Wednesday, March 31, 2021

It's Always Sunny In The Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. 

One item of business...I'm declaring next week Spring Break in the Hodgepodge. Between Easter weekend happenings, wrapping up the wedding recap, the A-Z Blog challenge starting, and life in general, I need a breather. So no HP on Wednesday April 7th, but back in action on April 14th. 

Okay, here we go-

From this Side of the Pond

1. The Hodgepodge lands on the last day of March...in ten words or lest bid the month adieu. 

Were you really only 31 days? 

2. March 31st is National Tater Day...your favorite way to have a potato? Given a choice would you opt for sweet, white, or red? How often are potatoes on your menu in one form or another? Ever been to Idaho? If not, is that a state you'd like to visit someday?

I love potatoes pretty much any which way you want to serve them. The tiny red ones are my fave. That being said I try not to indulge too often and I steer clear of fries. Except when hubs orders and then it's okay if he wants to share. My favorite is for sure homemade mashed potatoes, reserved for holidays and special guest dinners only. 

I've never been to Idaho, but sure I'd love to visit. There's some beautiful scenery and Yellowstone creeps across the line there, so absolutely let's go. 

3. Last time someone or something 'rained on your parade'? Explain. 

Pretty sure we can all say Corona and the ensuing restrictions, lockdowns, and nonsense dumped buckets on everyone's parade. Specifically hubs and I wanted to a) spend my birthday in the UK and b) take another round the globe trip to visit our daughter and her family in South Korea. We were hoping to see a little bit more of Asia while they were there, but are so thankful we at least were able to meet baby Max in person. 

If you're new here, his name is not Max. That's just how he's referred to on the blog.  

4. Put all your eggs in one basket, get cracking, nest egg, bad egg, good egg, egg on, have egg on your face, or walk on eggshells...choose a phrase from the list that applies to something in your life currently and tell us how or why.

There is a fairly significant home project I need to get crackin' on. While there's no firm timetable for getting this particular job done, hubs is a 'git 'er done' kind of guy, so I need to 'get crackin'. 

5. If I visited your home would I find a lot of baskets there? Something you like to keep in a basket? 

Not a lot of baskets, but some yes. I used to have more but really pared down to just the ones I actually use. Something I keep in a basket...crackers? I don't really decorate with baskets anymore. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I've been recapping my daughter's wedding in words and pictures and this seems like a good place to share one more. Her dress y'all...

Swoon!

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Eat Drink And Be Married

We're getting there. We've made it to the reception today in words and pictures. Lots of pictures actually so consider yourselves warned. 

As I mentioned yesterday our reception was held on the 6th floor rooftop (Avenue for you locals) of a downtown building. Indoors because January, but with access to the outdoor space which was lovely. The views are wonderful and they've done a great job landscaping the perimeter to make it feel like an enclosed garden.

There's some open lawn space, along with a covered area that has comfortable seating and heaters. One wall of the indoor space is glass that you can open all the way up. We did not because it was January, but we did take some breaks out there. When you dance 37 songs in a row you might need to cool off. 

Daughter2 and I had been working with our planners for several months to create the mood and feel we wanted for the reception and we were so eager to see it all come together. Just before the wedding they took us upstairs for the 'big reveal'. 

It was everything we imagined and then some. 


The flowers were spectacular, the color, the textures, the lighting, the small vignettes with all of our little details...everything was perfect. 

The bride and groom made their grand entrance during the cocktail hour and immediately hit the dance floor. Their first dance was to Anywhere With You by Jake Owen and the band played and sang it to perfection. 

The bride and groom both love to dance and I don't think they missed a single song once dinner concluded. 

And now a word about the band. If you know us you know we love music and we love to dance. And yes we had a band and they were absolutely awesome. SO much fun. Music City Rhythm Revue is based in Nashville but they drove over that morning with plenty of time for set up,  then headed back home after the party. 

We absolutely loved them and now we want to plan another party just so we can hire them back. A good band can make or (if not so good) break the party and ours hit exactly the right note to make the evening pure magic. I think hubs was on the microphone at one point. It's hard to keep him away from a microphone. Or a dance floor for that matter. 

When the bride and groom finished their first dance it was dad's turn to dance with his daughter. 

Be still my heart. 

When daughter2 was a baby she liked to party party party all night long and hubs the baby whisperer would hold her in his arms and sing the Beatles tune Golden Slumbers softly in her ear....and she would sleep. It felt like a small miracle and it was so precious and I always knew this song, while not your typical father-daughter dance song, should be part of their dance. 

'sleep little darling do not cry...and I will sing a lullaby...'

So the super talented, 'tell us what you want us to sing and if we don't know it we'll learn it band' did just that. Before the song turns a little too rock they transitioned ever so smoothly into Zack Brown's The Man Who Loves You The Most. It's a good one too y'all and definitely fits with our family. 

The groom and his mama hit the dance floor next with the band playing Days Like This by Van Morrison. Afterwards a favorite uncle said some tender words and grace before we all sat down for dinner. 



The band played some softer tunes during the cocktail and dinner hour and if you weren't looking you might have thought it was the Indigo Girls. They were incredible.

The food was catered by Table 301 who has a partnership with the venue and everything was delicious. A signature cocktail was on offer along with yummy passed hors d'oeuvres including oysters rockefeller (fantastic!), bourbon molasses meatballs (the groom's favorite) and mini cheddar chive biscuits filled with duck confit and a housemade orange marmalade. 

We had a sit down plated dinner because we like what we like. Honestly in this season a plated dinner is a great option, but we would have gone this route regardless. I like the pause a sit down dinner adds to a reception. Everyone can relax and I wanted the bride and groom to really enjoy the menu they chose, which was perfect for a chilly January evening...a duo of braised short ribs and pan seared Chilean Sea bass. 

Wedding cake for dessert of course. 

Here's to grooms who treat their brides with tender loving care when it's time for the first bite. 

The rest of the evening went by in a minute. 

The dance floor was never empty and we were sad to see it end, although my feet might not agree. 


We had fun. 

Can you tell? 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 414

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with all your peeps. See you there!

1. The Hodgepodge lands on the last day of March...in ten words or lest bid the month adieu. 

2. March 31st is National Tater Day...your favorite way to have a potato? Given a choice would you opt for sweet, white, or red? How often are potatoes on your menu in one form or another? Ever been to Idaho? If not, is that a state you'd like to visit someday?

3. Last time someone or something 'rained on your parade'? Explain. 

4. Put all your eggs in one basket, get cracking, nest egg, bad egg, good egg, egg on, have egg on your face, or walk on eggshells...choose a phrase from the list that applies to something in your life currently and tell us how or why.

5. If I visited your home would I find a lot of baskets there? Something you like to keep in a basket? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Monday, March 29, 2021

Say I Do

I want to finish up the wedding recap this week because the A-Z Blog Challenge starts Thursday and pretty soon y'all will be sick of me. 

In the meantime let's look at pretty pics and relive the best day ever. 

all photo credit: Chris Isham Photography 

Daughter2 and her groom opted to have their wedding ceremony in the reception venue. While they would have preferred a church setting, churches in mid-Covid January were a little bit trickier to arrange. And, as our planner reminded us, 'God will be in that lobby.' 

Our reception was held on the 6th floor rooftop of a downtown building, but the ceremony itself took place in the building's lobby. It's a modern space with clean lines, big windows, and lots of light. 

There's a fabulous wall along the back of the space so we purposely wanted to keep the design simple and elegant. We rented lovely clear chairs for our guests and then Bella Blooms worked her magic and created a gorgeous altar space for us. 

Tuxedoed groomsman escorted grandparents to their seats. 

The bride looked positively dreamy. 


And the groom so very ready to marry his best girl...



The bride's new sister-in-law read scripture the couple had chosen...

"...a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiates 4:12

The minister made his remarks personal and poignant and the words and vows spoken were so absolutely perfect for this couple and this season. 

One more kiss...

A stop to say hello to family and friends watching via Facetime live...

And then onward to their happily ever after...

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." 
Colossians 3:14

Friday, March 26, 2021

Bits And Bobs and Beauty

All pics unless otherwise stated are credit: Chris Isham Photography

Friday is the perfect day to share a few of my favorite details. Wedding details for anyone new here. And because it's Friday let's go with a list of five.  

FYI-it may feel like more than five. 


1. The florals. They were, in a word, stunning. Rachel at Bella Blooms did a most spectacular job in making the vision we had for the day a reality. Her bouquets were full and fresh, so lovely and absolutely perfect for what the bride (and her mom too!) wanted in terms of bouquets, table tops, and ceremony and reception decor. 

I know I sound like a broken record, but honestly our wedding planner was instrumental in driving the look of the day and we couldn't have done it without her and her team. 

Well we could have, but it might not have been quite so perfect. 

A good planner knows the venue, and also knows what works best in terms of height, lighting, and texture. She knows the best, most reliable vendors and more importantly, which are less than reliable. She knows how much greenery is going to look like too much and how much will be perfectly understated while still making a statement. 


I enjoy planning and I love all the bells and whistles that make a celebration beautiful and special, but I am still going to say I think a professional wedding planner is worth the expense. At the very least you will want to hire someone for the day of so you're free to enjoy the event without a lot of anxiety about set up, vendor arrival, and all sorts of last minute issues that can and do arise. 

The groom's mom and I opted for small hand held bouquets to carry down the aisle as opposed to a corsage or wristlet. The wristlets sometimes refuse to stay put, and I didn't want to pin something to my dress. What Bella Blooms created was so delicate and lovely and just right. 


2. This seating chart-

There are so many creative ways to let guests know where they will be seated for dinner but I think this is one of the prettiest. Also our wedding planner made it for us, just sayin'.  

It's a piece of glass with gold lettering affixed, and best of all she let me make a million changes up until just a couple of days prior to the wedding. Seating is always tricky, and with Corona ever a factor in current events the numbers, hence the seating, changed almost daily. 

Also, might as well state for the record...I am a fan of having a seat at a reception. I don't mind if you don't assign me a particular seat, but I want to at least be assigned a table so I have a place to set my purse and my wrap without having to juggle a plate, a drink, and all the rest.  


I know it's somewhat trendy to have just a few tables and not necessarily a chair for every guest, and if that's you then you do you, but I like a seat. And I really love a place card at my seat so that's what we had for our event. The bride wasn't hung up on that, but she knows I have a love of all things paper as well as pretty fonts and shimmery ink, so we had place cards. 

3. The tablescapes. Again a team effort with the bride, the mob, the mog, the wedding planners, and the florist all weighing in on how best to capture the mood and look we were hoping for. 

Choosing tablecloths, centerpieces, dishes, soft furnishings, and more can feel a teensy bit overwhelming, and it was wonderful to have our planners steer us in the direction we wanted to go. Hubs mostly scratched his head and asked, "Wait, what? We're renting furniture???" 

The answer is yes and I need you to roll with it. 
And he does. 

The bride and I were over the moon with the end result. Our guests too. Everything was gorgeous right down to these black chargers on green velvet tablecloths-

Statement tablecloths for the cake and entryway-



...and a place to rest your feet after too much dancing-

I wanted to put these green velvet chairs in my car. Swoon!

We had a professional calligrapher address our wedding invitations in the just right shade of emerald green, and she also did the place cards using gold ink on emerald paper. 

Our wedding planner found the shade of ink we were looking for, otherwise I might still be trying to decide which one was THE one out of the 850 shades of green available for purchase. For you local peeps madebymaness did the calligraphy and Jackie was a dream to work with. 

4. Favors. Not essential but definitely a nicety. Some brides skip the favors and opt instead to put more money into extra fancy bags for their hotel guests. We wanted both and had what I thought was the sweetest little takeaway from the event. Daughter2's father-in-law has bees and offered to put some of his wonderful honey into small jars the bride and groom had scouted on Amazon. 

I ordered personalized tags from AListDesignz on Etsy, and found a black tiered tray at HomeGoods for displaying. The honey jars were tied with a narrow black ribbon and these favors were so darling and delicious. I especially love that they were 'home grown'. 

5. Gift bags.When I attend an out of town wedding I love to be handed a bag of somethings upon check in. Putting together the bags requires thought and you have to pay attention to the cost as well, because they can get a little pricey. I think they're worth it though, no matter how simple or how elaborate you choose to make them, and I had a lot of fun with ours. 

The bags included-

personalized water bottles-I bought the water, peeled off the labels (it's a snap), and replaced with personalized labels from LabelsRus (Etsy)

a personalized beverage coozie the bride and groom had chosen

personalized hand sanitizer because it's 2021 and every wedding needs some-I ordered the gel bottles from Amazon and the labels (spread love not germs) from CustomStickerandTag (Etsy)

one savory and one sweet treat-the savory were pimento cheese chips from Lillie's Q, a company out of Chicago, but the founder and owner grew up in wedding town so a local recipe. The sweet treat was a homemade sugar cookie (Mandy's cookies) in the shape of SC with a heart over the wedding city. She iced the cookies in emerald green and made the tiny heart white.

tylenol packs, a couple of chocolates, tic tacs (also personalized with labels from NotedPaperBoutique  (Etsy) and an insert about the weekends events and things to do locally (designed and created by the bride's sister aka the matron of honor)

I also had personalized stickers made for the front of the bag from BugandBearDesign (Etsy). 


Details help make the day feel extra special and personal and we loved every minute of ours. 
Happy weekend everyone!