The Reception

Our reception was absolutely perfect. We had our reception in my Mom's Uncle Trey and Aunt Sharon's backyard in Tempe from 6:30 - 9:00 pm. It was the perfect size. The weather was quite nice for an evening in May in Arizona, and our decorator and food planner, Michelle Parke, did such a fantastic job. The only thing we both wished we would have done was sit down and eat!! We were STARVING by the time the reception was over, but had such a great time seeing all of our family and friends who came to support us. Even Michael said the reception went by waaaay too fast and I agreed. Months of planning for 2-3 hours of enjoyment. SO. WORTH. IT.

THANK YOU to everyone who came to our sealing and/or reception. It was one of the BEST days of our lives!!! We were beyond happy. What a blessing it is to have such wonderful family and friends. We love you all!! xoxo

We did not have a photographer at our reception so I'm posting what Michelle Parke posted on her party planning blog, with her permission of course. It's pretty lengthy but the pictures she took are GORGEOUS so here it goes.....

Lindsay has two sisters and a brother.

She's the last of sisters to get married this year --

{they all got married w/i 8 months of each other!}

Her parents were sooo happy,

but it was bittersweet!

Her colors were gray & purple.

I loved the color combination!

She said add just a tiny bit of yellow...

I only used in the centerpieces and in the dinner plates.

This wedding was just pretty.

PRETTY.

The wedding was in the backyard of her uncle...

This is her entry.

 She looked gorgeous!

Here she is under the antique arch w/family.

This is where she greeted guests...

We used AZ Celebrity DJ/Photobooth service.

I loved this reception because there was so many places to land.  The guests were literally moving around:  entry/guest signing; greeting b&g; stopping by the photobooth; yummy pasta bar; drink station and a screamin' dessert area where guests could pick a scrumptious cupcake and 'pimp' it out with wedding color'd sugar 'n sprinkles and crushed oreos.

 Here's a taste of the drink station...

lemonade and water

 

Of course, there are two lines to the food...;)

Her pictures on either side were absolutely stunning!

We made pasta; caesar salad, garlic spread and bruschetta topping for the fresh baked bread, chicken alfredo sauce, marinara sauce w/sausage meatballs; grilled vegetables and steamed spinach as topping for the pasta.  The evening was absolutely gorgeous -- AZ weather is hit or miss into May.  We got lucky and loved the cool night!

 

Pairing glamorous w/shabby-rustic

pretty much = fabulous!

 

 No detail goes unnoticed.  Everything was tent-carded!

Dessert table. 

Because the main dishes were so extensive,

we made the dessert area as inviting!

Fresh fruit, darling cupcakes...

and stuff to

Pimp Your Cupcake!

So fun!

This was definitely an elegant reception.

Adding that little element of whimsical fun is exactly the kind of contrast I love!

 Shye Petersen made her cake...so pretty!

It sat perched atop a beautiful, blinged-out, layered garden stand.

With scrumptious cupcakes all around - no one could resist!

 fresh fruit... darling plates!

 This is the little area on the table where

guests could decorate {PIMP} their cupcakes. 

Purple crystal sugar, silver/gray sprinkles

and crushed oreos served as the toppings. 

It's fun to give the guests something to do!

 Here's an overall view of the guest tables just before the sunset.

Arizona is a wonderful place

to have a wedding!

 Every table had beautiful votives for even more mood lighting.

 

This party was all about the lighting. 

There was plenty of places

for your eyes to travel!

 

It was absolutely stunning! Michael and I could not have been happier with the way everything turned out. We loved every minute of it and wish we could relive it :) What a fantastic day!!!