This summer, I was asked to help design a day-after-wedding get together for a young, bright and brainy couple. The mother of the groom asked that I incorporate as much of the couple's signature interests as possible (libraries, math, science, and nature) while keeping it romantic. It took a bit of brainstorming, but The Library of Marital Science was born.

Guests signed in and left their best wishes for the newly weds on library book inserts. Books, bugs, and science gear were displayed throughout the party, including an electronic butterfly in a jar and a real goldfish! (No living creatures were harmed during the making of this party)


A must-have for the day after a wedding is coffee. Mass quantities of coffee. To go with the theme, a Caffeination Laboratory was set up for guests to experiment with different flavours. Beakers, test tubes, flasks and prop "specimens" completed the cozy coffee scene.



Don't you just love those elastic bands?? It's details like this that keep a smile on my face!



This brilliant unsolvable formula for love was written on a classic lab-style white board and was perfect for this event. The formula itself is from Randall Munroe's webcomic XKCD. I was thrilled to finally have a good reason to write this out for myself. Love it! Below is a picture of a lucky find: science lab test tube bubbles care of Michaels. These were some seriously bubbly bubbles.


The mother of the groom set up a canoe buffet and loaded it with the group's favourites. What a great way to bring the couple's love of outdoor recreational activities into the party! And what a great idea for anyone with a large group to feed. This thing held tons of food!

In lieu of bunting, book pages and pictures of the bride and groom were hung up with clothespins around the yard.  Guests took home homemade apple pie pops with sweet mini heart-cutouts and a tag that read "Love as sweet as Pi" to complement the geeky, math and science theme. The pops were displayed on a handcrafted mossy treestump!



This party was such a blast! At the end of the day, everyone got a big helping of the day's best dish: relaxation.

Stay tuned for part 2!


Love, Clementine