There are two big pieces of advice I give to Mormon brides. A lot of people don't take the first piece because they are too traditional to let their grooms see their dresses before the ceremony. But as I said last week, that didn't matter to me, so I definitely followed my own advice: have a PREception.
Mormons believe in saving themselves for marriage. As Mormons, Russ and I believe in that, too. So after staying virgins our whole lives, including the time we had dated and been engaged, I'll be honest: we were getting anxious.
By having a preception, I wasn't worried about getting away from my reception ASAP because we weren't even married yet! So I got to enjoy the entire evening with my almost-husband and spend some time with my family after the reception. I wasn't torn between two things I really wanted, because at that time, there was only one option: staying and playing with the family and all our friends that came out to support us :)
Now that I've given my advice, let me just say that I loved my reception. After considering many options, we decided on doing it in my parents' backyard. The only thing we were concerned about was weather. My brother and his wife had planned an outdoor reception for their wedding in mid-June the year before, and they ended up having to relocate to a church building because it had been incredibly windy on the day of their reception. The weather turned out to be perfect on our reception day.
Enter our reception:
gift area & chalkboard schedule
sign-in book
chalkboard love story
The two things that I was most adamant about having were lights strung overhead and really good food. We made both things happen :) Oh, and because it was a preception, I got to enjoy the overhead lights even after the reception, when it was actually dark outside (though it did get dark enough for guests to enjoy the lights during the reception).
such tasty food, it deserves to be extra large!
the soft-serve ice cream topping bar
As a Kansas girl, I wanted sunflowers to be the focal flower. My mom's friend did my flowers and I loved how they all turned out :)
my bouquet and my maid of honor's bouquet
And now, an overload of pictures taken with family before the reception :)
me with my niece, naomi
russ & his dad
russ & his mom
with russ's grandparents
me & mom
me & dad
For my bridesmaids and maid of honor, I always knew that I wanted to have all of my sisters and sis-in-laws as bridesmaids and my best friend as the maid of honor. I'm happy I did it this way because I know I will always love all of these people!
Russ also did all of his brothers and bro-in-laws as groomsmen, with his younger brother, Lance, being his best man.
russ's family. i love these people :)
russ with his siblings
my family . . . just a little bit more expanded than his! haha :)
my siblings
my sisters :) well, and my brother's wives, but they're my sisters, too. really, I don't know what this whole in-law thing is about!
with all of the nieces and nephews we had at the time! (three more since then, plus three on the way!)
haha look at noah covering his eyes!
russ & best man, lance
me & maid of honor, ashlee
And though I wanted all of my sisters and sis-in-laws as my bridesmaids, one sister-in-law didn't want to do it because she was seven or eight months pregnant and she was worried about the dress working right. But that left one open spot, so another of my best friends, Sarah, was easily selected :)
Everything at the reception went perfectly smooth . . . except one thing. While we were taking pictures before the reception started, we were wondering where the cake was. Why wasn't it being delivered yet? My MOH made a phone call to the lady and asked about the cake. Her reply? "You mean for the reception that is tomorrow?" One common problem with having a preception is that people just assume your reception is the same day as your wedding. Our cake person fell into that category--there was no way for the cake to be finished in time.
However, our long-time family friend who had flown in for my wedding, Uncle Don, saved the day by driving to The Chocolate and picking up a few cakes. Thank goodness for Don :)
It was a great day, and I was so happy that most everything went smoothly :) I'm thankful for all the friends and family that made the reception go so great!
Thank you! And yeah, the colors were kind of an ordeal. I originally wanted like a mustard yellow and navy blue, but, all the fabrics I pulled together just looked like a blue and gold banquet. My mom had been suggesting purple instead of blue the whole time, and I kept refusing and then in like 10 seconds my mind was changed. But I like how they turned out, too :)
you were such a beautiful bride! and i love your series of "advice" for brides, it's a unique idea. i always thought it was weird to have a recepetion and have people celebrate a marriage that hadn't even happened yet--but more & more people are doing this & it seems to work really well, and take care of a lot of stress BEFORE the wedding.
we did our reception about 2 weeks after we got married, & i loved it! i got to put on my dress again and be a "bride" for one more day--and although we were still anxious to leave at the end, it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been day of! haha!
Thank you! :) And yeah, that's one concern people voiced about a PREception. It didn't bother me, but I get that :)
A few weeks after the wedding sounds like it would work just as well! And it's always fun dressing up as a bride again. Hmm. What excuses do we have now where we could wear our dresses again? Haha ;)
Preception -- great idea! I just got married last month and we did a reception the day of our wedding which worked out great for us, but I can totally see the benefits of having it the day before. also, about the whole wedding night thing -- I love how you just tell it like it is instead of tiptoe-ing around it. haha, we all know how it is! btw, I just randomly found your blog and I'm looking forward to following along. -leah
A murder mystery been on my "party list" for ages, but I've never gotten around to throwing one (probably because there are too many other ideas on my party list haha). So even though we were planning to do Harry Potter movie parties every Friday and Saturday in October, when my friend asked if we'd be available for a murder mystery, I told her I would rearrange my schedule to be there! Haha :) When the actual invitation came, I was super impressed because it was so themed and legit! Diana went above and beyond -- the kit they bought (from Night of Mystery ) came with invitations, but she had someone design different ones that were so awesome. Girl knows how to get the party started right from the get-go! I had heard about and seen other murder mysteries before, and the main thing I always heard about was people dressing up. It was so fun to arrive at Diana and Michael's and find that everyone had really gone all out with their costumes! Wigs,
Lately I have been looking for a nice purse. I always carry a bag around, and so I want something that looks nicer and more grown-up. Trouble is, I can't make up my mind! So for today's 5 on Friday, I'm showing the options I have. Please help me out! :) one. couldn't find a picture online so . . . you get my inadequate photography skills on this one :) Cobalt Bag: Burlington Coat Factory Similar: A. B. ++pros big enough to fit my planner best price ----cons might be bigger than I want limited organizational features (only two giant sections; no smaller compartments and zipper areas) two. Coral Bag: Target ++pros smaller size love all of the compartmental options ----cons I have a lot of shirts this color, so it will look either too matchy-matchy, or the two very similar colors will clash won't fit my planner three. sidenote: I don't actually wear cross-body purses across my body (pict
This series is turning into a novel! So if you don't want to read part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , or part 4 , I wouldn't blame you. But if you do, there you go :) Part Five - First Date . . . or Second? When we last left off, Russ and I were finally interacting more and we both knew that we liked each other. But he still hadn't asked me on a date! But sometime in early December, he finally remedied that. On a Thursday, he asked me if I would go stargazing with him on the coming Sunday evening. I was super excited :) But in the meantime, he kind of asked me on a different first date, but I didn't really know it. He texted me on Saturday morning, asking if I wanted to go on "a walk" with him. Fully loving every minute spent with him, I readily agreed! But let's be clear--it wasn't a walk. It was a hike. Which isn't a big deal, except that hiking through rocky places requires different shoes than those used to walk on the nicely paved sidew
All of the details are perfect!!! It turned out beautiful!!! Love how the colors POP so much!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I loved it :) Sometimes I wish I could just go back and enjoy it all over again! :)
DeleteThese pictures are so beautiful! And I loove your colors, they really pop
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yeah, the colors were kind of an ordeal. I originally wanted like a mustard yellow and navy blue, but, all the fabrics I pulled together just looked like a blue and gold banquet. My mom had been suggesting purple instead of blue the whole time, and I kept refusing and then in like 10 seconds my mind was changed. But I like how they turned out, too :)
Deleteyou were such a beautiful bride! and i love your series of "advice" for brides, it's a unique idea. i always thought it was weird to have a recepetion and have people celebrate a marriage that hadn't even happened yet--but more & more people are doing this & it seems to work really well, and take care of a lot of stress BEFORE the wedding.
ReplyDeletewe did our reception about 2 weeks after we got married, & i loved it! i got to put on my dress again and be a "bride" for one more day--and although we were still anxious to leave at the end, it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been day of! haha!
Thank you! :) And yeah, that's one concern people voiced about a PREception. It didn't bother me, but I get that :)
DeleteA few weeks after the wedding sounds like it would work just as well! And it's always fun dressing up as a bride again. Hmm. What excuses do we have now where we could wear our dresses again? Haha ;)
Preception -- great idea! I just got married last month and we did a reception the day of our wedding which worked out great for us, but I can totally see the benefits of having it the day before. also, about the whole wedding night thing -- I love how you just tell it like it is instead of tiptoe-ing around it. haha, we all know how it is! btw, I just randomly found your blog and I'm looking forward to following along. -leah
ReplyDelete