Every two or three years, my mom's extended family gets together at a lovely beach location for a family reunion. Last month we had our third reunion on Hilton Head Island, S.C. It was a fun and relaxing week of fun, family, surf and sand! It's always great to see the extended Hald family all in one place. We all trekked from Pennsylvania, New York and Texas.
In the middle of our week at the beach, my mom hosted an engagement party for me and Derek! I of course had to have a hand in the planning -- I just couldn't resist!
When you have a wedding guest list as big as ours, DIY projects aren't exactly easy to pull off. Since this party was only about 40 people, I was able to satisfy my crafting craving a little more easily. I created these champagne flutes with supplies from Party City and Michaels.
I bought a couple of packages of plastic flutes, these nifty little fake engagement rings and some twine. I tied the twine into bows with the rings secured inside of them and voila! We had cute little custom flutes for toasting (the kids got sparkling cider for that one).
Even though it was a smaller, low-key get together, I wanted to send out invitations for the party. Thanks to Vistaprint I was able to do that for under $20! I really loved the design we chose because I think it combined "beach" and "vintage" really well.
Derek and I definitely enjoyed ourselves and from what I heard, so did everyone else! I'll let the photos speak for themselves...
Me and my godmother Susie!
Derek and I with our gracious hostess
My mom and her sisters, Aunt Sue and Aunt Jeannie (she was the flower girl in both of their weddings!)
The teen girls
Some of our friends from North Carolina even made the trip down to help us celebrate!
(l to r) My sister (Jeanine), Derek, me, Rich (down from NC) and my brother (also named Rich)
The kids and their sparkling cider
That's one of the peach cupcakes I made from scratch! I got the recipe from Pinterest and they were scrumptious.
Cousin Matthew and his sweet girlfriend Macye (are they next?!)
Me and the brides I served under back in the day (missing two)
Derek with the corresponding grooms
These two are excited to be in-laws
My brother so lovingly pointed out I looked like a Stepford wife. I ordered this festive frock from LaceAffair.com
I'm so glad that Derek finally got to meet the rest of my mom's family and that we could celebrate with some of our wonderful cousins, aunts, uncles and friends. Thank you guys so much for coming and for all of the sweet and lovely gifts you gave us! Derek and I are so blessed to have you all in our lives and to have you as part of this exciting time in our lives. And a special thank you to my mom for the awesome vacation and fabulous party!
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