Trying to nail every decor detail on your wedding day can be quite the undertaking—cue the stress. Between the ceremony, the cocktail hour, and the reception, it’s safe to say your hands are probably getting pretty full. That’s why we put together a handy wedding reception table checklist to ensure no detail gets overlooked.
From standard decor to traditional place settings, we’ve got you covered with every item you could possibly need (or want) for your reception tables.
Wedding Reception Table Checklist
Essential Decor
During the wedding planning process, it’s easy to get lost in all of the exciting details. That’s why we’re starting our checklist with the essentials. Though these aren’t the most fun elements to sort out, they tend to be statement pieces that play an integral role in your wedding reception. Here are the standard decor pieces you should plan before diving into your decor.
Now that the essentials have been taken care of, it’s time for the real fun to begin—planning your decor. To give your tables a focal point, start with centerpieces. Work with your florist to plan and create arrangements that’ll enhance your overall reception design. This can be done with fresh blooms or even greenery garlands. The possibilities are absolutely endless.
Are flowers or greenery not part of your vision? Skip them and mix and match different accent pieces to create the ultimate centerpieces.
When centerpieces are taken care of, you can then dress them up with accent decor. These items can be rented, thrifted, or even purchased online at stores like Amazon. Though they tend to be small details, they’ll greatly impact your overall look. Here are a few accent decor ideas that’ll get your creative juices flowing.
After running through this checklist, every detail regarding your reception tables should be complete. And while you’re one step closer to the big day, there are still a few details that need to be sorted out. One of those important details being the sweetheart table—a two-person set up solely for the newlywed couple.
If this is something you’re incorporating into your reception design, check out these gorgeous ideas for styling your sweetheart table. From chair styles to decor inspiration, we cover it all.
When we usually think of fall weddings, we think of a mysterious and moody atmosphere with pumpkin-inspired hues, layered textures, and patterns. However, Christina and Terrell had a fresh take on their Keeler Tavern Museum wedding. They wanted to capture the season’s charm while creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. And they succeeded in doing just that by choosing a cozy museum garden setting and a muted version of the classic fall color palette with hints of deep wine and light and airy blooms.
Set on the property’s walled garden, the couple chose the most special spot to exchange dreamy vows. Their ceremony featured a flower-lined aisle that led to the fountain adorned with romantic ground florals. For their garden house reception, lush centerpieces and gold accents popped against the elegant all-white tablescape and perfectly complemented the standout architectural features of the space.
The couple took great care in selecting the elements for their celebration, and the result was truly unforgettable. And thankfully, Junebug member Par La Mer Photography was there to capture every beautiful detail and emotional moment as they unfolded. So keep scrolling because this is one inspo-filled celebration you’ll want to share with your vendor team.
The Inspiration Behind Their Keeler Tavern Museum Wedding Aesthetic
Since we got married in October, it was important for the design and style to highlight fall colors and that warm fall feeling Terrell and I get each year during fall. For the overall colors, we were torn between a deep wine or a champagne color for the bridesmaids. Ultimately, we went with deep red. We fell in love with our florist’s work on Instagram and worked with her on a color palette that worked beautifully. I was always set on gold flatware and highlighting the florals on each table with clean ivory plates. Terrell and I chose the chairs we thought would best suit the reception and the ceremony.
How They Knew That The Keeler Tavern Museum Was The Perfect Venue For Them
Finding a wedding venue felt daunting. Planning a wedding in 2022 was crazy, and everything felt like it was getting booked too quickly. One day, I googled “intimate wedding venues” and stumbled upon the Garden House at Keeler Tavern Museum. We immediately fell in love with the place when we saw the photos. I am also most proud of finding a unique venue that allowed us to have the intimate party we wanted. When we saw it in person, we were open on a date and were fortunate enough to get one on a Saturday during our favorite month. It was the first venue we saw, and we put a deposit down immediately.
Creating A Magical Keeler Tavern Museum Wedding Atmosphere With Florals
The most memorable part of the day was when the doors opened, and we looked at each other for the first time. We both immediately started crying even more than we were before. I am most proud of how my husband recommended the aisle be lined with flowers. It ended up magical, and we were in awe of how everything came together so beautifully.
Wedding Planning Advice From The Couple: Take Your Time To Think Things Over
It’s so important to take your time when planning. I was filled with so much urgency and thought I had to do everything immediately. Take a deep breath and think things through. Everything that your wedding day is supposed to have, it will have.
A Makeup Trial Run Is A Must To Avoid Wedding Day Mishaps
I recommend doing multiple makeup trials, going out for a night dancing, working out, or doing something that might make your mascara run afterward. I had mascara under my eyes for the majority of my wedding. In hindsight, crying is beautiful, but make sure your mascara is to your liking.
Practical Wedding Favors That Also Had A Sweet And Clever Hidden Meaning
We gave our guests mini jars of honey with small gold bee charms. We both love honey and met on Bumble. So it was a sweet way of adding something personal from our lives.
It was essential to us to have the people who were truly in our lives and meant something to us. We didn’t want it to feel like a family reunion we have once every ten years. In the same fashion as our guest list, it was important for both of us to have longtime friends standing by our side. I had two, and he had four. It was not “traditional,” but one of his groomsmen stood on my side, and I thought it was really special. He happens to be one of my favorites of my husband’s friends.
Congratulations to Christina and Terrell on their warm and welcoming Keeler Tavern Museum wedding. And a big thank you to Junebug member Par La Mer Photography for capturing every moment of their special day that they will remember for years to come. See more of their talent and other beautiful celebrations like this by checking out their profile in our directory of the world’s best wedding photographers.
One of the best ways to make your wedding truly unique is by choosing a color palette that speaks to you and incorporating personal touches throughout the event. Your wedding day is a special celebration of your love. It should reflect your unique personalities and style as a couple. And be sure to share your vision with your wedding team—they are there to help you create the wedding of your dreams!
With a maximalist dress code, a showgirl officiant, a dive bar reception venue, and disco balls galore–Kami and Nick’s Las Vegas chapel wedding is giving us all the iconic Sin City wedding vibes! The pair set out to throw the best party ever with their closest loved ones, and they accomplished exactly that, and then some.
For a true “Vegas experience,” the couple tied the knot at the Sure Thing Chapel with a lit heart-shaped backdrop framing the moment they said their “I dos.” After the ceremony, their small group made their way to Atomic Liquors where they munched on tacos, danced to jukebox music, and hit the open bar all night long.
Their big day reflected their fun-loving and stylish nature, and thankfully, Junebug member Madeline Barr was there to capture everything. And with the bride being a photographer (and Junebug member) herself, you can absolutely expect epic photo moments! So follow the call of disco balls and keep scrolling to see all the details of this unconventional love affair.
The Inspiration Behind Their Las Vegas Chapel Wedding
In a lot of ways, our vibe, style, and design came together by accident. We didn’t really set out to achieve a certain aesthetic, we just started making decisions that were purely us and that made us excited. We considered eloping but then realized we didn’t want to exclude our favorite people. So we thought of what our dream elopement day would look like and then just invited people to join us. Then my florist and one of my good friends just said, “Let me make you a very Vegas bouquet and I promise it won’t be tacky.” I trusted him fully and saw nothing about it until the day of. There were so many things like that where we didn’t plan anything on purpose. We just made decisions that felt like us, and it all ended up coming together so cohesively, which honestly surprised us. We just wanted to have a good time.
Why A Disco Ball-Filled Las Vegas Chapel Wedding
I’m a wedding photographer myself, and at a lot of the weddings I was shooting early in the year, I was seeing a lot of disco balls. That got me excited, I even bought a whole bunch of disco balls from one of my brides in the spring before we were even engaged. In our heads, we were just picturing a penthouse hotel party with disco balls everywhere. We drove the disco balls all the way from San Diego so we could have them in our room for photos.
How They Landed On Their Chapel Venue
We were looking for an iconic Las Vegas Chapel wedding, and when I came across Sure Thing Chapel, I was obsessed. It was so cute, photogenic, and the true “Vegas experience” for our guests. As a female wedding photographer, I love that it is a female-run chapel, and one of the owners is a photographer herself, so of course, it is set up for maximum-photo potential. And it ended up being a walking distance from our reception venue, which was the iconic downtown dive bar, Atomic Liquors. Having the dive bar reception was everything we dreamt of and more. It was casual, we could play our own music, we had an open bar, they kept the tacos coming all night, and everyone just let loose in the best way. It couldn’t have been more us.
Carving Out Intentional Private Time To Take It All In
We got ready together and read our vows for the first time together privately before we shared them with everyone. Not being stimulated or overwhelmed, while we were hearing them for the first time, really let us stay present and let them sink in. We were so much more emotional when it was just us, and it was the best decision. We also had our friend and co-officiant Alyssa read to us what she prepared for our ceremony in private before we got dressed. It was an extremely special and personal ceremony script, and hearing it for the first time just us was the perfect way for us to be present and absorb it all to start the day. Those are the moments we remember most vividly because the rest of the day was such a blur!
Creating A Ceremony That Reflected Their Love Story And A Show Girl Surprise
Personalizing our ceremony was important to us. We wanted the ceremony to be a peek into our relationship for our family and friends. Our friend Alyssa co-officiated with Surely the Showgirl, so she was able to read a really special opening speech based on questions she had asked us a few months before. It was so beautiful and meaningful. Then we read our own vows we had written before Surely the Showgirl stepped in to finish the ceremony. I tried my absolute hardest to keep that surprise as long as I could. It was so entertaining for our guests and felt so us. We could tell how much fun everyone was having and that meant the world to us. And how epic to say a showgirl married us.
Having A Fun Wedding Experience Was A Top Priority
For us, our top priorities were that people had fun and looked good while doing it. We kept it simple and only did what we truly wanted and ditched what we didn’t. We are so proud of how much fun people had. We set out to throw the best party anyone has ever been to, and we feel like we absolutely accomplished that. It also ended up being the best-dressed event anyone had ever been to. A couple of months before the wedding, our florist and friend Arturo said we should call the dress code “Vegas maximalism”. And our friends and family just ran with it.
Setting A Fun Wedding Dress Code
Our dress code was Vegas maximalism. We let guests interpret that however they wanted, and it was so fun seeing everyone’s wedding looks come together. We didn’t have a color palette or dress code, we were both in white, so we let everyone wear whatever they wanted, and it was so amazing. There were sequins and fringe and jumpsuits and pantsuits and crazy colors and everything in between. We loved seeing how people showed up and took the dress code to the next level. A few of our guests were even approached by fashion influencers for interviews in the lobby while waiting to go to the wedding, it was pretty epic!
Congratulations to Kami and Nic on their iconic and disco ball-filled Las Vegas chapel wedding. And a special thank you to Junebug member Madeline Barr for capturing all the unforgettable moments. To see more unconventional celebrations, be sure to check out her profile in our directory of the world’s best photographers.
This couple’s main piece of advice is to set goals before you get carried away with all the wedding planning possibilities. It’ll allow you to focus on what’s truly important. And if one of your goals is to create the most authentic experience for you and your guests, but you’re not sure where to start? Begin by building your dream team, and then check our guide for ideas to make your celebration unique and unforgettable.
