The City Club of Buckhead venue definitely served as a point of inspiration. The wood-paneled site has a very traditional, warm, old library, men's club feeling. This "library" sparked the idea of using books in the centerpieces. Books are so symbolic. They have chapters, much like our lives. They tell stories. And the best of books have happy endings. All of these indicative of how Jenn and Jason got to where they are (not to mention that Jenn's journaling is a huge part of her own life's journey).
Loved the idea of creating mostly white centerpieces — a juxtaposition to the dark wood surroundings. The thrift-store-bought brass candlesticks, spray-painted white, were topped with frosted-glass tealight holders (I actually frosted them all myself using a spray frost). These were then attached to the candlesticks using Cling, a floral adhesive, easily removable. This allowed for there to be candlelight on the tables without the mess of dripping pillars, not to mention that tealights are so easy to change out.
The books were all covered in white paper (donated by Mohawk Paper — thank you Rebecca!) and decorated with cut white doilies, so reminiscent of bridal lace.
Brown satin bookmarks picked up the brown satin of the bridesmaids dresses. One book on each table had a family picture, printed out in sepia in keeping with the brown tone.
Since Jenn's flower budget went to the ceremony itself, the florals in the centerpieces consisted of twigs with white silk flowers glued on them. I hand glued the center jewels on each flower. Some flowers were sprinkled on the tables to give the look of them having fallen off the branch.
Jenn and Jason wanted to incorporate a charitable element into the festivities, so they chose three charities very dear and near to them (Greyhound Rescue, Gahanga Orphanage and USO). When guests entered the reception they were each given a library card (to fit in with the book theme). On each card I typed (using a typewriter) the book name — Happily Ever After — with the bride and groom as the "author." The date due stamp is their wedding date, and the borrower is the guest.
Tied to each card was an envelope with three flowers in it along with a card telling the guest what to do with the flowers.
The cards were filed in an actual card catalog file. . . perfect.
I found glass apothecary jars, labeled each (accompanied by a detailed description of the charity) and guests were to drop their flowers, as they saw fit, into the jars. Jenn and Jason, post-wedding, would then assign a dollar amount to the flower and make donations accordingly. Everyone at the wedding loved this idea, and it truly showed the heart of the newly married couple. (The library card then served as a wedding keepsake for each guest, the perfect bookmark.)
And for the gift table I always make a fake gift so that guests know exactly where to put their presents (and I make sure that it doesn't get put with the gifts at the end of the evening, which would prove to be a very cruel joke for the bride and groom when opening presents!)
I felt that the memory table needed to continue the theme. So pictures given to me by Jenn wound up in frames I found at thrift stores, each spray painted white and accented with the paper doilies. Even the guest book was decorated with a doily on front. Jenn's mom passed away the year I first met Jenn, and the wedding and everything leading up to it honored her. Her mom's middle name was Rose, so I made sure that every wedding-related event, from the bachelorette weekend to the bridal suite at the church had a red rose to remind Jenn that her mom was truly there with her.
Jenn and Jason did cupcakes in lieu of the traditional wedding cake. It was easy to decorate the table with twigs and flowers in keeping with the theme. And use the books as well.
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