I'd mentioned -- wow, yep, three weeks ago -- that we're not sure yet what approach we're going to take for wedding reception decor. There was a request for photos of the space so as to allow the collective interwebs to better weigh in with suggestions, and I'm just now getting around to taking you all up on that.
Here's the room where we'll be dancing... so, hopefully, where most people will be spending most of the evening. The table on the right won't be there, nor will the table with the coffee thermoses.
I like the french doors. I like the columns. The light fixtures on the ceiling, though, aren't my favorite. Let's take a closer look:
Hmm. Not sure what to do about those. Deeming them not a big deal and declaring that my dislike for them won't ruin the look of the whole room is still a distinct possibility.
The room with the dance floor is connected to the room with the bar (fitting, no?):
There'll be fewer tables in here, as we're not doing a seated, plated dinner. It's valuable real estate for mingling and chatting and enjoying hors d'oeuvres.
The last room, which sort of wraps around the room with the bar, is this one:
All those windows there? They overlook the ocean. Islands and sailboats and sparkling waves and all that good stuff. It's gorgeous, but it's a little separated from the rest of the interior space, and far(ther) away from the dance floor. I think we'll have a few tables set up in here for folks who want to take a break from all the rocking out. (Not everyone finds that as energizing as I do, I've been told.)
At this point, we've pretty much narrowed it down to two not-very-overlapping potential approaches:
(1) whimsical! cute! breezy! sprigs of flowers or single blooms in mismatched antique bottles (we already have these, oddly enough) and jars and stuff, clustered together. possibly with ribbons.
or
(2) elegant! dramatic! lots of votives clustered around a taller visual element, possibly consisting of plain cylindrical vases filled with blooms submerged in water. more candles. lots of little white lights.
Oh heck, lots of little white lights either way.
We'll be starting the festivities while it's light outside, and transitioning into nighttime, so I'm not sure how option 2 would look while there's still sunlight streaming through the windows, or how option 1 would look at night without tons of candles. (Clearly I'm really looking for a way to avoid using the lighting that comes with the place.) I've loved every photo I've seen with rows of little white lights stretched across a ceiling, but I don't know if that would put off enough light... and the ceilings in question aren't exactly vaulted, so there's that.
So. What do you all think? Which option (or neither) would you go with, and what would you add that we haven't already thought of?
9 comments:
I vote for option #1. with lots of white lights, of course. :-)
p.s. my word verification is "satin"... perhaps blogger is trying to weigh in too???
Ha! Perhaps I can take that as blogger's vote for fabric generally?
What is your wedding date again? What times do festivities begin and end?
Early September. We'd be using this building from a little after 6:00 until a little before 11:00. Um, p.m., if that wasn't already clear. :)
I think the lights will transition just fine from day to night because the eye hardly registers them at all during the day, which is why they're so OOOO at night I think. Do you have an "attendant" or someone who will light those candles for you as it gets darker?
Those lights are very craftsman style and make me think of woody elements and white gauze... the ocean vibes with that too. I'm all on about curly willow right now, so I'm seeing curly willow in tall vases, maybe with your antique bottles (very nautical somehow) and flowers surrounding. Candles definitely if you have staff to deal with them. They could ring the tall vase in the middle with the bottles.
Another view that came to me were tall white paper cylinders in the middle with candles lit, and the flowers inside, so you'd just see the silhouettes and shadows of them. Hm, then you have no color and a potential fire hazard. Nothing says happy wedding like firemen!
I need to go look at the pics again. Oh, but the craftsman style of the rooms also sends me in a Mucha direction, which is kinda both whimsical and elegant?
crowjoy! Such thorough input! :)
1. Yes, there's staff available through the venue to light candles.
2. Curly willow? Sounds intriguing. Is it the cool, gnarled, architectural, twig-type stuff that florists use sometimes? If it's what I'm picturing, I love that stuff and wonder where a non-florist would acquire it...
3. Um, nautical how? Do you mean, like, anchors and jaunty caps? (she said skeptically...)
That sounds like curly willow! I got my bunch at Wegman's (trying to root it too for out near the pond) but I bet any florist could order it for you. Or maybe put an ad on craigs and offer to come cut it? I think now is the time to get it since it will leaf out soon, but you can cut it and let it dry until the wedding.
And I meant nautical like glass floats they used to use on nets, breezy sails, wood and patina'd metal... romantic nautical. Glass bottles, especially if it's colored glass, always makes me think of old ships.
Did the Mucha inspire at all?
I think you can get fake curly willow at Michael's etc.
I am apparently in a creative trough right now. I'm going to keep thinking on this, though.
Aha! Nautical as in old ships... much better. Crow, the bottled we have are a mix of clear, brown, and green glass, so yeah, that could fit nicely. Haven't had a chance to check out the Mucha yet...
puppie, no worries! Good to know on the curly willow. Question: were the vases you used for centerpieces plain clear cylinders? One of our ideas focuses on something like that....
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