Just when you thought I was done with wedding photos I’m heading back to the day before the wedding and I’m joining in with Cuisine Kathleen’s new weekly party called Let’s Dish! Let’s Dish starts at 7pm every Wednesday so I’m a little early.
We decided to rent the clubhouse in the community that our DIL’s grandmother lives for the “rehearsal dinner”. We invited all our out of town guests and family and extended family to join us for any part of the day with the official dinner being served at 5:00. We had many snacks and goodies available from 10:00 am on…
We decided to go with a Red, White and Blue Patriotic theme for the day at the Clubhouse since it was the wedding of a Marine.
Cold cuts, veggies, fruit, dips, antipasto, pita bread, croissants, cheese, pico de gallo, and chips.
We had Red, White and Blue centerpieces on each of the tables with tablecloths in the same color scheme.
For early birds we had doughnuts from our favorite shop Frost!
The Guests of Honor
Desserts for everyone. Lemon cake, spice cake, brownies, Rolo pretzel pecan candies, Rice Krispie Peanut Butter bars regular and Gluten Free.
Cousins from the older to the youngest!
Most of the Wedding Party
Our three kids!
We had my dad say grace for the evening meal and he also shared from his heart about how thankful he is to God for everything God has done for our family and friends. He is a grateful man and always speaks from his heart and doesn’t let this kind of opportunity go by without sharing his love for God and giving thanks to Jesus for what he has done for us.
My parents turn 89 this Spring.
Cousins and Uncles
Dear’s side of our family. Our nieces Jenna and Annie with their guys and our youngest grand niece Skylar with Josh and Laura.
Skylar with her Auntie Annie. Our youngest guests got into our flag theme, too!
Do you see the handful of flags Avery is hanging onto along with her Rice Krispie Treat and stuffed animal?
You can’t pull off feeding 50+ people all day long without some really good helpers in the kitchen! I’m so grateful for my helpers, my BIL Nick, my sister Vera, my son Josh, my sister Lana, my cousin John who isn’t in the photo and Dear. I was so wiped out by the time we served dinner that I didn’t think to take photos of the pulled pork, Brisket, coleslaw, and baked beans. We wrapped everything up at about 8PM and hauled all our stuff back to our house and just dumped it into the garage thinking we’d get around to putting everything away after the wedding. We fell into bed exhausted but satisfied…
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
Wow…a whole day….right before the wedding. WOW. So special but I’m tired just thinking about your day. How fun though, that your family comes together for such celebrations.
What a sweet post – I can see how everyone enjoyed the fellowship!
Wow..those are the snacks?..who wanted dinner:) What a fun party!
Family time is the best!! Your photos turned out great and you have been blessed with one lovely family! Great looking party!
Wasn’t that a party! What a fun prelude to the wedding.
I’m coming out…need to take some notes…and perhaps ask you to become my event coordinator. I have no idea where to start……….
I am happy to help in any way I can! I’d even come up to be a behind the scenes cook or helper or decorator or whatever…
Oh Ellen – thank you so much for sharing this. What a great party you had and one day before the wedding – how ever did you do it!? I have been taking notes too!
Geez Louise…you guys were workin’ for the weekend!!! Wow! Everything looks great, and I love the red, white & blue theme to pay homage to the groom. All the food pictured looks fabulously delicious (reminds me that I need to be downstairs cooking dinner!), and I’m sure the dinner meal was equally wonderful. Brisket…sounds heavenly!!! I love it that your parents were right there in the mix. It is a blessing to still have them in your lives. My parents (83 and 89) are still with me, and I know I am grateful to God every day for that treasure. You have a beautiful family and wonderful, loving friends. I NEVER get tired of looking at wedding photos, so keep ’em comin’!!!
That looked like such a lot of fun! I loved the theme and the colours and the food sounds delish!
That was some pre-wedding party! Everything looks yummy…I would guess no one went away hungry. You have a nice looking family, Ellen.
Red white and blue was the perfect theme for a marine’s wedding! The newlyweds look so happy. I’m really surprised you had time and the presence of mind to take photos of the food! I always forget when something really special is going on. Best of luck to the happy couple! Linda
Wow, what a great party and look at all that wonderful food!
Wow! I am sure no one left hungry. Such a handsome happy family, and congratulations to the happy couple.
What a happy family gathering and celebration. How sweet your parents are…..Love their pictures. You just can’t go wrong with red, white and blue in my book!
Great party with all the patriotic details.
How wonderful that your parents were able to participate.. they look radiant. Looks like a grat party! xo marlis
Wow, that sounds great! Loved the theme and seeing all your food presentations! This was a perfect sddition to Let’s Dish! Thanks so much for linking up!
I hope you are resting up after all that activity! I think you should throw another party in a month or so , you don’t want to lose your momentum! 🙂
What a feast! That’s quite a chef’s hat your son is wearing. =D
You and your hubby have a wonderful family and you come from wonderful families. What a blessing to have your parents still with you and sharing the things of God from the heart. Blesses my socks off.
And you all know how to have a party and enjoy being together. Perfect!
I really love it that you used a patriotic theme for the rehearsal dinner since he is a marine. That was perfect.
As was EVERYTHING. It looked wonderful!
What a great idea!! good looking family too. You all look so happy, I’m glad you were able to get together at the same time and have fun. Thanks for leaving a nice comment on my Hubby’s China post. Have a great weekend and remember to savor every moment!
What a wonderful way to do an event like this! I love the idea that everyone can eat what and when they’re hungry.
What a lovely family you have!