Eat, Drink and Be Married ... Part Two

A few miles from the chapel where the ceremony took place, is a golf course country club where the reception was held. 

Because there was a wedding reception that preceded ours, we had only two short hours to set up. In addition, we wanted to use some of the flowers from the ceremony for the reception as well so we had some juggling to do. It required a lot of planning, organization and a crew that could follow directions and work fast. I posted about how we pulled it all off here. 

At the foot of the staircase that led to the reception ballroom, we placed a vignette of furniture and some of the ceremony flowers. The hand painted window directed the guests up the stairs. Both the window signs were painted by my daughter. 

We used the same flowers that were on the pews of the chapel on the staircase. This was the most challenging part of it all as we had to get the flowers from the chapel as fast as possible and then get them tied on before the guests started arriving for a cocktail hour downstairs. I put one of my daughters in charge of this part and she did a fabulous job!

At the top of the stairs the guests were greeted with a photo wall of the bride and groom's family weddings and a tribute to the groom's father who had passed away. The shutter belonged to my neighbor who was getting rid of it ... we spray painted it with black primer. 

The seat assignments were done very simply in order to be able to set everything up within the limited time frame.

The groom is a musician and a white guitar was used as a guest book. The guests signed their names with black sharpies.

Enlarged photos of the bride and groom were displayed on a black backdrop.

The ballroom was newly remodeled and was a fairly simple set-up ...

 The centerpiece flowers were made up of hydrangeas, stock, roses and carnations.

I used the same vases that I used for my daughter's wedding but I painted them with Krylon Looking Glass spray paint.

The tables were numbered with jeweled frames and glass domes.

We used the flowered-filled urns from the ceremony here too.

Empty vases were placed on the bridal party's table for the bridesmaid's flowers. 

And of course, we couldn't leave without styling the restrooms ...

This one was an extra challenge as the construction that was supposed to be completed wasn't ... and as I was packing my car to leave to style the chapel I got a call that the mirror in the women's restroom broke. I quickly grabbed a few things from my house to fill in.

We placed vignettes of furniture and accessories around to fill up empty spaces ...

And placed baby photos of the bride and groom on the restroom doors to cover the commercial ones.

All that in two hours. Whew!

Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving is a favorite day of mine because it is about being grateful, counting your blessings and spending the day with family.

One of our family traditions is to write down what we are thankful for on little tags. (I found the free  printable for the banner and "thank you" here. I saw the banner first on Mary Ann's blog. I used leftover sheets of scrapbook paper and baker's twine for the tags.)

These are our prayers and we hang them on a "Thankful Tree". This year we hung them on a live "Christmas Tree". 

I am ready to move into the Christmas season. In fact, I decided to give out a few gifts early. It started with an idea for a hostess gift ... and then I decided to give gifts to each family on my husband's side that we spent Thanksgiving with ... just a little something to start off the Christmas season and to show my gratitude.

I am grateful we have this family to spend Thanksgiving with and I thank God for restoring what was lost for many years.

"Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;


Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;


It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; 

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,


And into His courts with praise.


Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

For the Lord is good;
 His mercy is everlasting, 

And His truth endures to all generations." - Psalm 100

Thanksgiving peonies

On my way home from putting the finishing touches on a nursery this afternoon, I stopped at Mother's Market in Orange to grab something to eat. It occurred to me while I was there that Thanksgiving is tomorrow. It is not that I didn't "know" it was tomorrow but I have been focusing on so many other things that seeing the crowd there shopping for their meal put it in my face a little bit. I am not cooking the meal tomorrow but there are still a lot things I need to do to prepare for the day and a few dishes I need to make, and of course things I wish I had the time to do. So, I picked up a few (of the many) items I needed and a few I didn't "need" but couldn't resist.

Nothing else is done, but I have some pretty flowers on my entry table. Backwards, I know, but it works for me!

I have much to be thankful for ... you being one. Thanks for stopping by! xoxo

Eat, Drink and Be Married ... Part One.

Most of the weddings we have styled in the last couple of years have been in casual outdoor settings and most have been in barns. It all started with my daughter's wedding at the Newland Barn in Huntington Beach. So when we were asked to style a church / county club wedding I was a little apprehensive. Honestly, it was the church part that had me worried. It was not something I had ever done and my sister reminded me that I always panic a little bit when I am asked to do something new.

It turned out that the church was a charming little chapel on the site of a larger church.

Although it was windy, it was an absolutely beautiful day for a wedding and the skies could not have been more blue. 

When we met the bride she had already chosen her bridesmaid's dresses and her colors. Black and white. And although we wanted to use primarily white flowers, I knew we needed to bring in a little color. Her mother had chosen a plum colored dress, so I suggested we bring in a little lavender.

We took her invitation and used it as our "theme".  Eat, Drink and Be Married.

The chapel had a small foyer and the perfect pedestal table to greet the guests.

Hydrangeas are an easy flower to use for a simple, yet elegant flower arrangement.

We tied orchids with white satin ribbon on each of the pews. 

And placed urns filled with white Stock and Lisianthus behind.

We lined the front of the chapel with lots of candles. The glass candle holders were from The Dollar Tree (ordered online and picked up at my local store) and the silver pedestals were from Ikea. 

 

The bride had 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen. Can you picture them all standing in front?

I couldn't have been more pleased with the way it turned out!

3 things.

Well, 4.  Happy Monday Everyone!

1, 2, 3.