Nashville Wife

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DIY Wedding

Wedding Goody Bags

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Earlier this summer, I helped put together children’s goody bags for a wedding. Out of about 230 attendees, approximately 50 of them were children under the age of 10. Most of the kids were family members, so the bride really wanted them to be able to come, but she wanted them to be happy and calm. (It would probably be safe to assume that every person at the wedding wanted them to be happy and calm.) So my role was coming up with small toys and games and assembling them into bags.

It was hot and humid, and while there was a small patio, we wanted the parents to be able to stay inside and listen to the speeches and music, rather than having to chase their kids around outdoors. The goody bags helped keep the younger children content while they were sitting at the tables. Even though there were snacks as part of the cocktail hour, I included a bag of Goldfish for each child. We also bought a few bubble machines and hula hoops to entertain the kids who did choose to go outside.

The items came from Amazon and Oriental Trading. I was really impressed with the bulk pricing, especially from Oriental Trading. Here’s what I grabbed for each bag:

Glow stick: Oriental Trading

Wedding-themed paper poster/place mat with games: Oriental Trading

Wedding-themed coloring booklet: Oriental Trading

Notepad: Oriental Trading

Small bottle of bubbles: Oriental Trading

Small fidget push/pop toy: Amazon

4-pack of crayons: Amazon

Animal face stickers: Amazon

Handcrafted Ring Boxes

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We recently attended a family wedding, and the bride really wanted handmade ring boxes. The groom asked Mr. Handsome to make them, and he generously agreed to take on the project. It took hours, but he had fun. I wanted to share a few photos of the finished boxes.

Spring Wedding Part 2

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Here’s the second batch of photos from my sister-in-law’s May wedding. (Click here to see the pictures I posted on Monday.)The three-tiered cake was made by Mr. Handsome’s cousin, who runs a bakery out of her home. She has made cupcakes and wedding cakes for us in the past, but she holds her recipes close. Her cakes are just so moist, and her homemade frosting is out of this world! Someday I’ll learn how to bake like her, and then I’ll share the recipes with you all.

She also made five sheet cakes.

We had a dessert table with a few assorted treats made by other family members.

There’s Mr. Handsome’s “We Do Forever” sign, greeting guests at the front door. We need to start charging for use of that thing!

My mother-in-law set up a room for kids with carnival games, popcorn, and soda. Most of Mr. Handsome’s many first cousins have several children each, so family weddings always have a bunch of little ones running around.

 

For drinks at the reception, we set up dispensers of iced tea, lemonade, and water.

And there’s Mr. Handsome and me….

Spring Wedding Part 1

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Two weeks ago, I shared photos from my sister-in-law Catherine’s Let Love Grow bridal shower. As promised, here are the snapshots I took at her wedding!Mr. Handsome and I, along with the other brothers and sisters-in-law, were guests of honor. Mr. Handsome wore a tux without a jacket, while us girls wore the same style dresses as the bridesmaids but in navy rather than blue. Mr. Handsome played music during the ceremony, while I walked my niece (almost three) and nephew (nine months) down the aisle and sat with them in the front row. My niece had a bag of toys and played quietly, while my nephew sat calmly in the grass the entire time.

The wedding ceremony took place at a park. Although it was hot, the scenery was gorgeous. Beyond the arbor was a small lake.

The reception was held at the same community building where we had my brother-in-law’s New Year’s Eve wedding reception. It was also the rain backup for our DIY outdoor wedding reception.

We were blessed to have a whole crew of friends and family help us set up. Around 260 guests attended the wedding.

 

The centerpieces were teacups/tea sets and books, as Catherine loves to read.

 

 

 

Instead of champagne or sparkling grape juice, we set out chocolates for the guests to eat during the toasts. The milk chocolate grooms were for the best man’s toast, and the white chocolate brides were for the maid of honor’s toast.

The wedding party sat at raised tables at the front of the room. The food was buffet style, catered by a friend. I made salad balsamic dressing (recipe to come).

Mr. Handsome’s cousin and aunt did the flowers, as they did for our wedding.

 

Stay tuned for more photos!

DIY New Year’s Eve Wedding Reception

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Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend! I have one last batch of photos from my brother-in-law’s December wedding to share. The wedding was on the East Coast, where the bride is from, so many people from our side of the family were unable to come.My in-laws have a large extended family, so they decided to throw a second wedding reception, which also worked out to be a New Year’s party, for the couple a few weeks after the actual wedding. The venue was a small banquet hall located in their small town and only cost about $100 to rent for the evening. It was a lot of work because we DIY-ed most everything, but it was a blast.

My in-laws have seven kids, so before their first child got married four years ago, they purchased napkins, tablecloths, and chair covers to use for all the weddings. For this party, we used disposable plates, silverware, and cups purchased from Smarty Had a Party.

After setting up, we waited around a couple hours before the guests began to arrive. We all got quite hungry. (That’s Mr. Handsome’s hand reaching for some pretzels.)

I caught him mid-chew…

 

For drinks, we had coffee and homemade crock pot hot chocolate–click here for the recipe.

Dinner was a simple pasta/chicken buffet made by a friend who has a catering company.

There’s Mr. Handsome again.

 

Mr. Handsome’s talented cousin made these homemade cupcakes. The flavors are coffee, chai (my favorite), raspberry, and peanut butter. I asked for her recipes, but she wants to keep them secret, as she has a cake decorating business.

We also had other random assortments of goodies, made by other family members. We ended up overdoing it and having lots left over.

 

East Coast Christmas Wedding 2

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On Sunday, I posted photos from my brother-in-law’s rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony. You asked for more snapshots, so here are some from the reception immediately following the ceremony.The cake was made by Mr. Handsome’s cousin. She is in her early 20s and is a professional baker. Her cake is out of this world. I asked if she wanted to share the recipe, but she said she wants to keep it a secret. Boy would it be wonderful to have though! (The cupcakes I posted to my Facebook page were also made by her.)

I took these pictures before guests arrived because I knew you all would want to see photos of the tables. My sister-in-law did a wonderful job.

Just under 200 guests attended the wedding.

Mr. Handsome is the oldest in a family of seven kids, and he was the best man. His speech was top notch. The perfect balance between funny and sentimental.

East Coast Christmas Wedding 1

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As many of you know, my brother-in-law got married a few weeks ago. The wedding was a beautiful Christmas affair on the East Coast.I recently posted photos of the hairstyles that myself and two of the other bridesmaids wore, and you requested that I share more snapshots from the weekend. Here the are! More coming soon.

The first two are from the rehearsal dinner, and the second two were taken at the ceremony. The last picture shows the church when we first arrived. We put the poinsettias, altar, and two chairs in the back room because the wedding colors were green and gold (not red).

We didn’t need to add extra decorations to the stage because it was such a beautiful chapel on its own. After the ceremony, it took us less than 10 minutes to return the church to the way it was before the wedding.

An Oregon Coast Wedding

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 Mr. Handsome and me on the Oregon coast
(a super windy day, as you can tell by our hair!)

Happy Friday! Sorry for the delay in posting over the past week. Mr. Handsome and I were on a jam-packed vacation, which included my brother’s wedding at a seaside chapel in Lincoln City, Oregon; a three-day drive through the Redwood Forest and along the California coast; and 24 hours in San Francisco. (If you follow my Facebook page, you have probably seen a few pictures that I posted during our trip.)

We had a blast! Those of you who live on the West Coast are truly blessed to be surround by such breathtaking beauty. I have tons of photos to share, so I’ll start from the beginning. Here are my snapshots from my brother’s wedding. (Hopefully when we receive pictures from the photographer, I will have even more to post.)

The bride’s mother was in charge of the reception hall decorations, and she did a fabulous job. I was totally impressed to hear that she came up with all the arrangements without looking at Pinterest.

After the rehearsal dinner at the church, we all headed over to the reception hall to help add the finishing touches to the decorations. Mr. Handsome was quite proud of the pillar that he and a few other groomsmen decorated:

The wedding cake was definitely the most unique I had ever seen. Half the layers were chocolate, and the other half were vanilla. I just love the vibrancy of the flowers!

My brother and his new wife sat at this newlywed table during our delicious dinner (salad, salmon or chicken, veggies, and rolls).

The reception hall was also on the ocean, so we enjoyed taking family photos with the sea as our backdrop.

Most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to make the trek from Canada. Mr. Handsome’s parents, grandparents, and two youngest sisters also came to the wedding and drove with us down the coast. It was wonderful to have both our families together.

DIY Wedding Reception (More Photos)

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Last fall, I shared posts about our DIY outdoor wedding reception and DIY wedding food. Many of you have expressed interest in seeing more wedding photos, so I went digging and found some that had not yet been posted.We successfully planned a DIY wedding for 300 guests in only three months, but we couldn’t have done it without help from dozens of family members and friends. By DIY-ing almost everything, we not only saved tons of money, but we also strengthened our relationships with those who offered to lend a hand.

For example, after the rehearsal dinner at the church, the guests caravaned over to my in-laws’ house to hang out for the evening. While chatting and snacking, everyone helped set up tables and chairs that we had rented. The women tied bows of blue and purple tulle around the backs of the chairs, while the guys set out tiki torches (to repel mosquitoes) and filled them with lighter fluid.

The next morning, while the bridesmaids and I did our hair and makeup, Mr. Handsome, the groomsmen, and various other family members and friends finished setting up for the reception. When we walked into my in-laws’ backyard after the wedding ceremony, I was blown away by how beautiful it was…

My mom, cousin-in-law, and grandmother-in-law DIY-ed our flowers, and Mr. Handsome cut slabs of wood for each table. Someone even thought to lay out Off! Insect Repellent Wipes for the guests.

My sisters-in-law made clever chalkboard signs to display throughout the backyard…

And someone hung up this beautiful chandelier…

Many hands sure make light work. We were blessed that so many of our friends and relatives offered to help make our wedding such a memorable occasion!

DIY Wedding Food

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After I shared photos of our DIY wedding reception, a few readers asked what was on our menu. The main dish was barbecued pulled pork, courtesy of Mr. Handsome’s aunt and uncle. Then we had a friend with a catering service provide Parmesan chicken, macaroni & cheese, mixed veggies, glazed carrots, and Caesar salad with homemade dressing.

We served the food buffet-style, and everything was delicious. I would love to get my hands on the recipes! There were tons of leftovers, which our families enjoyed while we were away on our honeymoon….

For dessert, several friends and family members put together a spectacular sweets table. Once again, everything was delicious, but Mr. Handsome and I only had time to try one or two types of cookies.

We also rented two soft-serve ice cream machines (one chocolate and one vanilla). There aren’t many places that rent them out, so we were grateful when Mr. Handsome’s two brothers offered to drive three hours to pick them up the day before the wedding.

Early on in the planning process, we decided that we wanted either ice cream or milkshakes instead of cake, but we didn’t want to have to bother with coolers. Soft-serve machines were a great solution because the ice cream stayed nice and cold. They were only a few hundred dollars to rent, and the ice cream mix was cheap.

We had sweet tea, strawberry lemonade, regular lemonade, and water available in drink dispensers. (These drink dispensers had a center compartment for ice, which was great on a hot, summer day.)

We also had a canoe (borrowed from a friend) filled with ice, water bottles, soda cans, and containers of sparkling juice. (We found that idea on Pinterest, of course.)

We kept the food under a tent that was purchased for our wedding and future family get-togethers. It was used three additional times this summer, so I would say it was worth the money