Category: Projects

Wedding Reception Food Presentation

Decorating

Last weekend I had the opportunity to help design the food table for a wedding reception.  It was a lot of fun to put together, and ended up a huge success.   The friend I was helping is the best planner and idea person I’ve ever known and I knew that the night would be incredible.

In the planning stages I told my friend that you can serve simple, everyday foods and have them be fabulous if you just put a fun spin on their presentation.  Her idea:  serve the favorite desserts of the bride and groom and their parents in bite sized portions.  What a great idea!

She tracked down adorable little containers for serving things in and we labeled each dessert so guests would know who had chosen it.  In the center of the table was a simple sign reading “Favorites.”


Disclaimer:  I hope to replace these pictures with much better ones soon.  The lighting was so low I was forced to use my flash, which of course ruined the photos.  I’m excited to get better ones from the photographer.

All of the platters came from my collection of dishes.  It was fun to arrange them in a cohesive way so we could serve six desserts in a small space.  I feel good about the final result.


To mix things up a bit she wanted the father’s favorites together and the mother’s favorites together.  As the evening progressed I enjoyed listening to people walk the length of the table, reading aloud the favorite desserts of those they’d come to greet.  It added a personal touch to the night that was classy and memorable.


As usual, I enjoyed playing with height, scale, shape and size as my daughter and I worked out the arrangement.  She worked with me for 5 1/2 hours that night, serving food like an experienced adult.  I was so proud of her!


Rice Krispy Treats on a stick.  A fun idea.

I intended to wander the reception and take pictures of the many other details that were so creative.  I loved listening to my friend plan it.  If ever there was a living, breathing Super Woman who was also kind and down-to-earth, it’s her.  They had so many guests, however, that keeping the desserts stocked was all I could do.


Helping with this reception filled my heart with happiness.  The mother of the bride is, perhaps, my dearest friend in the world.  Ahead of me by a few years in her mothering, she’s the one I’ve watched for a ten years as I’ve tried to find my own way.  Watching the bride and groom warmed my heart.  I was grateful for my supportive husband who didn’t complain about the 11 hours I spent away from home that day due to this wedding.  I felt honored to be trusted with my assignment and also felt like the experience was invaluable for me.  I know it’s down the road and around the bend, but my turn to plan these events will come sooner than I think and I’ll need all the experience I can get.  Plus, it’s fun to create things, even if it’s just a table set with pretty dishes.

Thanks, Jana, for letting me be a part of something so special!

Jennifer

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Whimsical Vintage Wreath

Christmas, Decorating, Happy Finds



Last spring I picked up this rusted metal wreath for a song.  It was the bow that got my attention, reminding me of something Dr. Seuss would have drawn, but here it was in three dimensional form.  I’ve been waiting all year to use it for Christmas.


I took it with me to a favorite shop where the owner and I played with different ideas.  I wanted to do something to dress it up, but I didn’t want to detract from the whimsical nature of the simple wreath.  We settled on some simple white and clear acrylic sprays  coming out of the bow, and I added a large (5 inch diameter) round Christmas ornament to the center of the bow.


When we held the ornament up to the wreath, we both laughed.  It was so over the top that it was perfect.  The scale was just right for the wreath as a whole, and the bling was just plain funny, especially on the simple rusted metal form.


I love the unexpectedness of the entire thing.  And as usual, I love that it’s one of a kind,  totally original.


It doesn’t hurt that we did it all in neutral colors, either.  I don’t have to take it down in January.  I think this wreath will live in my kitchen for a while, along with these lights .  It adds to a simple but sparkly feel in the room which is just what I need to get through the gray winter.


Every time I walk through the room I look at this wreath and laugh.  I love it.

HH shared here

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DIY Cedar Wreath

Christmas, Decorating

Sometime last year I saw a picture of a huge but very simple wreath hanging in a kitchen window for Christmas.  I loved it and for the past year contemplated how I could do something similar this year.  I didn’t want to just buy a wreath because 1.  they’re so expensive, 2.  I’ve never seen one as big as I wanted and 3. they look so… predictable.  There’s a pinecone wired in the same place on all of them.  (Not that I mind this, but it doesn’t induce me to spend money on them.)

And then the idea hit me.  I went to Costco for 25 feet of fresh cedar garland ($14.99) and then to WalMart for two 32 inch hula hoops ($5 each) A little bit of wire and here it is…




You’d never know there’s a yellow hula hoop beneath this beautiful wreath!


To make it, I simply laid the hula hoop on my table and put the garland on top of it.  I wired the garland to the hula hoop every 8 inches or so.  When it had come full circle I wired the ends together carefully and cut the garland.

I had enough garland to make two of them.  One is hanging in my kitchen window.


In the kitchen I tied a simple red bow around the wreath, then hung a mirrored bird hook from the wall and hung the hula hoop on the hook.


The second wreath is a bit fuller because I had garland enough to go around the hula hoop almost two times.  I added ribbons and a big bell to it, then hung it out on the front porch.  I love walking through my dining room and seeing it outside the window.


These wreaths are nearly 36 inches across, much bigger than any fresh wreath I’ve seen for sale.  I also like that they’re made of cedar instead of pine.  It’s a nice change in texture, color, and I love the floppy way it hangs.  It looks natural to me.


Two huge wreaths for $35.00.  The ribbons, bell, bird hook and wire were all things I had in my Christmas storage.  I love the way they look, and if the hula hoops hold up I’m using them again next year.


Hooray for an idea that worked!

Hopeful Homemaker shared here

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