Rehearsal Dinner 1.7.11

Stephen and I had quite a fun opportunity.

Mrs. Herzog was doing so much for the wedding, and didn't have much time to focus on the rehearsal dinner. I asked her if I could do it for her and she said yes.  I was so excited!  My mind got to thinking right away of what we could do.  I knew she had lasagne's for supper, so I thought about going Italian with the decorations.  One of our favorite tings to eat is bread, dipped in olive oil with either fresh cracked pepper or herbs in the oil.  I decided to have that and salad with the lasagna.  As far as the decorations, I wanted to get some artificial grapes to drape around, but quickly found that was not economical.  They were way to expensive.  I talked with my mom in Guam (I wanted everything to be a surprise for Mrs. Herzog) and she suggested using fresh grapes.  I was thrilled with the idea.  Even though they were not in season, I managed to get plenty to use as decoration and doubled them as an appetizer!  We also put some cubed cheese on the platters of grapes and it looked so colorful.  We covered the tables in white butcher paper and put some crayons out for the people to color on the tables with.  The guests seemed to enjoy themselves and we had a great time as well!

 Stephen and the kids and I all wore black and white and were the servers throughout the evening.  There were just over 40 guests that were seated not including our family of 8 and the helpers in the kitchen.  The kids had a great time walking around serving drinks, offering pieces of lemon for their water or tea.  They helped pass out the plates of lasagna that we had on platters, and helped with refills.  It was quite a job remembering if someone wanted sweet or un-sweet tea and making sure it got to the correct destination without an accident of either them spilling it or attempting to take a sip before giving it to the recipient.  Thankfully we did not spill one drink, plate of lasagna or plate of pie.  Everything worked out quite well.

 This was an extra table we had in the corner.  We had extra loafs of french bread, grapes and cheese, olives, olive oil and lemons.  The beautiful framed "H" came from my Grandma Hawk.  She sent it to us for Christmas.  It make for a pretty display and was perfect not only for us in our home, but to use for decoration since the rehearsal dinner was for Keith Herzog.

 We had a display table of photographs of the weddings that had taken place in both Keith and Karen's family.  It is so beautiful thinking of the heritage we have received and the one we are leaving for our children. What a responsibility.

 Here is a table for 4 with the bread and olive oil and a little refill jar of oil, a candle, and the grape and cheese platter.

These are the plates of food that we served to everyone.  Sarah and Josh Masters and Andi Kendrick stayed in the kitchen and made the plates while Stephen and I and the kids passed them out.  It really went very smooth.  Thanks to Sarah, Josh and Andi for all your help!

I was so excited for this opportunity, and so grateful to the Lord for how everything worked out.  It was so much fun and I would love to do it again!