~~The Reception Venue~~

We chose to use the original one-room schoolhouse next door to the chapel as our reception site. Most of you have heard me say that I MUST, MUST, MUST have a dance floor, the hardwood floors in this building are going to be perfect! Right now the school is going through a remodel that will be finished shortly before our wedding. Oh man, it should be gorgeous! The owner's daughter is getting married and is kind of indirectly directing how things should be done. LOL Like the chapel, there are some unique features that make me think we could pull off a one of a kind shindig. Here are a few pictures that were taken in September. (This is where you guys will need to use a bit of imagination!)

The area below is where guests will enter, it's about 12'x8'. My idea here is to place a table with our nontraditional guestbook (which I will describe in another post), & more flame-less candles, as well as some pictures. Because it is potentially going to be raining this would also serve as a place to keep umbrellas & coats.

Now for the inside...


 
 
What you cannot tell here is that the doorway next to the pot-bellied stove leads to the kitchen & bathroom that were added. (Yay for plumbing! I failed to mention that the chapel is not plumbed but has a very fancy port-a-pot just outside the backdoor!) See that wall with the map hanging on it? Well, that was once a bedroom that the previous owner had installed. I am thinking that we could use that for a photo booth area! Permitting that I find an inexpensive way to do so. Has anybody used a laptop/webcam for something similar? It seems silly to tie a guest/relative solely to that room. If a photo booth doesn't work out what could we do with it? What about a kids area? I believe it is 16'x20'. The long built in counter will serve as the gift/card/cake table. The desks next to the window are not permanent and if I remember correctly they are installing new velvet curtains.

It seems like everything we are doing has a unique twist and the setup for the reception is no different! Since I will be recruiting help to set things up I want to keep it pretty simple... the less stress for all of us the better! Some set up can be done the evening before, after rehearsal. Below is what I came up with when I attempted to provide our guests with formal seating.

Two things: 1.) My scale/dimensions are totally off! 2.) It's cramped and would require the rental of more tables/chairs thus increasing my budget and decreasing things that I feel are more important! LOL My current thought is to borrow or buy some hay bales, cover them in fabric/burlap runners, add throw pillows, and only use 2-3 banquet tables. If I have to buy the bales I am pretty sure that there is somebody out there willing to buy them at half cost & come pick them up. Score one for recouping some money, right?!? A setup like that is so flexible and if done correctly looks great.

Outside of the school is a large yard, or field, that is available if the weather magically turns warm. If anyone has an oversize outdoor tent we could use, it would be appreciated. The idea behind it is that it will open up the space for people to move around & mingle. This is important since 70% of everyone there is family, I would like them to get to know each other! I am working on another area for the smoking lounge, away from the main entrance. This will double as the BBQ tent, if the owner agrees to let us have flames... dangerous, I know! ha ha ha 

Off to bed for now, hope all of you are doing well!!! Love you!

~~The Ceremony Venue~~

One of the first conversations Kyle & I had after being engaged was about the size of our wedding. Neither of us wanted 200+ people, lavish food, or the possibility of intoxicated guests. What we did want was a family affair, a good home-cooked meal, and a semi casual outdoor wedding. Well, we were lucky to find a place where we could incorporate all of that, even the outdoor aspect, if weather permits. (Cheaper than expected too!) Here is a view from the front.

The Chapel was the first, & only, venue we visited. As soon as we pulled up it became obvious that this was it. It is a little more than 100 years old and has such rustic charm. After my second visit there I realized that there isn't a reason to go overboard decorating. The owner will be hanging chandeliers on either side of the porch along with a wooden sign that says "Two Shall Become One" and has also agreed to place ""antique" tin watering cans filled with peonies, daisies, and wildflowers on either side of the walkway leading to the chapel. There are vases that hang inside the windows on the inside of the chapel, they too will be filled with flowers. Whether or not we should have an aisle runner has been tossed back & forth in my head. Reality is that people will probably not be staring at the floor... unless the runner is there. So for now that idea is out. What I would like is to find a way to dress up the pews. Pew bows, in my opinion can be a bit tacky but there are already enough flowers so hanging them from the pews is out. Any other ideas? Here's what we are working with...

There is a max capacity of 75-80 people. So, with 14 of us being up front there should be plenty of seating. I hope... Anyway, as far as the rest of the interior goes, we will be using the candelabras and bringing in some other elements such as (flame-less) candles. There is a boombox, like literally, for us to use for music prior to & during the ceremony. I am still attempting to find somebody willing to take on the responsibility of this. Oh, and I am very strange about smells so even though I enjoy the smell of historical buildings it isn't something I want to associate with our wedding day. I will most definitely be arming myself with some Scentsy products... something warm like pecan pie or cinnamon nut. Mmmmm... 

~~Welcome~~

Hey there all! I decided that we needed a place to communicate about the wedding without giving it away to the guests. As you all know Kyle & I are on a very, very tight budget and have had to downsize most aspects of the wedding. (When all is said & done I am hoping we spend $3,500 or less.) Having such a small budget is causing us to think outside the box, be flexible, and more than that, be creative. It is our goal to make this a fun & memorable event that centers around the union of families. Thanks to all of you for taking part in such a huge part of our lives!!!

My goal for this blog is to collaborate ideas and open communication for everyone in our wedding party since many of you do not know one another. If possible I would like to include photos of you guys so there are faces with names. I will be posting ideas whenever possible and would very much appreciate feedback. (I have a reoccurring nightmare of a flawed wedding that is full of mishaps... ugh! Let's avoid that mmmm k! lol) There are also a billion and one photos that I will be including for opinions or decorating ideas, feel free to add your own if you see something you think may work for our big day.

And for your viewing pleasure my experimentation....