My Rustic DIY Post Wedding Inspiration

Reflecting on my wedding last week was so much fun that I thought why not reflect on my wedding party I had in my hometown as well! It was a wonderful event that all started because we had a family-only destination wedding which was great, but the only problem was that we were unable to share that moment with family friends. So our only solution was to have a post-wedding party. And believe me having another wedding party was definitely not something you would hear me complaining about!

We had this special reception about a month and a half after our wedding at the beautiful University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, a lovely locale filled with acres and acres of plush landscapes, gardens, and natural areas. Now being in the height of the fall season, we specifically chose the Tea Room and Terrace which was beyond charming! We're talking a light filled space with rustic wood walls and beams, large wood burning fireplace, and an amazing stone terrace overlooking natural gorgeousness. It was not only a great place to entertain our guests, but it was also the perfect spot to continue our wedding theme...natural beauty all the way!

Come back tomorrow for a more in depth look at how we created this DIY post wedding party...starting with the flowers!

Having natural arrangements for my wedding went so well that I most definitely wanted to something similar for my post wedding party! So we purchased a whole bunch of gorgeous yellow, white, and green wildflower like florals from a local flower market. My mother beautifully put together each arrangement and placed them in mason jars wrapped in a handmade burlap wrap that she made. Now we decided that each of the several wood tables at this party needed these gorgeous beauties but not just on their own...with lovely yellow apples and brown pears I purchased from the local grocery store. I just love Fall fruit! We also included the cutest little brown felt leaves to add more detail. Rustic and sweet these floral arrangements were definitely a hit at the party!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for one of my favorite pieces from this post wedding party...the pies!

Whenever I think of the perfect dessert for rustic, fall weddings, I think of pies...tons of beautifully handcrafted pies! So for my post wedding party in my hometown, I had to do just that! I proceeded to search and search for the best pie shop in Minnesota and came across this wonderful article from Travel and Leisure outlining the best pies in America. I wasn't sure if I would find a Minnesota pie shop in that list, but when I did...oh my gosh...I was beyond excited! I read that in the small town of Whalan, Minnesota there's a charming little pie shop that had the best bluebarb pie...and that was it...I knew I was going to get my post wedding party pies from The Aroma Pie Shop!

So we ended up flying to Minnesota, driving three hours to Whalan, visiting the super cute shop, falling in love with their sweet pies, and ordering cherry, maple walnut, pumpkin crumble, raspberry rhubarb, dutch apple, and of course a couple of their famous bluebarb pies. The only thing left...the decorations!

Now I knew that I wanted to showcase these wonderful pies in a way that felt natural. So we used an array of pie stands from wooden baskets to wood slices to white porcelain stands. I also made pie labels by engraving wooden hearts that I glued onto bamboo skewers. I really think it turned out beautifully, and best of all I really think people enjoyed these wonderful desserts!

Come back tomorrow for the next piece of my post wedding party...displaying my wedding photos!

One of the main reasons for having a post wedding party was to share our wedding moments with our family friends, so we decided that it would be super fun to create wedding photo wall hangings. Basically, we used the rustic fireplace at the venue as our focal point and hung our professional wedding photos there with clothespins and twine. Two more wedding photo wall hangings that included all our Instax mini photos were hung on the windows. We took over 70 Instax photos during the real wedding, so there were a lot to hang!

Overall, it turned out quite well considering how easy it was to create this simple display...and it was great to watch people view and discuss our photos through out the party. The wall hangings definitely made sharing our wedding moments so special!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my DIY signing table!

For our post wedding party, I was thinking non-traditional wedding details when it came to this DIY signing table! So the main focus was the guest book...or lack there of! Don't get me wrong...I love classic wedding guest books, but I thought it might be great to have guests sign wooden hearts instead. So we included a whole bunch of hearts, sharpies, and directions which I framed in a rustic wood frame. Basically, guests were to grab a sharpie, sign a heart, and pop it into an empty basket. By the end of the day, we had a basket full of hearts ...which was so much fun!

Next, to incorporate more of our real wedding into this post wedding party...we included two books about our Lake Louise, Canada venue. It was a gorgeous location, and having these books there was a great way to share a piece of that beauty!

Lastly, we included our monogrammed burlap table runner, floral arrangements, fruit, and felt leaves that ended up being our signature decorations for the event!

It's been a wonderful week, reflecting on our post-wedding party! Check out the Puzzle Complete Section below for final thoughts!

Who says you can't have another wedding party even after your wedding! I am so glad I did because it was exactly what we needed to share our wonderful marriage with family friends! I loved every moment of it from DIYing most of the decorations to spending some time with amazing people I've known for so many years. Hooray to wedding celebrations!