Lighting

Okay.  I know I said I'd be coming back full force and that definitely didn't happen.  I apologize.  You know how it is.  Life just gets in the way. 

Anywho, a ton of people have asked about lighting.  Did I only use the paper lanterns for lighting?  No.  I also used string lights around the perimeter of the tent.  I used these from 1000Bulbs.com.  Then I bought C9 bulbs for them separately (but also from 1000Bulbs.com).  They don't have the connectors on the ends but my dad set them up so that they would be able to connect to each other (it's nice to have a handy papa!).  

I used the 12 inch spacing, but honestly, I think I could've gotten away with the lights spaced further apart (like 18 or 24 inches apart).  It was just a wee bit brighter than I wanted.  The point is, I don't think you should only use the paper lanterns for light (unless you are going to use much brighter lights in them than I did).  

This is how the tent looked with just the lights in the paper lanterns.  It looked a little brighter than this -- the pictures don't really do it justice.  However, it definitely wouldn't be bright enough for the reception.  Just a reminder, I used one to two led tea-lights in each paper lantern. 

And this is what it looked like with the lights around the perimeter (you can see them along the edge of the tent above everyone's heads).  Again, I wish I would have used less lights, but I was originally worried that it would be way too dark in the tent.  Lighting is definitely one of the tricky parts of the whole thing!  Let me know if you have any more questions about lighting!

Our Indiana Reception

Since the wedding was in Pennsylvania, most of my family couldn't make it.  So, we also did a reception in Indiana.  I don't think I posted this on my blog, but this is the invitation that was sent out for that:

Well, not exactly.  I obviously blacked out some information so that you can't go stalk my parents!  :)

The reception went really well.  It was calm, which was exactly what we wanted.  My dad roasted a hog and we had salads and sides and such.  And my mom ordered some sheet cakes from a local bakery.  Everything was delicious.  And we got to see a lot of my family and friends from Indiana (and Philip got to meet most of them for the first time!).  There weren't really set times, so people just came and went throughout the day.  It was nice that way because we could spend a little time with people before they'd leave and then new people would come in and we'd spend time with them before they left.  And so on. 

I don't have a whole lot of photos from that day.  I think we mostly forgot about photography and just had fun.  But, here are some photos that we did manage to snag.

Mom set up some of the pics that she had taken of the ceremony and reception and displayed them here.  There are also some leftover vanilla favors up there.  And our photo frame card box.  :)

This cake was far less expensive than the wedding cake, but somehow they were able to decorate it better -- smooth, not half-assed, doesn't look like it was done in 5 minutes before the delivery... I'm not even a big fan of frosting flowers, but the cake is pretty.  :)

This one makes me laugh because it could have been awkward.  Philip and I are sitting at a table with my high school sweetheart's parents and grandparents.  ;)

It was an absolutely beautiful fall day.  :)

Yeah, great photo right?!  I mostly just wanted to show what I was wearing that day!

My dad and his brother playing horseshoes.  :)

Technically, this was after the reception had ended, but Philip is just too cute for me not to post this.  ;)

Those paper lanterns and string lights (along with the rest of the decor) got used again at the Indiana reception.  We wanted it to look as close to the Pennsylvania reception as possible.  Mom and Dad even bought a tent (they'll get plenty of use out of it for future parties!). 

And, there you have it.  There wasn't any drama.  It wasn't formal (or even semi-formal).  It wasn't over the top.  But, it was wonderful.  

I almost forgot!

When we got home from the Rehearsal Dinner, we stopped outside to see the tent.  Remember, we spent all day working on the darn paper lanterns.  We used led tealights to light them.  And, in that moment, I knew that all of the work we put in was absolutely worth it.  

Behold the fruits of our labor!

Isn't that glow just beautiful??  I love it!  I'm pretty proud of our fantastic work!  Next up, the finishing touches!

Photos courtesy of my mom.

Miss something?  Catch up here:
We arrive in Pennsylvania

We begin setting up

We stock the bar (and skip a rehearsal)

We have dinner and play games at our "Rehearsal" Dinner

We eat R2D2 and open presents at our "Rehearsal" Dinner

The Morning Before...

The next morning, we woke up bright and early.  We had a ton of stuff to do before the big day!  First, we went to breakfast.  Priorities, people!

Going around the table from left to right: Kim (Philip's mom), Dave, Brooke (flower girl), Philip, Me, Tammy (my mom), Terry (my dad), A.J. (my sister's bf), Tonya (my sister). 

We're a classy bunch!  Left to Right: Philip, Me, Tammy, Terry

After breakfast, it was time to get started setting everything up.  Boy did I have these guys fooled.  They were in for a long day! 

We had a TON of paper lanterns to put together and hang!  

First, we set up an assembly line to put lights on fishing line so that we could hang them inside the paper lanterns.  Need that beautiful glow after all!

Then it was time to string up the lights around the tent.  My dad and A.J., my sister's boyfriend, fixed the string lights so that they could be plugged end to end.  Then we strung them up using hooks already on the tent.  Super easy.  :)

 

Then we started hanging up the paper lanterns.  It was quite a task.  But, my dad and A.J. were real troopers.  :)

The day flew by with all that we had to do, and we still had a ton more to get accomplished when it was about time for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  More on that later!

Photos courtesy of my mom and Philip's mom.

Miss something?  Catch up here:
We arrive in Pennsylvania

Light Update #2

Remember this little light?

The package said that the light would last for 60 hours.  I was a little skeptical.  But, I was wrong.  This puppy lasted for a really long time.  I turned it on about 4:30pm on Sunday, June 19th.  It didn't go out until sometime between 5 and 5:30pm on Monday, June 27th.  That's over 192 hours!  

I must admit that the light was a bit less bright in the last day or two than it had been when I first turned it on.  But, still!  That tiny light is highly impressive!  I don't think I'll have any doubts about using them to light our paper lanterns!  :)

Light Update

Remember that flameless tealight?  The one that I turned on around 4:30pm on Sunday?  Well, it's still going strong (it's now about 12:30am on Wednesday).  

Crappy cell phone picture of the light.

So, it's still going about 56 hours later.  I think that is pretty impressive.  It shouldn't be any problem to turn the lights when we're decorating the tent on the Friday before the wedding.  If it can last these 56 hours, it shouldn't be any problem for them to last 24 to 36 hours.  :)  Yay for lighting solutions!

While I was at Dollar Tree today, I picked up all of them that they had in stock.  They had about 20 available (so 60 tealights total).  I'm still going to need some more but it's a definite start.  I'm just excited to have it figured out!

Lighting the Lanterns

I've been thinking about how to light the paper lanterns at the wedding.  I had originally intended to make led "throwies."  I wasn't really looking forward to it.  It seems like a huge pain in the rear.  But, I hadn't come up with any feasible alternatives.  

This past weekend, Philip and I made a trip to Dollar Tree to pick up a few things I needed for the favor mock-up idea that I had.  I came across these:

(Source)

I need them for the luminary table numbers.  But, then I got to thinking, these might work for the paper lanterns!  They're only 33¢ a piece which isn't much more than I'd be spending on the led throwies.  

So, tonight, I turned one of them on while I was working on the invitations... just to see how long it would last.  After all, if the light only stays on for a few hours, it's not going to work.  We'll need to be able to turn them all on before going to get ready and they'll need to stay on for the entire reception.  

It's going on 7 hours and the light is still on.  Of course, I still want it to last a few more hours, but it's a good start!  The package says 60 hours, but I don't always trust what the package says.

If it lasts 60 hours, we can definitely use these!  We would be able to start the lights the day before when we're decorating the tent and not have to worry about them going out.  That would be wonderful.

Anyway, when I was taking a break from invitations, I decided to do a test to see how well it lit the lanterns.  One worked fine for the 8 inch lantern, but it was too dim for anything bigger.  So, I put two lights together in the 10" lantern.  Here's what I had:

The photos make the glow look more yellow than what it is.  It actually gives it a really nice glow.  I'm very pleased with it!  :)  Here's how I had it rigged up:

Just some fishing line and some tape.  Very simple!  If the light lasts for as long as it is supposed to, I think it's a definite option.  :)  Now, back to working on invitations.  Oh, joy!