Planning a Garden Wedding Reception

So, my darling goddaughter got married on the beach in Hawai'i on January 2, 2012. He's wonderful; she's wonderful. The perfect couple!

She asked me to help her with the planning of her reception this summer. I'm so excited!

I'll keep you posted on what we are considering, what we've chosen and all the ways we've saved money.

She came over on Sunday and the planning began. First the budget. As Linsi said, "We want to buy a house and have babies someday. We need to be frugal." She said they were planning to have an outdoor reception in August in a lovely field in Seattle. She wants it to be casual, romantic, friendly and colourful.

I showed her what I have here. 125 darling white cake plates with gold trim, a red band with gold fleur-de-lis, several dozen wine glasses, several dozen (maybe close to 100) champagne flutes, some market umbrellas (we designers are supply rich). All these I have, so we can just fill in what what needs to be rented.

Then I told her about the fantastic reception I attended several years ago that had as a centerpiece the most fantastic tent on earth. I sent an email to the rep and we are awaiting sizes, pricing and availability. I'll let you know.

 
 

    

Then we chatted about flowers. They really can cost the earth. And, since they don't last very long, this may be the place to spend less money by doing something different. One of the prettiest reception I ever attended (bar none) had a corridor of planted pots billowing to overflowing with perennials and annuals. Utterly heavenly. Maybe I'll take a page out of their book without taking a page out of their check book and I'll hie myself to Craigslist to see what they have:

Oooh, I found a pair of cool ones.  $40 for the pair (practically free.) 24" tall. Kindah great! Handsome. Wrought iron. Weathered. Traditional. Generously sized. Fill with moss and peat and start the plants in May. They would be enormous by August. Could be good. Yes, I like this idea. Mmmm, I'll send Linsi the link and see what she says.

And, I'll keep you posted.

http://www.rajtents.com/index.asp

Day 14 Everyday Grateful ~ another gorgeous bright
Seattle morning. Perfect for a visiting guest.
The mother of my foreign exchange
student from China is arriving for a visit.
How fun is that!