A Cocktail hour full of DIY!

With the holidays and our honeymoon behind us, it's time to focus in on the DIY aspects of our wedding. From the moment we were engaged, my mind was full of ideas and planning for the big day. It was the ultimate party to plan. The planning process focused on several different unique parts of the wedding: the ceremony, the cocktail hour and the reception. Although each venue and feel was different, the colors and signature fabrics tied all the events together. Today, let's focus on the Cocktail Hour: the light hearted, fun part of the evening!

  

 The Cocktail Hour took place in the Old Stone Mill, a large open building with rustic granite brick facade and large windows inside. We wanted the Cocktail Hour to be interactive and allow our guests multiple ways to be entertained and mingle. 

Before:

After:

 

The most dramatic part of the decor was the fabric pennants strung across the space. We had over a 300 feet of pennants all sewn by my mom and I. They add great color to the space and coordinated with the fabric used throughout the wedding. The room also had large round lights strung across the room which added a great effect once it went dark. I wanted it to feel like a country fair and the pennants and lights certainly helped created that feel! 

Throughout the wedding, we used free standing chalkboards to help direct guests and share important information. On the back, we had quotes that conveyed the sentiment of the occasion. The chalkboards were built by my dad and I hand painted the quotes and details.

    

In the far corner, we had games! Two sets of corn hole boards for guests to play. My dad built the boards and we added the zig zag stripes and silk screened wedding logo. The silk screen logo, cut by my sister, was great to incorporate our logo throughout the decor. My mom sewed bean bags and we added rules to a chalkboard. 

  

We created a casual seating area with two adirondack chairs, a carpet, afgan and basket of books. The books were picture books about weddings and children's nonfiction books about the Shakers. The chairs were made by my father-in-law and the afghan and sign by my mother-in-law. Guests enjoyed sitting and posing for photos in the chairs.

 

  

By the door, we had a wagon full of cow bells, one of our favors for the wedding. My husband does a lot of bike racing where cow bells are rung by the spectators. Our guests all rung their bells when we were announced into the Stone Mill for the first time as husband and wife.

 

On the large doors, we hung two quilted banners in coordinating fabrics with our silkscreened logo.

 In the back corner, we had a photo backdrop area which came out just the way we had hoped! My husband and I search antique stores for the perfect tandem bicycle. We then refinished it and painted it yellow. My dad built the three sided backdrop and I painted the quotes. A few photos props, a basket of flowers and it was ready for guests to pose! It was so fun to watch everyone climb on and smile for the camera. Check out more shots here. 

 

 

 Our guest book was a quilt sewn by my sister and I. Guests were encouraged to write us a message on the write strips between the squares. It will be a wonderful momento of our wedding and the guests that we shared the weekend with.

 

We rented two large farm tables for guests to sit and chat at. The centerpieces featured shaker baskets and boxes made by my mom, painted mason jars with fresh flowers and balloons. We had two tables with appetizers and the flower cart from my shower full of mason jars to enjoy the drinks with. The bar was set up by the door and the DJ along the wall for ambiance. 

 

It was the perfect setting for an hour of mingling and visiting with our friends and family!

Good night!