This was one topic I struggled with for sure... table cloths and color accents? Window decor with light catchers? Hanging lamps or additional lighting? Chair covers? Flowers on the table, tall or short? Placecard colors and font? OMG!It was overwhelming once we'd decided on our location because the options were limitless and we didn't have a wedding planner to help make those decisions. Personally, I'm more of a simple person, and our budget wasn't limitless (as most people's aren't) so I struggled between wanting to make it beautiful and frankly not giving a damn. :)
So I met myself somewhere in between, and I think so should you...
GENERAL DECOR
First, go back to your colors. What are your bridesmaids wearing, what colors did you choose for flowers, or what are your favorite colors in general? Typically those snappy wedding experts say to stick with only 2-3 colors, unless you want it to look like a circus, and marry (excuse the pun) those colors with your overall theme/season. So if you have an accent color and can afford to bring that into the reception such as runners on the table that match the placecards, then do, especially if your table cloths are white.
We went with white table cloths on the tables, green cloths on the accent tables (cake table, cards table and the photo table, which I'll get to), and green napkins to keep it simple. We used yellow, red and orange flowers on the tables, but kept them low so people could talk over them by floating them in small bowls with water and for ambiance. 
We also named each table after a local mountain range, using photographs that we took of them. We did not use chair covers, seeing them at other weddings made me want them, but they just seemed frivolous to me; money I'd rather spend on booze!THE BEST IDEA
As for the photo table, we had some good ideas there I'd like to share. First, we made collages of ourselves with old pictures we had the moms send us to scan. We had them printed professionally on foam board, but you can make a collage a million ways; the point was that it was nice for our guests to see the lives of both of us, especially for the sides of the family that didn't grow up with one of us. We also put old wedding pictures of our parents and grandparents on this table in their own frames. This was one of my favorite additions of the decor for sure. As the night progressed, I watched guests pour in over this table, laughing, pointing, joking, and overall enjoying that we shared our pasts with them.
To keep on the photo theme, we also put table cameras o
n the tables for fun, and in hindsight, this was an expensive laugh but a good one. I made a collage book of just table camera photos (we had about 20 cameras total, but each cost about $10 total for developing and purchase), but now 3 years later it's the professional shots I still go back to look at. So if your budget is slim, I'd skim this one off, it was funny, but a little frivolous. And in the chat rooms of my photographer peers I've read many a comment with that same sentiment, not as much bang for your buck if you're thinking of doing either-or; definitely don't skimp on hiring a professional photographer. This picture is a perfect example of what we got from our nonpro shooters!Other quick addition ideas that make the room bright:
1. We toyed with the idea and never used this, but it would have made our sunset even more spectacular if we had!
(right) My mom found these hanging decorations that had white butterflies strung together with a crystal prism at the end. She gave us one as a sample and it still hangs on our deck door, catching the light of the sun as it sets in that direction. There were dozens of windows in the reception hall we used, so hanging these throughout the room would have made a great colorful addition.2. Candles ~ a dear friend made a candle for us with the invitation we sent out, a beautiful touch we though, and it made me think we could have added taller candles throughout for more ambiance. Hindsight is 20-20! The candles we had on the tables were great though, and a lot cheaper than buying taller ones.
3. Cake Options ~ we went with a traditional cake, and this is technically part of the FOOD topic, which I'm skipping entirely because frankly, that's a four parter in itself, but this is a fun topic to play with so I want to think outside the box here... cakes are expensive, and we were pretty set on staying with one ourselves, but one of the best budget wedding ideas I've seen is forgoing the cake and doing cupcakes instead. To give credit where it's due, The Bringuels did this at their wedding and made it look like a cake, tiered and all, but in fall colors on chocolate cakes, it was truly a site of which I didn't photograph unfortunately (the only wedding of 21 we've been to that I forgot my camera!).
4. Last but not least, remember, everyone will be way too drunk to remember whether you had seat covers, matching napkins, or a fancy cake. :) Hopefully.
First three photos courtesy Jessica Maynard Photography
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