A Beautiful Event

I feel like an official caterer after this past weekends event!  My sister planned a reception for her son, (who was married in Florida this past February) here in Arizona.  What a beautiful occasion it was.  

We prepared for 250 people.  My sister had never planned an event on this scale before (who really has :)??).  Three days before the reception, work commenced.

Things like rolling the silverware in a napkin…

Everyone was a help.  We were able to accomplish so much with all the helping hands.  It was so special to work on everything as a family.  A memory I will cherish.

I bought these wonderful stainless steel bowls that hold 30 quarts (they’re huge!) for $21 at the restaurant supply.  They were indispensible.  After preparing the food, we then transferred it to a food-grade 5-gallon bucket to store.  This worked excellently.

My lovely niece, Chloe.  My nieces could write cookbooks; they are some of the best cooks I know.

Martha, my new niece, sewing her dress for the reception.  You’ll be seeing the finished product later.

My hard-working, good-hearted mom.

Loading up all the food to haul to the site of the reception.

It felt like we moved the whole kitchen.

The event was held at a park in a separate section with its own private facilities.  There was a wall enclosing the area with a playground for the children, bathrooms, an amphitheater where we had the evening program and a gazebo under which we placed the serving tables.  There were lights all around, too.  It was a wonderful spot and the cost, because it was owned by the city, was extremely reasonable.

My brother-in-law getting the grill ready for some mesquite smoked BBQ chicken.  We had 2 of these…

and one of these.  This is my very handy, dandy dad who was the master griller that evening overseeing all the chicken and steak.

Setting up the tables and chairs and unloading all those ice chests!  We even brought a small freezer filled with ice cream for the strawberry shortcake dessert.

My brother-in-law’s family is very creative, original and artistic.  Here is my brother-in-law’s sister with all the wildflowers she picked (perfectly legal, by the way) for the occasion.  Doesn’t it look just like a flower market?  Beautiful!

The event began and Lilianna, who stood at the guest book at the wedding in Florida, now stood at this one as well.

Here are the newlyweds and the finished dress I promised you would get to see.

Lots of grilling was going on while the happy couple above was totally oblivious to the harried and rushed ladies (not to mention my dad) that were putting everything together behind the scenes.

An evening shot after some of the chairs had been moved to the amphitheater where we had a little program that was at times sweet and other times quite humorous.

My dad and his three daughters.  My sister from Pennsylvania flew in for the event and to help (far right).  She’s very talented in preparing and serving food to a large group.  She was also the decorator for the guest and gift tables.

I love my family and am so thankful that we could come together and help make a memorable evening for my sister’s son.

 I don’t care how poor a man is; if he has family, he’s rich. – Dan Wilcox & Thad Mumford