Katie and William's wedding weekend began on April 30th in Decatur, AL. The bridesmaid luncheon was at Curry's Restaurant. Kristen Bentley with Simpson's Florist (www.simpsonsfloristonline.com/ & http://simpsonsflorist.blogspot.com/) did these pretty small flower arrangements for the tables.
Every bridesmaid had earrings, a small jewelry box, and a special note from Katie at their seat when they arrived. They also had a schedule of the weekend that I put together.
I made welcome bags for all the out of town guests that were staying at the Country Inn & Suites.
They had a few different brochures of Decatur that I got from the Visitor's Bureau and schedules that had directions to all the events. Of course they had food as well- bottled water, ring pops, assortment of chocolate candies, gum, Tylenol, mints, cookies, gold fish, and granola bars.
Their Rehearsal dinner was at the groom's parents' home. We transformed the backyard into a beautiful yet casual dining area. It was a wonderful night with friends, great food, and many sweet toasts to the happy couple.
However, they didn't need a lot of inspiration because they had great ideas of their own and many friends to help them pull this special night off. The mother of the groom made her own table number and escort cards and we tied them on the wine bottles that went on every table with raffia. The escort cards were tied on the willow branch arrangement at the entrance. She used Americ Equipment Rental (www.americrentals.com) all the serving pieces, tables, and chairs and BBJ Linen (www.bbjlinen.com) for her table cloths (suggested by the bride's florist, Simpson's Florist). One of her good friends did the flower arrangements- these were inspired by the mason jar flower arrangement picture from above.
*Tip- We used the arrangements from the bridesmaid luncheon at the rehearsal dinner too. We just changed out the hydrangeas for mini green ones and we placed them throughout the house and outside area. Also these ended up still looking so good the next day that we were able to use them on the outside tables at the wedding reception! How is that for a money saver!
The father of the groom made an elaborate string lighting arrangement that went over the dining area and went through the serving tent. He also planned and cooked the southern menu- BBQ butts, pork tenderloin, bean salad, potato salad, slaw, and bread. Of course it was a huge hit!
The grandmother of the groom made the dessert- death by chocolate. She also surprised the bride with her favorite dessert that she makes- a chocolate Oreo yummy mix called Dirt!
I hope this event is an inspiration to anyone that is wanting a laid back, casual feel for their rehearsal dinner. Of course the time of year definitely made this backyard bash possible, but just keep in mind that anything is possible when you put your mind to it!
A "Do It Yourself," aka DIY, approach is becoming more and more popular and there are a lot of helpful tips out there. Please make sure you have plenty of help and have a designated person in charge coordinating so you won't feel overwhelmed or too stress to enjoy the night!
Set-up:
Before everyone arrived:
Katie's photographer, Deborah Green, took pictures the whole weekend and she did an amazing job! Please check out these photos because they are much better than mine! http://dkgreen.zenfolio.com/p853277356#h153c2a78
To be continued....
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now”.
-Alan Lakein
