Looking Back: Making a Wedding Reception

Our wedding reception was my favorite part of the day. We didn't have a reception line because I always hate lines. The reception was very casual, but very much like a garden party. We all chatted, ate delicious desserts and hugged. A lot.

So here are the details of the reception:

We made a photo booth. We had collected the frame for it from a consignment shop. Karl and my dad made the photo booth with plywood and my mom wallpapered it with a yard sale find. The table next to it was picked up thrifting and we adorned it with an old Brownie Camera and pictures.

For the table centerpieces, I collected teacups, little vases and interesting bottles from the DI (similar to Salvation Army). I put 3 on each table and made sure they were of varying heights. Total cost for the teacups and bottles was $20.

As far as food goes, we couldn't afford a full dinner, so we opted for my favorite meal: Dessert! Our families really chipped in a lot with this. They were baking for days. In addition, my bridesmaids Brooke and Leah are friends with a girl who loves to make and decorate delicious cupcakes which you can see above. They really were the crowning beauties. Thanks ladies!

My other bridesmaid Jessica hooked me up and asked out mutual friend Amy who is a cake decorator to make my cake at zero expense to us. She was amazing. Our cake was delicious (lemon with cream cheese frosting) and beautiful and exactly how I imagined it! The cake topper was custom made to look like us. I loved it. Learn more about it here.

We used pinwheels as our favors. Karl's mom went crazy and made tons of them for us. She was so helpful! Everyone loved them and I still have friends who stole a few and made a bouquet for their table.

The tables, chairs, umbrella's and tablecloths were all rented and the best idea we ever had. My matron on honor did some research and found them for us. So good.

Our guest book was a freebie from a blog giveaway for Agent Kat Designs. It came out beautiful.

At the end, we had a sparkler sendoff and it was amazing and so good to leave. I had a great time, but receptions can be brutal when you're newly married.

Our photographer for the day was Dave Brewer of the Dave Brewer Photo Booth fame. He cut us a great deal and took some amazing shots for us. I couldn't have been happier with them.

So there you have it. That's pretty much my wedding in a nutshell. I hope you liked it!