A Wedding Story (from a Groom’s Mother): Their First Engagement Party

My oldest son got married last year on September 30th.

Even though, I ‘only’ was the groom’s mother this time, I still thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that very exciting time in my son (& now) daughter-in-law’s lives – just like I had previously for my daughter & son-in-law’s Wedding Journey three years before.

{If you would like to read more about my daughter & son-in-law’s Wedding Journey click here.}

This is the first in a series highlighting the Story of this Newlyweds’ Incredible Wedding Journey.

Photo credit:
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photography

HOW IT BEGAN…–

This Wedding Journey began (the year before) in October of 2016 with a proposal and a reply of “Yes” during a morning hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Since their engagement occurred in October, and the holidays came quickly afterwards, their engagement parties got delayed until the spring of 2017. My husband and I gave the first one.

One of the first things I did in the planning process for the party was to enlist the help of my favorite local floral designer /florist, The Flower Studio. Karen Cook, the owner, was the florist for my daughter’s wedding. I love Karen’s design work, creativity, and she is a great listener.

I chose soft pinks and peaches as the primary colors for the flowers.

THE INVITATION –

Family and friends who lived locally, along with the bride-to-be’s family, were on the invitation list.

The party was held on a Saturday evening in March 2017 at a local country club. The format of it a cocktail party with heavy hors d’oeuvres. Typical of Chicago weather in March, it was a fairly cold, cloudy day.

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White hydrangea wreaths and white & black balloons tied to the stair railings greeted our guests at the country club’s doors.

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The white hydrangea wreaths turned out gorgeous!

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THE FOYER

I wanted a Big Wow Factor when guests walked in the door.

Pink Cherry Blossoms with hanging votives took center stage.

Long stemmed tulips, glowing candles, rose petals, & some photos of the engaged couple…

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A very important future date (their wedding date) displayed…

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In the foyer area too was a small table where I put some flowers and photos. In some of the secondary locations, I arranged the florals.–

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Hallway leading to the room where the party was held – more flowers and photos

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BATHROOM

Since it was springtime, I asked Karen to include one of my favorite spring flowers in the bathroom arrangement ~ hyacinths.

When we entered the bathroom, there were wafts of the hyacinths’ delicious fragrant scent!

PARTY ROOM

About 75 people attended, so I had the room set up with a good number of tables with seating and cocktail highboys

We also had 2 musicians for entertainment

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More flowers and photos on a side table…

When I took this photo, the left side of the table remained empty – my counterpart (bride-to-be’s mother) was bringing a Wedding Memory Book to display and have the guests sign