DIY Backyard Wedding III

I am not sure if you guys have picked up on it yet, but I adore this wedding! Yes, this my friends is the 3rd post in a series from the wedding of Kelly and Chris. The final post is all about their fabulous reception. Not only was this reception budget friendly, but it oozes creativity and originality from every corner. I am sure these great ideas with a few tweaks can be used for any party or wedding no matter the season! Enjoy the eye candy and creativity of Kelly Waldron.

"My brother designed all the table place cards (clothes pinned to twine tied around a tree trunk), wedding programs (which doubled as a fan), and the candy bags ("Love is sweet").  They all carried an art deco or type-writer vintage theme."

"After the ceremony in the back yard, our wedding party re-arranged the chairs and brought in long folding tables to transform the area into the reception space.  The guests were served cocktails and hors devoirs in the side yard during the change-over.  With a little help and creative placement, you can use a small area for either a larger wedding or to double as another usable space. The "bar" was brought into the back yard after the cocktail hour, which saved us having two stocked tables of beer and wine. "

"Instead of renting table linens (the lace overlay on top of the tablecloth), I saved up JoAnn Fabric coupons and bought lace at half off.  It turned out to cost less than renting lace.  Now, they are my window curtains! "

"The center-pieces were an assortment of candles, bud-vases with fresh cuts from the garden, and flowers (ordered from a wholesale place and put together ourselves) in saved wine bottles.  We used small, framed, black & white baby pictures of us on each table.  The frames were bought on sale at Micheal's for $2 each.  Then, my dad cut branches into coke can sized logs, sawed a slit on top and we used them for the table numbers.  Lastly, I used large, wide mouth mason jars, stuffed them with raffia, tied ribbon around the outside, and filled them with "aged" music sheet cones (like the flower cones).  This time, I photocopied different love songs from Broadway shows, tea-colored the paper, and glued them into cones. These six things were scattered along the long banquet tables. 

Also, buying flowers wholesale gives you a ton at a cheap price! We had a bunch left over to fill extra wine bottles and mason jars and scatter around the area."

"The candy table was an assortment of orange and yellow candy in mason jars, home-made cupcakes tied with ribbons, and a cake from Publix [the grocery store].  We used old, weathered books from my dad's home library to use as levels on the table. The candy served as our favors, people filled tiny brown bags with "Love is sweet" printed on front." 

"We got wedding pictures from our parent's and grandparent's weddings, framed them and nailed them to a tree along with our engagement pictures." 

"Our "guest book" was a framed poster of a tree painted by a friend.  The guests used their thumbprints as leaves by dipping in different green inks.  Then their names were signed around their print.  It hangs in our home as a memorable and cool piece of art."