A Perfect Wedding

"What is the most important part of this wedding?" I asked the bride at our first meeting.
"Um, the dress...no, the cake...no, the venue..." her voice trailed off. "I don't know what you mean."
"Well, let me make it easy for you. If you are married at the end of the day it will have been a success.  I promise you things will go wrong. They always do. No amount of money, planning, preparation, anxiety, or stress will guarantee a perfect day. If your groom, the preacher and two witnesses show up, nothing else matters.
At my first wedding, my soon-to-be mother-in-law, a cafeteria cook, served leftover cafeteria turkey and dressing at the rehearsal dinner. After the wedding she argued with my mother over who was to takehome the leftover cake. Ridiculous! No planning could have foreseen the conflicts.

At my second wedding, a small-DIY-affair, the groom started laughing during the wedding vows. It horrified me to think the vows were laughable to him. In reality he was watching the cake melt and slide behind the buffet.

Realize that the ideas you've pinned on Pinterest are wonderful, but many of them came from weddings where thousands of dollars were spent. The average Dallas wedding costs $27,000.00. We have a budget of less than a thousand dollars for a reception for 160 people. With that in mind, let's do what we can to make it a memorable day."

She had decided on an outdoor wedding at the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. It rained. It was beautiful. She was married.

For her whimsical country reception, we planned to arrange fabric covered hay bales in a horseshoe configuration under huge trees festooned with garlands of twinkle lights and Chinese lanterns. The dancing would take place in the middle. It would be Pinterest perfect. Except it rained and all our ideas had to be scrapped and the party moved indoors at the last minute.

It would have been beautiful. The trees were gorgeous.

The Fellowship hall-- before

We added lights on the walkway, lanterns, mesh ribbon, tulle and
balloons to create a festive air.

Cook's Merchantile loaned us the lattice work for the backdrop. Garden
lights and tulle were strung for an ethereal feel.

She wanted a cupcake tower and a cake he could cut with his Spanish sword.

I used garden pedestals and plywood covered with foil and bling to create a cake tower. The lovely cake topper was a family heirloom from her great-grandmother's 1937 wedding. I made a three-layer carrot cake for them to cut. We didn't have a groom's cake, so I used pinstriped cupcake holders for the groom and lace filigree holders for the bride.

Three tables made up the dessert buffet. We had the traditional nuts and mints
as well as a huge rose bowl of jelly beans (which were all gone by the end of the evening)

I made red velvet, German chocolate, strawberry, and pecan pie cupcakes.
We also had brownies and five kinds of cookies. My personal favorite was
the tart Key Lime cookie.

The strawberry cupcakes were frosted with a-to-die-for
buttercream frosting made with pureed strawberries. 

Personalized bottles of water in a galvanized tub lit
with submersible lights 

sat below childhood pictures of the couple. The screen blocked
the view of the kitchen & trash cans.

The guest signed the matting as a keepsake for the couple.

Banners made with a free printable were attached by tiny clothespins to twine.
One of my inexpensive ideas to cover bare white walls.

 I made a wreath with the couples initials for the front door of the reception hall. The
tables were covered with the shiny side of white craft paper and place around the outside
perimeter of the room. Additional chairs were brought in around the dance floor.
I added a touch of color to the room with flowers in mason jars banded
with silver burlap and coral ribbon. Candles in smaller mason jars were placed
 on either side of the flowers. I stuck flowers every place I could including the bathrooms

There was dancing by the young,

Fathers and daughters

Newlyweds and parents.

Girls talked and

boys watched.
(Note the silver mesh ribbon bows and flowers in each window)

This picture frame was to have been hung in the trees

and would have made beautiful pictures, but we had fun!

Photography courtesy of this kind gentleman, Dan Gill . Thank you
for sharing your talents.

The hostesses called it a success!

They left in a shower of glitter

And they lived happily ever after.

I learned one of the most valuable lessons of my life in the last week of May, 2013. Without the expectation of perfection you encounter less anxiety and stress. Life is much more satisfying if your self-worth is not tied up in perfectionism.