Amy - Amazing Party Planner!

Remember last year on Black Friday?

I was wedding dress shopping with this niece.  

We'll call her Amy... 'cuz that's her name.

Well, Amy got married this fall on September 11th in Los Angeles.

I was able to go - my first trip to California.

It was lots of fun and a spectacular wedding. 

Here's Amy with her mother (my sister), Barb looking out the window of the California Club on the wedding day.   If you're curious, you can check out a few more wedding photos on her wedding planner's blog where you'll see a picture from the other side of this window.  It really was a beautiful wedding and Amy was a lovely bride.  She planned and dreamed every detail.  She's an organization queen... leaving no stone unturned.  She is the type that would not be fired on "The Apprentice."

Anyway, here I was a year later on black Friday weekend at another event celebrating with my nieces.  Once again, Amy was the organizer, but this time she put her magic touch on a baby shower for her little sister, Lauren, who is due to bring a baby boy into the world around Christmas.  Amy planned it all and I want to share her fantastic decorating and shower ideas!

First of all, the venue was gorgeous -- the top floor of the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.  One whole wall was floor to ceiling windows with a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.

Here's our hostess, Amy, quietly checking her phone

because I'm sure she's simultaneously managing

business for her boss tycoon back in California.

 Here's our honoree, mamma-to-be, Lauren.

The shower theme was Mother Goose.

Each centerpiece was a tower of rolled diapers

with a cute stuffed nursery rhyme character sitting atop.

Our table hosted Humpty Dumpty.

Amy chose blue and white for Lauren's baby boy.

Blue satin with an overlay of shimmery organza.

 Nursery rhyme touches were everywhere.  More about the books later.

 The menu.

 Shower favors - baby food jar candles that smelled like (what else?) baby powder!

 Upon arrival, everyone was invited to decorate a onesie for the baby-to-be.

 A clothesline of custom onesies hung by teeny tiny blue clothespins.

What's a shower without games and prizes?

 Playing "The Price is Right."  

 Who knew the cost of a Pee-pee Teepee?

I don't know, but after raising three boys,

I know the cost of NOT having a pee-pee teepee.

 Amy thought of everything.

Even her prizes (not shown) were Mother Goose themed.

They were wrapped in the CUTEST vintage wrapping paper found here.

 My advice to Lauren?  'Call your mother.'

 The gift table was loaded with goodies.

Instead of a card, we were asked to bring a children's book

and write a special memory or dedication inside the cover.

Lauren was delighted with every gift.

She said "So cute!" over and over.

That, I think, describes my two nieces and their creative ideas.

Wedding Decorations - Chanel - Part 2

 

Jordan - Jordie to those of us who have known her since she was a little girl - is as creative as she is beautiful.  Her idea of a decor theme for her wedding was Chanel.  As in Coco Chanel, mid-century iconic French fashion designer.   Jordie was the mastermind behind her wedding decorations assisted by her mother's (my good friend, Brenda) production skills and creativity.  All I did was sew the straight lines to put the grosgrain ribbon on the table squares (see previous post).  So, what made up the Chanel design at Jordie and Stuart's wedding?

 

Diamond quilted satin chair covers - very Chanel.  Add a tulle bow.

Black wrought iron, pearls...

gold, bows, damask...

tassles, glassware...

Put it all together and you have gorgeous, Chanel inspired tablescapes.

A beautiful reception...

 for a beautiful couple!
Congratulations Jordie and Stuart.

Wedding Decorations - Chanel

When our kids were little, my very creative friend Brenda and I

pledged that we would help each other decorate for

our children's weddings... when the time came.

The time has come.

Memories of seeing Brenda knee deep wiring flower bouquets

three years ago for my son's wedding decorations

remind me that it is now payback time for her daughter's wedding.

Jordie has chosen a "Chanel" themed wedding... hence, I, the pledged friend of the mother-of-the-bride got to sew the 16 black grosgrain ribbon trimmed damask patterned table toppers.  I think I got off easy.  Jordie is EXTREMELY creative and I can't wait to see the rest of her vision tonight at the reception.

Seeing Red... and Yellow

This Saturday is a wedding shower for my niece, Amy.  The same one I got to go wedding gown shopping with last fall.  The wedding is coming up in September.  Amy's flying in from L.A. for the weekend.  I am helping her mother, my sister Barb with decorations.  My contributions will be small, but will have something to do with the following fabrics.

Six of these fabrics are new - the rest are vintage 70s.

What am I doing with them?  Stay tuned.

7-7-7

It was three years ago yesterday that my oldest son got married.  7-7-7  Good luck numbers in Chinese - or so he said.  He married Spring who now has a firm place in our family.  The two of them are living with us this summer (occupying my sewing room) awaiting their departure for a year in China on August 15th.   

When Lars and Spring were planning their wedding, Spring fell in love with a dress out of a Bride's magazine which was made of silk chiffon and cost thousands of dollars.  In a momentary lapse in judgement, I said something like, "I could make that..."  Like trying to retrieve every feather blown out of a down pillow on a windy day, I could not put the words back in my mouth.  

And so, it was done.  

Silk chiffon wouldn't do - the fabric had to be washable.  Gauze?  I wanted to get that ethereal effect of gossamer.  We ended up with a sheer, filmy fabric which was entirely too heavy, but Spring was still happily satisfied with the way the dress turned out.

Of course she didn't wear the four foot pearl necklace and a lace cami made the plunging neckline more modest, but Spring definitely pulled off the same hair adornment.  What did it cost?  Probably about $100 in materials.  I have never really learned how to draft patterns to design clothes, but I am the master of combining elements from separate patterns.  Like Dr. Frankenstein, I can piece anything together to make a worthy creation.  The sleeves came from one pattern, the bodice from another, the skirt from another - all tweaked, tailored and lined to match the style of the original dress in the picture.  It was epic.  I finished it just hours before the wedding (in the wee hours) by lamp light in our Great River Lodge on the Mississippi in Nauvoo, Illinois where the union took place.  

All's well that ends well, I guess... yet it took me a while before I could come to terms with my sewing room and face the strewn discarded bodices, white fabric, and popped invisible zippers.   (Imagine how Dr. Frankenstein's lab looked after an operation...)

Happy 3rd anniversary Lars and Spring!

The Wedding Decorator Strikes Again!

There was a wedding in the family yesterday.

My sweetheart niece, Lauren, married

her boyfriend, now husband, Ricardo.

They were married in the Unitarian Church in Mequon that used to be an octagon barn.  It is a warm and rustic building with a high ceiling in the chapel.

I was enlisted to help with the decorating.  Their colors were black, white, and sangria (a burgundy rose).  These door decorations looked like angels to my husband.

I thought it was time to recycle.  I had these perfectly lovely bunches of flowers from Lars (my son) and Spring's wedding.

Pull off the heads of the purple roses and replace with the heads of pink orchids -- add a deep rose colored bow, touch up the ribbons with an iron and voila! 

New arrangements!

Perfect for the tops of these "standards" that Larry made for me using some big cans, dowels and a bit of concrete.

 

The standards guided the guests into the chapel.

The octagon chapel was a beautiful space with it's high, vaulted ceiling and wood paneling everywhere.  It didn't need much decorating, but I thought a few touches might be in order.

Since I spotted a pulley system hanging from the ceiling above the alter, I started to get ideas.  I wanted something simple and elegant and remembered I had three new Chinese paper lanterns in my inventory.

I decided to hang tulle netting from each lantern and tie the tails in a knot with some orchids.  This seemed Asian to me. 

I remember a photo from Larry's mission days in Japan showing some kites with tails similar to this.  It just seemed the right design for the occasion, the room, and the family.  This grouping of lanterns was hung from a wooden triangle and strung up via the pulley.  The trio was anchored with two swags tied back to the wall.

I did a "standard issue" curtain

to frame up the cake table.

But what did I do with this - a fat book of black and white print scrapbooking papers...?

There were two big windows looking into the kitchen and since there was a lot of chaos in there, I decided to cover the window panes with paper.  Each one had a "doily" with a picture of something representing love and marriage from love birds to a vintage cake topper.  One of the readings from the wedding ceremony spoke of love and used the word "always" many times.

I wish I could take credit for these little window pane decorations, but I got my inspiration from banners made by Mika, Cherry Hill Cottage blogger Tina Smith's daughter.  See an example of her creative banners here.

The wedding was beautiful and the reception immediately after was a fun party, but this blogger was a dead tired aunt.  As usual, I'd put in a late night on preparations.   I went home and fell asleep around 6:30 p.m. only to wake up at 9:30 and give in to requests from my son and husband to watch Aliens on DVR with them... just your typical day, I guess.

Best wishes to Lauren and Ricardo for a long and happy marriage.