Wedding Decor

We were lucky in that we got married at a beautiful park that required no extra decoration, and our reception space stood on it's own really well too. Through choice and necessity, we kept the extra decorations to a minimum. Although what we had added a lot of color and texture, and to me the whole space looked happy.



There was a gallery room that everyone walked through on the way to the main ballroom. The exhibit that happened to be on display had these beautiful and huge watercolor paintings on every wall. We just got lucky with that one too!



We set up a photo table in that gallery room too. We collected wedding pictures of as many guests and family members as we could and put them on display. It was so neat to see all the generations of weddings before us, to see the same people in so many pictures over the years, and mostly, to honor all the marriages that came before us.



Aside from that, the only major decorations we had were the napkins that my family and I made, and flowers that we arranged the day before. My aunt Judy, my sister, Fred's mom and I had made a ton of napkins in advance, but come Saturday morning we still didn't have quite enough. So bless these people, we sat down together and made more. My dad and my step mom ironed, I helped pin, and my aunt Judy sewed. For me, that was a really special moment. It was amazing to have the unconditional support and help, and it felt so good to have my family around to make the wedding happen.



Flowers were a project too. I ordered wholesale from Potomac Floral, and I can't recommend them enough. They're good because you can order flowers by the bunch, not by the box, and that way you can get a huge variety.



My sister and I first put together our bouquets, which meant as much laughing at each other as arranging flowers. Mine was made up of hypericum berries and dahlias, and hers was an arrangement of mums and hypericum berries.



I also made boutonnieres for the guys out of mums and hypericum berries. I didn't do a trial run of the flowers, although I did do some research in advance and I've worked with flowers before. It was great that things turned out as well as they did!



We did make a pomander ball for my niece out of flower foam and mums. It was really sweet. And then we forgot it. Fred and I realized it was missing while we were in the car on the way to the wedding. We were running late enough that we just left it. Everyone says that something goes wrong at on your wedding day, and we figured that was it. Better to get it over and done with and move on! So Audrey stole my sister's flowers. Naturally.



Then my dad and step mom and I put together all the rest of the flowers. Fred and I had collected empty glass jars during the entire proceeding year for the table arrangements. We wanted everything to look natural and simple and fun, and it turned out beautifully.



In the end, it was so good having so much help during the weekend. People say that your wedding day goes by in a flash and all the details become a blur. It did go quickly, although I'm glad to say I have really vivid memories of all of it. But I'm so especially thankful for the time we all had together in the days before too. I'll remember making the projects come together with the people we love as much as I'll remember the actual wedding day!