Jude, the groom's family decorated the hall and cleaned that all up except the kitchen. They actually like to drink and dance. I don't drink and I don't dance, and I was trying to avoid the "reserved" table as I'd rather wander around, sit with my friends and do as I pleased. The groom's family did come back the next day and finish cleaning the rest of the hall. I made all the desserts and 27 dozen dinner rolls ahead of time, so those just had to be taken from the freezer and plated on serving trays. Appetizers were nachos at a make your own nacho bar, so that was done ahead of time too. The dinner was a pig roast and the rest was pot luck with family members bringing items, so they just had to be put out and dishes kept full, but all the roasters and serving dishes needed to be washed afterward and most of them came from my house because the hall came with no cooking utensils. I did hire one friend to help me with that and my cousin Patty helped by scrubbing pans, but 300 guests kept us hopping. I hired a bartender, so I didn't have to do that, but we went through 19 gallons of punch and finally at 10:30 I tore the punch fountain apart because the kids were just playing in it. I haven't even washed the iced tea container yet! I don't sit around well and I'm pretty hyperactive, so I'd rather be doing something, anything. The groom's mother even went to the bachelorette party where they took salsa dancing lessons then went to a comedy club, I begged off because I have absolutely no interest. So, did I enjoy the wedding? Not much but I usually don't attend receptions because I don't like parties. I did what I was comfortable doing, and the alternative was to sit around and do nothing, which makes me crazy. The person who was supposed to make sure the coffee urn stayed full didn't and the one that was supposed to run the CD player for the wedding march was no where to be found so I quickly pressed an ex BIL into service because he is in a band and I figured he could run the blasted thing. Everyone comes to me with the questions and problems because I'm usually the one solving them and making sure things happen. Amanda was sitting in the foyer of the church in her dress and veil as the guests were coming in. She was passing out string cheese to the 6 children in the wedding party (all under age 8) while her sister Ashley was polishing Amanda's toenails, LOL. It was pretty relaxed. At the reception, Ashley sang a song for them to dance to, although it wasn't the song they'd picked out for their first dance. Then they had the "official" first dance, then Amanda danced with Bud while Dave danced with Makayla, then Amanda had a father/daughter dance, first with Bruce, then with Elery. So, it wasn't structured, it wasn't a sit down catered meal and everything went fine. I avoided my ex-husband and his girlfriend and was home in bed by 11 pm and got to visit a little bit with Sherry and Peppi, so it was all good. And I'm back at work today to rest! Annie

thanks, everyone. Ellen, Cathy, my family knows I share everything here, they can peek if they want but none of them really care. If they did they wouldn't have camo wedings, LOL. Eileen, I cleaned it up from the first post, now THAT was a good read but I was afraid it would be.....incendiary, or something, LOL. Coconut, he squirmed, but he can't get away from Grandma! Of course, he made me "pay" him by stopping at the local Wesco station for a big ole' blue slushie. I had to take Zander too, he loves to ride in the Jeep and he had to have the time to try to talk me out of my new bull. Little shyster... Ann T, it's all that practice! Now I've got to work on Ashley's baby shower cake... dcarch, $523? I wish I actually liked baking those cakes, I'd consider it. But somehow I just know that if I had to do certain things I'd hate it and something (or everything) would go wrong and brides would be angry and well, I guess I'll keep making them for free and only for family and friends. Alexa, I was astounded that I could even buy camo cake wraps, but I was even more astounded when I found the cake topper! And camo vests and ties, go figure. Thanks, June, it was definitely one of the more interesting cakes I've done, along with that beer can pouring that I made Dave last year. Annie

Here is the recipe for scones that I used. It comes from a National Trust Traditional British Recipes book I bought from the BBC.. Measurements have been converted to US. (Only to be eaten with a large hat on, a cup of tea, and listening to the English national anthem of course.) Scones: 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder One half stick butter (I used low fat) One half cup brown sugar One half cup raisins 1 egg One quarter cup milk (again, low fat is fine) Milk to brush the tops Preheat oven 450. In large mixing bowl, sift flour and baking powder and gently combine. Rub in diced butter w finger tips until like breadcrumbs. Add sugar and raisins and combine evenly. Make well in center of mix and slowly add milk and egg (already mixed together) Stir mix w fork to make smooth dough. Knead slightly to make ball and put on floured surface. Roll to about 1 inch thickness and cut into circles w cookie cutter etc. Put on greased baking tray; brush w milk. Bake 15 mins. Also works if you add nuts, cranberries etc� (but less English that way!) Serve warmed up and cut in half, with butter then dollop of strawberry jam, and some type of whipped cream on top. Yum. Oh, and DH is a fully trained professional Dignitary Protection person... It's like having my own body guard. :-)

Here in Texas, it is common to have a groom's cake and I'd bet 9 times out of 10 it is chocolate sheet or sometimes a sculpted cake reflecting a hobby, profession or such while the "bride's cake" is most commonly a traditional tiered white cake, updated tiered, cupcake tower -- sometimes a carrot, spice or fruit cake with white or pastel tinted icing. If white cake is used, it is common to use a lemon, strawberry or raspberry filling between the layers. My first thought would be to do a tiered cake with piped icing designs that reflect Australia, England and, possibly, the US. Might depend on your friend's artistry and willingness to explore and play with some ideas, but it could be as simple as taking the Union Jack and piping the crossing lines and stars in different variations on the different tiers. The shape of the Sydney Opera House, boomerangs, Aboriginal designs, crowns, roses, tea cups -- whatever it was that had them both in Australia might be a theme, but playing with that inspirations in an understated way that creates an updated and personal, but still elegant and traditional cake. You can also use fruits, nuts and flowers that are traditional in the different countries -- Let making things special be fun, not a burden. With a year, your venue is probably the only pressing matter, and even that will depend somewhat on how flexible you are on timing (I've had to book some banquet halls near popular wedding times. Focus on that and everything else will fall in line, I enjoyed planning my wedding with mom. Not being able to do the same with a daughter of my own is one of the things I will miss most in having only sons. Enjoy it.