About Getting Married During Lent

If you're Christian, you know that today is Ash Wednesday starts the Lenten season. You're supposed to use this as a time of reflection, and end Lent as a better person, a better Christian. To help you aid in your betterment, you're asked to sacrifice. For couples getting married, that means you sacrifice decorations. Yup, there's no decorating during Lent. Didn't know that? That's why we wrote this Everything You Need To Know About Getting Married During Lent post.

On Ash Wednesday, and all Fridays during Lent, Christians abstain meat and serve meatless meals for dinner; on the holiest days of the Lenten season, you are asked to fast; and during the 40 days, most Christians will give up something extremely enjoyable to them.

For me, it's chocolate; for that guy in 40 Days and 40 Nights, it was sex; for couples, it's decorating the church.

Everything You Need To Know About Getting Married During Lent

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A few years ago, I was out with my friend Nicole, blabbering about weddings, and she brought up no decorating during Lent. She had a friend who planned her wedding and church ceremony, all blind to the fact that her wedding was happening during Lent. And that meant no decorations at the church.

No white tulle pew bows. No flowers adorning the alter. Nope, nada, zippo, zilch.

On one hand, it sure saves a lot of money. Having a bow on every pew and a runner down the aisle can get expensive. So getting married during Lent eliminates those costs (and since it's a church mandated order, it stops you from looking cheap).

But, on the other hand, it might make your photos inside the church a little lackluster.

Pete and I planned a summer wedding, so this wasn't something we had to keep in mind, but it is just one small aspect of the wedding to think about that you didn't think you had to think about when the planning process started. That there are a ton of those sort of things.

And, think about this before you pick a date.

Ash Wednesday, Easter, and the Lenten season change each year. This year, it starts on February 22. Next year, it's Valetines Day. If you're planning a 2025 or 2026 wedding, check a calendar first.

There are a few other things to keep in mind when getting married during Lent, so let's chat about those.

What days during Lent can you get married?

The church will allow you to get married during Lent. The exceptions, though, are Good Friday and Holy Saturday (the Friday and Saturday before Easter). 

It's not a rule, per say, that you can't get married on Easter Sunday, but it is regarded as one of the holiest days in the church. So there's a very high chance that a priest won't allow an Easter Sunday wedding.

Another thing to keep in mind is that many churches will do Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings. So, if you're hoping for a Friday wedding, you may have to host it earlier than usual.

Can your wedding have a full Catholic mass during Lent?

You're going to want to check with your particular church on this, but some Catholic churches will not allow a full mass for your wedding if it's during Lent. This is to minimize the amount of celebrating you can do during the season.

Some churches will do a full Catholic mass but will skip the wine so you can have a "sober" mass. Personally, I don't agree with this because the wine is meant to be the blood of Christ, but the law was passed in Rome in the 1990's. And since I'm not getting remarried, and not in Rome for sure, my disagreement is naught. 

Can you have singing at your wedding during Lent?

This is another one that is up to the discretion of your church.

Some churches say that you can't have a full celebration during Lent. And celebrating includes singing. So the church may say that you can get married, but there cannot be any singing.

That's actually not just reserved to weddings. If you're planning a funeral during Lent, the church will say the funeral must take place with minimal fanfare, which means no singing.

One of the most important things for me was to have Ave Maria sang at our wedding. It was my grandma's favorite church song, and my parents had it sang (sung?) during their wedding ceremony. So it was important for me to have it sang (sung?) during our wedding.

A lack of singing would definitely have had me change our wedding date.

If singing during the ceremony isn't that important to you, then you don't have to worry about this.

What meals can you serve if you're getting married during Lent?

Getting married during Lent means that you may have to change your wedding menu.

For Christians, there's no meat on Friday. So if you're having a Saturday wedding, with a Friday rehearsal dinner, you want to make sure you're offering meatless options. And if you're having a Friday wedding, you want to keep this in mind for your wedding menu.

Maybe you don't observe Lent, so you're not worried about vegetarian dinners, but some of your guests will be. And you don't want them to feel uncomfortable -- or hungry.

You want to make sure that these meatless meals are also actually vegetarian. Soup sounds vegetarian, but many soups are made with beef or chicken broth, so Christians can't eat them.

Double and triple check with your caterer before choosing your menu.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What small detail did you not realize until after you were engaged? Let us know in the comments.

UPDATE: Shark Week 2022 started Sunday, July 24. Did it inspire you to add some Shark Week Wedding Ideas into your wedding?

We don't have cable and I'm already way more nervous in the ocean than anyone my age should be, so Discovery's Shark Week is not for me. But for so many people, Shark Week is a holiday in itself to be celebrated. A week long TV marathon featuring the ocean's not-so-friendly creatures.

To get in on the fun, I was thinking about a Shark Week wedding. It would be great to have it during Shark Week. Then your busiest week of wedding planning would be Shark Week, and you would be able to sit and relax and watch sharks on TV after running around planning all day.

Shark Week Wedding Ideas

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Shark Week actually lends to a lot of ideas (some of which are really cute) and really fun. Some are really obvious, which you can definitely do, or you can be a little more subtle about it.

Shark Week Wedding Invitations

With this type of theme, invitations are important. You want your guests to immediately know they're invited to a Shark Week wedding. This isn't something you want to spring on them like a shark attack (womp womp womp).

These Shark Wedding Invitations are a cute idea.

Shark Week Wedding Décor

For a Shark Week-themed wedding, you're going to want to focus on blues for your décor. Personally, I would go with a navy and add in pops of a lighter blue. It lends to really great wedding photos (and, after all, it is a wedding).

For your tables, go with dark blue table runners with light blue napkins. Spread this Shark Confetti over the table as well.

For Shark Week centerpieces, blue and white flowers are perfect. Place a small clay shark on skewer and add it to the bunch. Your guests will love the surprise of finding the shark in the bouquet.

If you have a way to hang paper lanterns from the ceiling of your venue, blue and white ones would be perfect. If you don't want plain circles, these fish shaped paper lanterns would be cute too.

Shark Week Wedding Attire

I would absolutely put the bridesmaids in navy dresses. You could either have them match completely or do mix and match dresses. But have the color match for sure.

Have the groomsmen match with navy vests and ties and in a gray tux because, come on, this is Shark Week. You have to have them in shark gray. If not, that's a big missed opportunity.

Shark Week Wedding Floral Ideas

I would keep flowers really simple and go with baby's breath bouquets for the bridesmaids. 

Gypsophila bouquets are really popular and budget friendly. You only need about five to seven stems of baby's breath for a full bouquet. Tie them together with a piece of navy ribbon. You can make smaller versions for the groomsmen's boutonnieres. 

Plus, you can say the white represents a shark's white teeth (that and I think any other color would really take away from the theme).

And red would just be terrible.

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Shark Week Wedding Accessories

During the reception, you'll have a ton of places that you can add in a pop of shark, but you really don't want to go overboard (What a terrible -- and unintentional -- pun that was). If you do, you'll look like you're throwing more of a birthday party than a wedding.
But there's no way you can have a Shark Week-themed wedding without this shark-shaped guest book. They're really cute and are a nice keepsake for the future. Your guests will sign their names on miniature wooden sea creatures (crabs, dolphins, etc.) and will drop them into the shark's belly. After your wedding, you can display this on a wall.
And that's great because most of your Shark Week wedding décor will get tossed or lost, but you will definitely keep this.

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Shark Week Wedding Desserts

You absolutely need shark cake toppers.

Wedding cake toppers are a place to shine. They're really a great opportunity to tie your wedding theme into your cake.  Plus, if you have a really cute topper, you can have simpler cake decorations.

And, small aside: Cakes are expensive and elaborate decorations add to that expense. Any intricate and ornate decorations involve a ton of manual labor -- which you will end up paying for. So yes, it would be cute to have waves piped all over your cake with a ton of fondant air bubbles, but you will be paying someone to sit and roll those fondant bubbles, and that labor cost adds up.

But if you do decide on it, can be cute.

Also cute: Shark-themed cupcakes.

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Regular cupcakes with blue-tinted frosting and a chocolate shark fin work perfectly. Who wouldn't love those? Plus, they're really eye catching, especially since frosting just lends itself to looking like waves. 

If you want to be simpler, you can dress up plain cupcakes with shark cupcake toppers. Just drop them off with your baker and they'll show up to your Shark Week wedding already decorated.

If you're planning on a candy buffet, you're in luck. 

You can have foil-wrapped candies alongside shark gummies. They're cheap if you buy them in bulk. And if you just have a little bucket of sharks mixed in with the other candies, it will make your guests really smile. Plus, it won't be overkill.

If you have time, you can make Shark Candy Bark and add it to your candy buffet.

Or you can just make Shark Pudding Cups and hand those out as your guests are leaving your reception.

Shark Week Wedding Favors

Shark coozies are a fun wedding favor. And they're perfect for summer weddings because your guests can use them during your wedding.

For your bridesmaids and flower girls, you can pick up this cute "I Chews You" Shark bracelet. Or you can pick up this Shark Week ring stack. It comes with matching bracelets and earrings too. Pick them up for your bridal party, then have them wear the jewelry during your ceremony.

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Shark Week Wedding Photo(shop)

And, no Shark Week wedding post would be complete without mentioning this photo that went viral a few years back:

Seriously, that would be the perfect ending to your perfect Shark Week wedding.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What else would you add to your Shark Week wedding?

July 4th Wedding Ideas

I remember, back in 2014, Jessica Simpson was planning a July 4th wedding to Eric Johnson, and it got me thinking: What do you think about couples who schedule a wedding on a holiday?

Jessica Simpson said something along the lines of (I'm paraphrasing here): "I used to hate them when I was younger but now I realized it's an extra day to spend with family." My brother translated that to, "I hated them until I decided to do one."

Honestly, there are a lot of 4th of July wedding pros and cons. It really all depends on how you look at it.

Personally, I think it's hard on your guests. Travel costs around holidays skyrocket, so anyone flying will have to pay a premium. Those same guests get hit again if they're staying in hotels because holiday rates are generally higher than regular rates. And sure, your guests don't have to travel. They can RSVP no. But for the people who want to be there, you need to take them into consideration when you're planning.

I'll be honest. Weddings on holiday weekends are one of my five wedding pet peeves. But holiday-centered weddings lend to some really easy, beautiful, and unique wedding themes.

When we were selecting our colors, I picked eggplant, lilac, and silver because purple is my favorite color and lilac and silver are good complements. A fourth of July wedding is ready made. You already know your colors will be red, white, and blue, so you might as well have some fun with it.

July 4th Wedding Inspiration

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July 4th Wedding Stationery 

Your save the dates are the introduction to your wedding, and, in this case, the introduction to your July 4th wedding theme.

So start your wedding theme off right by letting your guests know that you consciously picked Independence Day to declare your independence from single life and marry your best friend. You don't want people to think you picked the day to save money. Have them think you picked it with purpose (even if the purpose was to save money).

When you send your save the dates or invitations, be sure to incorporate red, white, and blue into them. You don't have to go over the top with your stationery, like skip the fireworks all over the invites, but a little pop of the colors is great.

A few of our favorite July 4th Wedding Stationery ideas are:

• Red, White & I Do Invitation
• Red, White & I Do Save the Date
• Floral Red, White & Blue Wedding Invitation

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July 4th Wedding Attire

For your July 4th wedding, you still want to wear your traditional white wedding dress. But, add a pop of color with something like blue high heels.

You can have your bridesmaids in blue with a bouquet of red roses. If you want something subtle, you can always add a little red, white, and blue to your garter.

Then, for your groom, he and his groomsmen can wear traditional suits or tuxedos. But then they can add something like red, white, and blue suspenders or patriotic flag socks to go with the theme.

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July 4th Wedding Venues

As far as venues, look for something rustic and very Americana. Think old barns, fields, and farmhouses.

A venue with a clear outdoor area with a view of a downtown area would be incredible if said downtown area was setting off fireworks that night. That way, you could have fireworks at your wedding without actually having to purchase explosives.

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July 4th Wedding Decorations

When you decorate, you can go as minimal or over the top as you want. I mean, it's America. No one's gonna say you went too far.

Consider red, white, and blue paper lanterns, red chairs along white tablecloths, white chairs among red and blue tablecloths, blue napkins, this Red, White & I Do banner ... you definitely have a lot of options for décor.

You'll want to create some beautiful July 4th wedding centerpieces as well.

You could go a little Americana with mirrored plates with apples and vases with carnations, or just skip the apples and go with red, white, and blue flowers in vases on various sizes.

What you could do, too, is paint vases white and then just go with blue and red flowers (since white flowers are generally associated with death here in the US).

Finish your décor with a guest book that lends to your theme. This Firework Red and Blue 3D wedding guestbook is perfect. Leave a pen by the print and have each guest sign a firework piece. This is really cute to display in your home after your wedding.

Our guest book was a book and I had intentions of it sitting on our coffee table, but it's sitting in a box somewhere -- and I honestly have no idea where that somewhere is right now. I should have gone with something to hang. That way, you can enjoy it often.

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July 4th Wedding Desserts

I love cake. Absolutely love it. When I heard the suggestion to pick your favorite thing and don't compromise on it in your wedding budget, mine was cake (Pete's, if you're wondering, was food and music). I had to have a top tier cake. It worked out. Everyone loved our wedding cake. Everyone I talked to admitted to having multiple pieces of it. That's the kind of compliment that makes me happy.

So personally, I wouldn't mess with cake. But if you wanted to incorporate your theme, a tiered cake covered in white buttercream icing with sliced strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries on each tier is on the top of my list of 4th of July wedding cakes. Just make sure the fruit is fresh and local to give it an extra kick.

If you wanted a traditional cake, you could make our red, white, and blue chocolate stars, then have a pair of them added to the cake plates. That way, you have your regular cake but also a bit of your theme as well.

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July 4th Wedding Sparkler Send Off

And, of course, no 4th of July wedding would be complete without a sparkler send off. The photo above is my absolute favorite sparkler photo of all time. I actually chose our photographers because they had sparkler photos in their example books and I wanted to find a photographer who could do this.

And then, at the end of the night, it was nearly impossible to grab people for a sparkler send off because they were having too much fun on the dance floor and enjoying the band (good thing music was one of Pete's priorities because we nailed it). So, it didn't work out for me. But if you are having a July 4th wedding, you absolutely need sparklers.

And, to let your guests know that you are having sparklers, you might want to set them up at the front of your venue or at each guest's seat with a small When Sparks Fly sign on them.

  

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you add to a July 4th wedding?

Since May is National Pet Month, it seemed like a good time to remind you of this 5 Ways To Incorporate Your Pet Into Your Wedding Day post.

Admit it: If you have a pet, it's basically your child.

I don't think people are ever crazy about pets until they actually get a pet. Oh, sure, your family may have pets when you're growing up, but until you have your own pet, you don't become that person. You know, the one who talks to their pet like a human, spoiling it like a child.

I think that's just what happens when you have a pet and no children. So of course, if you're a pet parent, you may be wondering how to include your dog in your wedding. Or maybe you want to add your cat to the wedding ceremony. Or your iguana. Whatever you like. It's your big day.

5 Ways To Incorporate Your Pet Into Your Wedding Day

1. Take photos with your pet

This one is easy ... unless your pet is scared of people.

Imagine your bridesmaids, your parents, and you getting ready on the morning of your wedding. Consider them, plus hair and makeup technicians, a videographer, and photographers. Could your pet handle all that?

If that's too much, especially if you have a cat, nix the idea. You don't want the cat to get spooked, jump with claws ready, and tear a hole in your wedding dress before you're even out the door. Wedding photos with dogs are a lot easier if your dog understands commands like sit and stay. If your pup is, well, a puppy, you might be in for a little trouble.

If your pet is calm, definitely pick up a pet bow tie and make sure he's ready for his close up.

2. Add your pet to your cake topper

I absolutely love when people hide a little something on their cake, like an Easter egg. So you could have a cake topper with you and your groom at the top, then hide a fondant version of your pet somewhere at the bottom.

If you want your pet front and center, you're in luck. There are some really beautiful silhouette cake toppers that are perfect: there's a couple with a cat (who is being a curious cat) and a couple with a dog (who is being a very good dog). Par for the course with those pets.

You can find a ton of pet wedding cake toppers, with multiple animals and multiple breeds, so you're bound to find the exact one that represents your pet family.

3. Make your pet the ring bearer

The priest told us that our ring bearer (who was a human) wasn't allowed to carry our actual rings down on a pillow. He could bring a pillow down, of course, but we were asked to tie fake rings to it. He said the chance of a young child dropping the pillow is high, which would mean all our guests would instantly start looking for the rings, causing a commotion.

He also noted that trying to untie the rings while simultaneously trying to conduct the ceremony was not a task he wanted to undertake. So he said give the real rings to the best man, tie fake rings on the ring bearer's pillow, and that's that.

So since your ring bearer can't carry real rings, you can definitely have your dog as your ring bearer. Tie fake rings around his neck and send your pup down the aisle. Of course, if you do this, you first have to look for dog-friendly wedding venues because not all venues will allow this.

4. Have your pet accompany the flower girl down the aisle

Maybe you don't trust your dog on its own. Or maybe you have a turtle that you want to be a part of the ceremony, but it will take forever for him to get down the aisle. That would actually make for hysterical photos but a lot of eye rolling and waiting.

So entrust your flower girl to help your pet out. Put your pet on a flowered leash and ask your flower girl to walk him. It will be an adorable photo opp, plus it helps to guarantee that your pet will have supervision during the walk down the aisle.

5. Add your pet to your save the dates or wedding invitations.

If you want your pets to be a part of your big day, but not actually in your big day, consider using them in your save the dates like my friend Kimie did. Also, these are her pets from photos we used to design her actual save the dates.

Kimie hand painted her signs, but you can actually order our humans are getting married signs or she said yes pet bandanas online if you're less crafty.

Things To Keep In Mind When You Incorporate Your Pet Into Your Wedding Day

Don't, for any second, forget about your pet when you're planning. You have to account for everything. So, I put together a little checklist of questions to ask and take care of before your wedding day.

• Is the venue (ceremony site and reception site) pet friendly?
• Do they have experience with pets?
• Do you have to pay extra to clean up after your pet?
• Is there anything there that the pet can destroy? And what if Fido chews through the couch?
• What is the pet wearing? Who is dressing the pet?
• Who is bringing the pet to the reception? The ceremony?
• Who is packing food and water for the pet?
• Who is watching the pet during the ceremony?
• If the pet decides to run, who is chasing after him or her?
• If the pet goes to the bathroom, who is cleaning it up?
• How are you assuring no one table feeds the pet at the reception?
• If someone does and the pet gets sick, who takes care of it?
• Who is watching the pet during the reception?
• Who is bringing the pet home?

Logistically, there's a lot to consider if you choose to incorporate your pet into your wedding day, but if you pet is like your child, you can't imagine leaving him or her at home. So you'll figure it all out. And your wedding photos will be amazing.

BRIDAL BABBLE: How would you incorporate your pet into your wedding day?

White Wedding Inspiration Board

Whenever it gets cold and my Facebook friends start posting photos of their snowy homes, I get Billy Idol's White Wedding stuck in my head. So, it seemed fitting that I would put together a White Wedding Pinterest board.

White weddings can be so classy. The best way (in my opinion anyway) is to have mostly white decor and then accent with shiny metallics (silver, gold, or pewter). It will look so classically romantic that way. Stick with baby's breath (which is really classically popular) and white hydrangeas. Your flowers will look beautiful, will match with your theme, and they'll be really cheap.

White Wedding Inspiration Board

I picked six of my favorite pins from our White Wedding Pinterest board (there are a lot more on the board itself, so definitely take a peek). I labeled each of the photos above, then linked to them below, so you can quickly go to those pins and repin them to your wedding planning boards.

White Wedding Inspiration Board pins: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

I love this tablescape above. The gold accents make the white wedding look beautiful. And the gold chairs and gold silverware are a plus. Plus, if you look closely, the guy in the background is also wearing white so that's a bonus (the guy next to him in black, not so much). I love the white tent with the white lounge couches under it too.

I'm such a fan of Venetian hours. I mean, who doesn't love unlimited desserts? If I could have had a dessert-only wedding, that would have been the dream. That's not reality, though, so you just have to incorporate more desserts into your wedding, like these marshmallows. Dip them in white chocolate then in white nonpareils (while the chocolate is warm). Simple and delicious.

When you're planning a white wedding, you definitely need white invitations. Sites like Minted make this really easy. You can search invitations by color, so that will limit what you have to look at. You can also create custom colors on the site too. There are invitations that allow you to change colors, so just pick white and whatever accent color you like best to create your perfect white wedding invitation.

I love the drapery on this chair, but even more, I love the pearl brooch that's holding it together. It so beautifully matches the silver chair. And I bet there are more silver accents on the table. With a white wedding, it's these simple accents that will stop your white wedding from completely looking washed out.

I love baby's breath for boutineers and bouquets for a white wedding. They're a lot cheaper than other flowers since they're generally just filler. Plus, it's easy to put these together yourself (since you don't have to worry about how various flowers will flow together). And baby's breath holds its white color when you dry it, so that makes preserving these really simple.

A white wedding wouldn't be complete without a white wedding cake. The one above is so simple from the back and beautiful from the front. Be sure to position it with a wall as the backdrop so none of your guests stare at the boring backside all night. If you wanted to dress it up a little, silver fondant pearls around the tiers would make this a bit more glamorous.

If white's not your thing, check out our other wedding inspiration boards below:

• Blue Wedding Inspiration Board
• Green Wedding Inspiration Board
• Fiesta Wedding Inspiration Board
• Shark Week Wedding Inspiration Board
• July 4th Wedding Inspiration Board
• Football Wedding Inspiration Board

BRIDAL BABBLE: What pin from our white wedding inspiration board is your favorite?

Fiesta Wedding Inspiration Board

I love wedding inspiration boards. They're super fun to put together and such a great way to find and collect ideas. Four years ago (how time flies!), Lydia tweeted me and asked for ideas for her Tex/Mex/Fiesta wedding theme, so of course, I had to put together a Fiesta Wedding inspiration board. And with being Cinco de Mayo around the corner, it only felt right to break out this post from the vault.

Fiesta Wedding Inspiration Board

The more I worked on it, the more I realized just how incredibly fun a fiesta wedding would be. The essence of a fiesta wedding is bright and bold colors. Think lots of hot pink, Tiffany blue, and yellow. The brighter, the better.

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Kick things off with bright, bold fiesta wedding invitations. For a fiesta wedding, you can't start with a dull invitation. From the very beginning, you want your guests to know they're in for a party.

The invitations above are no longer available, but you can check out these Fiesta Invitations from Minted. I like them a lot because there is a lot of detail to them. Even more, you can change the colors on it to your custom colors to personalize them.

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I absolutely love the flowers you can choose for a fiesta wedding. Flowers look amazing in wedding photos if they have a pop to them. Bright, bold colors can give you that pop.

But, you can carry that past the actual flowers. Instead of a white or ivory piece of ribbon on your stems, you can go with something like turquoise tulle.

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I imagine a fiesta wedding has to be held outdoors. You're not having this wedding in the dead of winter when your guests are confined to a ballroom. It's outdoors in a courtyard of some sort. It's in a warm month and your guests may get hot during the ceremony.

So bright, multi-colored programs printed as fans ... perfect.

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If you're having a fiesta wedding, it should be loud. With loud colors, you're not going to have a super quiet ceremony. It just doesn't mesh. So I'm definitely a huge supporter of maracas. Add a note to them to ask your guests to shake them during the kiss. Or have them rattle you down the aisle after the ceremony.  You can pick up some hand painted wooden maracas, but those will get pricey. Personally, I vote for some plastic maracas. They'll do the trick and won't burn your budget.

Photo credit Photo credit You can definitely have a great time with escort cards that double as favors. You can pick up mini bottles of Patron (which I'm sure your guests will absolutely love) or Tabasco sauce. Amazon sells a case of 500 bottles of Tabasco sauce. I know, it sounds like a lot and you probably won't have 500 guests, but it's actually a lot cheaper than if you buy less. And then you'll have these for your own consumption after the wedding (or just donate them to your venue). Photo credit Photo credit

When your guests get to their seats, there's so much you can do with the tables.

Instead of traditional tablecloths, go with blankets. You can use cacti instead of floral centerpieces (which might save on your flowers budget). You can also decorate with paper flowers, which you can DIY from tissue paper or coffee filters.

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Your menu can be so fun with a fiesta wedding.  Start with your signature cocktails. For a fiesta, you definitely should have sangria. Horchata is a great choice too. They're easy to make and will save money too. It would be really pretty if you served drinks with chevron paper straws too.

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And then there's the meal. You know I'm a huge fan of having an action station -- and a taco bar would be perfect for a fiesta wedding. If you have servers, you could do a quesadilla station too (which are really popular). I would definitely have salsa and guacamole too. And remember those extra Tabasco bottles? Here's a great place for them.

You can start your guests with a plated avocado salad or a Mexican tortilla soup, then have the bars as a buffet dinner. Or have a plated dinner and have the taco bar during cocktail hour. There's a ton of options with your menu.

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Your guests are definitely going to want to be the type of people who have fun, so I would set up a photo booth for them.

If you have one, fill it with maracas (like the ones you used during the ceremony), sombreros, baby guitars, and margarita glasses. Definitely grab a bold fabric for a backdrop and your guests will have a great time.

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And, at the end of the night, you can have churros. I've talked to so many wedding guests who say they love a late night snack when leaving the wedding (it's part of why we had a candy buffet on the way out of our wedding).

Handing out churros in chevron treat bags (which match the chevron straws) just ties everything together. And that's part of what you need with a wedding like this. It can be so big and bold that it takes off and gets out of control. You need themes (like chevron) to tie everything together and bring it back to center.

I absolutely love this these fiesta wedding ideas. If you do too, be sure to check out our fiesta wedding Pinterest board.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you add to your fiesta wedding inspiration board?