• Black adds elegance to your wedding program or dinner menu.black and white wedding ceremony program image by Paul Retherford from Fotolia.com
  
  Black is a very bold color that may frighten people away from using it as part of their wedding color scheme. Unless you are planning a Halloween or Gothic wedding, you might not have even thought about including black into your wedding. If used properly, black will not overwhelm your guests and can give your reception hall an air of elegance and sophistication.
  
  

Chairs and Linens

• You can decorate your wedding reception chairs with a black fabric chair cover if you are having white or light colored linens for the tables. You may want to avoid black chair covers and black dining linens together, unless you are adding highlighting colors to the tables and chairs. If you use black on both the chairs and tables without other accent colors, your tables will lose the elegant feeling and appear dark with no definition. Break up large sections of solid black fabric by adding a different color tulle bow tie around the back of the reception chairs, or add a light colored runner to the table. Use bright floral or candles to lighten the table setting.
  
  

Attire

• Ask your guests to follow a dress code at your wedding reception. This can be off-putting to some guests, but you can keep it simple and request men wear black suits and shoes and women wear black dresses. Most people own a piece of black formal wear, so they will not have to go purchase a new outfit just for your wedding. By enforcing a dress code, you can incorporate black into your wedding without actually needing to purchase any black decorations.
  
  

Favors and Accessories

• If you do not want to incorporate black into your dining linens, chair covers or attire, a simple way of incorporating black into your reception is in the little details. Choose black accessoriesblack ribbons tied to light colored candles or flowers. Purchase a black guest book, money box, card box and linen for the gift table. Most of these items can also have highlights of silver, white or a color to match your wedding theme and break up the black. You can also choose to give your guests their wedding favor in a small black box. It will stand out on the table setting or look elegant at the end of the evening handed to them as they leave.
  
  

Photos

• Choose photos of you, your fiance and your family and friends and convert them to black and white images. Frame the images in black frames and create a wall of images that your guests can look at throughout the ceremony. It will create a focal point for your wedding reception and give your guests an idea of where you both came from, what is important to you and how you fell in love with one another. The wall can replace showing a slide show or image board at your reception.