Thursday, March 5, 2015

Monumental Love: A Closer Look at the Reception

So we bloggers all do things a bit differently around here, but I for one enjoy seeing some of the reception details while we're still "on location" in the story.  So before we close out the rest of the night, let's take a look at some of the lovely details that made up our reception.  There's lots to see and talk about today, but if you haven't eaten lunch yet today, don't worry - you won't find any pictures of food here!  We didn't request any shots of food, so just trust me that there was food and drink present as well.

I'd like to start off with some of the gorgeous features that caused us to fall in love with the Board of Trade in the first place.  

These Corinthian columns and archways were in the process of being renovated when we booked the venue./Unless otherwise noted, photos by Eau Claire Photographics


I think I've expressed my love of the courtyard enough, but seriously - look at that fountain!
The Board of Trade's symbol on the giant, oak entrance doors.

You've probably caught a glimpse of the lighted dome in some of the pictures.  The mural depicts various commerce industries present in Louisiana - very appropriate scenes when this was the local commodity trading floor.  The black panels on the walls are actually chalkboards, used during the trading times as well.

And besides those lovely details, the venue is relatively a blank slate.  We didn't want to overpower the beauty that we had on our hands, but we did want to make things a bit more glamorous, colorful, and personalized.  That's where the lights and flowers come in. 

Let's step back outside again...
We provided the globe lights, chandeliers, glassware, and candles to the rentals vendor, and they set everything up.  Want to know one of my few wedding regrets?  See against the wall where guests are coming in...those tiny lights back there?  I'd seen some really cool displays done at the entrance of the venue, and I knew I wanted something in that area.  I decided on these glass orbs after seeing it online from another wedding - I just don't think they had much of an impact and this is the only picture you can see them in.  Definitely could have saved a few bucks there.

And here's the courtyard in the opposite direction.  I love how it turned out, and was so happy the rain let up so guests could spend some time out there.  I know we provided little lanterns for those tables, but I'm just now noticing those aren't on the tables...oh well, if it hasn't bothered me this long, I think I'll live.

And of course you've heard a ton about these chandeliers - we had four, one in each corner of the courtyard.  It was my one ridiculous "must have" and I'm pretty proud we made it happen. 

The BoT had this pretty marble table that we setup at the entrance to hold our card box lantern and guest book  picture.  There was a matching "L" initial at the other end of the table, along with a dish for sharpies and ink pads.

Our customized print, complete with our guests' fingerprints.  It's pretty self-explanatory, but I wrote a post on it if you want more info.  My top lessons from this - print it out with plenty of space in the margins so you have enough space to tape your print to the back of the board and don't use chalk ink!  And maybe don't wait til like the week of the wedding to be dealing with it.  But that's personal preference, of course.


A few steps and some giant oak doors led up into the ballroom, and the stairs were lined with lanterns and candles provided by the venue.  When we were about to make our entrance, I noticed them and said "Hey, those aren't mine!  Cool!"

Inside, the dance floor and band were off to the left and the tables, food, and bar, were to the right.  I worked with Claire of Blumen Lendle floral to come up with four separate centerpieces.  I provided various extra decor items, but besides that, these centerpieces were all Claire.  

Oh, and the venue came with gold chivari chairs too.  Sphinx correctly identified a chivari chair on TV  the other day.  I don't know if I should be proud of him or disappointed in myself for making him know that./Photo by Momma P from earlier in the day when we did formals in the courtyard, thus the emptiness.

You can see we had a mix of gold, purple, sheer teal, and sheer ivory table cloths.  The tall cocktail tables in the background were around the dance floor and had purple tablecloths tied with a gold sash.

We had three of these large "cloud" centerpieces put on the largest tables, and I feel like the photos can't even do them justice.  They were full and colorful, and really made an impact in a ballroom with such a tall ceiling, which was exactly the intention.

Some tables had these full flower rings, with a vase in the center and a floating candle.  

A trio of glass vases with submerged orchids and callas were on other tables./Photo by Momma P
I don't have a closeup of the last small centerpiece, but it was the low, small cluster of flowers, on mercury glass stands (you can see them in the background of some of these pictures).  The idea of these three smaller arrangements was to keep it (relatively) low cost, since those tall centerpieces were already doing a lot for our space.  I've seen those big ones on every table in our venue, and I find it to be overkill.  But in a few key areas, they sure are pretty and earned tons of compliments.

Here you can see some of the candle holders we provided - just to have a little something extra to fill space on those 60" tables, you know?  I was also really excited to incorporate the gold fleur de lis into our table cloths - it ties in with the invites.  I'm sure everyone caught right onto that.

A guest shot from early in the reception: you can see the centerpieces, but also the purple uplighting.  The professional pics were lit up with a background flash (to see our faces and all that important stuff), but the room was actually a bit darker and the walls had a purple glow.

The sweetheart table (that we never sat at) was small, so we kept the decorations very minimal.  I bought this wooden sign ages ago, and used it as decoration in the house until wedding time.  The "reserved" signs were on the family tables (because cocktail reception, because NOLA).  Those scrolly frames matched some others around the venue.

I recycled the props from our engagement pictures to turn into chair signs at the sweetheart table.

Our family photo table is another project I wish hadn't been pushed til last minute, but I'm glad we made the effort.  Spinx's family is on the left, my family is on the right.  We ended up with photos of parents, grandparents, and even a few great-grandparents in there!

The branchy/floraly centerpiece here was made by my Aunt V, who continues to amaze everyone with her talent.  The confetti curls and wine corks were leftovers from some other places (like those missing lanterns...), and thus ended up on this table and the entrance table.  It tied everything together, although that definitely wasn't planned.

And I know you've seen some of the cake already, but I really felt like I couldn't round out my details post with out it.
Bridal cake, surrounded by bridesmaids and bridal bouquets.  I bought the rose gold sequin tablecloth from Etsy and the stand was provided by the bakery.

Cake topper, monogram, lace detail to match my dress and veil, and cake pull pearl bracelets.

Our cake serving set and champagne flutes were gifts from Momma P, both Kate Spade and found on clearance on separate shopping trips.  They aren't the same design, but I love them both!

Of course, you remember Sphinx's Roman Coliseum groom's cake. Sorry, I promised no food and here there are chocolate covered strawberries. Shame on me!



This isn't technically a reception detail, but I definitely wanted to include it because the idea was new to me.  The florist Claire mentioned that she would put together a bouquet from some of the extra flowers, so that we could leave the vase outside of Maw Maw's tomb.  Which was pretty much the most sweetest thing ever, to bring a bit of the wedding to her and having those in place on the wedding weekend.

Personal photo with an awkward crop to protect Maw Maw's info.
As you can see, our reception was a good mix of BIY (buy it yourself) and creativity from our vendors.  I had a written plan for the tables, the linens, centerpieces, lights, candles, and pretty much everything else.  Some of it was specific (like the scrolled candle holders that I wanted on the windowsill behind the cake), but some of it was more like, "There are two dozen purple votives - scatter wherever else we need them."   When I look at individual pictures, I might notice something off*, but overall my vision was executed and all the little details worked together to create a beautiful space for our wedding reception.

I love flowers so much, can you tell?  If I could have one of these on my kitchen table all the time, I'd be a happy gal.

*Like seriously, there were 10 lanterns with candles and corks, where did they go?  Maybe on the outside bar? Yea, let's say they were on the outside bar.
Previously on the Pyramid Wedding:
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