
23. Bring Out the Family China
At a traditional wedding venue, you usually rent the table settings. This is because most people don’t have 200 sets of plates, bowls, forks, knives, sand spoons just ready to go at any moment. However, if you’re going to have a backyard wedding, you might as well take advantage of the setting. Most mothers and grandmothers have a set of “family china”- plates that were passed down from generation to generation. In my family, I inherited my great-grandmother’s plates from France. These are very special, so they are usually kept on display, rather than being used.

What better time to use these plates for a “special occasion” than your wedding day? In most cases, you might have special sets from both sides of the family, as well as your partner’s family. It doesn’t matter if they don’t match. The fact that you bring together to mix and match all of the special table settings from your family together is a lot of fun, and it is something your guests will surely remember. However, I recommend that you only allow adults to handle the family china. if you are letting young children come to the wedding, I recommend you give them cheap pieces, like the white sets available at Dollar Tree. This way, if something gets broken, there is no need to worry.