My Southern I Do's - Cocktail Hour

I was SO incredibly excited planning my cocktail hour for the wedding! I didn't want to miss one minute. We had amazing appetizers from Hamby's Catering, and include ham sandwiches on sweet potato biscuits, crab cakes, deviled eggs (for the backyard feel), and more! We wanted to make sure everyone left with full bellies! We used the chalkboard sign from our nautical shower!

We also greeted everyone with signature drinks in mason jars. I can't tell you how many pictures I have seen on Pinterest about this. I thought it was ADORABLE! Here are some pictures of our inspiration for the cocktail hour.

Signature drinks, cocktail hour and hanging lanterns!

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So we took this to the next level! We had his and her drinks. My drink was Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade and my husband had Mint Juleps. Two of our favorite drinks. I can't tell you how many of our guests loved these drinks! Hamby Catering went above and beyond with how they setup the signature drink station. They did an amazing job with my rustic backyard theme! We used our signature monogrammed napkins, had a chalkboard describing the signature drinks and also navy chevron straws! I found the straws at Christmas Tree Shops super cheap!!

This was all before you walked into our cocktail hour!! We decorated the front doors of the Cotton Dock with monogram S that my in-laws made. My Mom and I made the wreaths for the side doors and my mother-in-law made the bows. We bought the bathroom chalkboard sign at Kirklands! We also bought a wagon at Hobby Lobby and filled with mums and candles to give the front of the Cotton Dock more flair! It looked so pretty at the end of the night with all the candles lit up!

I loved the idea of hanging lanterns! We ended up renting lanterns from our caterer which were perfect and totally my Pinterest vision! My mother-in-law made the chevron cushions for the benches as well as the placemats for the cocktail tables. I told the caterer that I wanted the flowers to look like I picked them from our garden. So all the flowers were in anqtiue bottles and mason jars! 

And do these small chalkboard signs look familiar (nautical wedding shower)? Haha! We reused these signs for the wedding and they were placed on the bar! The signs were purchased at World Market.

Our Escort Cards!

Mason jar vases and jelly jar candle holders. Tiger Lily Floral did such an amazing job with everything! We worked with Gayla and she is amazing!!

I just love these photos of the acoustic guitar players we had at our wedding! They were perfect and helped provide the best atmosphere for the wedding. Other Brother provided the music for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. 

And did I mention the most amazing view during our cocktail hour? I can't tell you how beautiful our pictures were with this sunset. Such a magical day!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton