Ask Abby
It’s Dear Abby day and I am so excited to share this first question with you. One of my dearest friends, Cat of Cat Seto and Paper Studio in San Francisco, sent me this dilemma that her clients Tien and David are going through. Here’s the story…
Tien and David met in grade school and wanted to get married in their
schoolyard. They recently discovered that the school denied permission to be
married there because the school did not meet earthquake
requirements. To make a long story short, they are having to move their ceremony
to the ballroom where they are having their reception. They are looking for a
few ways to incorporate their schoolroom love story into their affair, in a
ballroom setting. They don’t want it to be too themed, but they do want to
infuse their wedding with a few fun details.
Cat has enlisted the help of SMP and our readers, along with Minhee of Paper + Cup designs whose recent school themed wedding was featured in Martha Stewart, to help.
You can read Tien and David’s whole story over at Cat’s blog Shop Friends. I know that the couple would love ANY and ALL ideas that you guys have!
***
I thought it would be fun to ask my favorite event designer, Lisa Vorce of Oh How Charming! to help out with some ideas and suggestions for this cute couple. And I am beyond thrilled with the tips that Lisa has come up with…classic details that would add a touch of whimsy and a huge handful of charm!
From Lisa…
reminiscing about grade school. Bringing back such great memories! For Tien and
David – if they can’t have their ceremony at their grammar school — let’s bring
the grammar school to them! Here are some quick ideas for them….
- Escort card display: Would be so great to hang their escort cards
from monkey bars! (Quick tip…scour ebay for a set of monkey bars…after your wedding, donate them to an area school or day care center)
- Table Numbers: Each table can represent one of the classrooms from
their grammar school (i.e. “Room 2″). Can even add the teacher’s name as well!
Table numbers can be hand written on mini chalkboards or on that fabulous lined
paper that we all had to use when we were practicing our cursive.
- Grammar school trivia: Would be fun to list quintessential grammar
school trivia on cocktail napkins (i.e. Who was the 5th president of the United
States”).
- Menus: Use phonetic spelling on the key elements of the menu to give
the look / feel of a dictionary entry.
- Guest sign in: Create an attendance chart! As guests sign in – have
an attendant place a gold star next to their name.
- Lounge area decor: If they’re having any lounge vignettes – use
grammar school text books as cocktail table decor instead of coffee table books.
- Popsicles: Popsicles always remind me of grammar school. Have the
caterer tray pass popsicles as a late night snack.
- Favors: If budget permits – collect vintage lunch boxes and have them
lined up on a table as guests exit. The lunch boxes can be filled with a snack
size carton of milk & homemade cookies. As alternative packaging – use brown
paper sacks which are just as cute!
- Bake sale!: As a dessert display – set up an old school Bake Sale
table with yummy grade school treats (brownies, rice crispy treats, chocolate
chip cookies, etc).
- Groom’s cake: If having a groom’s cake – make it in the shape of a
back pack, a globle, or a ruler.
- Ceremony programs: Use old Pee-Gee folders as the cover of the
ceremony program.
- Transportation: If providing transportation – use old yellow school
buses!
- Cigar Lounge: If budget permits — park one of the school buses just
outside the dinner reception and use it as a cigar lounge.
- Grand entrance for the wedding party: If doing a grand entrance — do
a “roll call” for the wedding party where they have to state “Present!” when
they enter the room.
These ideas are brilliant, Lisa!! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing some of your genius with us! I am also loving all of our reader ideas…keep them coming! Too cute!
I think elegantly drawn (i.e. professional or artistic friend) chalkboards could be used to incorporate a school theme. Maybe miniature ones for table #s or a bigger entryway sign. What about giving away red apples (like kids give to their teachers) as favors?
So cute! Love the elementary school pic! I think you could definitely play this up... how about hall passes for the seating cards, apples as favors, cootie catchers on the tables (in nice paper of course), number 2 pencils in the centerpieces (and maybe use textbooks as stands for the vases), school bus rather than limo for transportation, fun vintage lunch box for cards, elementary inspired table names, "school's out for summer" as the intro song, oh and tater tots and french bread pizza during the cocktail hour...
that is really cute! there are so many ideas that can be worked in. i met my husband-2-be's brother in the seventh grade but never met until college.i had been to his house, met his parents...we basically were around one another without meeting face to face. to show our six degrees of separation, our save the dates were "where's waldo" cards that asked guests to find his whereabouts wherever I was. we had little cupcakes at the dessert station with where's waldo figurines.
I love the idea of using old Valentine's day cards as place cards. Like the kind you gave the boy you had a crush on in the 5th grade with the bold geographics and little sweet captions like: Secret Crush. I also think little chalk boards would be charming in place of traditional seating charts.They could have couples seated at tables named after their favorite teachers.
Congrats to the happy couple
I agree with everyone on the chalk boards but go DIY. You can buy chalk board paint at Home Depot. You can spray it on just about anything. Consider buying blocks of wood and paint them with the chalkboard paint to use as menu cards, escort cards, etc.
You can also name your tables for classes you took (algebra, social studies, language arts).
If you really want to go all out, look for the divided trays like you used to have in school. Target sells them in all different colors. This would be good for passed hors d'oeuvres or (for a more casual affair) for dinner.
A more subtle idea is to hang bulletin boards around the room like your teachers used to. Go to teacher supply stores and get the fun borders and die cut letters. You can use these boards to introduce your families, show pictures from when you were growing up or to do interesting facts about the couple. (this is probably most appropriate at the guest book area or at the cocktail area)
YAY!! I love all of these ideas! I can't wait to hear more of them!!
Such a cute story and such a fun theme to work with. How about creating a ‘photo backdrop’, with a large chalkboard on wheels and maybe a long bench for group photos (similar to their class picture!). Other thoughts… giveways of the couple’s favourite childhood book, with a library card pocket inside containing a personalized message from the couple; using lunch boxes for the kids’ goodie bags; definitely a photo slideshow of the couple through the years (or even better, a super 8 film of old photos mixed with family videos, playing on a screen); seating cards displayed on a giant corkboard; a quiz where guests would have to pick a category (e.g. history, math, geography) and answer a question (e.g. geography – where did Tien and David have their first official date?) to get the bride and groom to kiss; a treat bar filled with the couple’s favourites, with brown lunch bags to take away; lined note cards in pastel shades which guests can write a piece of advice on - or, an old typewriter where guests can type out their advice. You can really have fun with this theme!
My first thought was apples too, especially since the wedding will be in September, which is during apple season. Beautiful shiny red apples could be used throughout the decor - especially in the centerpieces - to great effect! And they could be carried into the menu as well.
Another thought would be a library theme - the escort and place cards could be printed to look like school library cards, similar to this creative wedding: http://speakquietly.blogspot.com/2008/02/library-themed-wedding.html ." rel="nofollow">http://speakquietly.blogspot.com/2008/02/library-themed-wedding.html. > I saw another wedding on a photographer's blog where books were used throughout - for instance, the bride and groom each carried a hardbound book from which they read their vows during their ceremony.
The stationary could resemble library cards. You could even have your names crossed out several times with the dates in which you met! Chills!
WOW. Thank you Abby, Lisa and all of the amazing readers for helping out my bridal clients! I am having such a blast reading all of these suggestions and am always floored at the creativity. I LOVE Lisa's bake sale and school bus cigar lounge idea. And I agree with Anna, I'm getting chills envisioning all of the suggestions for hall passes, chalkboards and "library" themes. That's just so sweet and sentimental!
What a cute story & save the date! How amazing that they were even sitting next to each other! Some ideas I had for Tien & David...
1. red apples as favors or escort "cards" - as in the old apple on the teachers desk. Could pin a note with name or message in fancy calligraphy to make it more fitting of the ballroom setting
2. a mini blackboard & piece of chalk on each table - could be used for the table number, menu or a message to the guests.
3. Instead of a guest book, a big chalkboard with different colored chalks...let each person write a message and at the end of the night, take a picture of it.
4. Brown lunch bags as favors or escort cards, with pretty calligraphy or ribbon to dress it up & something delicious (and possibly more prettily packaged) inside.
5.If the couple have any old pages of homework or writing from when they were children, scan and print in the wedding colors and use pieces as the back (or faint background) of the menu, program, escort cards etc.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this was that for the response cards you should use a school "scrawl" type font or even ask a child to write it out for you, and put "We Love You, Can attend our Wedding Check Yes or No" with blocks for the invitees to check, with a more traditional numbered response below. I dont know about everyone else but I vividly remember the "I Love You, Do You Love me" Letters from Elementary school, and it would be great way to set the stage for the wedding, the Invites could even be something like a Hall Pass, or report card, maybe even a homework assignment or a field trip slip! This is such a cute idea and I think everyone will have fun with it!
i love all the suggestions but I don't know what school bus company is going to let you smoke cigars in their bus and then return it! Ha :)
I believe Budget Living Magazine did a wedding feature where a couple rented out a school cafeteria. They had some cute ideas, and I think they are included in the book />
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399530223/ref=cm_rdp_product " rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399530223/ref=cm_rdp_product
I forgot to mention cootie-catchers! What could be more grade-school? Darcy Miller, editor of Martha Stewart Weddings, had cootie-catchers in jars on the bars at her wedding reception with "dares" written inside - such as "kiss the bride" and "introduce yourself to someone new" - but they could also be used creatively for the ceremony program or the menu, or simply an adorable thank-you at the end of the evening!
How about having a hired photographer to sit near the guest book and take seated pictures of each guest in the elementary school picture pose? He could have the fake backgrounds (like the neon lazers on gray or the fall foliage - two that I remember) and hand out combs. And maybe you could have them hold a board that says "Tien and David's Wedding" with the date, like the board that someone always had to hold with the teacher's name and grade number on it. He could take the pictures on a polaroid or digital camera directly linked to a printer and print each picture out automatically for the guests to take home or for them to paste into your guest book and sign next to. I think that would be a great keepsake to take away from your wedding. If budget is an issue (as it always is) think about restricting this to just the cocktail hour and making sure guests are directed over to that area within the hour.
Congrats and good luck!
Thank you Abby and all your readers for your great suggestions! We are so touched by everyone's enthusiasm and can't wait to start working on many of your ideas! Keep 'em coming!!
So far, we're planning to:
-display framed elementary school classwork where D commented on T's work and vice versa
-name tables after our old teachers and classes, using of course that awesome lined cursive practice paper
-serve colorful popsicles at the rehearsal dinner!
-use a chalkboard to introduce guests to the reception
-ring a class bell to announce the start of dinner (or maybe the start of the wedding party intros)
-definitely have a plate of pretty rice crispy treats and cupcakes alongside cake for all the "kids"
We both love the cigar lounge school bus idea but sadly don't think our downtown SF hotel will let us park it out front by the Bentleys!
Thanks again to everyone who read and replied to Abby's post!
T&D
these ideas are so FUN!
i'm wondering if i can just rewrite the history of how we met so I can have a school theme too :)! i love the popsicles, cheesy school photo session and roll call ideas so much! how about: for your rehearsal, give out your gifts for your attendants and parents, etc. in little brown paper lunch bags. instead of "just married" hang a "out for recess" sign on the car.
This may have already been mentioned but RSVP cards that incorporate circling their response similar to the grade school 'will you be my boyfriend? Circle yes or no'. What fun!
I just found this really cool yearbook paper on Paper Source which would be a great way to create invites - the invites could be made like a copybook with this wrapping paper as the cover.
http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/44360650.html?cm_id=3000.340 ." rel="nofollow">http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/44360650.html?cm_id=3000.340. > That would be fun!
I think either Martha Stewart Weddings or the knot had a grade school themed wedding featured in one of their magazines a while back.
Invites and RSVP cards were themed by having them printed in typewriter font on attendance and report card papers. They borrowed a teacher's desk to place the red apples set up as table seating. And had one of those little name plaqards of their teacher's on the desk. Guests could also take polaroid pics of each other in front of a chalkboard, and even write on it and use props (like those tiny student desks) for their pictures to put in the guest book next to well-wishes. I mostly remember daisies, yellow number two pencils and red apples from the pictures.
Ever since seeing those pictures I wished I could do such a cute theme for my wedding....Elementary School theme doesn't work when you met in your 20's though. Love the idea of having brown lunch bags too! (luminaries, around vases, as bags for candy/cookie bar, or stuffing with goodies for oot bags or grocery bag folded over for bathroom baskets.)