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Because our wedding was in Los Angeles, we had The LA Flower Market at our disposal which made doing the flower arrangements ourselves very do-able.
The week before the wedding, Mr. Clarke and I went on a date to scope it out. It gave me a chance to see all of the options as well as find out what was in season (i.e. most inexpensive).
Then, early in the morning on the day before the wedding, my mother, several of the bridesmaids, and I headed out to make our purchases. We had so much fun just looking at all of the great options. My sister was on hand to photograph all of the options too.
(That’s my adorable and incredibly helpful Maid of Honor.)
We made simple, charming bouquets for the bride
and bridesmaids,
sweet corsages for the Mother of the Bride, Mother of the Groom, and grandmothers,
darling boutonnieres for the groom, groomsmen, Father of the Bride, and Father of the Groom,
and colorful flower arrangements for the tables.
It took a lot of helping hands but it was really fun and so gratifying to see all of the lovely flowers on the wedding day.
Mr. Clarke and I had the task of taking a rather empty room and turning it into a festive reception hall. The reception hall did have a few things going for it ahead of time which helped make our task significantly easier. 1) It had high ceilings (about 25 feet) with Art Deco-y chandeliers and an interesting patterns painted on it, 2) It had a stage at one end of the room, and 3) It was almost completely empty.
We found some great vintage travel poster re-prints and hung them on the pillars and walls. We constructed a few displays using vintage luggage and made the old-fashioned stage the focal point of the room.
We considered hanging paper lanterns but didn’t want to distract from the height of the ceiling or the fabulous chandeliers.
A very dear friend also set-up our guest book table for us using travel curios and an old leather briefcase for a card box. It was adorable and fit the theme so well. (Guest table post coming soon!)
Location: Immanuel Presbyterian Church Parish Hall
Vintage travel posters: Vintage Art and Posters Ebay store
Luggage: Borrowed from a friend and found at thrift stores
After all of my thinking posts on this blog about how to decorate the reception hall and especially the tables, I think it’s time to show how it all came together in the end.
I chose to go with colorful table runners, Moroccan lanterns in two different styles, votive candles, and small flower arrangements down long tables.
My mother made these adorable table numbers and place cards out of pages of an atlas containing old maps that I picked up for a $1.99 in the bargain bin at Borders. Also, just days before the wedding, I found some National Geographic magazines from 1966 and left one on each table.
And the best part of the tables? The friends that sat around them!
Lanterns: bargainbunch.com
Votive Candles: candle4less.com
Table Runners: Scarves found at a Turkish bazaar (but you can find similar ones here)
Flower Vases: Glasses picked up at various thrift stores
Flowers: The LA Flower Market
Just found out that The Dollar Tree is online! And still with the low, low price of $1/item. Even free shipping if your pick up the items at your local store. Now, they only sell things in bulk but that’s perfect for wedding planning needs. Did you know they even have dishes on there?
I’m getting ready to buy my flower vases from them. Some really pretty styles too!
Just 100 days left until I am Mrs. Clarke.
This is our latest To-Do List:
-Address and send invitations
-Book a caterer! (I’ve spent so much time on this and I can’t seem to just get it done!)
-Decide on decorations and shop for the necessary items
-Decide on flowers for bouquets (currently researching what flowers are in season in July)
-Buy/find my accesories
-Write our ceremony!
-Choose music
Maybe we’re finally getting to the fun part?
I’m planning on doing my own floral arrangements and picking up the flowers from the LA Flower District.
Now, I just have to research what kind of bouquets, centerpieces, and boutonnieres I want. Anyone know of any good boutonniere tutorials?
