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Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered our house for a reception...
My husband and I bought our house last May. We have been working hard to make those ravishing changes to our house. We held our house warming party here last August, so the changes that weren't done were expected. Well, now we are in trouble.
We decided to have our wedding reception at our home at the end of June (we were married in Vegas in January). I think we bit off more than we can chew. Our house is a frickin mess because of all of our "little" projects that we started and have not finished. Now we are rushing to get those 1,000 things off the list...and so far, not much has been accomplished. I redid the landscaping, finished the basement (new wood flooring, tile, paint, the works), tiled the kitchen, etc. Now I feel under the gun to cross other things off by the time we have 125 people over to our house in two months!!!
I need advice on the following topics:
1. How can I turn our garage into a beautiful reception area without spending much money? The rafters are open and the floor will be painted, but jeez...it's ugly in there. Ideas for drawing the attention to the reception and not our golf clubs and tools??
2. I need to find tule for a decent price. Has anyone ever ordered it from online before? If so, was it a good/bad experience and how much did you pay?
3. If you were a guest at someone's house for a reception, what would be the top three things that you would want to see "finished"? I really don't want to embarass myself.
Re: Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered our house for a reception...
Annelise 3.22.2007 Norah 10.24.2009 Amelia 8.7.2011
1. Could you possible find some nice and cheap fabric to hang on the walls to make it look fancier?
2. I haven't ordered online so I'm no help. JoAnn doesn't have anything for cheap? I haven't looked for tule in a long time. Good luck!
3. Just somewhere to sit/hang out, food that looks good to eat/ a nice bathroom to pee. Everything else is just extra.
I hope it all works out for you. I'm sure it'll be beautiful.
I would say that the fabric idea is good. If you have a bunch of people sign up online for coupons for Joann's Fabrics you could get 40% off each one. Then you could have fabric hang down the sides of your garage and then swoop some that are a different color from your rafters. Maybe hang some white lights too.
Otherwise you could find that white plastic stuff they put over tables and hang that from the sides if it's cheaper then use fabric to put over the tables or vice versa. You don't have to have fancy tablecloths. Plain old fabric would work. Then put a potted ivy or flowers on the tables and you're good. Maybe some candles or tealights.
We had an engagement party at our house and just put down fabric on the tables as tablecloths. Then we had potted flowers that people could take home and plant if they wanted. On the food tables we put different sized boxes, and then threw fabric over top of them so that the food would be more appealing to the eye at different heights. It turned out really nice and if I could have switched it to our reception I would have.
I only have suggestions for #1...
I was going to say the same thing about fabric or sheets to hang on the walls to block the view of your 'garage items'. At least you can buy a cheap thread count if you use flat sheets since you'd need a bunch. Hanging paper lanterns from the rafters would be cute & set the mood nicely, I would think. You could pop in some color that way too. I was just out running errands yesterday & saw some cute vinyl tablecloths... at either TJMaxx/Home Goods or Marshalls. I want to say they were about $6/each, but i didn't look too closely. They had a wide variety of patterns though, so you might find something cute - depending on how much you want to spend.
Good luck finishing everything! Sounds fun, but overwhelming
Wow, thanks for all of the great ideas! I didn't even think about putting potted flowers on the tables. What a great idea since I'm into gardening!!! That would save me a ton of time...plus I can keep the flowers afterwards and put them in our garden.
Thanks for the heads up on the fabric. I already have a ton of candles and lights to hang...just trying to figure out how to put the focus on our reception and not on the clutter everywhere else.
If anyone has other ideas, please let me know! All are appreciated!
The funny thing is that I always imagined having it at our house rather than at a park or pavilion. Is that weird?
We actually had someone volunteer their house, but after a lot of debating and weighing the pros and cons...it would just be easier at our house. We have people to help us clean up and all of our friends can set up tents in the back yard if they want to crash after the party. We are the last house on a dead end street and have a forest next to us. Our neighbors are very friendly and we are inviting them to join in on the action. I guess the stressful part is figuring out how to set everything up.
1. How can I turn our garage into a beautiful reception area without spending much money? The rafters are open and the floor will be painted, but jeez...it's ugly in there. Ideas for drawing the attention to the reception and not our golf clubs and tools?? I would buy tulle and weave it through the rafters and add chinesee lanterns or x-mas lights for some pop of color. Add some inexpensie sheets(st.vinnies) to the walls to hide your stuff. Add some color to the tables so people are drawn to the good and not the bad (but believe me people know that it is in your garage not a hall, so who care that your rafters are showing) but maybe add some flowers, balloons, candles, water vases with colored stones, ect. to each table.
2. I need to find tule for a decent price. Has anyone ever ordered it from online before? If so, was it a good/bad experience and how much did you pay? never bought online but i would wait till it goes on sale. Sometime at hobby lobby they will have screaming deals on buy wedding things in bulk. but if you can get it cheaper online go for it.
3. If you were a guest at someone's house for a reception, what would be the top three things that you would want to see "finished"? I really don't want to embarass myself. I would say as long as there is a place to pee, good food, drinks, music of some kind, and good friends and family that's all you need. your family and friend should know that your house is a work in progress and should not be judging you on your wedding day.
I think you could totally pull it off!
Here are some photos of a Garage & Backyard Reception, for inspiration:
Seriously, that is so cool!!!
I ended up buying a ton of lights and have some neighbors/friends donating theirs for the event. I'm going to order the tulle online. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and it was $34 for 40 feet. I found 100 feet for $35, so I'm just going to go that route. Seriously, thanks for the pics...those are some great ideas!
Make sure the bathroom is clean and get a fogger or something for the bugs. There are mosquitoes in June and with the woods next to you, I imagine they'll be bad. And, well, you know I don't like getting bit and I don't want to have to hide out inside the whole time. You can borrow my dads if you want - might just have to buy some fog stuff for it.
As far as making the garage pretty, won't most people be in the back? I'd just hide as much "stuff" as you can so the walls are bare and hang some lights and light some candles. I google imaged "garage wedding" and this is the second picture to come up http://www.shoesoftheday.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/wedding-of-the-year-shoes-garage.jpg.
Yay for Vegas weddings! (Ours was December 2008)
Good luck with your planning.