The Wedding {Part Three}

Ready for a long blog post?  Just bear with me, it's the final part of my "The Wedding" Series.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to enjoy much of cocktail hour.  After the ceremony, we went back into the reception room and spent about 10 minutes relaxing and signing the marriage license.  Then, we took photos with Brad's family, some of my family, and the bridal party for about 30 minutes.  When it was finally time to go to the cocktail hour our DOC was saying that we should start getting into place for the receiving line.  

We had the receiving line right outside the reception room, so people could go through the receiving line and pick up their escort cards.  I know some people are against receiving lines, but I liked the idea of being able to say hello and thanks for coming to all our guests.  I'm not a fan of going table to table at receptions because I don't like it when I'm a guest at a wedding and the bride and groom want to come over and say hi to me while I'm eating.  That, and I feel like some people get missed because when the bride and groom come to the table some guests may be in the bathroom, getting food, etc.  The receiving line was our sure-fire way of saying hi to each and every one of our guests.

After the receiving line, the bridal party and Brad and I lined up for our introductions.  Brad's grandpa gave a lovely blessing, and then it was time to eat!  The food was delicious.  Brad and I both said that we were going to eat at our wedding, so we sampled everything. Once the guests started eating they caught onto the pasta saute bar, which created a crazy long line.  Part of the issue was that the caterers weren't going fast enough.  The other part of the issue was that it took at least 2 minutes to cook the food.  That adds up when you have 10+ people in line... with some people getting a plate for someone else...  People were still in line for pasta over an hour after dinner began.  

As our guests were eating, Brad and I really should have gotten up and gone and chatted with guests who were finished with dinner at their tables.  I tried getting Brad to go with me but he told me to just sit and enjoy everything.  (It did feel nice to sit down and relax a little.)  Looking back, I feel bad for not getting up off my butt and talking with our guests.

Around 8:30 our DOC told us that we should start the toasts.  Our Best Man, Andrew, and Maid of Honor, Natalie, gave wonderful speeches.  But if it were a competition (and I may be biased), Natalie would have won.  Her toast made everyone laugh and brought me to tears.

Then it was time to get up and cut the cake!  As I was getting up, I noticed that I had BBQ sauce across the bottom of the front of my dress!  Like 7-8 dime to quarter sized dots in a row!  I remember saying, "Oh my god... Oh my god... How did that happen?  Get the baby wipes," to my Maid of Honor.  She didn't know what was going on until I showed her.  I asked her how this could have happened because there was no way I spilled it on myself-- this part of my dress was under the table while I was eating.  She said that as the catering people were setting up one of them dropped an entire bottle of BBQ sauce and it got all over the tablecloth at the mini-pulled pork sandwich station.  She said that they merely turned the table around so it wasn't as noticeable.  Well, when I was at this station I went on that side of the table and my dress touched the tablecloth where the BBQ sauce was.  I was upset because the spilling of the BBQ sauce could have been handled much better.  Luckily, the baby wipes got most of the BBQ sauce out.

After the BBQ sauce issue, we cut the cake.  Brad fed me the biggest piece of cake, ever.  Haha.  Then, the DJ announced our first dance.  Brad and I stood on the dance floor and waited for him to start playing our song.  But no, he decided to play the last minute of the song that was playing instead of stopping it.  So we stood there and looked like dorks waiting for the song.  Seriously?  Our dance went well.  I was nervous because we hadn't practiced much since our lesson.  Our photographer captured my nervous face in one of the photos.  Ha!  Then, I danced with my dad.  My step-dad cut in about half-way through the song.  (This was planned.)  Brad and his mom shared a dance.  

While Brad and his mom were dancing I looked over and noticed one of the catering people cutting the cake like a 5 year old.  Some of the pieces were cut like cake should be cut and some were giant wedges.  I thought to myself, "Just let it go, Chelsea".  But I couldn't take it anymore.  I got up, walked over, and said, "Hi, can you cut the cake the normal way?"  She said, "Oh, well I've been eyeballing it to be sure that it's all used."  I replied (as nicely as possible), "This cake is made to serve 200 people.  There are 120 people here.  We did that on purpose so that we would have more than enough cake for our guests and to send any leftovers home with family.  Please fix these pieces of cake and start cutting it like it's supposed to be cut."  Then to my horror, she took the giant wedges that were already plated and cut them in half, but not down the middle going height-wise-- she cut them in between the layers!  Who does that!?  At this point, I had to just let it go and sit down because I was going to lose it on this chick.  Brad was exiting the dance floor when I was going to sit back down.  He said, "Honeyyy, what are you doing?"  

To which I replied, "Oh, nothing.  Just sitting down." Hehee.

When the first fast song came on, I hit the floor with my bridesmaids and the flower girl.  The rest of the night is kind of blurry because so much happened (no I wasn't drunk-- I only had a glass of wine and champagne the entire night).  :)  We danced, visited the DIY photo booth, and took some night photos.  I'm hoping to get the photos back and have them refresh my memory.  Ha!  

After the reception, we had to tear the place down.  We had to be out of there by midnight or we would be fined.  My DOC had 4 staff members there to help with the tear down.  Some of our family and friends graciously stayed to help, too.  We had the entire ceremony and reception spaces torn down, including the tables and chairs, in an hour.

All in all, it was a wonderful day.  It flew by so quickly.  I wish I could do it again, but get 8 hours of sleep the night before and stay on schedule.

Centerpieces-- Help me decide! Part II

Wow!  Thanks for all the feedback on the centerpieces!

I forgot about the other option.  So here's option #4...

Centerpieces-- Help me decide!

Yes, 52 days until my wedding {AHH! cue panic attack}, and I haven't decided what half of my reception centerpieces will be.  Oh, and they're DIY.

I know.  I'm ridiculous.

Ok, here are the choices!

Option #1

Pretend that I didn't run out of ribbon on the one and the ribbon is straight and pretty.

Option #2

Option #3

There is one votive candle inside each hurricane.

Don't worry, you can talk over these hurricanes.  My maid of honor, Natalie, and I have practiced.

Prepare yourself, I'm about to go into crazy detail about what our reception space 

will look like to fully inform you for your decision.

This is our reception space.

We'll be using round tables with white table linens.  We'll also have white chair covers 

and pink chair sashes.  Here's a not-so-great photo of one of the chairs 

{obviously with the cover and sash just taken out of the bag}.

Above the dance floor, which is in the middle of the room, we'll be hanging 30 pink, green, and white paper lanterns in varying sizes that we'll light up with battery-operated lights 

{like pictured above}.

The other half of the centerpieces will be floral arrangements that look like this, 

sans the petals and add votive candles.

Ok, so which one should I go with?

Bonus point: Can you guess which one would be the most budget-friendly to go with?

Flip Flop Basket

I decided to have a flip flop basket at our wedding reception after a friend of mine had one at her reception. Those flip flops saved my poor, aching feet when I wanted to get my dance on. {I had worn my super-cute-but-uncomfortable-after-wearing-for-more-than-3-hours lace heels.}

I purchased 18 pairs of flip flops (9 pink and 9 green) from Old Navy.

I splurged a little on Old Navy flip flops because the flip flops I wore at my friend's wedding were the $1 craft flip flops, and after dancing in them for a few hours they started to break and I had to put my heels back on. :(

Here is the breakdown of the sizes I purchased (we plan on having ~125 wedding guests):

Size 11: 1

Size 10: 2

Size 9: 3

Size 8: 7

Size 7: 4

Size 6: 1

---

DIRECTIONS:

I placed each pair back to back. To secure them while I put the ribbon on I used 2 rubber bands (1 on the top, 1 on the bottom). I wrapped the thicker ribbon around the flip flops and secured it in the front with double sided tape. Then I wrapped the thinner polka dotted ribbon around and secured it in the front with double sided tape. I placed the size circles on top to cover up where the ends met. I used a 2" circular punch for the larger circle. I printed the sizes on scrapbook paper and punched them out with a 1" circular punch. I used double sided tape to secure the 1" circle to the 2" circle and the 2" circle to the ribbon

.

Who needs table numbers when you can have table names?

I decided a long time ago to name our tables instead of numbering them.

I've seen people name their tables according to years {1999} and then have a photo of the bride and groom from that year at that table. I thought this was a cute idea until I thought more deeply about it. You see, I was a very heavy child/teenager and ultimately lost 85 pounds in high school. I'd rather not have to talk about my "hefty years" at my wedding. Hmm, I could do this and just leave out 1992-2002. Haha!

Ready for a flashback?

{That's me in 2000.}

OK, back on track now...

I've also seen people name their tables "love", but in different languages.

Different types of wines.

National parks.

The possibilities are endless!

I decided to name our tables after places that Brad and I visited together. We've been on 2 cruises together {Alaska and Caribbean} so that knocks out a good amount of places. Right?

Well, we're hoping for 120-125 wedding guests. That's 15-16 tables, thus 15-16 table name cards.

Right now, I only have 11 places. Well, I only have 11 photos of us in 11 places. We've visited more places than those 11, but there are no photos. Make sense?

Would it be weird if we had a table named after the city that we currently live in but we did something really cool together in the city {toured the new NFL stadium before it opened}?

Or if we named a table after the city where we attended college and where the wedding and reception will take place? We did LOTS of stuff together there! :) It is where we met...

I told Brad that perhaps we should look into taking some day trips...

Anyway, I'm crafting these puppies in Photoshop, and I'll have them printed and cut at FedEx Office. I got 18 chrome plated table number holders from another bride that I found on Craigslist. I'll design, print, and attach the menu on the backside.

Photo Booth Props-- Round 1

I really enjoyed making these props for our DIY photo booth. I'm working on making more, but this is what I've done so far.

They are very inexpensive to make-- all you need is some card stock, felt, dowel rods, scissors, and a glue gun!

If you would like any of the templates to make these feel free to contact me!

I printed the templates onto card stock, cut the shapes out, hot glued the shapes to felt, cut the shapes out of the felt, and glued the dowel rod onto the card stock. I hope that makes sense!

I recently went to Chicago to visit my amazing Maid of Honor and nanny-extraordinaire, Natalie. The beautiful girls that she nannies wanted to create their own props, so I brought my supplies and we crafted-it-up! :)

Tall Centerpiece Mock-Up

I made a mock up of my possible tall centerpiece.

Here's the details: manzanita branch with 4 miniature crepe paper rose pomanders (made with Christmas ornaments I wasn't using) and 4 crystal/pearl hangy things I made in a terra cotta pot (I would paint it brown though, so picture it brown) with moss.

It's 26-27 inches, but I think with some more finagling I can add a few more inches.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Please be honest! :)

Centerpieces

Let's be honest here my floral budget isn't the $5,000+ that I would like it to be. My reception centerpiece idea is to have 2-3 different centerpieces on the approx. 15 tables.

Floral Centerpieces
I'd like to have our florist do some of the centerpieces-- low floral centerpieces. I like the colors and shape of this centerpiece.


Tall Centerpieces {DIY}
My florist said that tall centerpieces start out at $65 each. I had a hard time validating spending that much on a centerpiece. So I started looking for tall centerpiece inspiration to DIY.

Since our wedding and reception is being held in a 1940s barn I wanted to go with rustic kind of look. I have 6 manzanita branches that I can use to make these centerpieces.




Candle Centerpieces {DIY}
I have 24 cylinder vases and many floating candles. I'm still working on this idea. I did a mock-up, but now I don't know if I like it anymore.

If I had a $5,000+ floral budget, this would be the tall centerpiece.

A girl can dream, right? :)

Let Them Eat Cake

Our cake baker is old school.

She doesn't do tastings. She only does white or chocolate cake. She only does buttercream frosting. She said she has the ability to recreate anything. She comes highly recommended by our caterer and DOC. She is cheap (~$1.75 per person).

I was sold.

I didn't care that she didn't make hazelnut praline or red velvet cake. I think most people go to weddings expecting chocolate and white and are happy with that.

I don't think people need fancy surprises. Last year I went to a wedding with lemon cake. I bit into my piece of cake thinking it was white, and I did the very unladylike thing and spit it back out onto my plate.

Did I mention that I don't care for lemon (unless it's in my water) and prefer to not be surprised by it?

I LOVED the fact that she only does buttercream frosting. It's the only way to go in my book. That whipped topping frosting is disgusting. Period.

I didn't care that she didn't work with fondant because I don't like fondant anyway. Yes, it's pretty but you can't eat it. I hate going to weddings where the cake has the layer of fondant and I'm trying to peel it off in the most ladylike way possible. (I still think it looks like I'm playing with my food.)

Moving on to my design idea... I L-O-V-E, LOVE Swiss dots. Our entire wedding cake will be covered in Swiss dots.


I'm still debating as to whether I want every tier to be round, or if I want to do two round tiers and two square tiers.

Since we'll have a cake topper and not flowers I want to add color somehow. I might see if our cake baker can add ribbon to the base of each tier like the picture above.

To make our cake table stand out I plan on using a pink or green tablecloth since all the other tables will have white/ivory tablecloths.

Table Name Cards

I didn't want to be plain and boring and just number the tables, so our tables are going to be named after places we've traveled to together. We've been on two cruises together so that helped give us enough names for all the tables.

I designed each card in Photoshop with the location name, a photo of us at that location, and our monogram. I'll print them on cardstock or 5x7 photo paper. Then I'll print our menu on another piece of cardstock (or 5x7 photo paper) and put it behind the table name card.

I'm using chrome plated table number holders to place them on the tables. I found a bride on Craigslist who was selling 18 for $15. Score.

I found my wedding cake topper.

Sunday evening I set out with a goal: find a wedding cake topper.

I took to Etsy.

I had already decided that I wanted a customized topper that looked like FI and I. I also wanted to include our pup. After searching for a while I stumbled upon Lynn's Little Creations. She makes custom toppers starting at $65 for the couple (add $5-$10 per pet, depending on size)! Most custom toppers I've seen are easily $100-$500+! I'm very excited to see how it turns out-- especially my dress!

"Music is what feelings sound like."

I'm a music lover. I love all kinds of music--rap, indie pop, downtempo, hip-hop, classic rock, alternative, acoustic, alternative rock, pop, r&b, top 40. I will admit, I have to go light on country. Love me some Rascal Flatts, though! FI loves music as well. He's been playing electric and acoustic guitar for 10 years. So needless to say, music is going to play a large part in our special day.

One song that I kept hearing was "She is Love" by Parachute. We'll probably play this during cocktail hour or dinner.


We've chosen "You and Me" by Dave Matthews Band for our recessional (beginning around 1:02).


One of our first dance song contenders is "Stay With You" by John Legend.


The other first dance song contender is "Love Song" by The Cure, performed by 311.


Another song that I love is "Lucky" by Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Caillat.


I don't know where I would fit this song into our day, but I really like it. I found it a few years ago on myspace music. "Man and Wife" by Michelle Featherstone. I love her voice and the lyrics.


Who doesn't like Michael Buble? "Everything" by Micheal Buble.


I attended a wedding this weekend where the bride walked down the aisle to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. It was beautiful.

Paper Lanterns & Lights

We're using round, paper lanterns to decorate the area above the dance floor. I purchased some paper lanterns from the Paper Lantern Store (www.paperlanternstore.com) a month or so ago to get an idea for the overall look I was trying to achieve. The lanterns cost $1.23-$2.33, depending on size. I knew I wanted to have pink, green, and possibly white lanterns. When looking at the website I couldn't decide between two shades of green so I ordered one of each so I could see them in person and make a decision.

To go with the lanterns, I wanted to purchase lantern lights so that they would glow above the dance floor. I know some people will recommend "throwies" but I didn't want to have to track down all the materials. Plus I didn't think they would be more cost-effective because from what I read 1 "throwie" would be $1, and I think I would need at least 2-3 "throwies" in the bigger lanterns to properly light them. If you're interested in making "throwies" here is a tutorial: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Throwies/

Last week I met with my day-of-coordinator (DOC). She showed me a photo of a reception at our venue where the bride and groom used paper lanterns. (I posted the photo to the right. Note: I plan to hang our lanterns closely together than how these were hung.) We counted roughly 25 lanterns in the photo. My DOC asked me to not go over 30 lanterns because of the labor to hang them up (she and her team will be hanging them the morning of the wedding). So after meeting with her I decided to order 30 lantern lights so I see the two different shades of green with the lights. Then I could make a final decision between the two greens and order the lanterns. Oy, what a tedious process. :)

The lantern lights came in the mail the other day! I ordered them from www.save-on-crafts.com. Since I ordered more than 12 I received them for $1.69 each. Direct link: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/lanternlight.html

After putting the lights in both green lanterns I decided to go with the darker green. I'm going to order varied sizes. As of right now, I plan on ordering pink and green in 20", 16", and 12" and white in 16", 14", and 12".