Wedding #1

This is Wedding #1. My awesome oldest sister has 5 truly beautiful daughters and no boys. We have all been bracing ourselves for a few years in the thought of 5 weddings. We never knew it would come so quickly! You talk and talk about these things coming, but when they do, it hits you like a brick wall. We sat up at from that brick wall, brushed the dust off, and got to work!

So, here it is, the 1st wedding of my 5 lovely nieces. 1 down, 4 to go!

If you know my family, my mother particularly, you know that she is the woman to call when you need ideas for a wedding or reception. She is the one with tubs and tubs of white tulle, a million boxes of silk flowers and just about everything else you need to put on a magnificent wedding or reception. I have been holding pins, setting up tables/chairs, placing flowers, setting up and taking down receptions my whole life. And I've loved every second of it! My mother has taught all 3 of her daughters very well. So, when we all get together to discuss a party or reception, you know it is going to be fabulous!

Recently, I've been going up to visit my hometown where my parents and my sister's family live, for the past few months. We've been collaborating and preparing for this wedding & reception since they were engaged in January. Between the 2 houses we got it done! It was GORGEOUS! Her colors were hot pink, orange, yellow and turquoise, very bright summer colors.

This is for you!

If you're planning a wedding or reception, here are some ideas! 

Here's what we did!

We'll start with the food. My niece wanted a chocolate fountain at her reception. I have ALWAYS hated getting crumby chocolate from people inserting their graham crackers or flaky food into perfectly smooth chocolate. So, we decided to have little cups where people would fill them and dip, double dip, and triple dip to their hearts desire! Happy me! 

The chocolate fountain "dippings" were:

Graham Crackers

Strawberries,

Peanuts & Almonds,

Pretzels, 

Marshmallows,

& Piroulines

(Chocolate cookie sticks)

Just to the left of the chocolate fountain was the food table, where there was a fabulous veggie tray with broccoli, tomatoes, sliced peppers, snow peas and dip. To the side of the veggie tray were baked pesto garlic "pin wheel rolls." YUM!

To the left of the veggies and food, was the cupcake tower. This was a white cardboard cupcake tower my sister purchased and we hot glued pink ribbon to the edges. The pink ribbon made ALL the difference. My sister bought these scrumptious paper lace cupcake "embellishments." The brand on the box was David Tutera. We made all of the cupcake papers ahead of time so the "food helpers" wouldn't have to sit there and make each one as a cupcake was eaten.

And lastly, to the left of the cupcake tower was lemonade and water with different colored straws to choose from! The straws made it so fun and even brighter!

Here is a picture across the lawn. 

8 long tables, the dance floor and the "present cottage" on the left.

Here's a close up picture of the flower arrangements. We made them all together a couple months ago. They came together so beautifully. If you notice there's curly turquoise wires sticking out of the arrangements to add a little pizzazz. I learned that at a flower shop I worked at. Fun little touches like that are the things people remember.

Here is where the Bride and Groom stood with their parents to greet the guests. The gazebo was SCRUMPTIOUS! 

We took white Christmas lights and decorated the inside. It was like a canopy of lights. It looked amazing at night!

Here is the sign in table. My niece wanted a fun way to remember her guests who attended their wedding and reception. My mom and sister found 2 pillows that said MR. and MRS. on one side. They all decided to have the guests sign the back of the pillows! It was so fun! The front of the pillows that say MR and MRS were untouched, but the backs were the signatures they would never forget.

To the side of the sign in table was a large beautiful cork board my sister bought as a wedding gift for her daughter. On the cork board she typed up a paper that said, 

"Do you have any good advise for the Bride and Groom that will "stick" with them throughout their marriage?

Pin it on the board along with your name! People would grab a piece of paper and pen from the "pillow table" and write some advise. It was a fun way to display little notes of insight people had for the couple.

Hey do you remember this? This is the Garden Shed Turned Playhouse on a previous post! Click HERE to see how we did it!

This was the Present Cottage. My youngest niece was in charge of taking the gifts and placing them in the cottage. The mailbox was for the cards. It was so fun to see them open up the cottage doors to a pile of presents that would begin their new life together!

Here is the dance floor, large carpet round poles covered with white plastic. White lights strung from pole to pole and colored paper balls hanging from the lights. What a fun atmosphere for the dance party! 

I hope our Wedding #1 gave you some fun ideas for future weddings or parties! 

Check back in for the next 4 to come! 

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