Hello everybody!

Jessica and Michael are enjoying some hubby & wife time in their honeymoon but we just couldn’t wait until she got back to tell you about her special day. They got married last week on Friday, January 10 in the Salt Lake Temple. The reception was on the 9th Floor of the beautiful Joseph Smith Memorial Building, in the Sharon/Manchester rooms.

I’m Jessica’s co-worker (the one who made her wedding invitations), the one she talks about so fondly. If you followed her “10 Weeks to Plan a Wedding” journey you might remember some of the details, but just in case, I’ll fill you in. Michael and Jess are a super fun couple so their reception couldn’t be anything less than that! Right from the beginning Jess knew her colors were going to be Orange and Mint Green which is pretty fun for a winter wedding. When she met with the talented Colleen from Flowers Squared to go over decoration and ideas for the reception, Colleen embraced what Jess had in mind and even made a theme out of it: “Winter with a Hope of Spring”. Like a good 21st century bride, Jess got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest (by the way, follow our Weddings at Temple Square profile for cool wedding ideas!) and she was excited to see that her pins came to life in a beautiful fashion.

I’ll let Jess talk more about her experience and how it was to see everything coming together, so for now I’ll just share some of my highlights and pictures I took at the reception:

1. Hot Chocolate Station
Pretty sweet feature! Delicious hot chocolate with marshmallows, homemade whipped cream and crushed peppermint as topping options.

2. “Snow Falling” with Marshmallows
SO FUN! And it was beautiful too. Jess is very crafty and of course she wanted to do this on her own but the Flowers Squared angels took care of everything. I loved how they did it on the chandeliers as well.

3. Cabaret Tables
They had a reception so people were coming and going all the time. The room was set up with 10 round tables for 10 people and 3 cabaret tables by the windows for people who wanted to casually enjoy their hot chocolate. Very nice feeling and made room for the cute quotes that Jess and Michael made, which leads me to number 4…

4. Quotes, quotes, quotes!
I don’t know if you remember, but in one of the videos Jess mentioned a trip to the D.I to buy some old picture frames. They painted the frame white and the glass with chalkboard paint to write their favorite love quotes inside. It added a real personal touch to the decor, not just because they were handmade by the bride and groom, but because they love quotes! This is a great example that you can still be part of your wedding decoration process without overwhelming yourself! Pick one or two things to do and leave the rest to your wedding team. Let them spoil you (and we love doing that here at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building)

5. Centerpieces and Pictures
I loved the flowers colors, the arrangement and the fact that the glass cachepots were filled with nothing but.. marshmallows! So cute and subtle. The different heights of centerpieces across the room added to the ambience as well. As for another personal touch, Michael and Jess had one small picture frame for each table with a different picture of them on it. I like how they were everyday pictures of the couple, another unique way to add your personal touch (and a fun stress-free project for brides that like to be involved).

Jess will be back next week and she’ll post more about the reception. Thank you for being part of this journey! -Tammy

For additional info and wedding reception pictures, go to:
http://www.templesquarehospitality.com/blogs/weddings/?p=2037