This wedding--How many!

Since I've blogged about it ad nauseum, I thought you might be interested in how much stuff was necessary for this Tea Party/DIY wedding! We had sent over 400 invitations.  Les and Josh are both ministers so that necessitated more than the usual being sent.  There were 4 churches involved.  Large families.  Many friends! It was an overwhelming thought from the beginning!  And we had no idea of how many really to expect!  It could be a disappointing 50 guests or an overwhelmingly horrifying 400+ but we planned on 250-300 for the reception.




Molly was insistent in having the reception in the Family Life Center (aka gym) of our church since it is so much larger than the Fellowship Hall.  I resisted like so many things--too much work, what if no one comes, You (the bride) won't be around to take it down...etc, etc.








But, after all, it was her wedding and her dad let her have her way..... (spoiled brat!) so we did it and were sooooooo glad!

I've been collecting vintage tablecloths and linens for years--I like them and can often find them so cheap that I hate to let them languish in the thrift store bin or garage sale table.  I was really glad on many occasions for my pack-rat-ish ways!  We dug alot of my 'junk' out of closets and cupboards and drawers to pull off this extravaganza!  Molly had a wonderful vision and I need to quit doubting her 'cause she's got great ideas!




Reception setup:
-33 banquet tables to seat eight
-264 ish chairs for those tables
-22 white tablecloths from church
-17 vintage printed and plain flat sheets to be mixed in on the tables for table cloths
-30 ish vintage lunch cloths, damask tablecloths and embroidered scarves and runners for layering on the tables
-39 cloth napkins--damask and vintage prints for layering and food display
-300 vintage cups and saucers (yes--these were all ours--hunted down for the day--not borrowed!)
-50 + vintage hankies made into banners that were strung at the front of the church and on the tables in the reception.
-boxes of assorted 'stuff' like bird cages, teapots, unique candle holders, mini tea sets, etc for tablescapes

See the silhouettes on the doors?  Sarah designed those and used them

 in the invitations, on the cake topper and for the doors to the reception!  

Am I a blessed mom or what?!

480 pinwheels and mini quiches from Sams--well worth the money and we ran out! also 340 mini cheesecakes and 560 cookies--all gone!

Hundreds of handmade mints from a friend!  Yummy and pretty!

Indian Tea Punch:  Ten bottles of Ginger Ale, 64 oz lemon juice, 12 oz Almond extract, 12 oz vanilla, 5 cups VERY strong tea made with a box of Family sized Teabags, 25 cups of boiling Water, 20 pounds of sugar and Ice to make about 10 Gallons of punch.  If you want the real recipe, let me know!  It was delicious!

Oh--Of course you want another picture of the cake!  It was so beautiful and soooo delicious!  

We also made hundreds of fabric flowers and used them everywhere--on the tables, the cake (!) and mixed in with the bouquets.  I was doubtful--Molly insisted and once again, I was wrong!  :)  That's fine with me though!