I took a look at the fantastic winter wonderland wedding, but even though it sounds gorgeous, we are getting married in August, so that would just seem out of place. I know that you can still have a winter themed wedding in the summer, but, I just didn’t feel right about that one. So, I went on and checked out a garden wedding theme. There really are a lot of options when it comes to an outside wedding and reception. You’ve got the gorgeous park or garden atmosphere and there are a lot of lovely ideas for decorations, cake toppers, centerpieces and even the perfect wedding cake knife. There was also the beach wedding and reception idea, which I liked very much. I pictured us on the warm sand under a beautiful canopy with possibly tiki torches lit up everywhere. I know all of our guests would have a great time on the beach. There were also quite a few accessories to choose from to make a beautiful oceanside wedding. Everything from cake toppers to the wedding knife. Really gorgeous accessories and supplies. So the beach wedding was a definite yes.

   That is until I spotted the country western wedding and reception idea. As soon as I started checking out all there was for them, I knew this was the one for us. We both were born and raised in Texas and this is the ultimate of wedding ceremonies for us. My brother and sister in law have a ranch just outside of town and they agreed that we could have our reception there. In fact they are both as excited about it as I am. When I told my fiance about the idea, he liked the plan. My brother and his wife are helping us to plan the perfect reception. They even suggested a big cookout, and possibly a good old fashioned barn dance.

   We got married in the little country church down the road and everyone left the ceremony in horse drawn buggies over to the reception. The reception tables looked so nice with these adorable little buckets full of flowers and little cowboy boot mugs. The cookout was great with everything under the sun to eat. Salads of all kinds and plenty of ribs, steaks, and chicken. As far as décor, I got so much by going online shopping. They have everything imaginable for a western motif. I got a terrific western cake topper, western garland for decoration, little cowboy hats for the tables that I used as place card holders and even a gorgeous country western wedding knife set. I even got bride and groom cowboy hats for us to wear at the reception.

   When we left for our honeymoon there was still a lot of dancing and partying going on and everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time. Our honeymoon wasn’t anything fancy, we had a cabin by the lake to spend our time alone in the beautiful countryside. I’m so glad I chose this theme for our wedding and reception. It turned out to be one of the most fantastic days of our lives.

   It’s a good idea to order extra thank you cards for your guests, just in case you make a mistake while filling them out and have to toss a few. I ordered my cards before the wedding, the same time I ordered my invitations and wedding supplies. That way I had them all ready to write up and mail out, I also made sure I had plenty, just in case I messed up on the writing. It’s important to get your thank you cards out as soon as possible after the wedding. It does take time to write out all those thank cards, so be sure you give yourself enough time to do them properly. You should try to send

them out no longer than two weeks after the wedding for those guests that gave their gifts before the wedding, but for those that gave their presents after the wedding ceremony, it is alright to allow yourself up to two months after you have received them before sending them a card. But, try to do them as soon as possible.

   Thank you notes and cards should be for more than just the guests. There’s your wedding party, from the maid of honor to the flower girl, the vendors that helped to make your reception possible and also, the clergy that joined you in holy matrimony. They all had a part in making this day happen for you and your groom and they all deserve to be acknowledged. Be sure you make them all handwritten, it’s more personal that way and they’ll know that you cared enough to take the time to write them out yourself.

   You can order your cards online and they have a nice little selection to choose from. I chose pink wedding thank cards to send to everyone with an adorable display of cherry blossoms on the front. They were really quite lovely. It took me a while to write all of them out, but I just took them a few at a time everyday until I had them all done, then I mailed them out. It took me about a week and a half, but I didn’t forget anyone and I made sure I thanked them for whatever gift they gave us, even if it were cash. I’m glad I had my wedding guest book to check through, it made it so much easier with all the guests names and gifts listed inside. I don’t know what I would have done without it.

   I received a little thank you, for my thank you notes, from our clergy and some of the vendors that helped out with our ceremony. I thought it was very thoughtful that they took the time to send us such lovely thank you notes. It was also very unexpected. I guess good manners breeds even more good manners.

     I was looking for my wedding dress and could not find one that I liked. My mother suggested to me that she had her mother’s wedding dress sealed in a box up in the attic. She said that it would look good on me and I could not get more vintage than that. I thought what a great idea. My mother got the dress out of the attic. We opened it up and examined it and it was in good shape. It was what I was looking for. It had that vintage look. I tried it on and it was a little bit big. All it need was some alterations.

     Whoever made the dress gave my grandmother some extra material, because that is what the dress was wrapped in and I think that is why it was well preserved. I started thinking that I could make my wedding garters out of this material. It would be a perfect match. It also had memories of my family. Plus I know my grandmother would have been proud and happy that I was going to wear her wedding dress on my wedding day.

     I started looking on the web to see what styles of bridal garters were out there. I wanted a feminine look with a vintage style. I came across two wedding garters that I really liked. The first one was a baby shower garter. It had a style of its own. I really liked it a lot because the way it was designed with the silk and lace. It looked vintage, yet feminine. I knew this one would be my keepsake. The second one was a vintage heart garter. The design was perfect with silk and lace also. This one would be for the garter toss.

     Now it was time to get a list of things I needed to make my wedding garters. I had the silk from my grandmother and I just need some lace, ribbon and thread. Finding the perfect match to my grandmother’s material was going to be a challenge. To me this was going to be the fun part. I went to a few fabric stores and finally found the perfect match. I could not wait to get home to start making my vintage wedding garters. I knew once they were done that they would be perfect.

     I put all my material together and started making my garters. I took my time because I wanted them to be perfect. By the end of the day I was done with both my vintage wedding garters. I was amazed how my grandmother’s material was turned into two elegant vintage garters. I even had enough material left over to make the ring bearer pillow and money bag.

     Even though I did not know my grandmother, I felt as if a part of her was with me on my wedding day. My vintage wedding turned out because of my mother letting me use my grandmother’s wedding dress and also letting me make my vintage bridal garters with the material that was wrapped around my grandmother’s wedding dress.

   I remember when our daughter was little and we looked through the pictures together, she told me I looked like a princess and Daddy was the prince.  I know that’s how it felt to me that day, almost like a fairy tale come to life, and now I have those special moments to relive every time I bring out my photos, any time I want.

   Now my daughter is grown and ready to make memories of her own at her wedding ceremony. Helping her plan her wedding and reception is so important to me and it’s almost like reliving my own wedding day. Shopping for her dress and all of her bridal accessories, together, was a very special time for me as well as her. I held my breath when she first walked out of the bridal shop fitting room wearing one of the most gorgeous gowns I’ve ever seen. It’s really happening, my little girl is all grown up and starting a life of her own. It’s a joyous occasion, but it can be a little sad too.

   After we had the wedding party, the bridal accessories and everything we needed for the ceremony, it was time to concentrate on the reception. She chose a beautiful cake and cake topper for their reception table, gorgeous crystal glassware and centerpieces that would take your breath away. When we discussed wedding favors for all of the guests we considered many options, but the one that she decided on was wedding photo album favors, which I agreed was a pretty good idea. She made sure each and every guest had a disposable camera, so there would be plenty of wedding pictures at the reception. I knew she had chosen her picture album for her wedding photos already, but I couldn’t resist and bought her an extra one. If she is anything like her mom, she’ll have more than enough photos to fill two albums, and you want to make sure you have pictures of every special moment of that day.

   The reception was fantastic and everyone had a great time. All the guests seemed to be happy with the photo albums favors my daughter picked out. They were really adorable little picture albums. Perfect for those small pictures you’d like to hang on to. Afterwards when it was time for the bride and groom to make their exit, my daughter came up to me to give me a hug and thanked me for helping make her day so wonderful.  

    I think I cried almost as much at the reception as I did the ceremony. But I also, danced and laughed a lot too. It really was a great reception party, and it did bring back a lot memories of the day me and her Dad took our vows and danced our first dance as husband and wife. Memories are a very important thing to hang onto, especially the really good ones. Maybe someday she’ll be sitting on the couch with her daughter and sharing her memories of one of the most special days in her life.