While Mr T and I were playing model in Old Town Alexandria, a few of the guests were at Teaism decorating for the big party.  (Yes, we put our guests to work!!!)

The reception space was spare and modern, so it didn’t require over-the-top decorating.  We hung paper lanterns in our wedding colors and scattered Ikea tealights, chocolates, and flowers in small, square dollar-store vases.  The wonderful friend who served as Decorator-in-Chief also employed a favorite budget trick that goes a long way — separating a handful of roses into individual petals and scattering them around the tables.

(A favorite votive holder imported from home)

In a small space, the food itself can add a significant amount of decorative style.  Especially when there are lots of tempting desserts!

In fact, there were so many desserts that we made bags for guests to take cookies home.  We used the Chinese lantern design from the front of our invitations, some white paper bags from the food section at Michaels, and our trusty Gocco — the whole project took less than an hour.  And it must have been a success because, while we ate leftover cake and cupcake for weeks (orange ginger buttercream frosting, mmmmm), there wasn’t a leftover cookie in sight!

Teaism has two levels, so we held the cocktail hour upstairs before everyone moved down for dinner and (what would have been) dancing.  It was fun to have an actual staircase for the grand entrance:

People made themselves comfortable whereever they pleased (thank heavens, no seating arrangements to figure out).  And then, party time!

(All photos by Punam Bean)

What are your favorite budget-decor ideas?  Anyone else putting your guests on Decor Duty?? 

We have only one ankle biter in our family — Miss Zoe, who takes the title literally.  As a herding dog, she likes to nip our heels to propel us forward on walks.

Actual children?  Totally foreign!  But many of our friends have little ones now, and (once we finally realized “Oh, yeah … kids … some of these people have … kids?”) we chose to include their children in our day of celebration.  I know the “kids or no kids” issue can be controversial, but in the end I’m thrilled the little ones  shared our wedding day.  They are a cherished part of our friends’ lives, after all.  And they were so sweetly excited to celebrate with us.

Plus, adorable photos!!!

(My MOH’s oldest son is the sweetest, happiest little boy in the world.  When they left the reception, he told me “I love you” in a tiny voice.  And my cold, cold heart grew three sizes that day.)

(His brocade Chinese vest, above, was dwarfed in cuteness only by this awesome overcoat!)

(Younger brother.  Still mostly known for his drooling skills at this point….)

(The beautiful daughter of the couple at whose wedding Mr T and I first met.  Here, fiercely clutching post-ceremony bubbles.)

(We actually first met this little girl at the wedding.  She was a hoot!)

And finally, this boy and his brother went through herculean measures to arrive at the wedding on time.  There were major snowstorms in Chicago on our wedding weekend (we thought late March would be safe, grr), which disrupted plane travel throughout the country and sadly prevented several guests from joining us after their flights were canceled.  When this family’s flight was canceled, the boys were crushed at the thought of missing the wedding.  So the whole family piled into their car and drove all night from Milwaukee to DC, arriving 5 minutes before the ceremony began!!

He filled out one of our guestbook pages for us, and, where it asked, “What is your advice for Mr & Mrs T?”, he shared this nugget of wisdom:

To be married forevermore, think about each other, not anybody who you could of married.

(And to “What should Mr & Mrs T name their next animal or firstborn child?”, he was strongly in favor of “GARY!” — capital letters, exclamation point, and all!)

Will there be children at your wedding?  What’s your own favorite memory from attending weddings as a child?

In light of Miss Pineapple’s recent post on iPod wedding music, it’s time to share the tale of our biggest wedding disaster:

Because we had a budget wedding, and because I’m so picky about music that I couldn’t leave our playlist in anyone else’s hands, an iPod wedding sounded perfect.  We had only around 50 guests, so we didn’t anticipate any trouble broadcasting to the dancefloor with a good set of speakers.  (For a fancier sound-system set-up, check here.)  I separated our pre-ceremony, cocktail hour, and dance playlists and set them to run in order so there would be no worry about choosing songs.  We asked Mr T’s brother to serve as emcee so there’d be someone to provide introductions and transitions and move things along when necessary.  And, in addition to loading the playlists on my iPod, I burned copies on CD and we loaded extra copies onto Mr T’s computer.  Just in case!

(Mr T tries desperately to fix the iPod)

Well, the iPod worked brilliantly for the ceremony (pre-ceremony love songs, processional and recessional).  The venue had a sound system, and we simply plugged in the iPod.  But cut to the reception, when my iPod stopped working.  And those multiple backups?  Left behind at the hotel.

Thankfully, our multi-talented photographer and her assistant stepped in to play DJ off their computer and an iPhone!  I’m terribly grateful that were still able to have a first dance and a parent dance, because they provided some lovely memories.  But I mourned the loss of our special first dance song and all the other playlists I’d lovingly (obsessively!) put together in the days before the wedding.

(What are we dancing to?  I have no idea!)

In the end, I’d still recommend an iPod wedding to anyone because of the cost and control advantages.  I believe our situation was just one of those bad-luck events that happen sometimes.  However, I definitely recommend making (and BRINGING) as many backups as possible!!!

(All photos by Punam Bean)

For those who are already married, what was your biggest wedding disaster?