DIY Reception Music

Ok future brides, I know what you are thinking. . . "I'll do the music thing later. It won't take very long."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

No, I suppose the music did not take as long as finding a dress, finding a venue, working out the wedding day menu, or scouring Goodwills, antique stores, and yard sales for china, but putting music together is not the most simple task either if you do it right.

We started putting together our music approximately two months ahead of time thanks to the suggestion from one of our planners. Otherwise I may have waited until a week before!!!

Luckily I knew what we were going to be playing -- jazz. An odd choice, I know. It's something you only see done in movie weddings. I love jazz though. It's fun. It's romantic. Plus, I took a class on it in college. I knew my grandparents would love it, my friends that love to swing dance would love it, and it is just some very relaxing music. (I had a few friends argue for rock and pop. Yuck. Not my style at all.)

First we nailed down what music the venue had available for us to use. Then we nailed down what we had available. Then the search started. What was popular in the 30's and 40's? I looked at Billboard charts, looked for lists of popular jazz music that were played at weddings, and asked my grandparents and friends that were familiar with jazz for song artists and names. We went looking at music stores for used cds we could get for fairly cheap from a variety of different jazz artists. I listened to music snippets online to determine what I wanted to order from Amazon. I think we spent approximately $200 on jazz music that would last for approximately 5 hours. (More is better. Plus, we were only playing approximately 2 songs from each artist.) For fun, we also included a few songs for the kids ("Everybody Wants to Be A Cat" and "Dynamite").

The conclusion: everybody loved our music! My time paid off! As Justin and I were leaving our reception site, our wedding coordinator told us the music made her feel like dancing! :) It was very relaxing and calming after a stressful couple of months prior to the wedding.

The kicker: I still listen to and enjoy our wedding mix! :)

Pt. 3: Reception!

When we got to the reception site, we did a few preliminary shots before I changed into my reception dress.

Darwin Young Photography

Darwin Young Photography

While everybody was drinking, snacking on appetizers, and mingling, I was getting my hair done for the reception.

Darwin Young Photography

Darwin Young Photography

We were sent this "Chinese marriage knot" from Justin's cousins who are currently in China.

Darwin Young Photography

Darwin Young Photography

The reception was a lot of fun. There were a lot of things planned that did not happen, but it all worked out. Justin and I were able to enjoy our time at the reception without feeling rushed. I would definitely suggest that future brides simply not stress about whether or not everything you plan happens.

Reception Excitement!

I am saving a good many of the reception surprises for when friends and family arrive at the reception, but this one surprise is one I simply could not refrain from sharing! Over the weekend, Justin and I obtained the CUTEST camera EVER! All damask and everything, this camera is... exciting!

It is a plastic Diana camera from Urban Outfitters, and I have to say it has (thus far) made all of my photographical dreams come true. The camera is reminiscent of a style made in the 1960's, uses 120mm film, and has absolutely awesome light leaks (and mistakes) that make the photography look unique and artistic (even if the photographer does not know how to shoot!). 

Not only will you find this gorgeous treasure at the reception site with tons of black and white and color film, you will also find one other Diana (with a flash attachment), a plain Holga, and a Holga with a color flash. (SOOOO EXCITING!) We will also probably have some disposable cameras as well. 

Flowers & Decorations

Justin and I have been all over the place in wedding planning in the last month. Recently the planning has been focused on florals.

We knew we had china to help decorate the table. We also knew we were not planning to pay for a florist to decorate our reception. This is when we started buying bunches and bunches of florals.

I started going floral crazy when I saw what I had (2 cherry blossoms per table), but I had no idea how to arrange them or what to put them in. Luckily, I knew someone who did! Once she helped me decide on how to do the main floral arrangements on the tables, I was able to 1. relax and 2. focus my energy on other decorations.

Y'know... like florals for the dessert table...

and... umm... cute things like awesome hangers for the bridesmaids.

I even got so far as to find (kids size) shoes for me to wear with my wedding dress (Shh... I'm not suppose to tell anyone I have tiny feet!) and a fingerprint tree from someone in the UK! I cannot wait until all my friends and family help to create this wonderful piece of art!

Now... on to programs! Wish me luck! (Oh and I still have to finish music.)

Did I mention the two bridal showers planned for this weekend?

Food

One of the biggest complications for our wedding was the food. Who would have thought? One of the things we waited until the last minute to handle, and we feel like we've done a pretty amazing job.

I talked with a few caterers that wanted anywhere from $18 to $32 a head for the Italian meal I had envisioned for the reception. I was about to give in and settle when one of the caterers that our coordinator suggested contacted me and said she could provide exactly what I wanted for much less. Needless to say I was thrilled yet concerned that the food would not be good. When Justin and I went to meet up with Bleu House Café the food sold itself and we were thoroughly impressed. We immediately booked Maureen and her staff, and we are so excited to serve their Italian at our wedding. :)

Apparently that hasn't been the end of our food "issues". Next we considered drinks. As awesome as Bleu House Café was being, we still wanted to provide our own drinks. We went out searching for glass bottles and we have found sooo many! Sprites, cokes, Izzes, Dr. Peppers... It is really very exciting! We have found much more than we ever expected to find!

Over the weekend we also managed to work out our sweets. We had already ordered cupcakes from Carolyn's Cupcakes in Decatur and discussed the cupcakes with Justin's grandmother, but we finished our lovely dessert bar by ordering candy! I can imagine a number of kids will find themselves quite happy at the reception!

The next big food issues will be decoration the cupcake/dessert table and putting together the hot drink bar. We are so excited with the variety and we so look forward to sharing our amazing finds with our family and friends.

It's Monday!

Justin and I got a lot done this weekend for the reception.

As you can see here, we've been thinking about how to handle the reception florals for quite a while. On Saturday we saw the prettiest cherry blossom stem at Michaels. I noticed a sign in the floral department about ordering more if they didn't have enough. We spoke with the store manager who ordered approximately 40 cherry blossoms for us and gave us a discount!!! They will be in at the end of the month.

Currently we are planning on using wine bottles painted white to dress up our reception space and to put the florals in. We think it will give our reception site a clean look while adding to the elegance of our reception site.

Along with painting these wine bottles, my parents are also helping by washing and pressing the reception linens! How exciting! :)

We also managed to find a super-awesome caterer Bleu House Café. The owner, Maureen, was awesome to work with and she gave us a fantastic deal on her services! She let us try bits and pieces of all of the food she will be serving at the wedding. There was more than enough to bring home and let our parents try some as well. Everyone seemed quite pleased with the food. The owner was even awesome enough to suggest meeting at the reception site to plan out how to serve the food! Soo exciting!

Then who could forget our talk about cupcakes?! Yum! :)

With only a little bit of time left before the big day, we are excited about how things are coming together! Hopefully it will continue this way...