The Reception

The reception was held at Spring Mill Manor.

Spring Mill has a bridal suite that the bridal party can access before and throughout the wedding. Many brides, grooms, and bridal parties stay there throughout the cocktail party, but we like to mingle...and eat more than our maitre d' could possibly have kept up with, so down to the cocktail hour we went. I was happy to take a sneak peek into the ballroom as well.

Centerpieces included dark pink roses and a lighter pink hydrangea in 6" x 6" glass cubes. Blake's Florists in Rockledge, PA arranged all the centerpieces and bouquets and did an amazing job.

Chairs were covered in white and wrapped with bright green sashes and napkins complemented the colors as well.

The cake was 5 tiers and decorated, including a monogram on the side by Lochel's in Hatboro. The cake topper was a pair of starfish decorated to look like a beachy bridal pair. We got both the starfish and the scrapbooking accents to dress them from Michael's. Add a small bit of tulle and voila, you have a bikini bride and board shorted groom.

Sheila and Chris were planning to sit at a sweetheart table, so the other members of the bridal party were seated around the room at tables with their friends, cousins, or other people they knew. While the bridal party got along very well and had a great time all day, I thought this was a great alternative to the long table at many weddings.

Outside the ballroom, a photo booth was setting up to take pictures throughout the wedding. What a great addition! All through the preceding week, I had pictured a photo booth like the kind you might find on the boardwalk, unmanned where you squeeze in and end up with a strip of four photos. But this photo booth idea was very different. There was a backdrop and chalkboards. Anyone who wanted to could get their picture taken and get a copy of the photo, or two copies for larger groups. This was a great option, especially for groups who could then organize their own shot. Different family groups, college friends, high school friends and the like all gathered for their own photos without taking the main photographer away from the dance floor action. Funny captions accompanied many of the photos via the chalkboards as well. The best part, at the end, Sheila and Chris will get an album of all the photo booth shots. I would definitely suggest this for anyone planning a wedding. While it is not a necessity, it was a lot of fun!

Following the rpcocktail hour, the bridal party, including the bride and groom, made a grand entrance. I'm not sure what everyone did, but there was definitely a wheelbarrow. We entered as a bullfighter and bull, and Sheila and Chris hiked a football pass.

Sheila and Chris danced to Into the Mystic. I cried. Speeches were given by my dad (the Father of the Bride), myself (the Matron of Honor) and Michael (the best man). The food was delicious, and the dance floor was even better. While I'm sure there were a few people who stayed back at the table, it sure didn't seem that way on the dance floor. The DJ did a great job keeping good songs playing so that dancers were motivated to get back up.

When the last song played, Sheila was really surprised that the reception was finished. It was a great night and very memorable for everyone. And it wasn't really over as many of the guests continued on to the Willow Grove Courtyard Marriott Hotel.