For some insane reason, we don’t do things small around here. No intimate party for 4…no, it seems it’s a full on bash or nothing at all. So when a friend announced that she was getting married, well! Why not throw a pheasant shoot-followed by wine and hors d’oeuvres on the lawn of the house– followed by dinner in a transformed barn — kind of party for the couple? (what was I thinking…three venues??)
Over the course of this next week, I’m going to show you what we did to make this happen — because each little detail along the way ended up being a post in itself. I’d also like to say that this event and its success was the result of a wonderful team who joined me: financially, creatively, and manual-labory. And let me say this, it’s definitely the way to do this type of an event! It draws together a fun little group to make a big something special.
Here’s a little teaser of what’s to come this week:
Today: The trip to New York (not for the purposes of the pheasant shoot, but the timing was great!) that led to haggling with street vendors to get a perfect addition to the dinner party…(Monday!)
into the fray…
past the “naked cowgirls”…I mean, you can’t make this stuff up!…
Tuesday: Baling hay — why not? We needed to bale the hay at home (again, the timing was right!), so we pulled together some neighbors to help. Small square bales were what we needed…and of course we waited until the last minute. And then there was the, er, crisis…
This was the hay baling part, not the crisis part…
Wednesday: There was one small problem…the barn is a REAL barn. A working barn. A cobwebby barn. An “Oh no! — The barn has tractors, rats, bats, and other unknowns in it, and it has to work for 100 people for dinner!
…it’s best seen blurred at this point.
Thursday: The additions by Goodwill Industries (NEVER to be taken lightly when decorating for any event)…and other details that made the barn so special…
…a couple of the many Goodwill bags that came in…
Friday: The main house decoration — and why I love this old house…
Saturday: The total old-barn transformation…wait till you see what those hay bales turned into!…
the work in process…
Sunday: Oh yea, the pheasant shoot…pageantry, great dog work (even our pal, Peat!), the old military campaign tent in the field for the non-shooters…
our man, Peat. Yes, he performed like a champ (OK, maybe not a field trial champ…)
my charming son who conned the father of the bride into letting him shoot. Yes, he’s still in the dog house.
the “spectators area” — with the cool old tent —
And, yes, also on Sunday: the big night itself.
(awww, it was nothin.)