Alternate title: The Reception of a Writer and Bibliophile.
When my friend Liz told me she wanted to create her cake and punch wedding reception with a vintage library vibe, I may have squealed in delight. Squealed, I'm telling you. Because vintage. And library. Vintage. Library. As in, the stuff my dreams are made of.
We centered our inspiration for decorating the tables around a vintage suitcase and the bride and groom initial book cut-outs, purchased at a local shop. (I have since found them at Michaels if you're looking for a set.) Everything was set in the brides favorite colors - deep, rich, jewel tones.
The reception hall was a beautiful old building set back in a local park. The gorgeous exposed brick walls and large fireplaces on each end of the room created the perfect warm and cozy atmosphere for wanting to curl up with a great read.
The stunning three layered cake was made by a family friend of the bride. The baker used seasonal flowers as the topper and to decorate the perimeter. The flowers were purchased at Kroger and we used the remainder bunches split up in vases on the tables.
For the tables, we raided our personal libraries for hardback books plus we took a few trips to Goodwill to look for books with pretty decorative spines. Every table held flowers in jewel-toned bottles and vases, plus small tea light candles in holders.
We also found various small brass elements to compliment the gold on the book spines and table settings. Goodwill had plenty of brass tchotchkes to pick over. A few decorative skeleton keys found at Michaels added in nicely.
Finally, to finish off the table center pieces, I took to the internet and printed off several love quotes from various books and authors and placed them in simple black frames. Each table had a unique quote which became my favorite element of the tables.
An easy way to add visual depth when decorating a table is paper. The gold polka dot paper was a roll of wrapping paper cut to size. On top of that I used 12x12 scrapbook paper in the jewel tones. Easy and very effective at creating layers that tied all the tables together.
We also set up a kids table full of vintage Golden Books and coloring sheets and crayons.
Overall, this reception embraced the writer and bibliophile personalities of the bride and groom perfectly. Using many pieces from their home and personal library, as well as vintage elements found at thrift stores, we were able to keep this wedding reception highly personal and affordable.
May they live happily ever after...
Happy party planning, DIY'ers!
~julee~
