San Diego Wedding Insider -- San Diego Wedding Questions and Answers

We have a tight budget for our wedding and we're not sure we can afford to give out favors to all of our guests. Do we have to have them or can we skip them to save money for the rest of our wedding?
Favors are certainly not mandatory. If you can't afford something that you'd like to give out, just pass on having favors for your wedding. More than likely your guests won't even miss them.

There are a few inexpensive ideas for cheap favors though, if you'd like to have something anyway. One idea is to give out little packages of candy, such as M&M's (which you can get in a variety of colors at the M&M Store), Jordan Almonds or your other favorite treat. Other little things to give away could be small soaps, packets of seeds, small candles, or little bags of potpourri. Some of these things you can even make yourself to save on the costs, such as making your own soap or chocolates from molds found at the craft store.
I've heard that tossing rice isn't very environmentally friendly. I'd still like to do something similar, but I don't know what else to use. What are some alternatives to tossing rice?
There are a number of alternatives to the traditional rice toss that will be environmentally friendly to our feathered friends and not so much of a hassle to clean up afterwards. Some items to consider would be having bird seed, bubbles, fresh or freeze dried rose petals, silk petals, herbs, or lavender.
Some "messier" options might be colored confetti or streamers, but you might want to stray from these options unless you can find a natural one, such as the Ecofetti, which is biodegradable and water soluble.
My fiancée and I come from different religious backgrounds. What can we do to try and combine them together to please both of our families?
First you'll want to research both religions and their marriage ceremonies. You may want to pick traditions from each one to incorporate into your wedding to have a little of both religions in your ceremony. Be sure to speak with your officiant to find out the best way to incorporate both. You might even want to consider having two officiants from each religion to perform your ceremony. Be sure to also explain to your parents how the ceremony will go so there won't be any surprises for either side of the family.
We want our guests to dress formally for our wedding, but we're afraid that people might shy away from coming. Is it in bad taste to tell them it's black tie?
Some guests might shy away from a black tie affair if they have to buy or rent a tux or formal gown, especially if your friends and family aren't already the type. The best way to put it would be to indicate on your invitations that it is "Black Tie Optional". That way, if people have the formal outfits they can wear them to your wedding. It will also help other guests to decide what to wear and that they should really dress up for the occasion but that it's not required for them to buy a new tux or formal gown just to attend your wedding.