If you’re having a country-theme wedding it’s a lot of fun to have a hoedown reception. Feature fiddles, and square dancing, and a hootin’ good time, and your guests will never forget it. It’s not even all that difficult to get the hoedown ready for the crowd. Here are a few ideas and suggestions to get you started.
If you use inkjet-printable cotton you can make bandana invitations which fit right in with the hoedown theme. Just create the invitations you want, with your computer, then print them on the cotton. A less expensive version can be made using paper. Scan the bandana, or find an image online, and print paper invitations that look like bandanas.
Invite guests to wear jeans, overalls, coveralls, gingham skirts, and similar wear. Make sure you allow enough time between the wedding and the reception for guests to change clothes – unless the wedding will be performed in similar clothing.
Bandanas work well as decorations in other areas of a hoedown reception, too. Sew them corner-to-corner and make a table runner. Or, wrap them around silverware to use as napkins. Instead of bandanas you can use gingham fabric. Use either one to make cones for candy favors by simply gluing a piece of stiff paper to the back of the bandana.
A way to introduce flowers to the tables, while keeping it laid-back and simplistic, is to stand a single flower – real or not – against a tall glass. The stem and flower should reach from the bottom of the glass to at least a couple of inches above the glass. Tie a ribbon around the glass to hold the flower in place and to accent the arrangement. If you want, fill the glass with dry beans, marbles, sea glass, wheat grass, rocks, or even wood chips.
A centerpiece can be made from an adult’s or child’s boot. Just fill the boot mostly full of wadded grocery bags or newspaper, then place flowers in it. Make a different centerpiece by using a block of wood – painted or not – and setting a candle on it.
Make a table runner of sorts by using things you would find around the ol’ farm. Paint and arrange tree twigs and limbs, rocks, and even mulch, down the center of the table. Or, lay out old tools and implements as the table accents.
Set bales of hay around the area where you’ll be having the square dancing. People in denim and dungarees can sit right on the bales. Make sure you offer chairs to those who are wearing dresses.
There is a huge selection when it comes to foods that could be served at a hoedown. You can have fried chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, or you could even roast a pig. Sides could include anything from corn on the cob, to beans, to “taters”.
It’s easy to make flower cupcakes that look great a at hoedown. Just bake regular cupcakes, frost them, then arrange jellybeans or other candies to make a flower on each one. Or, smash mini marshmallows and they look like white petals. Arrange the petals around the outside of the cupcake then put candy sprinkles or other candies in the center of the flower.
At a hoedown, it’s a must that you have a caller for the square dancing. You can often hire one by placing an ad in the local paper. The guests will have the time of their lives with the hoedown reception that is perfect for a fun-loving couple who wants to see their guests dancing and laughing all night.