It all started with this Post-it Note Marriage Proposal last Fall.

She said yes!

Well- I got a call from the Mother of Brett, the groom, the July 30th asking for help designing and planning the reception to be held in Denver on September 6th. Four and a half weeks to pull this off you say! No problem… I’m used to short time frames with Mormon couples, but this may have been the shortest time frame I’ve ever had to work with for a wedding reception. The reception would take place in one of those delightful LDS cultural halls that we are all so fond of. The upside? The venue is free and I can usually decorate the day before the reception and do the florals on site. The down side? Decorating an LDS cultural hall for a wedding reception has many unique challenges: the basketball lines on the floor, the basketball hoops overhead, the lovely folding chairs, the carpet on the walls.

Fabric buntings drop the ceiling and thrift store book flowers paper the walls.

So what do you think… How did I do? The vibe was vintage, rustic/chic. The color scheme was navy, blush and cream. I really set my mind to thinking a bit out of  the box for this cultural hall wedding reception. For instance, I had never thought to hang things with magnets from the gutters before. Who new? As I stood outside the chapel entrance pondering what I could possibly do to decorate WITHOUT candles I started to wonder about those gutters overhead- could they possibly be metal. Hooray, they were! This is the result.

Fabric buntings and huge birch heart wreaths hung with wreath magnets from metal trim.

These 3 foot birch heart wreaths created a grand entrance at a wedding.

The BIG question is always “To DO a receiving line or NOT to do a receiving line” right? Here’s the problem- everyone wants to say hello to the new Mr. & Mrs, but the newly married love birds don’t really want to stand in a line. If the couple stands still,  a queue WILL form, it’s inevitable. My solution is to give the guests something to do in lieu of a receiving line like dancing. The Post-it Note couple did NOT want dancing so I suggested an open photo booth. It’s great fun for the guests, it forms part of the decor and it provides very fun and memorable photos.

Take a look below… everyone had a blast- especially the bride’s brother!

The bride’s brother was kept busy and entertained all evening!

That’s the bride and groom mugging for the camera in this open photo booth.

Kids loved the photo booth!

If you live in the Denver area, much of what you see in this wedding is available for rent. Just click the Wedding/Party rental tab in the main navigation bar.

I already had the fabric buntings from my niece’s wedding a few years ago. They were perfect for dropping the ceiling. Now, what to do about all that rose-colored carpet on the walls. I got it in my mind to make a bunch of paper flowers. Once I decide what IT is, there is no going back. A trip to the thrift store yielded some great used books and I found some LIFE magazines. The flowers made from the LIFE pages are my favorite- I just love the muted colors and vintage art. I had to discard lots of cigarette and liquor ads. Many, many hours and 220 flowers later I figured I had enough. Cheap is almost always labor intensive but the results were beyond my expectations! Pretty spectacular right?

The paper flowers were created from the pages of thrift store books and old LIFE magazines.

The ribbon streamers are actually mostly torn fabric strips. I think we were pretty lucky that the carpeted walls actually blended in with the blush and navy color scheme. I used the panels from my iron gazebo for a couple of other backdrops. The panels are strewn with burlap ribbon, fabric strips, paper flowers and white metal lanterns. The chalkboard sign chronicles the couple’s Love Story.

Rent & decorate this gazebo panel with ribbons and fabrics in your color scheme for an unusual backdrop. Place behind the cake at your wedding or use as a photo booth backdrop at your next party. (2 panels + the top to complete a large iron gazebo)

The LDS chapel foyers are graced with couches for those so inclined to skip Sunday School. For the first time ever I removed them. What a difference that made in the foyer! Here’s what the sign-in table looked like.

The ivory curtain backdrop covers up a piece of art work that I didn’t want in the pictures.
This banner is available for download at the bottom of the post.

Now for the flowers. I gathered a variety of vintage looking vases and containers that I had and played with several ideas. Having various arrangements helped to create the less formal vibe I was going for. I added hand crafted pennant signs just for fun.

The centerpieces were eclectic, lovely and very affordable!

Custom pennant signs, paper flowers and vintage containers create a lovely rustic-chic centerpiece.
The pennant signs are available for download at the bottom of the post.

 You can rent these vases if you live in the Denver area. Or you can just hire me.

Custom pennant signs, paper flowers and vintage containers create a lovely rustic-chic centerpiece.

The reserved sign is available for download at the end of this post.

This happy couple that started with a Post-it Note Marriage Proposal had a wonderful time at this reception and hopefully they got some good Marriage Advice from their happy guests.

Vintage chest displays open photo booth props.
The cake sign is available for download at the end of the post.

Written by Cherice Steinhour

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