Monday, June 23, 2014

Wedding reception decor

(This is the ninth post in my wedding series.)

With help from my parents, we conceptualized and prepared all the wedding decor ourselves.  We called in favours from family and friends to help with set-up and tear-down on the day of the wedding; without their help, this wouldn't have been possible. Whenever we could, we tried to cut costs and reduce our environmental footprint by repurposing items we already owned, or buying things second-hand at thrift stores. The few items we did buy new - like our envelope box - can be used after the wedding. I'll never forget the feeling of walking into the room and seeing how beautiful it looked!

xx

We paired soft grey table linens with white chair covers and classic white dinnerware. Swaths of tulle were draped from the ceiling.


A menu at each place setting.


I made table numbers from a set of vintage classical French books my parents owned. I used wood shapes from a craft store and numbers printed onto cardstock, cut out and spray painted gold.


On the back of the books, we affixed baby photos printed in black and white.

{Some of my photos}

We wrapped stacks of books in the same pink suede ribbon used on the seating chart.



The head table was angled for a more intimate feel. A small table in the centre meant Brad and I could sit comfortably without a table leg between us.


We reused the pew bows throughout the room. 


Undertable lighting at the head table and entrance table created a soft glow as the sun went down. 


Instead of a guestbook, guests signed gold-edged cards and placed them in a set of drawers. 



'Welcome! On this table you will find/our wedding cards for you to sign/Just a line, a word, a phrase/to capture the feeling of this, our happiest of days/Placed within the chest of drawers/these sentiments will be stored/Our gratitude we cannot measure/for this collection we'll forever treasure.'



We used vintage-style suitcases to store flip flops for aching feet.



Baskets of toiletries were placed in each of the washrooms.


We used a storage box for envelopes by sealing the lid and cutting a small slit in the lid. We didn't get a photo of it during the wedding; this photo is from a pre-wedding mock set-up. I spray-painted the vase on the left gold to match the decor.


3 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! I love the pristine white, which is very characteristic of a classically elegant wedding. The little touches of color on the reception tables are just perfect. The French books as table numbers is such a wonderful idea. I do hope everything goes well! Cheers!

    Jeremy Barker @ Chiavari Chairs

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow Kat! Such exquisite details. I love all of these personal touches and the decor is absolutely beautiful. I love all of the cute ideas, especially signing the cards in lieu of a guest book, baby pictures, the colors and I love the French book idea. Everything is AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely photos! Recently arranged my niece’s wedding reception party at one of top wedding venues NYC. Everything was amazing and was happy that everything was done perfectly. She thanked and praised me for everything.

    ReplyDelete

I genuinely enjoy reading everyone's comments. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!