Sarah and Steven Jr. got married over the Thanksgiving weekend in a private ceremony in North Carolina. Only immediate family members attended this small intimate wedding affair. The bride and groom wanted to be able to host family and friends at an informal venue after their wedding. They had two lovely receptions. One in Richmond and one in Chesapeake, Virginia. I hosted the one in Chesapeake and I would like to share the pictures of the party with you. Those of you that are currently engaged and are planning a winter wedding, may get some ideas for an upcoming shower, engagement party, and or open house reception of your own. The bride chose cranberry and gold as her colors and I think it turned out beautifully.
This open house wedding reception was no ordinary reception. The bride and groom are from Mechanicsville, Virginia where they reportedly received 17 inches of snow the weekend of their party. The Jonas snowstorm didn’t cancel the festivities though. The couple got an early start to the weekend and traveled a day early to their final destination of Chesapeake, Virginia. We ended up only getting lots of rain and a wintry mix. Our area only had about an inch of snow. That was such a blessing to all the guests because the worse part of our weather came at the very end of the party. They were able to enjoy the party and the guests could drive home safely before the road conditions got too slippery.
I really wanted the bride and groom’s table to be special. I wanted it to stand out and be totally different than any other space I decorated. I loved the way it turned out. I started with a wedding Garland. In the next post, I will explain all about the garland and where you can purchase that from. I then filled in with white artificial flowers from Michaels. The gold vases were also from Michaels. I finished this table off with some pinecones and the gold Mr. & Mrs. letters. I used my Lenox Eternal china as their table setting which is trimmed in gold. You can check out other posts where I used that China here and here.
As for the reception, I had a couple months to plan. There were plenty of opportunities for me to accumulate gold votives, vases, and candle sticks due to the Christmas season. This also rang true for the red and white items I needed as well. When things went on sale I just paid attention to what stores had the best prices and grouped my decor according to what decorations I had.
The first thing I did after meeting with my bride was counted how many tables I needed and what areas of my home I was going to decorate. Once I knew that, I could plan and group my decor. My bride and groom table I knew needed to be one of a kind so I set aside decor specifically for this table. No matter what kind of party you are throwing, organization and careful planning are the keys to a successful event. When you plan well, you can execute the small details that matter so much and make a party go off without a hitch.
Michaels, Crate and Barrel, Z Gallerie, and Pier 1 carried what I needed to design the reception decor. If you are supplying your own items for a party or reception, I would suggest checking out these stores. I supplied some party tables and linens and rented some as well. I wanted to have enough tables and chairs for guests to comfortably eat and mingle with the bride and groom as well as the other guests.
I thoroughly enjoyed decorating my home to celebrate the wedding of Sarah and Steven. They are a lovely couple and I was honored they allowed me to celebrate their big day with them. I wish them many years of happiness as they start their life together. Please leave comments below if you have an upcoming wedding or recent celebration you would like to share. I would love to hear about it.
Yours Truly,
Jenn
