Blog Parties

Friday, June 25, 2010

It's a wedding party



Stephanie over at Angelic Accents is hosting a To Have & To Hold Wedding Blog Party today. And you know how I love to party. And to think that I almost forgot about it. And I also love to party with Cindy over at My Romantic Home for her Show and Tell Fridays.

June is known to be the month for weddings. So of course I had a June wedding. At least this time around.

The first time I got married, it was in November and was a small family affair. I didn't have a wedding dress or a reception. I was lucky that I even had a wedding cake.

So for my final time getting married I actually got to have a reception. It was still a small affair, but more than I got the first time around. This time I wanted something more.

Too bad I didn't plan this post better as most of my wedding photos are on my home computer & I'm at work (don't tell anyone). Plus my son was suppose to be my photographer & he didn't take as many photos as I would have liked. I never did get any photos of my tables before everyone was sitting at them or of the food tables. Oh well, if we ever renew our vows, I'll make a list of everything I want photos of. That, or hire a real photographer.

Hubby & I got married in our backyard on June 3, 2006. It had to be the hottest June on record that year. We normally get June gloom here in southern California in June so the temps are usually pretty mild. But in 2006 it was 105 degrees on the day we got married. Luckily we didn't actually get married until 7pm. So it had cooled down to about 90 degrees.

We had about 60 people at our wedding. We were married by my brother in law. In California, anyone can be ordained to perform weddings for 1 day. You just have to fill out paperwork & pay a fee. I'm sure you can probably do this in most states. It made it so much nicer to have someone we know & love marry us.

This was our wedding cake. We also had a huge flat cake for serving to the guests. Wedding cakes are sooooo expensive. Much cheaper to get a small one for the cake cutting ceremony & a flat cake for serving. I wanted my cake to look like it had lace on it. The wedding topper we used wasn't my first choice. But my first choice ended up being too big for the cake. So I had to use this smaller one. I wish I could show you a better close up of it, but that photo would be on my home computer.

I wanted a Victorian theme for our wedding. Which it was, but we also called it our eBay wedding. Most everything I purchased for the wedding came from eBay. We even went to an eBay convention in Las Vegas for our honeymoon. I was totally into selling on eBay when we got married, so you could say that eBay paid for our wedding & honeymoon. Even my dress I got off eBay for less than $200.
This Lenox wedding couple was what I had intended to use as my cake topper. Isn't it the sweetest? I just adore how the groom is barefoot. It was a limited edition and I got it for $25.00. And you guessed it, off of eBay.

I made these little votive candles with our name & wedding date.

I purchased about 5 different bride & groom figurines for our wedding. I placed the ones I didn't use for the cake on the bride & groom table for the reception. Too bad I don't have any photos of the table (this photo is of a different one of the five sitting on my table inside the house). We never actually sat at our special table at the reception. We were too busy visiting with everyone who came. I only have 3 of the original 5 bride and groom figurines left. I sold the other two on eBay.

For food we had ham & turkey croissant sandwiches, veggie trays, fruit trays, cheese trays, mini quiches, Oriental chicken salad. These items were purchased from Sam's Club. We also had chicken wings & bread sticks from a local restaurant Pat & Oscars. Besides cake for dessert we also had a 2 chocolate fountains and stuff to dunk in the chocolate. One fountain for milk chocolate and one for white chocolate. We don't drink alcohol so we saved a ton of money there. We did have my favorite almond punch made with orange juice, lemonade, sugar, almond extract and 7 up.

By the end of the evening our reception actually turned into a pool party. It was still pretty warm out. All the kids ended up throwing each other into the pool so they all changed into their swim suits and had a pool party. One of my nieces was pretty upset about this as she had spent a lot of time lighting all the floating candles that had been in the pool. All in all, everyone had a good time. I was happy how it turned out (even if I didn't get a lot of photos). And the best part, it only cost us less than $2000.

You really don't have to spend a lot of money for wedding decorations. I mostly used stuff I already had around my house. I had lots of birdhouses, fairies, cherubs and candlesticks. I decorated each table a little different. Each table had candlesticks and flowers. I just made a different theme on each table. And because most of my stuff is in the same color family, it all worked.

Thrift stores, friends, family, eBay are great sources for finding things cheap. Also you can actually use Valentine's Day decorating stuff. Or you can use your wedding stuff for Valentine's Day.

For Valentine's Day I printed out all these "Love" sayings off the computer. I think they would work for a wedding as well. And they are cheap.

Here is another easy & cheap wedding decor idea. I printed out each letter to spell "LOVE" and them framed them in frames from Dollar Tree. So for less than $5.00 you have a table decoration for your wedding or your mantel for Valentine's Day.

Or how about using "XOXO" letters for a table decoration. Works for both a wedding or Valentine's Day.

Even the Dollar Tree had bride & groom figurines last month.

I still love collecting wedding figurines. Hubby got this one for me for Christmas. I actually picked it our from a trip to an antique store. It was 40% off. So I think it was around $10.00. It even came with the glass dome.

I have a thing for bride & grooms that look like children.



Last month I found these vintage Bride & Groom glasses at the thrift store. My niece is getting married in August and I thought these would be perfect to give her. But now I am feeling kind of stingy. So I'm not sure I can part with them. But I will, cause I am a nice Aunt. I did use them on my anniversary tablescape this year as candle holders though. Plus I do have a set that says "Happy Anniversary" already.

That is the nice thing about anniversaries. You can reuse some of your wedding stuff again each year.
Here is a my anniversary table from 2009. I used my Lenox bride & groom and my personalized wedding votive candles. Here is where I used the "Happy Anniversary" glasses I spoke about. And hubby gave me a special Lenox anniversary box in 2009 as well. You can see more about this tablescape here.

This anniversary table is from earlier this month. I used my newest bride & groom for this table as well as the "Bride & Groom" glasses that I'm giving to my niece. You can see more of this tablescape here. We (as in hubby & me or should I say I) have now been married 4 years. But we've been together for 15. And hopefully (knock on wood) we will be together forever.

I hope that you have enjoyed my contribution to the wedding blog party, even if I am a bit late. Now be sure to hop on over to Angelic Accents to see who else is partying. Stephanie has quite the collection of wedding stuff that you don't want to miss. And then be sure to stop by My Romantic Home to see the different ways that Cindy has decorated using shells.

And next week I'll post about my 4th of July decor. I have a few things left to finish up and then I'll be ready to share. Hardly seems worth the time and effort for just a week or so of decorating. But you know me, I love to decorate.

19 comments:

  1. Hi Kim,
    Looks like I'm the first to comment on your fabulous post. Your photos are wonderful and I just love all your sweet wedding cake toppers! Love your wedding dress too! Enjoyed your post very much! Please stop by for a visit and see mine.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  2. Everything is so pretty and how awesome that you did it all yourself! We sneaked off to Vegas for my 2nd (forever) marriage but I can't wait til our 1st anniversary, I'm going to make it so special. I love how you did your table for your anniversary, so romantic!

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  3. Kim,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed reading about your pretty wedding and your wedding decor. I am a ebayer too and wish ebay had been around 37 years ago when I got married. LOL.
    Pink hugs,
    Vicki Pink Pearl Girl

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  4. Hi Kim, Oh I love your wedding and all the creativity you used to decorate. You and your hubby are a beautiful couple and you a gorgeous bride. Love your dress and the lace cake is beautiful.

    You are one talented lady and I love your party here. Thank you for sharing.

    Thank you also for stopping by and your sweet comment.
    So nice to meet you.
    Hugs, Celestina Marie

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  5. How nice to have some keepsakes from you wedding. We were married at home and it was a small affair and I don't have anything from it. Oh well, I still have him. I love your wedding photos of the two of you.

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  6. such wonderful decorations for your wedding that you can keep for years to come :D

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  7. How sweet. So happy you have found the love of your life. The pictures are really wonderful.
    You can do allot with a smaller amount of money, and you did a great job. Love the topper that you didn't use although they are all really cute.

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  8. I loved reading all about your lovely wedding and seeing all of your photographs. Your dress was beautiful!!

    The table setting is gorgeous too.

    Rhonda

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  9. Kim, what fun to see photos from your wedding and to hear about your great ideas. A collection of wedding figures would be fun. Did you see Laurie's collection that she posted recently on Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie?
    Look forward to seeing your 4th of July decorations. I love bringing out the red, white, and blue from June through August. Who says you need to just leave it out for a week? LOL
    Great post! ~ Sarah

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  10. Ah you both look so happy!! I love your decoration ideas!

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  11. Hi Kim, nice to meet you..we are neighbors almost, we are out by Palm Springs..I see a get togethe one of these days!

    Love your wedding pictures, you can feel the love in them. thank you for sharing and also for stopping by to see me..stop by anytime!

    hugs
    Barb

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  12. Hi Kim! I really enjoyed the wedding photos. The simplicity of your wedding and reception reflects the true love you and your hubby share. I am loving those bride and grooms figures and the one with the cloche is just my favorite! Thank you for sharing with us your wonderful wedding memories and please come join me soon. I am always loving meeting new friends here. Hugs Anne

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  13. Happy Couple, love your wedding day, the cute toppers and also the "love" frames.

    Hugs
    Charo

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  14. Hi, Kim,
    I enjoyed very much the photos of your wedding. Everything was lovely for your special day. Thanks for the tip about using frames for the letters of l-o-v-e.
    Thank you for coming by for a visit and for your kind comments. Enjoy your weekend~ Vicki

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  15. Kim, I love the look on your hubby's face, how sweet you both are. Your dress is gorgeous and so was the cake..What a beautiful wedding!
    Blessings ~Mary~ ;-}

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  16. G'morn, Kim ~ I love your creating your own wedding, everything is just gorgeous ... we did the same thing in record time ... so much more personal & enjoyable. I love intimacy ... you created just that.

    You are a beautiful couple ... may blessings shower upon you forever.

    Have a lovely summer's eve ~
    TTFN ~ Marydon

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  17. Kim, what a lovely wedding. I can picture the candles in the pool. I love your anniversary party table scape. I too love planning a wedding, but when I got married we didn't have the money for a big wedding, so it was a very small one with special friends and our parents. May you be blessed forever in your marriage, because no matter how elaborate a wedding, it's the marriage that counts. Hugs, Pat

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  18. Oooh, Kim, I just KNEW you would have awesome items to share for the WEDDING BLOG PARTY, and you surely don't disappoint! LOVE it all, dear! I must say the Lenox barefoot groom and bride are just ADORABLE! Love the cloched couple hubby bought for you! Your wedding looks like it was a glorious event. You must share more pics from you home 'puter ~ I know everyone would like to see ~ the linky thing is on til sometime Monday! Your gown was beautiful, love the detailing on the sleeves and the hemline! I had to giggle about you calling it an ebay wedding. I buy and sell on ebay all the time, too! Your wedding cake was out of this world ~ looks so much like real lace on it, and I love the tabletopper you used and the crystal handled cake knife. The personalized votives were such a special touch ~ you really give great wedding tips ~ are you sure you aren't a frustrated party planner, just like me?!?! :0)

    Your Dollar Tree frames are beautiful ~ our store has never had such scallopy pretty ones! And I have GOT to find me a set of vintage Bride and Groom glasses now ~ your pic of the tealight in the Brides glass just blows me away ~ magazine-worthy for sure!

    I'm so glad you joined the WEDDING PARTY! And even happier that we are friends! I always enjoy your lovely blog so much.

    Big Hugs,
    Stephanie
    Angelic Accents

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  19. Beautiful wedding photos! I really love the idea of the "LOVE" letters that you printed and put into frames too! Such a creative idea...Your wedding treasures that you found on ebay are precious too :)
    Thanks for sharing your special day...
    Big Hugs,
    Queenie

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