How to do A Big Top Wedding, Big Time

Just warning you now, I am pretty disappointed with the quality of pictures for this post. When lighting is super dim in a place, my camera and I don't work well together. Needless to say, this was a fun party!

The experience all started with an invication to a couples dinner party, celebrating and showing the couple with fun and friends before their larger wedding. I don't know either the bride or groom well, so the unique party theme made the night exciting to see what was next.

Their fun Ouija cake at the couples shower:

What was next was a Ouija themed wedding invitation.

And then the main event in downtown Portland. When we arrived, none of the typical wedding decorations were to be found. A nautical log used as their guest book:

 Creepy stuffed animals and ceramic boat captain:

Jelly Bellys sat on the bar top holding an old circus poster with Derrick and Alison's faces photoshoped into the image.

 

 All the tables were pushed to the side during the ceremony then spread throughout the ballroom afterwards.

 

On each table was a popcorn holder with white carnations to look like white popcorn. Pipe cleaners came out of the top that each held several pieces of real popcorn.

Rather than each table being numbered, each table had an old animal cartoon mounted onto wood.

Images of each cartoon were shown on a board along with your name, so you knew where you were seated and what image to look for.

Also on each table was a bowl, a ping pong ball, and a goldfish; just like the classic circus game.

Also at each place setting was a card with the name of each guest. Again, vintage circus posters were used.

The cake was incredible. It was the same person who did the Ouija cake for their couples shower. She was also a guest at the wedding and had me send all my pictures to her after the wedding.

The same posters that were on the table seating cards, were around each layer of the cake.

Again the use of some creepy figurines found their way into the decor.

Siamese twins, er, the bride and groom on the top of the cake.

It was then time to start the ceremony, Derrick's mom put on her mask and walked down the aisle followed by all the groomsmen and bridesmaids(man). When the wedding party started walking down I quickly realized my fake eyelashes paled in comparison to theirs. To keep with the circus theme, one of the bridesmaids dressed as the infamous bearded lady.

The flower girl and ring bearer weren't your typical toddler all dressed up, but the bride's niece and nephew dressed up as cotton candy and the strongest man. They are also the kids of the Matron of Honor.

The flower girl also sang the song that Alison walked down to and all of the processional music was definitely not what you hear at other weddings.

Then it was Alison's turn to walk down the aisle with her dad and boy, did she make an entrance. Short wedding dress, veil over her face, a train of balloons, red and white striped stole, mile high shoes, and bouquet like you've never seen before.

Great Matron of Honor outfit!

Did I mention a ringmaster was their officiant?!

Her bouquet/carousel horse was meant to be mounted to the heart backdrop, but it was too high and too heavy for anyone to attach it. So, the Matron of Honor and the Man of Honor took turns holding it.

And the rings were really attached to the barbell!

Instead of a Unity Candle, a custom heart was turned on that flashed their last name in lights!

Once they were pronounced husband and wife, the sound of drums startled us! Alison and Derrick hired Portland's famous drumline the Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers (which I later learn she helped to make famous). They were very good, very loud, and part of their performance was their serious faces.

Ah finally found something that is at weddings! Bouquets for the the bridesmaids, though these do look a little different than what I am used to seeing.

We had a great time, just too bad it was on  Sunday night, so we couldn't stay longer.

Another Great Love Bird Cake

My sister got married over the weekend and I thought her cake turned out really cute. She used some really personal items to our family like the love birds (her hubby's mom owns these), she used the same knife and server from Kelsey's and my weddings, and the cake plate from my wedding. By using these items she was able to save herself a few bucks and have some fun memories of ways we shared our weddings together.

Love the confetti, the dahlias (she picked these from a local garden), and the love birds. Very classic!

Precious Cargo Baby Shower

Recently, my sisters, aunts, and my mom threw me a baby shower. The theme for the shower was Precious Cargo! And as one of mom's friends pointed out, yes, this was very familiar to my wedding theme. What can I say? I am a sucker for maps and vintage travel and my family knows it!

  They picked up this cute vintage suitcase at an antique shop! This was a calendar making station asking each person to make a month.

 Thank you very much!

 Too cute and appropriate.

Everyone had to guess height, weight, birth date, birth time, and if it was going to be a boy or a girl. One guest started with weight, she thought they were guessing how much weight I would gain by the end of the pregnancy!

They took party hats, turned them upside down and used as containers for the candy bar. What a great idea!

A yummy candy bar! They did their best to pick out all my favorites!

 Gushers, fruit snacks, and Reeses?! Oh yes!

 Advice or stories about everyone's own family road trip.

Super cute straws and a vintage Volkswagen Beetle on the table.

They asked that I bring the baby onesie that I had made to tell my husband we are pregnant and it was a cute decoration added to the present table.

Upcycled Fence Wood Turned Bench

Thanks to some recent wind and rain storms, sections of our fence have needed to be torn town and replaced. My husband always said, "It's good wood, we can't get rid of it." Not that I am trying to, but storing scraps of wood isn't easy when you don't have a large garage or yard.

Seeing this bench recently on Pinerest, I asked my hubby to use some of the fence wood to make a bench for our front porch.

Original posting with the picture can be found here. Photo credit: Unknown

Evan liked the look of it, shared he would do something similar, but have his own take on it. When I left, he and my sister-in-law's fiance had barely started, but sent me this picture while I was at my baby shower, so I knew it was coming together well!

Once they finished, it looks a little something like this:

It just needs some pillows and a cushion! I love it and we have gotten several compliments on it.

Fall Wedding at a Winery

One of my friends from college, who I also worked with in the Admissions office got married over the weekend.  It was a beautiful drive out to Hood River where we caught a shuttle up to the ceremony and reception sites.

They used a lot of the local vendors in Hood River, Oregon for their flowers, cake, and more which all turned out so lovely.

Nice to see an arrangements in a black vase vs. the standard clear vase.

Lots of great fall flowers with leaves, dahias, spider mums, and more.

I thought their groom's cake was so unique and an eye-catcher. Adam and Rachel love their dog Bailey (who is always in their Christmas card too), so this cake depicts Adam and Bailey sitting together enjoying the view.

California Beach Wedding

Another trip to California, for another family wedding. This time without hubs, but I knew I would still have a great time. The ceremony overlooked the ocean, the beach, and steep cliffs at Pismo Beach. Gorgeous!

The aisle was decorated with blue puffy balls that the bride made, sprinkled with dried yellow rose petals. Blue and yellow were the colors of their wedding, which are also the school colors of both of their colleges: Michigan and University of California Santa Barbara. 

Look at that view!

 

There was an arbor decorated with shells and gauze, part of the beachy theme!

The blue and yellow bride and bridesmaid bouquets made up of yellow roses, calla lilies, with small seashells, green berries, among other fun flowers.



The yummy cake and a clever cake topper. Real seashells are on the cake.



A very creative and fun seating chart using a wooden surfboard found at a yard sale. The groom's dad spent quite a bit of time cleaning up and refinishing. So thoughtful and unique!

 The names of the guests and their assigned table, are posted on the surfboard below the Catch a Wave sign.

The head table displayed sand dollar shells with Mr. and Mrs. written on them.

A Mappy First Anniversary Present

I couldn't make up my mind on the right present for my little sister and her husband's first anniversary present. I bought their card before their anniversary, but I just didn't have any good ideas for a "paper" present. After coming across a Portland map that my mom didn't need anymore, I knew I wanted to do something with it for them.

I found some ideas on-line and originally thought I would use the entire map, so I bought a large frame for it at Goodwill. After playing around with it for a while, I decided to cut up the map and do something a bit smaller. This way, the art could go on any wall, any shelf, alone or with other frames, etc.

Here are some of the ideas I found on-line:

All super cute and really good ideas. I already had some 10x10 corkboard, so I went to the store and purchased a 10x10 shadow box and short pins. Then I got to work. I decided to cut out hearts of where they met (using a cookie cutter), where they were married, and where they live. Luckily all were in Portland. I was very careful about truly finding the right street on the map as so many of the streets in Portland are called the same thing, but don't continue through, so it is easy to think you have the right street when you don't. I even got on the computer a couple of times to check directions and the computer's map to make sure I was right. 

I gave it to my sister and she really really liked it. She shared with me later that her husband couldn't believe that I had made it. Well good, I am glad they have something to also remember where they first lived together.