Makeover – Part 3 – Rehearsal Dinner

Part 3 of this series was going to be more about the backyard but I decided to take a break from the outside and bring you inside for the rehearsal dinner.  Mason jars, burlap and a sign that says Happy Ever After graced the window sill.  If you missed earlier posts in this series, they can be found    Part 1 – The Wall       Part 2 – Front Yard

When working on a event to celebrate a special occasion, it is always helpful to do a quiet study of the people you are honoring.   It this situation, I had quite a few ideas of their likes and dislikes by what they had chosen already for their wedding.  

Our son had requested a special bbq place he likes for the ordering the smoked brisket, turkey and beans; and the invite for the rehearsal dinner had a burlap, bbq look so I ran with that theme and began gathering from around my house, shopping on Amazon and a little shopping here and there:

Soon my dining room table became my staging area.  One of favorites things used were two old quilts a friend had given me. 

One of the quilts was used on our dining table as a table covering with a picture of the couple in a frame.  Include others in helping.  It creates memories, allows others to give and honestly at this point, the extra help is valuable.  

My mom worked diligently on the tags for the hair towel wraps the girls in the bridal party were receiving, as well as other projects.  

My aunt used her expert needle work skills sewing buttons on the towel wraps and also assisted on other projects to get ready for festivities.  These two women saved me hours of work.  While they worked on their projects, 

I was baking easy cheesy drop biscuits (recipe will be posted soon) and …..

making potato salad and …..

combining a Kale salad and …..

brought out the Monster Cookies from the freezer for dessert.  Tip:  The cookies were baked and frozen a couple of weeks earlier.  Tip:  Think about what you can do ahead. 

Here is a picture of the beverage center.  We used the small cooler as our ice chest.  We also had a cooler in the backyard with bottled beverages.

The 2nd quilt was used in the dessert area.  Boxes of different heights under the quilt created a fun display.

All the fresh flowers were purchased for $15.00 from our local Safeway store.  The cookbook under the picture was handed down from my grandmother and it reminded me of her on this important evening. 

The evening was a success as we all ate, visited and laughed in anticipation of the wedding the next day.

One more picture…

Lessons Learned

1.  Study those you will be honoring.  Find what delights their hearts.  
2. Stay within a budget
3. Repurpose what you have in your home or borrow.
4. Ask others for help 
5. Do what you can ahead 
6. Inspiration will often come a closer to the event.  Trust it will all come together.
7. Decide what you will wear ahead of time and have it clean and ready to throw on – the day will be busy.
8. Have your house professionally cleaned.
9. Have FUN!

Have you hosted a wedding at your home?  Please share any tips you may have for those that may be planning this in their future.