Setting it all up

Because we chose to do our reception at a restaurant, we had a quite simple "decor". Of course I had initially wanted to set the tables up in a certain specific way, but since we weren't going to be there I just showed my inspiration to the staff and let them be inspired.

Source

(Truth be told, they weren't really. Anyway, as it was going to be a buffet it was not practical for them to actually set the tables, but as it turned out, this was not in the least bit important. However if you are having a sitting plan I think the idea above is lovely and easy. You just need some really cheap nylon lace, and printed napkins, some of which are really beautiful. The rest is just wild flowers). What we had to do was set up the chinese lanterns and our beloved photobooth. This was an act of faith, you should have seen the rain pour on the week that lead to our wedding. I have to say I never stopped believing. I knew it would be sunny. Also, I thought, well let it rain now, all it has to rain, so that Saturday is dry and warm. But of course, the night before, we were scared, that same day had been your typical dutch gray wet day. And so we packed our boxes (it is amazing the amount of stuff you need) and set to work. It was one of the most fun parts of the preparing. We went there in a group that consisted of my brother and his girl, my sister, one of my best friends and her husband, Mark and me. We had to figure out how to actually hang the lanterns.

We had scissors, nylon fishing thread, and our creativity. My brother saved the day. He is a climber so he knows his knots. He made knots in the thread every "x" distance to make a little hook where we would attach the lantern. Then came the skills of Nico, my friend's husband who is a born organizer. He had a vision and lead everyone as to where we should go, where to stand, and if we wanted the strings to go diagonal or straight. I am not sure if describing this makes any sense. It was fun. and it was exciting.

 Next came the photobooth. It was easy, and a huge hit. It is somewhat lucky that people don't spend their time reading wedding blogs and therefore did not know it had been done to infinity before us. Everyone thought it was so original (if only they knew) and it was the easiest thing to organize.

They did not like our background

Step 1, you get  2 or 3 meters of some fun patterned cloth for the background. The swedish people have some for really cheap and you can reuse it for tablecloths or curtains later.

 Then you find a place where you can support it and a place where the light is good. We were lucky to have this "kiosk" that was the perfect spot for it.
Step 2, you go to a party shop and have fun choosing face masks, horns, ears, wings, hats, party glasses and whatever it is you like. It is good that this stuff is reusable and that it can make other brides happy. (Ainhoa that commented on my APW post, if you read this let me know so we can ship you some stuff. Katherina and Alana, also let me know if you are interested).
Step 3, you get a tripod. This was the biggest "investment" and we got it on discount for 20 EUR or so, and we are happy with it because we plan to use it in our travels. Maybe we can make some cool photos of ourselves without looking the same in every pic,
Step 4, assuming you already own a camera (we used our simple digital one) you just set it on the tripod, put it on self-timer and let someone explain the photobooth functioning to people though it is quite obvious. Or you can have some fun and made a sign like we did.