It’s hard to believe that James and I have been married for 25 years.
Since we first got married I wanted to do something special for our 25th, so we had a small dinner party. I’ve been planning it for weeks….every detail like the freak I am. James is one lucky guy to have spent 25 years with my OCD.
We had the party outside on the patio where our family loves to hang out. It’s in the front of our house, where it’s shady in the late evening and there’s always a breeze.
In an effort to save money, I chose the color scheme from tablecloths and dishes that I already owned.
The only pop of color came from the flower arrangements on each table. I made the centerpieces small so they wouldn’t distract from the conversations. Our main goal for the evening was to encourage each other in our marriages.
Of course I used my beloved Cricut to put names on the cups.
I wanted the tables to be elegant, but simple and relaxed.
We made little mint bags to keep the napkins from blowing away.
I LOVE the napkins. I ordered them from my friend Sharon at Eloquence.
I recovered the outdoor pillows that I already owned so they would match the table settings.
The flowers were just the perfect mix of hot pink with a touch of orange. The silver buckets were a nod to our silver anniversary.
We used a corner of the patio to set out the drinks.
The white cart usually sits on my front porch holding plants. It was perfect for the water dispenser, ice bucket and to hide the speaker for music…..80′s wedding music of course.
The cooler was originally bright red, so I spray painted it and of course….used my Cricut to add the word “DRINKS.” I fell in love with the old bottle top opener. (I’m not sure why the cooler’s color looks different in each picture, but it is most like the picture above….light teal)
I had insect repellent on hand just in case.
Nestled between the ice bucket and water dispenser was our wedding picture and the topper that was on our wedding cake and also my parent’s wedding cake in 1963.
We set the food out on the front porch…..barbeque of course. This is Texas…..it’s what we do.
Great, now I’m hungry.
We also had beans, rolls and green salad.
My favorite spot was the dessert bar. Remember the table my mom and I tried to build? Well here it is, just a table made from wood scraps that I covered with sheets.
I borrowed the apothecary jars from my friend Sara and filled them with candies.
We had seven different desserts cut into bite sized pieces and served in “treat cups.” We served lemon bars, brownies, berries, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cups and chocolate covered Oreos.
The girls and I made the beautiful chocolate covered Oreos. I saw Amanda’s tutorial for them on Gina’s blog party and I knew instantly that I had to make them for our party. They were a hit.
It was fun searching for just the right candy to fill the jars.
We turned the trays upside down and put ziploc bags of ice underneath….it kept the desserts cool on a warm evening.
The little white napkins are from our original wedding 25 years ago.
After everyone had their first dessert, we covered the trays with netted covers that we made just for the party.
They were a pain to make, but it worked perfectly to keep the flies away.
This is one of my favorite pictures…..
I bought the old section of fence at the flea market last year. We copied pictures of James and I through the years and tacked them to the fence. I used twine to tie our original wedding rings to the pickets.
We’ve come a long way baby……
Our guests all seemed to enjoy the party and they blessed us by sharing the evening with us. I wish we could have invited everyone we knew…..our friends are such amazing people.
And now on to the next 25 years.
You can read how the party went here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here’s a rundown of some of my purchases: strings of lights-Home Depot, cups & ice bucket-Bed, Bath and Beyond (yes, that’s what I was doing when my skirt fell off), cooler & trays-Home Goods, treat cups-Wilton.com, silver gumballs & candy buttons-Party City, jelly beans-Target, Candy sticks-Cracker Barrel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linking to: Keeping it Simple, Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Centsational Girl, Under the Table and Dreaming, Someday Crafts, Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays, Fireflies and Jelly Beans, Between Naps on the Front Porch, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom, Romantic Home, Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Tater Tots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Today’s Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Between Naps on the Porch, Making the World Cuter, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Trendy Treehouse, The DIY Showoff, All Things Related, The Thrifty Home, Sentimental Sunday, Between Naps on the Porch, Workshop Wednesdays, No Minimalist Here
{ 1 trackback }
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
That is fabulous!!! Happy Anniversary, friend!! Congratulations! I LOVE EVERYTHING you did!!!! And waiting for the unveiling was fun. Now you can rest and recover.
I Live in an Antbed´s last [type] ..Baby Samuels Nursery
Congratulations
Oh, what a beautiful day!! Your decorations were divine and I am sure everyone was blessed by you and your husband:). I love the color scheme and all of the neat little touches. Congratulations on 25 years!!
~Julia
Julia´s last [type] ..Our Summer Porch
OH, I am SO impressed! I had a feeling it was your wedding anniversary party. Everything is just amazing! What a beautiful celebration…lovely! You can plan my next party, too
Did YOU cook all that BBQ, too?
Becky B.
http://www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
Becky@Organizing Made Fun´s last [type] ..Teaching my little one to sew
Thank you all for the congratulations. It’s been a looong 25 years. Lol!
Becky, I didn’t make the BBQ. I ordered it from a great place in town. As it was I was barely going to be ready in time, I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had tried to make the meal. Just the making the desserts took us all day.
Lisa~
Happy Anniversary! 25 years….. imagine…. When I was young, the people celebrating their 25th were old – OLD! We have our 20th this year, and I reckon there must be some mistake.
Your porch is absolutely gorgeous. What a dream to be able to eat outside….. sadly, not a thing we could plan to do, but your tables and decor is just stunning.
Hope you have another 25 happy years together. God bless y’all!
Beautiful party! I absolutely LOVE that you didn’t feel the need to make everything silver and went with such a jazzy color scheme. It’s classy and fun all at the same time. Your outdoor area looks better than any bistro I’ve ever visited. What IS it about bare light bulbs that creates such a festive ambiance?
Blessings on the next couple of 25 year chunks.
Sara K´s last [type] ..My Favorite Things Winners
Um. Trying not to be jealous here. Not succeeding.
I have NO gifts at all when it comes to decorating creatively like that. We’re coming up on our 30th anniversary in January and it will probably consist of a cake with a “3″ and a “0″ candle stuck on the top. Woo-hoo!
Your pictures were so much fun to browse through on a Monday morning. Congrats to you both; you inspire so many of us!
Becky
Becky Smith´s last [type] ..What Are These Crazy People Doing
Lisa, my heart is full right now. I love everything about this of course the decor is amazing but the part that gets me is all the personal touches– the napkins, the cake topper, your rings oooohhhhh, I love it all. I wish I could have sat there and taken it all in and celebrated the two of you. I love you, thank you for being a role model for marraige, you are so special to me.
Cha Cha
Cha Cha´s last [type] ..Sentimental Sunday 26- A Wedding
Oh, many, many congratulations!! What a fun way to celebrate — truly beautiful area you created out there. Wow! You amaze me.
Congratulations on 25 years, and best wishes for 25 more (and then some!). Have to agree, you guys seem much younger than to be married 25 years. Yes, even though I know that your oldest children are adult-sized. Still.
Again, many, many congrats!!!
The Reader´s last [type] ..Book Review by my 10 year old- Harry Potter Deathly Hallows
Congratulations! You did a beautiful job! My mom loved it!
Many Blessings!
~Kristiana
Kristiana´s last [type] ..Im diving in!
Happy anniversary! Your decorations are absolutely, positively amazing! Want to come to Kansas in a month to do my little sister’s Bee My Baby shower for her?!!
I’m in awe of your creativity and all the things you made yourself. Such an artistic gift!
Debbie´s last [type] ..Suns and Roses Or- The Auto ISO Setting
Wonderful! What a great party!
Happy anniversary!
Deanna
Deanna´s last [type] ..A Beautiful Weekend
Wow wow wow! You sure know how to throw a party Lisa. Congratulations on 25 years together! That is truly something to be proud of, here’s wishing you guys a lifetime of love and happiness and many more milestones to get dressed up and celebrate!
Great! Now I’M hungry.
My what a fete! James is indeed SO lucky to have you (and your OCD) for 25 years. I am going to use that line on my husband. 
I think you might like the giveaway on my blog, stop by.
Laura Ingalls Gunn´s last [type] ..Timelessly Lovely Grace Kelly
Wow! You should be a party/event planner! Well, I guess you are! Beautiful, just beautiful.
MamaHen´s last [type] ..Open HouseHomeschooling
Congrats on 25 years! Your party was beautiful. You had a lot of nice touches!
Happy Anniversary! What a lovely party. Every time I look at your pictures, I am tempted to buy the Cricut. But then I would have something else to store and use. Or store and not use and feel guilty about buying! So I resist.
We also just had an anniversary! 27 years. And I wrote about that this morning too. So it was double fun to read your post.
http://whatevermylord.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-stay-married.html
Happy Anniversary- and congratulations for Hanging On! God is glorified in your faithfulness.
Love- Susan
Susan´s last [type] ..How to Stay Married!
Happy Anniversary. What a beautiful party. so many gorgeous details. wishing you and your beautiful family a lifetime of happiness
How beautiful! Everything looks perfect!
Awww! I guessed it! It was such a pleasure to look at these photos today! Congratulations, you two! Much love and 25 x 25 more happy years of wedding bliss!
Kelley´s last [type] ..371 Dear MOB Monday- Part 2 of 3
Happy Anniversary! Your party was so, so lovely! I love seeing everything coordinated like that. Your beverage cooler is so neat…I love vintage looking things like that. Have been on the lookout for one. Such a great party!
Visiting from Centsational Girl’s Picnic & BBQ Party. Hope you’ll stop by my blog to say hi too.
The party looks gorgeous but aren’t there photos of the guests of honor? I wanna see you.
Melissa Howard´s last [type] ..What We Saw
oh my gosh, that is all fantastic! i love all your details, the vintage coke bottles, but mostly i love that fence with the pictures. great idea to hang it there and use it like that. genius! it looks like a wonderful day.
What a wonderful party!
Congratulations on 25 years!
I hope I can do something as amazing on my 25th in 3 and a bit years!
Deanne´s last [type] ..australias dangerous roads
WOW, Lisa!
What a beautiful party for a beautiful couple!
I thought I was detail-oriented- I think you’ve got me beat! Crikey! I think I need a cricut!
Is your anniversary today or the 15th?
Could barely see the date on the piece of paper…
How God has blessed you! I praise Him that you and James are an example of a long marriage!
Here’s to 25, no 50+ more years!
HAPPY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
~Leslie
Leslie, the Home Maker´s last [type] ..Fruit Cobbler for Dummies
Wonderful party~I love all the little details! Congrats!
What a beautiful party … and what a wonderful thing to celebrate. Congratulations!
Happy 25 years, congrats to you both!
What a wonderful party, every detail is delightful and I’ll bet it was great fun!
Visiting from BNOTP
Cathy @ Room Rx
Cathy Wall´s last [type] ..Inspired- Simple Artwork
This was one amazing party! How I wish that I would of been on your guest list! You left no detail undone. Amazing! I espescially love that you redid what you had to make it work. You have sooo inspired me! Now, if only my patio could hurry up and get finished, I could throw a party!! Amazing job and your kids are lucky to have you! Happy Day
ps- maybe someone has already mentioned this, but I would love a tutorial on how you made your screen desert covers. Everything that is truly fabulous are always a pain!
Tausha´s last [type] ..Homemade Outdoor Twister Game
Hi lisa, Happy Anniversary to you and James and a big congrats on 25 years! Your party looks like a lot of fun and the food …yum.
xo,
Sherry
Sherry @ No Minimalist Here´s last [type] ..Feeding Frenzy !
absolutely beautiful…I just want to come hang with you for about a……year.
love you! Congratulations! and Blessings for at least 25 more…you know my parents made it to 72 years.
lisa´s last [type] ..4th Gradeno problemo
lisa,
your party decor was fabulous! love all the attention to details.
congratulations on 25 years, such a feat in today’s world. we will be celebrating our 30th in 2012 and now i have some great ideas to borrow from you! love the idea of sharing it with dear friends.
let me know how your pool deck gate works out…would love to see it.
have a great week.
judi
Good Morning Lisa!
Happy Anniversary & may you both be blessed with
many many many more years to enjoy!
What a lovely party………love the colors!
Glad to see all is well,
I am still here just so much of the time;
I am sneaking a peak on my way to the “next to-do” I do not have time to comment!
As always enjoyed my visit!
Blessing~
~Lori-Marie
Love your party Lisa!! Thanks for auditioning for OMTWI!! Best of luck!!
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage´s last [type] ..DIY Pillow from a Placemat – all for 2!
Loved it all Lisa!!! Happy Anniversary to a beautiful family!! May God bless you as you begin the next 25 years!
Love ya,
Cyndi
Cyndi Spivey´s last [type] ..Priorities of a Healthy Marriage………
LOVE it! All of it, but especially the pictures displayed like that. So creative. And the tables. And the colors. And the food. Fabulous, of course!
Ok, to call this anything other than perfect, well, that just wouldn’t be right!!
What a delightful party, with not a single detail overlooked.
I think my attention to detail has been waning, & I’ve been wrestling with that for a while… but after looking at this, I feel inspired!
Thank you for sharing such a sweet moment in your life.
Angie Pennington´s last [type] ..Goodies from Goodwill
You KNOW that I loved the decor….everything was amazing! But my favorite part was the time of sharing. Your lives have intertwined with and blessed so many people (in real life and through your blog). What joy to see you honored, blessed and prayed for! Love you!
Great, now I’m hungry too (and I want Oreos)! Thanks for sharing this beautiful party (that I wish I’d been invited to)! I’m sure everyone had a wonderful time!
Everything looks perfect! Congratulations on 25 years together. That is wonderful.
Kristine´s last [type] ..Did you happen to see
Congratulations and a very happy anniversary. My favorite color combination, blue and green…beautiful tables.
Marigene´s last [type] ..Who Doesnt Like Lavender and Lime
You must have married when you were 10, right?
Belated Happy Anniversary to a very special couple. Maybe in 12 years I’ll remember this post and do something similar.
Autumn Beck´s last [type] ..Camden 4 months
What a beautiful anniversary party…and an enduring Christian marriage is something to celebrate!
My husband and I will be celebrating 33 years together in August. I still can’t believe that so many years have passed. It almost seems as if we were never NOT married…and yet it seems like it was only yesterday that we were beginning.
I pray that you have many more years of living and growing together!
Cheryl´s last [type] ..The Stuff of Earth
Happy anniversary! It looks like you all had a lovely time.
Thanks for sharing all these pictures. Your place looks gorgeous! Most of my house is red & gold, so when I see all your blues and whites and teals and greens I just love it. And thanks for sharing where you got those string lights, I was going to ask. I like the look of them.
Someday I really need to look into this Cricut apparatus. But not now. Just purchased all of next year’s curriculum so I’d better wait lest I spend more money.
Michele´s last [type] ..Homemade Frappuccinos
Love the idea about the ice UNDER the trays.. completely a duh moment for me. Your colors are amazing, I loved how everything coordinated. Great job. Many blessings marlis
marlis´s last [type] ..Blueberry deliciousness
What an awesome party! I would love to know more about those fly covers!
Emily´s last [type] ..What Do We Think Getting There
Looks like good food and good fun…congrats y’all. Your parties are always fun.
Heather S.