plan our wedding reception

Mark and I think these are a really nice idea for a summer garden reception! The wee ones would surely enjoy this!

Mark and I bought 15 packs of 300 white Christmas lights on clearance for $2 per pack. They’re exactly the same as white wedding lights and are a a much better deal than buying through a wedding or craft store. We think we bought enough. It’s little purchases like this that can really help prepare a thrifty wedding receptions :-) Now to scour more thrift stores for linens, glass pieces, and other fine touches! This is too much fun!

Weddings are full of flowers, but sometimes the littlest arrangements make the biggest impact: Guests will be delighted to find cut flowers tucked into their napkins. To keep the blooms from wilting during the cocktail hour, slip the stems into little vials of water (available at floral shops). To fold the napkin, lay it on a flat surface, and fold in half widthwise so the folded edge is near you. Fold the top layer back down halfway. Turn the napkin over, and fold the edges into the center. Finish by folding the napkin in half.

Another fantastic Martha Stewart idea but not sure if we’ll use it. We may just tie pink ribbon around our napkin or silverware.

Yet another Martha Stewart idea I love!

A dainty rose petal makes the perfect dish for a sugar cube awaiting a cup of coffee, tea, or espresso. These pale-pink rose petals are subtle and feminine, but any favorite blossom can be used, provided it’s organic and nontoxic. Pluck petals from the flower, and set one sugar cube onto each.

This is another great Martha Stewart idea and I’ll love to have this on the back of our Toyota Camry, lol! Best yet, it can be made as far in advance as we want :-)

A theme of hearts makes this vehicle’s purpose perfectly clear. On the back, spell out your love with a monogrammed heart.

To make:Cut half-inch-thick white foam-core to the desired size and shape; paint it to match your color scheme, and trim the exposed edge with a ribbon. Lightly trace your letters onto the heart with a pencil, then place silk petals along the initials and border; pin petals to the board with sequin pins. The final touch is a trailing bow, which is made of double-faced satin and attached to the heart’s bottom point with more sequin pins.

I really love this idea!

Along with dessert, offer your reception guests tea steeped in personal touches. These memorable little details are easy and inexpensive to assemble.

TEA BUNDLE HOW-TO: Buy loose tea in bulk. Trim the tops of tea bags (available where loose tea is sold; by T-sac) with scalloping scissors, and fill with one teaspoon of tea. Tie with baker’s twine. Print a message onto card stock, and cut out. Punch a hole; thread onto twine; knot.

I love these and definitely want to have them hanging off some of our trees.

For entertainment we plan to have my fathers band which does classic rock, modern rock, and country (pretty much anything) play for part of the time and the rest of the time MP3 cds will most likely play. We might get up to some karaoke in the late hours, as my sister loves that!

We also hope to have the family and friends doing many fun activities such as volleyball, swimming, games, dancing. At night, we would like to continue the activities with fireside chats, etc. My dad has projector screen tv in his finished basement and it would be great to show old family videos. My Dad is currently working on transferring the old home videos to DVD.

I absolutely love flowers and want to have many of them at our reception. However, we’re not sure about where we’ll purchase flowers from yet. We’re not looking to do anything super fancy with them… just want lots of them to arrange in all my lovely white glass, silver, and clear class vases (go with wherever is inexpensive hopefully). They will be pinks, light pinks, and whites.

Yet also, I was thinking of growing some of my own here and definitely growing a lot at my parents house in their gardens…. but not sure which ones would still be in bloom towards late August. I will look into this. I am thinking of growing some wheat grass for centerpieces as well. I hear it is very easy and quick to grow. It would look cute with flowers in.

with a fancy letter S (for our last nam) to use for invitations, envelopes, etc to add a personal touch. I’m wondering the best place to purchase one… for an inexpensive price hopefully!