Our venue didn’t really require a lot of decorating. The dark woodwork and stained glass really set the scene on its own. Since our ceremony started at seven, followed by a cocktail hour, our actual reception didn’t start until about 8:30. We wanted the reception to feel like an old party they might have had years ago in the space, cozy and classic with a lot of candlelight.
Our ceremony
Dan’s mother happened to have quite a few lacy glass hurricanes from his sister’s wedding that we were able to use with rented silver chargers on half of the tables. For the three tables that were front and center in the space (reserved for our close family) we had rented three vintage silver candelabras. The rest of the other tables we turned over to our florist with the request of sweet peas and dark berries (like in my bouquet) but also incorporating hydrangea and twigs (to tie into the trees you’ll read about soon.)
A collection of details Joe captured from the reception.
Our florist was Monica from 18Flowers in Kansas City. I met with a number of florists – but couldn’t seem to find one that understood our ideas, seemed to really listen but also bring their own ideas to the table, and could stick in our budget. Until we found Monica. She was fabulous to work with and we were so happy with the results.
I recommend talking to your venue about what kind of lighting control they have. Just minutes before the ceremony started I told Dan I thought the room seemed really bright – not the candlelight intimacy I had envisioned. He found the venue’s coordinator and discovered that all of the lights in the space were dim-able. Within minutes the lights were adjusted and exactly what we had imagined.