All images below by Ava Moore Photography.
I thought that I’d interrupt the posts about the sequence of our reception to give you a closer look at some of the reception decor details. A lot of the decor is DIY (I’ll link to projects as I show the final product) but none of it would have been possible without our florist/coordinator extraordinaire, Beth at Wild Flowers Inc. She did all of the flowers, executed our vision perfectly, and took care of plenty of details that we didn’t even consider. If you are in the area and looking for a florist or day of coordinator, she is definitely your girl.
Here you can see the directional arrows sign that Sean built. It points to some of our favorite places in the world. We saw guests taking photos with it, so we know they loved finding their hometowns or special places on it, too.
Beth placed these lanterns and candles on the front porch and they just had the perfect effect.
Here you can see the reception area. We had a selection of round tables throughout the two story space. We had navy linens with mint napkins. I sewed the table runners. We used simple Ikea frames to make table numbers featuring childhood photos.
Beth took the time to tie each set of silverware together with a piece of white rope. It was one of my “if you have time” asks, and her team made it happen. We also had a praline favor at each place as well as a menu with a thank you note on the back. We had the menus printed by Cat Print using the same high quality textured paper as our invitations. It’s worth noting that if you use their services and then leave them a review on a site like the Knot, they will email you a discount code for your next purchase, which we used on our menus and ceremony programs.
Here’s the cupcake stand that Sean crafted from driftwood that we gathered at the beach. It held about 1/2 of our cupcakes and the coordinator refilled it once it ran low. It was a great focal point for the reception.
I had a vision of a centerpiece look of vases that had been lovingly collected over time. Luckily, as a florist, Beth literally collects vases. The milk glass and colored pieces combined with the bold pink, white, and green florals gave each table the perfect fun and not too serious look.
We hand tied 100 monkey knots and used them to display our place cards. Note: use a small dot of glue to hold the cards in place, so they don’t fall out even if the knots don’t all stand perfectly straight.
Beth created these beautiful baby’s breath “clouds” and suspended them from the rafters. They really drew the eye upwards and made the space feel light.
Here’s a peek at the cat and dog figurines that I crafted from polymer clay for our mega cupcake.
Our champagne flutes and cake cutters were engraved and came from Etsy.
Our gift table was just outside. We accessorized it with flowers, a canvas photo of my favorite bridal portrait, and a lantern from West Elm that was used to collect cards.
Maybe some of our guests didn’t notice any of the details, but I think that some did. I am really glad that we did some DIYs and worked with our coordinator to have the perfect (for us!) reception decor.
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Hey there, I’m Sean, the woodworking enthusiast and builder behind CharlestonCrafted.com! Since 2012, I’ve been sharing the magic of turning raw materials into beautiful creations. I love teaching others the art and satisfaction of woodworking and DIY. I try to inspire fellow crafters to make something extraordinary out of nothing at all.