So, here we are, me and my mom, shopping and planning this event together. It took me a while to decide if I wanted to have a themed wedding or just go with the traditional kind. I looked over several possibilities, the beach wedding, a summer garden wedding and I even considered a country western theme, it really sounds like a lot of fun. But I decided on going with the traditional. We found a lot of exceptional decorations and supplies for the ceremony and the reception. I absolutely fell in love with my wedding photo album and guestbook set. Both were exquisitely decorated with satin covering and can be engraved with our initials. I found all the bridal accessories I needed, like hair accessories, flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow.  I had no idea that I could find so many wedding supplies right from my computer.

    I was just as fortunate with the reception supplies and decorations. They had everything from crytal champagne glasses to unique wedding favors and favor boxes. My mom said she wished she had known about this before she threw me my bridal shower because they had some pretty unique bridal shower favors too.  Even though I chose to have a serious non themed wedding and reception, I couldn’t pass up the funny cake topper I chose. I knew everyone, including my fiance, would get a real kick out of it. I thought it was pretty neat, and it does show the funny stereo type side of marriage.

   Our champagne flutes were special bride and groom glasses and our beautiful serving set was sterling silver with dazzling crystals on the handles. All of our centerpieces were flower bouquets of red and white roses in bowl type vases and our place card holders were these cute little picture frames for each table setting. The favor boxes I chose were so festive and really added to the décor of all the reception tables. At first I was just going to use the adorable little hang tags they have, but I decided that these unique favors I picked out for our friends and family should be packaged in the best.

   Thanks to my mom and the online shopping, our wedding turned out fantastic. Everything was so beautiful and I have lots of pictures to fill my gorgeous wedding album with. I also picked up another album to store all of my honeymoon pictures in. That album is full too. We had a more than picture perfect honeymoon in beautiful Hawaii, and now I have twice as many memories to look back on through the years to come.

   My mom and I went shopping for our dresses. Dad and my brother went together to pick out their tuxes. My brother was the best man and I was the maid of honor. We kept it as a very small wedding party and just a few close friends and family as guests. My mom wanted to have a garden ceremony, and have the reception in her backyard, which was the perfect spot, considering her backyard is about three acres large. It really was the perfect place for a wedding reception. We had long tables set up with lights and lanterns hung all around the area. I chose elegant peach colored tablecloths and flower arrangements for the centerpieces. But I made sure they were silk flowers. We wouldn’t want to be attacked by a million bees during the reception.

   My mom and dad’s wedding cake was beautiful and the cake topper had double silver hearts that was just perfect for a 25^th anniversary wedding. The wedding reception tables all looked fantastic and mom and dad complimented me on what a great job I did. But to tell you the truth, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. There were so many great wedding accessory ideas and reception supplies to work with that it was a snap. I found everything I needed online. The hardest thing to do was make a decision on which of the fabulous items I wanted to order. There were even really great anniversary gift ideas to work with. I found the most beautiful 25^th wedding anniversary album for mom and dad, to keep all the memories of this day and others still to come. Infact, most of the decorations and even the wedding favors were especially made for a 25^th wedding anniversary. I also found champagne flutes that were designed for just such an occasion, that mom can hang on too as a keepsake of her second special day.

   The wedding was beautiful and so was my mom, and my dad looked quite elegant in his tuxedo. They made a lovely couple. I hope someday to get married too, and I hope we’ll be half as happy as my mom and dad have been. 

   The reception went quite well, everyone seemed to be having a great time. There was lots of dancing and partying going on for quite some time. As the evening grew later, my brother and I decided it was a good time to give mom and dad their biggest wedding anniversary gift. We gave them tickets for a carribean cruise and they couldn’t have been more stunned. I think they were still in shock as we waved them off at the boat dock. But they deserve the best after putting up with us all these years. They never got a honeymoon the first time around, we were determined  to make sure they did this time.

   With all the wedding ceremony rehearsals, photography sessions and even during the reception, children can get just a little frustrated and bored. So I found a place that has so many great suggestions for little ring bearer and flower girl gifts that can make the process a whole lot easier.  There were activity books, coloring books, and other items that can help to curb their boredom and give them something to do while the adults are taking care of business.

   They both did such a wonderful job at the ceremony. My flower girl looked so adorable in her little dress and tiara as she walked down the aisle with her flower girl basket in hand. Our church doesn’t allow tossing rose petals or confetti on the aisles so we had her pass out a lovely red or white rose to each guest sitting on the end of the pews. That worked out just as well. The flower girl basket I chose for her was made of gold satin with chiffon bows, and was the perfect shape for the roses to lie in.

   My nephew, who was the ring bearer, wore an adorable little tux that made him like a little grown up. He was so handsome and he did a fantastic job carryng our ring pillow to the altar. I knew he was really nervous about his part in the ceremony. You could tell by the way he never took his eyes off the pillow. They both did such wonderful jobs and I wanted to show our appreciation by giving them the best I could find for ring bearer flower girl gifts.

   For our little ring bearer we bought a few things, like a child size ring bearer mug, a nice ring bearer tee shirt and a real cool yoyo. He really liked the yoyo the best, I do believe.  For our precious little flower girl, we bought her a mug and tee shirt and a beautiful necklace, with her name engraved on the back as a personalized flower girl gift.  

   At the reception everyone was having a fantastic time, dancing and enjoying great food. You should have seen our little couple out on the dance floor, holding hands as they tried to imitate the adults. They were so cute. I got several pictures of them dancing together, and I even caught one of the flower girl giving the ring boy a little kiss on the cheek. They looked just like a miniature bride and groom. They were so adorable.

   The ceremony went very well and the reception was a total success, everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time and with all the wonderful wedding gifts we got, it will take me forever to send out all the thank you notes. I sent out thank you cards for all my bridesmaids, the groomsmen, maid of honor and best man for helping to make our wedding so perfect, and a special thank you cards to our ring bearer and flower girl.

   My wedding dress was white with glittery little silver sequins and I had a white fur wrap draped around my shoulders. With the tiara and the diamond necklace I wore, it looked as though I were a snow queen. My bouquet had beautiful red and white roses with baby breath, and holly leaves scattered all through it. I also had the bouquet that was meant for the toss to the single ladies made up in the same fashion. My fiance, best man and the groomsmen all wore white tuxes with little red boutonnieres in the lapels. They all looked so handsome, even our little ring boy looked so grown up and elegant.

   My bridesmaids all wore navy colored dresses with little shoulder wraps and carried bouquets of  blue and white roses with some red berries scattered throughout, and the flower girl was adorable in her light blue and white velvet dress and her little tiara, as she walked down the aisle carrying her winter flower basket, filled with red and white rose petals.

   In the church we were able to use fake snow on the window sills and we used white cloth around the altar and covered it with snowflake confetti, which actually looked quite real. It was everything I had hoped for and the winter wonderland decorations only added to the beauty of the ceremony.

   At the reception we had snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, a huge Christmas tree over in the corner with all the decorations you could possibly dream of and that’s where all the wedding gifts were stored. There were also a few large fake snowmen decked out in their hats, scarves and pipes. A lot of my supplies for winter weddings came from the internet. I found so many items for this seasonal wedding, from decorations to wedding favors. Everything from snowflakes to snow globes. There is quite a selection to choose from. Our wedding cake was white with creamy white frosting with silver sugar crystals sprinkled over it and a red ribbon trim. I also had a gorgeous winter wedding cake topper that really added to my winter motif.

   For my reception tables I chose crystal vases with white calla lillies and silver eucalyptus leaves scattered all through the bouquet. The tables all looked so exquisite with all the crystal and silver on red linen tablecloths.  Along with all the food and refreshments we also had hot chocolate with marshmallows, egg nog and egg cream drinks, and of course we had champagne, what’s a wedding reception without champagne?

   It was definitely the perfect winter wonderland wedding and my guests really liked the lovely winter wedding favors I chose for them. They also had adorable little winter favor boxes that looked so lovely with all my other table décor. There was such a great selection of favors, decorations and accessories to help me make my ceremony and reception one of the best winter weddings ever. I’m just glad I ran across all of these fantastic wedding accessories, and was able to make my dream of a snow covered wonderland wedding a reality.