The main challenge we faced for decorating the wedding/reception hall was the fact that the hall was a big empty white box with no character - but I love a blank canvas, and once we settled on a country theme, I was off and running. We primarily used quilts (strung up on clotheslines with clothespins), checkered tablecloths and lots of silk flowers to add a lot of color and visual punch for the buck. Plus, wherever and whenever possible, we got kitchy-country accessories that we either made or borrowed from friends/family and put them everywhere....Here are the results....
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"Redneck" Directional SignsI painted these using wood from an old fence that our neighbors were tearing down - gotta love free stuff! Johnny put them all together and made it stand up...
Country Decor
Checkered tablecloths, bandanas, quilts, silk flowers, and mason jars were use to achieve a country look - on the cheap!
Great-Grandma's Quilt
This was the only quilt out of all the ones we used to decorate that was actually a vintage piece - all the other were ones that my mom and I had, mostly from WalMart or Foleys.
Hay Bale Chic
We used hay bales for atmosphere as well as to mark off the corners of the dance floor and hold the galvanized tubs for icing down cokes and water.
Country Floral DecorI used any and all containers I could find to fill with country silk flowers - I was going for a wildflower look. My dad also had a collection of old Texas license plates that we sprinkled here and there as appropriate for an instant country look!
Handpainted Watermelon Sign
Grabbed an old piece of plywood from a trash pile on the side of the road and painted and antiqued/sanded it to use as decoration on our watermelon table - we served ice cold watermelon after the BBQ. One young child was overheard telling his mother that he needed a nickel before he could get any watermelon - cute huh?
Wedding Cupcakes
Oh goodness - these were so disappointing - not at all how I described them to the bakery - but they were cheap and very delicious and fun, so that's all that really mattered...
The Wedding Party
My sweet sister-in-law Sharon (my brother's wife) and John's talented best friend (and former brother-in-law) Jimmy were kind enough to stand up as our Matron of Honor and Best Man. Their matching shirts were a small miracle - after looking for weeks for coordinating shirts, I finally found Sharon's online then clicked a link labeled "Click here for other merchandise from this manufacturer" and sure 'nuff, there was a men's shirt with the same fabric and cowboy details - perfect!
Close-up of the Bouquets
These were fun to make - and really easy...just arrange the flowers in your hand like a casual bouquet, get them in the position you like, trim the stems, use a bit of floral tape to secure, then wrap the stems tightly with ribbon of your choice and secure the ribbon with floral pins. Lastly you make a bow with streamers and attach at the base of the flowers. Instant casual (or dressy) bouquet!
My "New" Family
These are John's (and now my!!) 4 beautiful daughters, handsome son-in-laws, and 71/2 adorable grandkids. (8th one is due September 15th) After not having any children of my own for 23 years, I now have a wonderful instant family!! I'm already in love with them all!! How blessed am I??!!
My "Old" Family
Here's John's new family - my wonderful parents, my 2 terrific, talented brothers (they made all the incredible BBQ!!), beautiful sister-in-law and "almost" sister-in-law, 2 incredible nephews, and 1 incredible niece. Johnny loves them all and they all love him - it's awesome!
Our First Dance
Dancing has been (and continues to be) an important part of our relationship from the very beginning. For our first dance, we chose the song "I'd Love to Be Your Last" by Clay Walker - absolutely beautiful song - perfect for a second marriage. Check out the lyrics here.
Johnny and I share a *rare* quiet moment...
The Rings
Invitation Still Life
It was fun to be able to design the invitations for the wedding- they were fun and informal - just like us, and just like the wedding was.
Our "Going Away" Outfits - Custom Wedding T-Shirts
After a full afternoon of getting married and eating BBQ and dancing, dancing dancing, we were tired, sweaty and blissfully exhausted! We donned our fancy going away outfits and headed off to our hotel.
BTW, I ordered these from CafePress - just uploaded the artwork, picked out the t-shirts, and voila! - Instant unique wedding souvenirs!
My online store (such as it is at the moment) is a CafePress store.
Yes Indeed He Did!!
This rusty old thing was in my dad's license plate collection, and I ended up putting it right near the front door for the guests to see as they arrived - it became a motto of sorts for the wedding. As you probably know, weddings, even small casual ones like ours, take a lot of planning and a lot of work - and when all was said and done, it was quite clear that God had indeed put it all together - from John and I meeting in the first place right down to the smallest detail of the wedding... We certainly could not have done it without His help and guidance!
