So…. How’d It Go?

Smoooooth.

Piece of Cake.

Like a breeeeze.

Seriously.

Having the wedding and reception on a different day worked perfectly for us!

(Too bad you can’t hear my singsong voice as I say each different line. It might make this post a little more interesting.)

Setting up for the reception was so easy. No pressure.

I supervised and hung around a little. Our sweet little decorator was so patient with me, but I knew that deep down she was wanting me OUTTA THERE!

And I was happy to leave it all in her EXTREMELY capable hands: I had family at home that needed feeding. I had to get dressed and get my boys dressed. I needed to get my daughter all fancied and gussied up. There was still plenty to do.

But you know me, Miss Control Freak. I needed to see with my own eyes that everything would be done in time.

And it was!! And it was GORGEOUS!! (There’s that sing-y voice again!)

Sadly, I do not have a photo that shows the whole cultural hall all decorated.

I know! I know! Me? Not have a picture? WHAT!?!?

That’s what happens. I was busy making sure everything and everyone was where they needed to be. I handed my cameras off, but – wouldn’t you know it? – both camera batteries died.

I know! I know! Me? Not be prepared with extra batteries? I plead guilty of having a distracted mind. (Many of the following photos were taken with my cameras before they became inoperable.)

Here are a few of the pictures that I do have:

 

<< The beautiful cake made by Buttercup’s grandma, who is also Max’s mom. Isn’t it gorgeous?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^^^ The pictures above are the centerpieces I was in charge of. (I should explain that the decorator was in charge of all the backdrops, table coverings, chairs, etc. I had to be in charge of everything that went on top of the tables. It was daunting for me… a very non-creative person.) These centerpieces were wine glasses turned upside down with a flower under the cup and candle on the stem/base. I also put heart jewels around the candle, on the base, but you can’t tell in the picture. My mom hemmed the zebra fabric. The decorator, who is simply amazing, then took these glasses and made them pop and look fancier than the vision I saw in my head of how everything was supposed to look.
Also, on the tables were little books I printed up. The cover said, “Words of advice and helpful hints for the bride and groom.” When you open it up it said, “Dear Buttercup and Biff,” with a few lines for guests to write down helpful hints or advice for them. Then there was a place at the bottom for the advice writer to sign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

^^^ These are the centerpieces that were on 4 of the tables. The cute box belonged to the decorator and I just had to fill them.

HA! ME?!?

I don’t do flowers. So I called in reinforcements. You know, a floral “arteest” that has the designer eye: My seester, Red. She did a GORGEOUS job! She rocked the gerbera daisy look that I wanted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

^^^ These are some of the display tables. The top picture is the “display table.” IMHO, it’s the silliest table at the reception. It’s just crammed full of things/pictures/memories of the bride and groom. There was a lots of pressure for me to create a decent display on this table. All of Biff’s photos of his childhood are in a storage unit somewhere, along with all of his childhood memorabilia, so I had to use pictures I lifted off his Facebook page and printed up. Buttercup, of course, has more pictures than anyone has a right to have, so the challenge was NOT picking a photo from every age in her life. I printed most of the pictures as 8 x 10’s but there are a few 5 x 7’s on there too. I then mounted the photo on a piece of artist’s canvas, coated them in a generous covering of Decoupage and planted them on an easel…

The bottom left picture is the “Eats and Treats” table. This photo was taken early in the evening before the reception started, so there isn’t much food on it. Seriously, every time my kitchen help put food out, everyone would run up and start eating, so they had to wait or there would be nothing left for the reception.

The bottom right is the Sign In table. I found the cutest little lamp with fuchsia fringe on it to use at this table, but it was broken and wouldn’t turn on. Bummer. I like the lamp the decorator brought though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some details from the tables.

 

 

 

^^^ This shows some detail of the tables. They were triple covered with black and fuchsia cloths and made to look “swaggish” by pulling up the pink cloths and pinning them with a beautiful broach. You can see one of the broaches on the empty table in the background.

Aren’t the chairs cool? Not your ordinary LDS church/ cultural hall chair! I tried to talk the decorator out of using them, but now I’m so glad she insisted (nicely of course).

And that about sums up the reception side of our weekend.

I’m sorry this post is excruciatingly boring.

Oh well. I do it for posterity, right?

One more photo. Sorry it’s blurry. There was bad light and no time to fix the situation. This is Buttercup’s reaction when she saw the decorated room. I kept her out of it until everything was finished, then walked her in with her eyes closed…

Yep! Tears of joy! She was so happy with how it all turned out! And I’m so grateful for everyone that came and helped! There is NO WAY Buttercup could have had such a nice night without all the help that my friends and family gave. I’m so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!

(Coming tomorrow… professional photos @ the reception. I know you can’t wait!)