Yummy Favors

I'm a big fan of edible favors.  We gave out gourmet coffee for our wedding and some of my favorite favors  received include honey, wine and baked goods.  Love these sweets in jars from All Jarred Up on Esty. I wish I had the idea to make the muffins in jars last year to go with the bags of coffee that we gave to our guests. Perfect for out of town guest bags too!


All Jarred Up



Fairy Tale Inspiration

Ómnia vincit amor; et nos cedamus amori. - Virgil
(Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to love.)

Vogue

Bright Star via Her Name was Lola

Kiss the Groom

Hermes

I imagine this is what Dorothy's wedding might have looked like.
Snippet and Ink

Bridal Worthy Shoes That Won't Break the Bank

Piperlime is having a sale and as I was trolling for shoes, bags and other goodies when I found a few pretty bride-worthy shoes that will not kill your budget. For your something blue Bradgley Mischka Hyde $150 Caparros Lidia $59.99Nina Papina $69.99

Badgley Mischka Radee $179.99

Badgley Mischka Randall $169-$200

Martinez Valero Orli $129.99 Bradgley Mischka Calton $119.00

Bradgley Mischka Caroline $149.99

Caparros Gorgeous $59.99Nina Elga $64.99

Nina Electra $69.99

In the News!

This is almost old news at this point but I'm still pretty excited about it. On February 14th (Weekend Edition) I was quoted in an article in Newsday's Bridal section about the centerpieces at our wedding. So here is an online version of the story (the printed version had a photo of our table centerpiece). I love that the online version has a DIY video on how to create your own bouquet.

A Bubbly Art Deco Wedding

Band Photo from Martha Stewart; Clutch from Regina b.; J. Crew Orion Dress; Bubble Lounge in New York, photo from Shecky; Champagne Place card Holder from Project Wedding; Croquembouche from Martha Stewart; Florentine Invite from Minted; Clutch from Regina b.;

Getting What You Want from Your Vendors

I found that using photos as examples with my vendors was really useful in conveying my inspirations and the style that I wanted. I seriously brought photos to every meeting, including a packet of photos for the photographer. Obviously, your budget, season, etc may cause cahnges but I think my vendors really came close to the style that I requested while still sticking to my budget. Here are some examples:

Photographer

Flowers

Cake

Rain on Your Wedding Day

The NY Times has a wonderful article on how to prep for the possible rainy day wedding. We luckily had a beautiful day but had planned for a rainy one just in case. We also had to keep the budget in mind as Darcy Miller points out. Our location only held 85 people seated. We could move out doors and invite more but that would have required a tent and flooring in case the weather was bad. Even with nice weather, my dress has a good share of dirt and grass stains so I like Claudia Hanlin's suggestion on a change of shoes and a cloth if your ceremony is going to be out doors. Another issue that I ran into was the price of white umbrellas. I ordered a few large bronze colored umbrellas from target which we much more affordable and my cousin who's wedding is next weekend has purchased them in blue, one of her wedding colors. You can save close to $10-20 per umbrella but not choosing a white one.

The following photos were found at Bubbly Bride

Image from the NY Times

Wedding Menu

I was reading the NY Times online (my usual morning routine)and saw this article about the new wedding theme of "Down-Home" wedding celebrations for this year, highlighting the comfort food trend and the high costs of these "simple" weddings. I'm so excited to see this move toward high quality, tasty, home style menus.

So here is the catering info: We are having a lunch for 85-90 people at a small historic barn on Long Island for about $50 per person, not including alcohol and dessert (we are supplying both) but does include servers, a chef and a bartender plus the grill. We had a tasting back in the winter that was absolutely amazing. The slow cooked Texas Brisket melted in your mouth and the potatoes were to die for! Kevin Judge over at Maple Tree BBQ has been great to work with and was more then generous in the amount of food he sent us home with at the tasting so that we could share with the whole family.

Menu

Apple Cider and Ice Tea

Cocktail Hour

A Selection of Sate
Marinated Beef, Lamb, and Shrimp

Trio of Brochetta
Italian Tapenade, Romolade, Dice Tomato and Red Onion in Vinaigrette

Tomato and Mozzarella
Local Tomato Garnished with Basil

Sliced Fresh Fruit

Dinner

Tossed Green Salad

Smoked Texas Brisket of Beef

Grilled Lemon Oil Chicken
With Balsamic Glazed Onions

Grilled Vegetable Cakes
Served with Sweet Potato with Coconut Tahani
Sauce

Applewood Smoked Beans

Herb Crushed Potato
With Rosemary and Thyme

Local Corn, Cut From the Cob
Confetti of Green and Red Peppers, Black Beans, Cilantro

Stir fried Teriyaki String Beans

Grilled Vegetables
Pineapple, Eggplant, Portobello Mushrooms, Zucchini, Red Onion, Sweet Potato

Sliced Water Mellon

Coffee, Tea, Decaf

Wedding Invitations

Our invitations will have matte silver writing instead of the gold

I just sent in my proofs for the wedding invites the other day and I'm having second thoughts. I am working with a very tight budget so letterpress and custom invites did not seem like an option, plus the wedding coordinator was able to get us a fantastic price on these ($50 less then what I had put in the budget for). Here are my 2 minor problems with the invites.

1. I have fallen in love with the idea of a symbol of some sort - I know it isn't a good reason but I would really like one. I'm hoping that I can decide on one and incorporate it into the directions insert, menus, place cards and other stationary. Do you think I can get away with this and have it still match with the stationary or should I just forget the symbol thing?


2. The invites have a very formal look that I liked at the time when I was receiving "ho down" jokes about having our wedding in a barn, but now I would like something with a little more personality that fits us and our venue better. Again, I thought maybe we could do this in the additional stationary.

Crown Invitations from Martha Stewart

Acorn Invitation by Dauphine Press

Acorn and Leaf Invitation by Mew Paper Arts

Oak Tree Invitation by Hello Lucky

Pear Tree Invitations from Martha Stewart designed by Athena Preston

Farm Invitations from Martha Stewart

Naturalist Invitations from Hello Lucky