Teeparty by Night 2014

Every year for the 5th time this year we host a teaparty by Night for all the women in my church. It is normally set outside in the park. The women from my church gather for a beautiful evening with food and drinks and laughter and inspiration and friendship!
This year due to a whole week of pouring rain we had to do it inside. It was nonetheless a wonderful night and the women loved it.
At the teaparty we usually host about 100 women and the planning is always a team effort. In this post I hope I can help you plan parties where you host a lot of people. The key is working in a team and not trying to do it all on your own.
By now we all know how much I love a good concept and I kind of feel like a broken record but I can't stress it enough. If you have your concept down and a clear line to follow it makes all the difference not only for you in the planning process but especially for the guests.
So in the past we've had all kinds of colours and themes but this year was different. We went for a rustic elegant American barbecue theme. In order to keep it light and fresh the colors were yellow, grey and mint. I love this color combination. It's totally summer and cute and elegant.

We have this amazing Café which is part of our church. It is very cozy and warm.
Some of you might remember this winter wedding - it's the same place. We had a really fun photo wall were the ladies could take pictures all night long. I think using a personalized hashtag is a great way to reconnect all the pictures after the event.

We set everything up the day before except for the flowers. I already loved everything then but when we brought in the fresh flowers on the day of the party it just made all the difference. We used very simple garden flowers to keep that outdoor feeling and bring in something fresh.

One of the girls from the team made all the ribbons and the fringe garlands which turned out so fun. Again we used some lanterns to hang them in the trees just like we would have done outside.
As you can see some of the main colors in Elemenz are brown and purple but it didn't clash with our yellow and mint and grey. It kind of complimented it perfectly. We brought in some fresh pillows for the sofas to make it super comfy for the ladies.

And Stefanie created this amazing display of old windows and frames. It was one of my favorite parts of the decoration - just a little different and cool. When it comes to decorating I believe in keeping it simple and working with what you've got. I love Kinfolk and how everything they do is so natural. This honestly always helps me to look at things a little differently. Instead of spending a ton of money on decoration and flowers and what not I tend to ask myself what is really necessary, what will really be great for the event, what do we have and what can we create and then we just simply start building from there. We always work on a budget and what I love about that is that it makes you stay creative in the most essential way and seeing the outcome be amazing is a big encouragement.

Another favorite part of the party was our balloon installation which Stefanie created. I first saw this idea here and thought we could pull this off too. I love how it worked out and how it was the first thing the women got see upon arrival. As they all stood in line to get to the party they were surrounded by these balloons and you know first impressions matter. Then they were greeted with lemonade from this super cute pitcher with yellow striped straws.
As we had a buffet we didn't really set the tables with everything but instead used the napkins as place mats. The favors where little s'more packages.

My favorite part of any party or event is right when you open the doors. Everything is set and ready to go. Seeing the faces of women as they entered and just loved it. Seeing their smiles and seeing them happy with their friends makes all the work you put in it so worth it and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world.
It was one of my favorite teaparties and I am so thankful for everybody who helped from food to decorations to setting up (thank you to all the men who we really need to make it happen) and the greeters.
And to summarize it here are a few tips I have learned along the way
1. plan well in advance.
2. have a concept and follow it
3. keep it simple, work with what you've got
4. work as a team.

I hope you like all the pictures and ideas - pin ahead, share and talk about it.

xoxo

Ramona

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A DIY Winter Wedding

Oh I am so excited to share yet another beautiful wedding with you! This one was so full of romance and love and all the things you cannot create with your hands but everything that happens in the heart.
When the couple came up to me last year and when we had our first meetings I was already getting quite excited because I loved the style and direction this one was going to have. Very rustic, winter, warm wedding. I was impressed by their ideas and what they liked. I have known both of them for quite a few years but you don't always see their taste in such things that much. I love it when I plan weddings and the couple gives you a lot of freedom but knows exactly what they want and what they don't want. That's what makes it really easy to work with plus they were so amazing to work with.
As they decided to do the reception at Elemenz (yep you heard right - I used to work there) I knew every little detail was going to be planned and executed by us - DIY in its truest meaning.

So to get us started I created a pinterest board for the two of them and put together an inspiration board so we had something to work with.
When you know that every little detail of the wedding is going to be DIY it is even more important to not get lost in all the little details and lose sight
So here's a little tip for you: Think of the wedding as a cone. Start with the big things like date, location, invitations, concept and work your way towards the little things like who lights the candles, who picks up the flowers, etc etc. That way you are making sure you don't forget anything.
Now depending on the length of your engagement try to set realistic time frames for when certain things need to be done like 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, 20 days... etc. That helps you to stick to deadlines and gives you a little pressure when you see a deadline approaching. It also allows you to "forget" about things which don't have to be done until later so that you can work more focused.

Now for Alex and Sara it was very clear that they wanted a cozy, warm and rustic winter wedding with lots of wood and candles. As there are lots of trees in Elemenz it became the guideline for everything from invitations to decorations (I mean who doesn't love trees?).

Obviously the invitations had the tree on them as well. I will not talk about the importance of invitations as I feel like I stress that every single time but really we have the perfect example here: Tree on the invitations and then that theme was carried out into every little detail as you will see later.

 The ceremony was set in a beautiful old church from the 19th century. The church was built in a neo-gothic style. It has somewhat become a trend to only focus on the reception, the party of the wedding. I personally think the ceremony is very important. That is what the whole wedding is about. There was a little reception right after the ceremony outside in front of the church with fire and marshmallows and hot wine and punch.
The dinner reception was like I said held in Elemenz where it is super cozy and warm. The location itself already is beautiful and add some customized decorations and details to it and everything fits together nicely.

 

 

 

 

Like I said before this was a complete DIY wedding. All the details and all the decorations where done by Alex's godmother. The Monday before the wedding the whole wedding party came together to set things up and decorate everything. For months she had been gathering wood and branches and even trees to make everything look the way it did. Also on that Monday we all brought decoration elements we thought could work and then on the spot decided for them or not.
All the food was home cooked (meaning a couple from our church) and the whole service staff were voluntary helpers from their connect groups or friends who wanted to support them on their big day.
All of these elements gave the whole wedding a very personal and very intimate touch. Everybody knew each other and worked together. I believe that is a very beautiful thing.
The bride is part of our praise and worship team and at the reception she sang a song for her new husband. I think everybody's heart just melted.
One of my personal highlights was their dance. It was one of the most romantic wedding dances I think I have seen this far.
Having been part of their journey and having the privilege to plan their wedding has been an honor and a blessing and they added their hearts and their personality which made this day absolutely unforgettable.

xoxo

Ramona