Calla Lily Wedding Reception

I had the pleasure of planning a wedding reception this past weekend. The lovely couple married on a Mexican beach in July and had a large reception in their backyard for all their friends and family.

This was the gift table upon entering.

The card box was custom-made. I used 2 hat boxes, sprayed with Buttercream spray paint, attached satin & grosgrain ribbon, 2 mini calla lilies and small ribbon to line the opening. The top tier was glued on and opened up to the bottom layer. The bottom layer's lid came off so the couple could retrieve their cards (tip: prime the boxes! I learned the hard way and used 2 cans of spray paint)

These were the party favors. Tins are from Paper Mart and are filled with hand ground Mexican spices created by my chef husband, Adam Dagna (chefdagna@gmail.com). I created the circles on top that simply said, "Thank You: and tied a yellow ribbon around each one. I cut circles out of yellow card stock to make a more steady base to the levels. It doubled as a pop of color. I finished it off with a yellow bow at the top.

 

This little basket was filled with handmade cards that listed the ingredients in the spice tins and some ideas on how to use it.

This is a view to the backyard. I handmade all the paper poms...33 of them! They hung from 3 strands of bistro lights.

The tables each had a bowl of chips and homemade salsa in addition to a votive candle and centerpiece.

For the wedding in Mexico, the bride had large calla lily arrangements done for her centerpieces but wanted something a little more simplistic for this party. I filled the bottom of the vase with a couple inches of sand as a symbolism to getting married on the beach and added 2 mini calla lilies intertwined within the cylinder vase.

There were over 20 kids, so the couple really wanted there to be a lot of fun options for the kids. I rented the big screen TV and the bounce combo from AZ Bounce Pro. The kids had a blast!

My husband Adam, who graduated from the California Culinary Academy and has a lot of experience in fine dining, catered this party by himself. The menu was cheese and chicken enchiladas with a homemade red sauce, a taco bar with slow cooked shredded  beef, rice and beans from scratch and this little appetizer bite. These were called "Deconstructed Tamale Bites" and had layers of creamy masa, tender shredded beef, jicama-radish salsa and a peanut mole sauce. Delish!

There were about 60 luminaries surrounding the rainbow roundabout driveway to greet the guests as they arrived.