Nearly Nautical Nuptials : The Reception Space

While we were taking a few last pictures, and our guests were getting themselves off the boat, our second shooter Meredith zipped into our tent and took pictures of the set-up and details before our guests got in there.  I'm so thankful she was there to capture photos of all the details I put my blood, sweat and tears into.

First up: the tables - if you remember, we opted for rectangular tables.
We had set up the bones of the space the day before (placed all the tables and chairs) but Emilie & Fiona of Pink Orchid weddings transformed the space just as we had discussed and it was perfect.

These vases were one of the first things I bought.  I loved how the yellow flowers popped against the navy runners.  Although my mom planted hundreds of flowers to grow for the wedding, I'd say only half came up in time due to a terribly rainy summer, so we ended up buying some bulk flowers.  The week after our wedding though - the whole garden was yellow :)

Our place settings : I've refused to touch my sewing machine since sewing all those napkins and table runners.  We ran out of time to iron all the tablecloths but the runners hid the crease down the center really well!  I'm not sure if I ever got around to posting about our menus but they were gocco'd and tied on with blue and white baker's twine.  Since we ended up doing a buffet, we kept the plates near the food stations and I think it really helped keep the tables clean and uncluttered for these photos.

Our escort cards : I cut these out of white museum board and used a laser cutter to engrave the names of the tables along the sides.  Then I wrote out the name of the guest and tied more blue and white bakers twine around it.

The Signage : We named each of our tables after different boating knots (we were seated at 'snuggle hitch').  The table signs were backed with navy paper, the food/drink signs were backed with yellow, to keep things interesting but organized :)

Above : guestbook made via Blurb with our engagement pictures, photo sharing cards made via vistaprint with instructions for our guests to upload their photos to our flickr account post wedding.

I made special chair signs for myself and Mr. Gloss (shown below) since we were VIP's and all.

Our chalkboard welcome sign.

This was a big hit with our guests - some of our older guests found some accidental and not-wedding appropriate words, but I can't wait to hang this up once we buy a place of our own.

The Favors : We included a basket of flip-flops and pashminas for our guests, the flip-flops flew out of there, and even though it wasn't cold most of the pashminas were gone by the end of the night as well -

Our main favor was strawberry jam.  My mom handpicked enough strawberries for 120 jars of jam - bless her, I wouldn't have had the patience :)  Most of our guests had never had my mom's jam before (those who had took a lot more than one jar ;) ) and those who hadn't called or emailed all the next week saying how awesome it was.  One person, who will remain nameless, admitted to making a PB&J sandwich and then eating the remainder of the jam straight out of the jar, it was that good.  Smucker's has nothin' on my mom.

We also included bags of goodies for the kids to entertain themselves with.  There were coloring books, crayons, some games/frisbees and random Martha Stewart crafts.  They were a big hit!

Since I never posted about these before, I figured I would include them now since they kind of tie in with our favors - our Out of Town Bags.  They included a few maps of the area, some water, snacks, matches and maple syrup that my parents bottled.

We also included a brief welcome note to our guests - 

Gratuitous napkin shot - there were 6 facts in all.

and I saved the best for last: THE CAKES!

My mom made our cakes and my dad made the stands.

Now that you've seen all the details we can FINALLY be introduced as husband and wife :)

*photos by Erica Lyn Photography and &Unlimited, except for the photos of the OOT bags, which I took...poorly. 

Previously:

Nearly Nautical Nuptials : The Glossy Gals Get Ready
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : Putting on my Party DressNearly Nautical Nuptials : The Glossy Guys Get Ready
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : The Glossy Gift Exchange 
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : The First Look
Nearly Nautical Nuptials :  Wedding Party Photos
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : A Few Moments Alone
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : Anchors Away!
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : The Shortest Walk of My Life
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : A Few Special Words
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : Pop That Cork!
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : Martinis, Munchies, Mingling and Martha
Nearly Nautical Nuptials : Back on Land

How I Knew I Wanted to Marry Mr. Gloss....

Today is our 10th anniversary (pre-wedding of course). A decade is a very long time, in fact I've been with Mr. Gloss almost half my life -


So naturally, many things have changed since those first few months/years. We've grown-up and instead of growing apart like many couples that date from a very young age, we've grown together. Like all relationships its not rainbows and sunshine 100% of the time - but those are the times that I value the most. I'll admit sometimes I get so mad at him I don't even want to be in the same room together - and while I'm sitting alone, fuming, I realize that even though I can't stand to look at him right this second, there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be. Which leads me to the point of this post: I knew I wanted to marry Mr. Gloss when I realized I wasn't IN-love with him anymore.  Now, before you gasp and gossip about me to all your friends hear me out.

To me, being 'in-love' comes early in the relationship, there are no worries or concerns, you can't stand to be apart and spend your days floating on a cloud of bliss. While that is all well and good it most likely will not last forever. When I realized I wasn't 'in-love' with Mr. Gloss anymore I also realized that I loved him so much more than I ever thought possible. Its just a different kind of love- I realized that I wanted to wake up beside him every day and take care of him when he's sick, or strategize together if we are broke. And as angry as I get when he never lets me have control over the remote, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. My love for him grows everyday, honestly- I'm not just saying that, and everyday (save for a few ;) ) I love him a little bit more than I did before.

So, having said that- I know the next ten years will not be all candy and bubbles and stickers; there will be hard days and I will appreciate them (notice I did not say 'like them') because they give perspective to the good days and make me realize how lucky I am 99% of the time.

So, cheers Mr. Gloss, and here's to the next decade!
 
When did you realize that you wanted to marry your fiance/husband?