Remember me? It has been a while! I can share with you now
what we’ve been working on for the last several weeks (around summer camp and
vacation time). It was the decorations and goodies for my Dad’s
wedding.
It was a lot of work, but work I found easy and fun
because:
a) I
love to make stuff.
b) I
love to make stuff for people I love.
c) I
love to make stuff.
I will give Pinterest props
for some of this. I did get a few stellar ideas from the site. While I believe
in giving credit where credit is due, I did tweak a few things and come up with
a bunch myself. My brain hasn’t completely quit working in Pinterest’s wake!
I also had some little partners in crime who assisted in
choices and making the decorations.
They are budding designers, I must say. Picture me saying that in an Ed Grimley-esque voice.
Many months ago, my Padre asked Cathy to be his bride.
They planned a small, simple wedding, and the girls were over the moon at the
thought of being flower girls. I was thinking that it was amazing that these
two people found each other and found happiness. Then the planning began.
After much searching through the Internet, books (yep, real
paper ones) magazines, etc. I had a rough plan. I pitched it, it was accepted
and we kicked the process into high gear.
The plan was thus:
A simple, yet elegant, small reception that would be kid
friendly. No problem right? Right? Right! With the help of several friends who
handled food and helped set-up and assemble the site on the day of, it all came
together beautifully.
The main idea was an elegant white backdrop. Tablecloths,
swags of fabric and delicate baby’s breath accents all helped with this.
Add in some earth tones to simplify and tone down the white.
This was accomplished with burlap, river stones and Kraft-paper accents.
A touch of flowers and candles and it all flowed perfectly.
Each table had a flower centerpiece, created from a
quart-sized mason jar. Sliced limes went in first, followed by the flowers. Snapdragons
in the jars echoed the gladiolas from the large church arrangements, and pink
and yellow were the colors of the wedding-party flowers. A wide swath of
landscaper’s tree-wrap burlap, tied with some green twill tape completed the
vase.
Six, alternating candleholders, surrounded the arrangements. Medium-sized
jars held river stones and tea lights and were tied with jute twine accents. Smaller
jars held floating candles and were tied with the same jute.
The patio tables received a slightly more rustic effect.
Quart jars were filled with a handful of river stones, water and a floating
candle. They, too, were tied with a jute accent.
On the cake and guest-book entry tables, a garland of paper
hearts circled the tables’ edges. The girls and I took strips of scrapbook
paper printed to look like old letters. We folded the strips in half and dabbed
a little glue to the fold. We then applied a clothespin to each to hold until
they dried.
Next, we looped the open ends around to make a heart shape
and glued them together. Another drying period, clamped with clothespins.
Finally, we hole-punched the center of each heart and strung them on jute twine
in a haphazard way to form a rustic garland.
The guest-book table was the first table to be seen, so we
added one of each of the centerpiece jars to the mix. I printed the couple’s
important dates on burlap paper and framed it for the entry table.
On a side table, we made a blessings station. I stamped the
words “and they lived Happily Ever After…” on white and Kraft-paper bookmarks
and fanned them out near a huge mason jar. Guests were invited to write notes
or blessings on the bookmarks and slip them in the jar.
This is also where the favor tower was placed. We wrote the
couple’s Bible verse on the back of black river stones with paint pens. On the
front, the letters C+D and the wedding date were written. I bagged the stones
in tiny white and Kraft-paper sacks and sealed them with word stickers that
said applicable things like “cherish” and “friends”. Guests were invited to
take one home as a thank you.
Several of my good friends showed up to help put this all
together and especially to swag the fabric, lights, burlap and baby’s breath on
the front railings. It was such a beautiful, simple entry.
Food tables were clothed in white with burlap ribbons in
alternating widths. The church flowers were added after the ceremony. Drinks
were held in galvanized tubs swathed in fabric and burlap.
Out on the patio,
loaves of white bread were available for feeding the turtles and fish in the
pond nearby. Kept the kiddos (and several adults) busy!
All in all, I would call it a success. A beautiful service,
a beautiful reception and a beautiful couple. I am blessed to have been a part
of it.
