Yesterday I brought you the details of our wedding ceremony. Today I want to take you inside the reception. Also held at Bluestem Nursery and Vineyard, the reception took place in the outbuilding that comes with the property rental. When I say outbuilding, I mean outbuilding. The room was large, rectangular and empty. The walls were white and metal, and there were pipes all over. I loved the property, but I did NOT love this space. So I got to work making it over.

The first rule of business was making the walls and ceiling look a lot less industrial farm, and a lot more elegant ballroom. That meant tons and tons of draping. I love the way that drapery softens a space and immediately makes it feel more romantic, but the usual cream draping was just not doing it for me. Finally, after hours and hours of digging around on Pinterest and the web, I found my draping inspiration here. The draping and florals were done by Blooms & Bouquets. It cost a pretty penny but I wouldn't have wanted anything else.

Instead of a guest book, Grant and I decided to do a wishing tree. Guests were invited to leave us their best wishes and advice, and tie them to a ribbon on the tree. I requested a MUCH larger tree than that, but like I've said before, sometimes you get there the day-of and you have to roll with the punches. The seating chart was another DIY project. I had intended to just make it a poster, but so many people were late to RSVPing or adding plus-ones that I opted to get the background printed in poster form and stick on the names later. It was a surprisingly long process that I thought would be expedited by having help. Alas, I had far few hands the night before to help than I thought I would (the few that were there were major lifesavers), so I was up until about 4 a.m. working on it. I really loved the way it looked though.

At the end of the room was the photo booth, easily the biggest hit of the night. We rented more Nostalgia furniture and I got some pretty floral fabric from Spoonflower. Then I sewed it together so that it could be put up with pipe and drape and the rest is history!

As you all know, Grant and I got married a few months ago. It was a fairly singular obsession for the months preceding the nuptials. Teaching in the city is an incredibly time-consuming job (wake up at 5, get to school at 7, leave school at 6, work for 3 more hours at home, repeat) so I didn't get much real time in the year before the wedding to really plan. My aesthetic vision for the wedding was A-Midsummer-Night's-Dream-meets-Old-Hollywood-Glam. I wanted it to feel like all these fabulous people at an incredible party fell asleep, and when they woke up the place had been a bit overtaken with lush florals and greenery. Most of that was realized in the reception decor, but I wanted to start by detailing the gorgeous ceremony.

The wedding (both ceremony and reception) were help at Bluestem Nursery and Vineyard in Crete, Nebraska. The rental was a large portion of our budget, but we got the run of the entire vineyard (including an adorable 1-bedroom cottage where we held our rehearsal dinner) for the whole weekend. This ensured that our vendors could get in early to execute some, admittedly, intricate requests.


The existing scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The stage where the ceremony took place had pillars and oversized pillared vases. Bluestem plants greenery that is beautifully overgrown at the end of the summer, and was a lovely complement to the gauzy fabric that Blooms & Bouquets draped around the columns. I had them tie back the drapery with a garland, which was also draped on the backs of the chairs. Topping off the garland were amazing floral wreaths filled with vintage garden flowers such as hydrangeas, roses and peonies. Then we lined the aisles with a smattering of flower petals. The overall effect was striking and romantic.



My bouquet was a combination of the same flowers, as well as hanging greenery. I wanted it to be grander than it turned out to be, but I guess "oversized" isn't enough of a descriptor. My number one recommendation for particular brides like myself when planning your wedding is to be so obnoxiously Type-A that there is no room for misinterpretation. Like, give them actual measurements. Feel like telling your florist that a bouquet must be 18-inches from tip to toe is too Bridezilla? Well, it's a lot less Bridezilla than getting angry the day-of when it's too late to change anything. Plus, your vendors are being well-compensated for their work. It's their job to give you precisely what you want. They were still really pretty bouquets though.


The entrance to the ceremony area included a number of items for guests to enjoy. An August wedding in Nebraska can bring with it insufferable heat. Luckily it wasn't that bad on our big day, but we provided our guests with cold refreshments to take the edge off. Guests were given the option to be bussed in on coordinated charter buses and bussed back at the end of the night. This gave everyone the option of a safe ride home after an open bar, and also ensured that they wouldn't be waiting in the sun for too long before the ceremony started. We also provided purple ribbons for guests to wear in support of equal marriage rights. A lot of our guests are still not able to get married in our home state and I can't wait until the day when they can have their own wedding! In lieu of programs, I designed a chalboard-esque wedding party sign, had it printed, and affixed it to an oversized frame we rented from Nostalgia Rentals (they also provided the table, other frames and containers). Patricia Catering did our amazing reception food, as well as the pre-ceremony beverages.



Guests could also cool themselves down with these custom church fans we had made. The illustration is AMAZING, and was actually done by a good friend of mine (and bridesmaid!) Kristin for our invites. We sent her a picture of Bluestem since we knew the wedding was being held there, and she drew us on our wedding day. The illustration is just darling and it's definitely one of my favorite things from the wedding day! (Tip #2: If you have talented friends... use them! You can pay them back by throwing the best party ever.) These fans were a feature the whole night and were also a fab prop when the dance floor require a little pantomiming.


Of course, the most gorgeous part of the ceremony was the group of people we had around us. The men dressed in classic tuxes (Grant had his custom-made from Kleinfelds...ooh la la) and I let the ladies choose their own dresses. I just gave them a few guidelines: 1. Full-length gowns 2. Neutral color palette 3. Vintage/classic cuts 4. Sparkle encouraged. I could never have imagined that the combo would look this amazing together! My bridesmaids live all over the country (no two live in the same city and NONE of them live in NYC) so I was blown away how well the looks blended. There were even mirrored cuts (2 strapless, 2 V-necks, 3 boat necks) but all of the different fabrics, gatherings and subtle patterns meant that each look was unique. By no design of mine, their dresses even managed to create a hue spectrum when they were all lined up for the ceremony. Ugh, I can't get over how gorgeous these ladies are.


Grant and I had a fairly non-traditional ceremony. We asked his uncle Gifford to officiate, didn't have a ring exchange (ask to see my tattoo sometime!), had just one reading, and asked our fathers to participate in a Celtic hand fasting ceremony. Writing your own ceremony and vows is tough, but I really do feel like our ceremony was personal and touching... and was a perfect reflection of our love as a couple. If you're interested, here's our short ceremony.

Once again, these gifs totally reflect the party that was our wedding. There is no way that I could thank everyone for traveling, for partying so hard, and for being the best friends and family a friend could ask for. All credit for these lovely photos is due to The Mullers.