Wedding Days ~ Always Remembered

October 25, 2011 By

I remember my daughter’s wedding day like it was yesterday! Why?  Goodness, there are so many reasons… let me start at the beginning though.

 

The wedding took place in our backyard. I woke that morning in August, early of course, slipped on some comfy clothes knowing I had lots of work to do before a shower and my “mother of the bride” dress would go on. I sneaked out of the house while everyone was still sleeping, headed down to the ceremony area and even sat in the chair I would be seated in that evening.

 

The sun was just coming up. I felt so blessed, humbled and excited all at the same time. This was the day. Oh how we had planned, organized, purchased, borrowed and all for this special day.  Whew! Here we were at the finale. I could have sat there and reminisced longer but…

 

From the balcony behind me came the words I love to hear “mom, where are you?”   Ah, it’s started, time to MOVE.  Everyone grabbed a quick breakfast because we had to be out of the kitchen ASAP, my oldest daughter was making the wedding cake for her sister. Of course the cake had been prepared and just the final coat of frosting and embellishments had to be put on.

 

Meanwhile Grandpa Bob had arrived with his pick-up truck so we headed up to the neighbors to borrow the horse trailer to pick up more chairs and big beautiful potted plants (done in the wedding colors) from Grandma’s house. Picking the flower pots up had to be done at the last minute because we didn’t want the deer to feast on those petunias before the wedding.

 

Our hair stylist arrived about 9:00am and started making everyone beautiful. This was a really special time because all my girls had on Grandpa Ron button up shirts (easily taken off after hair is styled). My dad or Grandpa Ron had passed away the year before so wearing the shirt had us all reflecting on Grandpa Ron.

 

About noon I set out rolls and bread, veggie tray, fruit tray and some drinks so everyone could grab and go about their business. Then more special friends started arriving to get tables and chairs set up with linens and table centerpieces.

 

They were also decorating the backdrop, table for sign-in and a table to hold wedding presents. I even remember Aunt Goldie sewing the ring pillow at the last minute! At 3:30 the photographer arrived and we were all dressed and ready for pictures.

 

We had planned and organized so well that everyone was able to have a great time. All through the day I heard laughter, joking, discussing what to do and how to do it.  So many memories were made on our wedding day; memories that will always be remembered.

 

What are some of your sweet memories? Or… maybe not so sweet memories?

 

Teri :~)

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What Will You Serve at a Dessert Only Wedding?

October 25, 2011 By

A dessert only wedding could be a bit of a challenge. What if you have people who are diabetic or really just don’t care for sweets, um…? I realize that percentage will be few, but still.  It’s a celebration and we defiantly don’t want anyone to feel left out.

 

In order to make sure there was something for everyone at our Dessert Only Wedding we also included a vegetable tray and a fruit tray.   This really went over well.  Lots of people went for the vegetables and dip.  We were so glad that we chose to add vegetables and fruit to our menu.

 

Back to our question though…  What will you serve at a Dessert Only Wedding? Whatever you want of course!  It should be things you like and things that you know your guest will enjoy.   There really isn’t much you couldn’t serve as long as it was displayed correctly.

 

If you have ice cream on a hot day you better have some way to keep it cold until time to serve. Things that are sticky you might want to individually wrap.  Some candy comes individually wrapped like candy kisses.  We also had dipping spoons for things like M&M’s.

 

We had popcorn balls (we made these small and cute), cupcakes (frosted with rope frosting and in wedding colors), rice crispy treats, yummy white cream cheese cookies (with big sugar flakes on them), plain cheese cake from Costco; toppings were homemade huckleberry sauce (big hit), chocolate, strawberry’s, use your imagination. The cheese cake went really fast. This is so easy too. It comes pre-cut and all you do is put the topping on.  We had cheesecake slices with several different toppings for our guest to choose from.

 

We also had a family member make very yummy homemade chocolate pies with the graham cracker crust. The only problem was they were made that day and had not firmed up enough by the reception time. Most of them couldn’t be served because they just fell apart. After they had been in the refrigerator awhile they were fine. Some things will not turn out as planned, it’s ok.

 

A Dessert Only Wedding is a good choice. We had a 7:00 pm wedding and we noticed people ate a lot less. We actually had way too much dessert. The people who stayed to help clean up didn’t mind.  They got to take home lots of goodies.

 

In the end it comes down to what you have time to make, how will you keep it hot/cold until needed, and how will you display it. Don’t be afraid to do what you want.  What’s that old saying? Where there is a will there is a way!  Go for it my friend.

 

Teri :~)

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Asking For A Daughters Hand ~ Old Fashioned?

October 25, 2011 By

Is asking a father for his daughters hand in marriage old fashioned? To some this might be so but in our home we have quite a different take on things.

 

The name father goes hand in hand with the word respect. And…asking for something is a form of respect. A father has earned this respect because he has stayed the course and raised his daughter through the good and the sometimes very hard times. Our daughters have become a treasure to our new sons-in-law because dad had a big influence in their lives.

 

He provided food and clothing from infancy until our daughters learned to provide these things on their own.  Almost of more importance were the other things he provided, the things which molded our children in character and person.

 

I remember when bicycles were given so the girls could learn new skills.  Dad then became the fix it man when things were broken. In turn they would tell the neighbor kids that dad was the best fixer and he could fix their bikes too!

 

Our daughters were given an animal as a pet. This taught them to love and care for something that would depend on them.

 

A bedroom was provided so they could learn decorating skills from painting, matching colors, making furniture selections etc.

 

Ah, then comes a vehicle for use in teaching Drivers Ed. along with sound advice in picking out a good deal at the used car lot.

 

Father helped write that first job resume and also helped her understand office politics and how to get along on the job. He rejoiced with his daughters when they graduated from high school ready to take on the world, and provided them a place to stay when they went to college.

 

Asking a father for his daughters hand is the ultimate way of saying thank you for all that you have done for your daughter and I now want the honor of caring for her.

 

Any person who is worthy of a daughters hand in marriage will want to ask for it.  He has recognized the value this daughter has in her father’s eyes and will be willing to put fear aside to do the right thing by going to the father in respect and recognition that he is asking for something precious, someone who has been cared for since her birth.

I know such a father will in-turn have great respect for the man that comes and asks for his daughter. Such a man shows grit and integrity, a heart to do what is right and not what is necessarily easy.

 

Asking for a daughters hand will never go out of date or become old fashioned because raising a daughter will always require a form of sacrifice from the father to stay the course with love and time.

 

Have you made your decision yet?

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Outdoor Wedding ~ What Time Of Day?

October 25, 2011 By

How did you make the decision to have an outdoor wedding? And… have you thought through the “what time of day” question? Here are a few things to consider before you chose.

Guests:  Most outdoor weddings will take place between 10:00am to after 9:00pm in the evening. Will there be shade provided by trees and shrubbery? Or will you need to consider a tent to keep your guest comfortable? Some facilities will have an extra building or barn that could provide shade to those who would rather not be out in the direct sun.

Also, will your guest be heading to a hotel or trying to catch that plane to get home. Will having the wedding in the evening make it difficult for them on their return home, or does that really matter?

Food and Beverages:  These items will need special attention. If you hire a caterer they will take care of these details. However, if you are trying to save money by doing things on your own you’ll need to address the issue of making sure everything is kept from spoiling. You definitely do not want your guest getting food poisoning. Even on hot summer nights ice will melt quickly. Be sure there is enough on hand.

People will also drink more beverages if it’s hot out.  We had round metal tubs situated around the yard filled with ice.  In these we had bottled water, bottled coffee drinks and juice boxes for the children. If your guest will be doing any kind of dancing this too will increase beverage consumption.

Bugs: We found that the bees and bugs were worse during mid-day weddings than during an evening wedding. If it gets too late though, depending where you live, the mosquitos start to come out. Since it’s an outside wedding it might be nice to have a basket under the cake table with bee sting supplies and mosquito spray in it.

Flowers: This is a biggie! Some flowers just do not do well in the heat. Be sure and ask your florist about this. You don’t want your flowers wilted before you even get to walk down the aisle. I know my daughters had pictures taken before the wedding.

You can put the bouquets back in the water containers until the wedding takes place but taking off all those boutonnieres and putting them back on would be a hassle I wouldn’t want to have to deal with, so choose wisely.

Outdoor weddings are my favorite! Just plan ahead and think through that “what time of day” question and what it means in your situation.

Teri :~)

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