It runs in the family

I am a firm believer in the 5 Ps : Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance I am a dreamer, a planner and a list-maker. So is my sister. Thank God. When we got to the reception hall at 8pm it was nicely and elaborately decorated - for Halloween. All of those decorations had to come down (ummmmm, why did we have to do that instead of the hall owners?) and then all of ours had to go up. Let me tell you, some of these decorations were elaborate, even by my standards. Getting married in late October, Kelly (the bride) wanted to go with fall colors [candy apple red and chocolate brown with a bit of orange]. For instance, here are the bridesmaids' bouquets so all of the reception decorations were designed to match. Kelly would describe what she wanted to Kris (she's much closer to my sister than her mother) and then Kris would figure out how to do it. The two of them hunted and searched and shopped and brainstormed how to get the most decorating bang for the least hard-earned buck. Check out the floating candle with suspended red rose centerpieces that were on crystal strewn mirrors on red and orange alternating table scarves layered over brown table clothes. Or the red and brown leaf-cutout favor boxes full of fall candy stacked on the ends of the tables surrounded by glitter leaves and flanked by battery-operated votives. Lighting was an important design element as we strung clear icicle lights behind plastic table skirts on all of the presentation tables which looked pretty cool, until the lights were dimmed and then they were awesome You can just make out Kris' fiber optic centerpiece there in the back. I failed miserably at getting a great picture of it in the dark but here are some of the better attempts. I wish i had taken more pictures of the process: the tiny former-cheerleader bridesmaid dragging the 10 foot ladder around to take down hanging skeletons, the frantic search for the missing table scarf, groomsmen trying to figure out if the next table should have a red or an orange center, the bestman and groom carrying ancient folding tables, my mom cutting open box after box after box of silver plastic cutlery that liked like sterling, the groomsman who looked at the 47 pieces that were supposed to make a lighted arch who shook his head and walked away only to return a few minutes later with a beer and the directions. There were minuscule details that no one would ever notice but us and each one had to be right. I don't know if it a learned behavior or if there is an aversion-to-simplistic gene, but that is the way things are done in my family. Trust me, matching napkins will NOT be in piles, they will be fanned. Just like the food prep earlier in the day, decorating was fun, but exhausting. I really think all of the attention to detail paid off in the end Don't you?