I have searched and searched for the pix of DD's wedding-I have scrapbooked them, so I KNOW they exist...just can't find them. I tried to scan the book she had made, but can't get that to work either. Sigh. The wedding for DD1 is going to be lakeside (did I already tell this?) and much less fancy than her sisters. But a FUN party in any event. We're planning things like lawn Yahtzee, and instead of a guest book, we'll have a 'photobooth' where the guest can write a sentiment on a large card, then have their photo taken. The kids will always be able to put a face to the name. I'm having it catered, it's just so much easier than trying to figure out the logistics of bringing in food. We might do huge bunches of lavender and tiny pots of succulents for the centerpieces. She's bought a bunch of paper lanterns that are battery powered, covered with orange & red cherry blossoms, and we're going to use a lot of bright orange, pink and purple-Indian colors. Her wedding will cost about 1/3 of her sisters, but that is mostly due to the different setting, number of guests and photographer. DD2's wedding had a premier DJ (best money spent EVER), pro photographer, and catering for 125 ppl. We spent a total of maybe $1000 for decor, flowers, favors, etc. Most was all done DIY, but it was fantastic. The owners of the ballroom had asked if they could have pix for their promotional materials! As soon as I can figure out where those pix are, i'll post them. And start posting the ideas we have for this next wedding. Oh, and by the way-that light fixture is hideous, IMHO.

When You Say Nothing At All by Alison Krauss DD and DSIL played it in their wedding. It suits my DSIL to a tee and is a beautiful song! I know its on Utube. Here is a link that might be useful: Lyrics

Congratulations to you! For two reasons, I would not call this party a "reception": (1) the party is much too far after the wedding -- closer to the first anniversary -- and (2) although it was a very small wedding, it wasn't an elopement or a City Hall ceremony with no celebration or guests at all. I would just call it a party in their honor. I would omit any reference to the wedding at all, so as to avoid any appearance of the party being an attempt to get gifts, as if the couple wanted an exotic private wedding at the time, but now feel they missed out on gifts. Of course, people who didn't already send a wedding gift probably will bring them one anyway, but you don't want it to look like you are prompting them. Everyone you are inviting will understand that the party is in honor of their marriage, because you will only (I assume) be inviting people who are close enough that they know that the couple were recently married, and that's why you are doing it. You wrote "food will be served," but I don't know if that means a casual barbecue in your yard, a picnic lunch at the park, a tea dance at a country club, a brunch, snacks, or what. The games make it sound casual, but you also mentioned music and dancing. Once you decide on your plans, that of course will affect the text of your invitation. If it will be a casual evening barbecue in your yard, for example, you might word the invitation like this: Please join us for a cookout, dancing, and swimming in honor of [couple's names, including last name(s)] Sunday, June 34th 5:00 p.m. at our home 123 Sesame Street R.s.v.p. 555-5555 [or email@email.com, or omit if you are including a response card or trust your friends to respond without prompting!] Or, you could leave out "and swimming" and add "Bring your bathing suits for a swim" at the end, depending on what you want to emphasize as the tone of your party. It's not necessary to mention that games will be available. I don't think you need to specify attire, unless you want it black tie, which doesn't sound likely. If you feel you must, IMHO it is better to stick to "casual" or "dressy" or something rather than anything confusing like "festive attire." But I don't think you need to say anything: the style, color, and font of the invitation will get the message to your guests. (We went to 3 weddings this month. One invitation said "black tie optional," one said "cocktail attire," and one said nothing, but it was a rather formal looking invitation to a Saturday night wedding with dinner and dancing. The guests' attire was the same at all three of them! Well, no tuxedos at the last two, but the women at all of them wore dressy evening outfits, some long, some short, some pants.) Have fun.

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. :-)