When it comes to weddings, everyone has different ideas about what makes for a fabulous event. If your idea of the perfect ceremony and reception involves something a little more laid-back than the traditional white wedding, then embrace the summer season. Summer is the best time for a casual wedding and we have some ideas on how to make yours stand out. We asked Malvina Chevolleau, the owner and principal designer of Fabulous Occasions, an event planning and design boutique, to share some of her best tips for making your big day easy, breezy, fun and -- most importantly -- personal. 1. Have homemade wedding treats Having each of your guests contribute a signature dish to your wedding feast adds a hint of family tradition and community, and makes for a unique table feature. Chevolleau recalls one wedding she planned that included a down-home, collaborative sweets table: "All the women in the family contributed something, whatever their specialty was -- pie, cupcakes, tarts, trifle. It was really pretty and really unique," she says. "There were little notes placed beside each dish saying who contributed it and what their relation to the bride and groom was." After guests circulated the sweets table, they could move on to a DIY drink station. "We had a big lemonade stand with big jugs of pink lemonade made from the bride's mom's recipe with Mason jars, and everyone helped themselves," Chevolleau adds. Creating stations for your guests to mingle around doesn't need to be fussy