Skip The Bouquet, Carry This Purse! January 28, 2009

Who says you and your maids have to carry bouquets?

Have you ever considered gifting your maids (and/or matrons) with a sweet handbag they can use again and again, rather than supplying them with beautiful (but short-lived bouquets)?

I am absolutely loving these J.Crew

For $88 each, these Gala bags are one sweet gift and they’d look lovely next to a 50s style dress, a sleek gown or the cutie-pie yellow dress I mentioned earlier!

Other colors include black, aqua (spearmint) and tea rose (stunning dark pink).

My Wedding — Sweet Treats January 26, 2009

I am a sweets junkie… Because of this, my wedding guests will be forced to endure several sweet treats at my wedding (but don’t worry, of course I’ll serve some savory items).

Our caterer will be providing cupcakes –
white cake with lemon filling and cream cheese frosting
chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse and chocolate ganache
white chocolate cake with raspberry mousse and white chocolate buttercream
carrot cake

But I want to put my fingerprint on the menu (or treats) as well.

I’d originally posted about making mini-madeleine cookies, and dipping them in chocolate (mmmm) for the guests. Then, about a month ago (perhaps I am just too antsy for our new kitchen and fancy Electrolux appliances), I decided that I’d also like to provide my guests with another surprising treat — macaron cookies. Not to be confused with coconuty-macaroon cookies, macarons are delicious, delicate little French cookies that sandwich a filling that can range from quasi-savory to sweet.

I plan to make my first batch as soon as our new double oven is installed and ready to run.

My first test will be to make 3 flavors — Macaron Caramel Fleur de Sel (salted caramel), lemon macarons and red berry macarons.

If these babies are 1/4 as tasty as they are gorgeous, they will be at the reception!

The Perfect Casual Wedding Dress? January 23, 2009

I haven’t worn Calvin Klein in years… I have a difficult time parting with $900 for a sweater at this point in my life, and the “retail” line of jeans, tops and “CK” branded stuff does nothing for me.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Calvin Klein makes great dresses — in my price range — and they can be found at one of my favorite stores… Nordstrom!

Look at this darling, simple number — a classy, understated gown that would be stunning on a bride. Add some chandalier earrings, a Haute Bride bracelet and some pop-of-color shoes. Sigh… it’d be an inexpensive, stunning bridal look.

The pricetag? It’s so low, I probably shouldn’t even share it with you.

Gorgeous Yellow Bridesmaid Dresses January 23, 2009

Yellow seems to be, once again, a hot wedding color.

I found a few super-cute yellow dress that would be SO perfect — it almost makes me rethink my wedding and lack of attendants

Click here for options.

I’m Like a Bird… Or at Least “I Like a Bird Cage” January 19, 2009

I have spent FAR too much time stalking Save-On-Crafts and other craft sites, looking for my birdcage cardholder/cardbox/whatever.

Then, feeling bored the other day, I swung over to Craigslist and searched for “birdcage.”

I found a fantastic metal and wood birdcage from Pier 1 — it was about 15 miles from my home and a whopping $10.

Of course I got it! Here’s the “before” pic. And, watch for my “improved & wedding-ready” version of this cage (hint: the spruce up “ingredients” all came from Paper-Source). I love it!

Win A Free Wedding Gown! January 15, 2009

Ladies, I almost forgot to mention!

You can win a FREE(!!!) wedding dress valued up to $1,500 at PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. The winner will be able to select any gown in the POWD selection up to the stated value. If the chosen dress is over $1,500 — you will be responsible for the difference. You can browse through over 1,000 different dresses from designers you *might* recognize — Melissa Sweet, Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Lela Rose, Amsale, La Sposa, etc, etc, etc.

Enter before February 28, 2009 for your chance to win! If you’re chosen, you’ll know as soon as March 2.

These are just some of the available dresses!

Good luck!

Nom, nom, nom! Wedding cupcakes! January 10, 2009

I know it’s not a “new” trend to have cupcakes at your wedding – when we got engaged, I hadn’t even seen the idea on my favorite blogs, now they’re EVERYWHERE!

That doesn’t mean they’re any less delicious or not absolutely perfect for our wedding!

Check out these yummy treats from Miel y Leche (my favorite cupcakes ever!)

Tres Leches

[caption id="attachment_737" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Key Lime"][/caption]

Yellow Cake, Chocolate Frosting

I must tell you that these cupcakes ARE (I say with conviction) THE BEST cupcakes in the metro – coming from someone who has tried cupcakes at 25 different bakeries/shops.

Want to find them? Sheela sells them in a number of cool shops across the metro — Golden Fig, Mitrebox, Triple Rock Social Club. Weekly cupcake flavors can be found here.

You can thank me later.

Casual Outdoor Wedding? This Could be Your Dress January 9, 2009

Even though I already have my wedding dress (well, 2 wedding dresses), I still love to look at dresses and imagine the wedding that would go with them. The sleek bias-cut silk number that would fit right into a swanky, Hollywood-themed wedding. The tiered lace gown that would look stunning with a fun, funky soiree.

This little number, though its marketed as a party frock, would be great with a backyard barbecue, picnic themed wedding. You can dance, you can play bocce ball, you can do it all!

I love the “vintage” ivory shade and the drop waist — it’s got a hint of the roaring ’20s and a dash of ruffle.

Find it here.

How Much Food Do You Need to Feed Your Wedding Guests? January 7, 2009

Are you hosting a backyard bbq, garden picnic or DIY reception meal for your wedding? One of the most difficult planning elements is food (we’ll get to temperature later, right now, let’s look at quantities).

Let’s look at a basic DIY menu. I was thinking, in a previous planning stage, of a backyard reception at our new home. We’ve got 1/2 an acre and this perfectly flat, mature-tree studded back yard that would look smashing with round tables scattered about.

I was thinking of a basic menu of:
nuts and olives
assorted cheeses with crackers
fruit
bread (probably baugette) with butter
chicken skewers with dipping sauces
pork tenderloin
parmesean risotto
spinach salad
fire roasted vegetables
cupcakes
beer
wine
soda
wine

Hmm, not so difficult, I should be able to figure it out.

Then, I realize that I have NO idea how much food one person would eat. How much food would I really need for 100 people?

I found a link on recipelink that offered recommended amounts for common foods.

it recommended:
2 lbs of butter
12 1 lb. loaves of bread
35 lbs. chicken
40 lbs. of roast (I’m assuming that would be the same for pork tenderloin)
5 lbs. rice (does that count the same for risotto?)

and if you were doing burgers and dogs: 32 lbs. burger, 25 lbs. hot dogs.

about.com offers a different approach:

meats: plan for 6 ounces per person if you have one dish, 8 ounces if you server two dishes (or 4 ounces per person per dish)
rice: 2 ounces for a main dish like risotto, or 1.5 ounce per person if its a side dish.
vegetable (roasted!): 4 ounces per person
salad: 1 ounce undressed per person

So… on those calculations, one would need 50 pounds of meat, 12.5 pounds of rice/risotto, 25 pounds of roasted vegetables, 6.25 pounds of salad.

The cheese and fruit haven’t been touched upon, but the nice thing is that most caterers (and grocers) that sell veggie, fruit or cheese trays typically list the number of people each tray could serve!

My recommendation, ask a caterer how much they would serve for your guest number and gauge off that

I Don’t Usually Pimp eBay Dresses, But… January 5, 2009

This BCBG would be the perfect dress for a casual, garden wedding. I love it so much!

I know I swoon a lot, but… you know

Find it here.