Reception | 12k Wedding Blog

February 2, 2010 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Ceremony, Reception, Venue

So, of course you know by now (because you faithfully read every post), that we had our wedding reception at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History.

What you may not have known is that there was another wedding within arms reach that night at the Detroit Science Center.

I kind of knew from the start that I didn’t want our wedding to be at a banquet hall. But in the interest of leaving no stone unturned, I did place inquiry calls to a few halls. I found after talking to several banquet halls that they could’ve easily been called “wedding factories”.

Brides and grooms were ushered in one end of the machine. A little “we always do it this way” and a lot of “we have standard procedures for that” later and Voila!, you’ve got yourself a complete wedding and reception in a box.

No thanks. I’m all set – and you should be too.

I mean, if you really put effort into finding an alternative venue, and you don’t find a place that suits you, then go with the banquet hall, because in the end, yes, you will be married. And that is what matters above all else.

But trust me on this one, it’ll be well worth your time and effort if you find a different locale.

Hosting your wedding reception at location other than a banquet hall creates a unique environment for your guests. It could be a place that reflects your personality as a couple, honors your culture, or is a nod to your alma mater.

Los Angeles Country Arboretum and Botanic Garden

Cobblestone Farm in Ann Arbor, MI

Either way, finding a venue outside of a banquet hall will make your wedding unique and often give you more flexibility. It can be as casual or as formal as you’d like.

Consider one of these perhaps:

Library
Museum
Cultural Center
Barn
Art Gallery
Theatre
Botanical Garden
Loft
Yacht Club
Backyard
Historic Home
Historic Building
Rooftops
Building Atriums
Zoo
Neighborhood Block
Ski Lodge
Beach
Sports Venue
Boat
Bed and Breakfast
Bowling Alley
Arcade
Private Club
Park

All I’m suggesting is that you not box yourself in when deciding where to hold your reception.

The Quixotic World Theatre House

New York Public Library

If I missed anything, feel free to add it in the comments.

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Ceremony, Reception, Venue, Wedding

Christmas Lights as Wedding Decor?

January 15, 2010 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

Now I know, if you’re ladies (and gents) after my own hearts, you went out and bought lots of holiday decorations 99% off on December 26th. If not, shame on you, you deserve to pay every penny of full price.

If you did happen to get some good deals, hopefully Christmas lights made an appearance in your shopping cart. Try using these little beauties as part of your wedding decorations.

Before you even fix your face to frown and call me tacky, just hear me out.

Now, in my defense, I’ve not seen this done tastefully in person, but I’m willing to guess it’s completely possible.

When done the right way, those tiny bursts of white light can probably do wonders at a wedding.

What do you think? Can it be done? Is it possible?

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Decor, lights, Reception, Wedding

Detroit Love: All the Best

October 13, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Detroit Love - The Recaps

I think I’m going to call these posts Detroit Love. Yeah, it’s pretty fitting. This one is all about all the very best things from our wedding. Believe me, there were a few things that went “wrong”, but in the grand scheme of things, they didn’t matter one bit.

When I think back to our wedding the best things, in no particular order, were:

Dancing with my husband
Being surrounded by family and friends
Seeing people we don’t get to see often
Dancing with my dad
My dad’s speech
My sister’s speech
My red shoes
My bridesmaids’ dance

I think sometimes people worry so much about certain details being so perfect that they forget to stop and take everything in. Or you know…Stop and smell the roses

Stop and Smell The Roses

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: dancing, Detroit, family, friends, love, Recap, Reception, speech, Wedding

Wheat Grass Centerpiece Example

June 10, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

Just saw this wheat grass centerpiece expample over at Weddingbee PRO.

I love the little flowers for a softer touch.

Source: Angel Swanson at Weddingbee PRO

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Centerpiece, Decor, Flowers, Reception, Wheat Grass

Non-Floral Centerpieces: Elements

May 18, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

Different elements can be used in place of flowers for centerpieces.

Of course we’ve already talked about peas, fruit, feathers, balloons and wheat grass…twice.

Although I still haven’t decided exactly what we’ll do for ours, here are a couple more ideas you might want to incorporate in your wedding reception table settings.

Seashells

Especially if you’re getting married on the beach, seashells are the way to go. They’re generally pretty cheap and if you’re willing to spend a little time and have a little patience, you can likely find all the shells you need for free.

Source: Millie Holloman Photography

Colored water

Not my favorite, but an option nonetheless. This could work for you, especially if you’re having a hard time finding decorations in your wedding colors.

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Balloons, Candles, Centerpieces, Decor, fruit, Reception, seashells, water, Wheat Grass

Dollar Store Finds

May 15, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

Have you seen DollarTree.com lately? I suggest you have a look-see.

In the vases and bowls section, they have plenty of options that could be used to help build centerpieces for your reception tables. Everything doesn’t have to cost a fortune. And of course, all of these are only $1.

Side note: I used to always tell my mother, “If you say bucks instead of dollars, it makes it sounds like less. So that means 20 dollars seems like a lot more than 20 bucks.”

So all the bowls and vases are only a buck

A few examples for your viewing pleasure (of course the flowers and candles are sold separately):

Antiqued Bronze Plastic Pedestal Vase

Black Ceramic Garden Dishes/Planter

Glass Cylinder Vase

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Centerpiece, Decor, dollar, dollar store, dollar tree, Reception, Table, Vase

Wheat Grass Cake Table

April 22, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

I have so many ideas running through my head about what to use for the decor. I keep thinking about the wheat grass that come up early on. What if, instead of using it on each table, we use it just on the cake table. If we did, it might look a little something like this, minus the butterflies.

If we did end up deciding to put it on the tables, it might look like this:

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Cake, Cake Table, Centerpieces, Decor, decorations, Reception, Wheat Grass

First Caterer Tasting

April 20, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

We had our first tasting on Friday night at the Museum of African American History where our reception will be held.

First of all, shame on me for not taking a picture of the food before we ate. I was extra hungry and the picture was obviously the last thing on my mind.

Here’s what we had:

Garden Salad Served with Italian Dressing
Baked Chicken with Tomato and Basil Sauce
Beef Tips with Parslied Rice
Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes
String Beans with Red Pepper Butter
Rolls with Butter

Overall, I’d call it a 7. Not outstanding, but better than most wedding food I’ve tasted.

The salad was decent because it was mixed greens and not just iceberg lettuce. The chicken wasn’t dry. The rice, mashed potatoes and string beans were actually really good. The beef tips were a little tough though. And the rolls weren’t good at all. They tasted cold, and bland like they were straight off the Sysco truck.

So that’s the food. Now, let’s talk about organization for a minute. Our tasting was originally supposed to be at 6:30. I emailed to confirm, but never heard back from them. So I called and they said, “Oh, we need to make it 7.” So on Friday, we showed up at 7pm starving with our stomachs touching our spines. We didn’t start eating until 7:30. Not cool.

And although I’ve had issues with their communication and organization the entire time I’ve been working with them, they are actually better than both of the other caterer contenders. Again – not cool.

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Beef, Caterer, Chicken, potatoes, Reception, rolls, saldad, string beans, tasting

Caterer Woes

April 11, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

As I may have mentioned before, our venue has 4 approved caterers and we have to choose one of them. One of them is out on price alone. So we are left with caterers #1, #2, and #3. This post is about caterer #3. And don’t be fooled kiddies, there’s definitely a reason they are numbered in that particular order. Right.

So caterer #3. We’ve heard great things about their food, so I was really excited about them being a good prospect. I called them up and told them we might be interested and asked about the next steps. We were told we could come pick up a carryout plate from their kitchen. The day we were supposed to pick it up, I was busy with a dance performance and it was my fiance’s responsibility. Well, he forgot and I forgot to remind him. When I called the caterer to apologize, I was told there was no way we could get another plate. They were going to give us the plate on the house the first time so we even offered to pay for the plate the second time around. No haps. They basically said, “F you lady, you get no more chances!” The guy even made it sound like we’d ruined it for every couple that came after us. We figured, if they didn’t care enough to give us another plate, they must not want our business. So for a long time, they were out of the picture.

Then, He says, well maybe we shouldn’t disclude them. They’re prices are really good and we haven’t even tasted their food yet. Sigh. Okay, so this time He went through the trouble of calling the caterer and they let him set up the plate pick-up, I guess cause they didn’t realize we’re the same people. We were to pick the plate up today at 5:30 and I was actually pretty excited.

Silly rabbit. We get a call around 3:30 stating that the caterers are out and no one would be there when we came to pick up the plate. At this point, I’m through spinning my wheels with them.

And then there were two.

Possibly Related Posts:

Technorati Tags: Caterer, Food, Reception, Venue

Deconstructed Candy Buffet

April 10, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Reception

I love food and by extension cooking shows. You know how a chef will make a deconstructed version of a meal with several different elements? Like if they’re making deconstructed chicken piccata, they might have rice in one dish, chicken in one area of the plate and a lemon caper sauce in another area. Can you see where I’m going with this? …No?…Of course you cant – let me explain.

Everyone’s doing these beautiful candy buffets. I don’t think we’re going to do one, but maybe we could do a deconstructed version of one.

Source: Banquet Event

What if we put a single container of candy at each table as part of the centerpiece? It would encourage guests to mix and mingle and the candy ends up serving double duty, both as decor and dessert.

Thoughts?

Possibly Related Posts: