Volumes of Love: Receiving the Details

While we’re on the topic of sentimentality, let’s back up a little and focus in on some of the details I poured my heart, hands, and soul into for the reception. There were quite a few, and I really feel like our guests noticed and appreciated them.

I do have a confession to make, though. I am totally disappointed in how under photographed our reception decor was by our photographer. I spent years on these projects – YEARS! – and I do not feel like they got their fifteen minutes of fame in the eye of the camera. That being whined, here we go…

As guests entered the ballroom, they were greeted by our escort card table filled with birds. We also trimmed the table with a string of photos from both of our lives.

All of the tables were named after covered bridges in the states where Mr. Library and I have lived: Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Poor Rhode Island only had one!

On the other side of the entrance was our smorgasbord of signs and “activities.” First, we featured our guestbook options:

Our traditional guestbook took awhile for me to put together. I put all of the photo corners in by hand because Mom Library insisted that not everyone will want to stick their thumbprints on canvas. To my frustration, my mother was incorrect. Only three people signed our guestbook, which was designed for 100. Three. THREE! Oh well. Now it will make a nice photo album for the photo booth pictures.

Our thumbprint tree was a hit! People loved it, including the resort staff, and nearly everyone signed it. I chose to use three different green ink pads to give people choice, and I am so glad they used all of them. It now hangs on our living room wall to remind us of everyone who took part in our lovefest.

Farther down the table was our White Knot project. I had received some flack from some family members right before the wedding about this as they believed “a wedding isn’t a place to make a statement,” but I ignored them. This wedding was about Mr. Library, me, our family and friends, and many in attendance are not allowed to marry their partners. If there was ever a time to make a statement, it is now! I was touched and thrilled with how many people came up to me and told me how much it meant to them. People were wearing white ribbons everywhere!

You’ll also notice our photo family tree in the picture above. In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t thrown my hands up as quickly as I did on it the night before, but people seemed to look past my inability to make the frames straight and were excited to see the collection of family photos we had put together.

Each photo was labeled with who the people were, their marriage date if known, and how they were related to me or Mr. Library.

Once guests found their tables, they were greeted with our centerpieces and table markers. As mentioned before, I had named the tables according to covered bridges found in the three states we had lived in (though not together). The centerpieces themselves finally came together and looked wonderful lit up!

The table markers featured my own photography on the front and some information about the bridge on the back. The head table was named after the bridge Mr. Library and I had just gotten married on, my parents sat at “Pop’s Bridge”, etc. We tried to pick appropriate and cute names for each family who attended.

Guests also had a menu made out of green card stock and the handmade napkin poofs I spent hours making on New Year’s Day. I loved the color it brought to the tables, and I think our guests loved that they were like extra favors.

See how many people turned them into fashion accessories?! LOVE IT!

Speaking of favors, we had delicious favors that never seemed to have photographed. By anyone. Probably because they were gone so quickly! You can sort of see them in the table photo above if you really look for them. Mom Library’s cousin K has made all of the favors for our extended family members’ weddings since my cousin K got married in 2001. She specializes in molded chocolates, so Mr. Library and I had her make chocolate covered pretzel rods for our favors. We love them, and our guests seemed to enjoy them as well. Mmmm nothing like a sweet and salty snack to remind you of a fabulous day!

Outside of the ballroom was our photo booth setup. It worked out pretty well for as low-maintenance as it was. Dad Library and our wedding coordinator put the finishing touches on it in the morning, and once people realized it was open, they took full advantage of it and the props.