Sweet Save The Date Ideas

If you want to let your guests know in plenty of time that you are inviting them to your wedding, "save the dates" come in handy. How about getting creative and sending out a very special type of "save the date".

You can send a decorative paper type "save the date" or you can create a "save the date" that shows personality and lots of creative style. Think about where you are getting married. You could design a save the date that has something to do with the place or city where you will be married.

Will your wedding be fancy or casual, western style or more formal? What time of year is your wedding going to be? Spring, winter, etc...design something around the time of year.

One "save the date" I heard about that would surely get noticed is to put a picture of you and your fiancee in a snowglobe. You could send your guests a homemade wedding shaped sugar cookie and tell them it would be sweet if they would save the date and attend your wedding. If you will be doing western style decor, you could send a bandana with a howdy partner and the details written on the bandana or an invite wrapped in the bandana. If you will be married in a warmer climate, write the save the date info on a beach ball and send it in the mail. Then invite your guests to blow up the ball so they can see the info on it.

Have fun with it! Once you start the creative juices flowing there's no end to the fun ways you can wow your guests and get them to "save the date".

Choosing A Spot For Your Reception

Wadley Farms Reception Center

You have several options to consider when planning your reception. Will you do an outdoor backyard kind of wedding venue? Will you use a reception center, church cultural hall, or golf clubhouse? What about having it in an out of the ordinary place such as a library, courthouse, museum, or park?

First you have to think about the time of year you will be getting married. If you have an outdoor place to host guests, you will need a backup plan in case of inclement weather. What kind of decorating will you have to do if you don't choose a reception center or a more formal place such as a museum, or country club?

Will you do the decorating or will you hire someone to decorate for you? Sit your future spouse down and talk about your wedding budget. Who will pay for what and how much of the reception do you want to do yourselves? Talk about the pros and cons of each venue and decide which will fit your style, personality, and budget best. Perhaps there is a place you haven't considered such as a relative's home.

Give yourself plenty of time to plan. Research all the different places that you are interested in having host your reception. You can get lots of fun reception ideas online at different wedding sites and blogs.

This is your story and your moment in wedding history so plan it carefully. Don't be afraid to put your own personal magic wedding touch on it. Make it your day and your guests will enjoy sharing it with you!

Wedding Cake Fondant Style

This weekend I designed my sister in law's wedding cake. She requested a carrot cake and left the rest up to me. She wanted some yellow on the cake. It was an outdoor wedding on the first day of summer so I kept it fairly simple as far as the design.

I love working with fondant so once I frosted the cake, I covered it in fondant. Fondant helps keep a wedding cake moist. It can give a cake a very elegant or very simple look depending on what you do with it.

I colored the inside of the flowers yellow and put a couple of yellow fondant roses on it. I made a nest of coconut and melted chocolate and bits of white chocolate. I put a couple of birds in the middle of the nest.

I had three cakes and displayed them on different levels. The birds and the flowers went well with the outdoor setting. All in all this project was a lot of work and a fun one. Happy Wedding Chel and Scott!

A Royal Wedding in Sweden Tomorrow

(Photos courtesy of Paul Hansen)

For those of you who love a royal wedding, Sweden will have a royal wedding tomorrow June 19th, 2010. Crown Princess Victoria will wed Mr. Daniel Westling in Stockholm. The festivities have already begun.

If you would like to learn more about the royal couple, the wedding, the dress, the invited guests, the history and traditions of royal Swedish weddings visit
The Royal Court

The Royal Court site will also provide up to date details throughout the day about the big event. Crown Princess Victoria became engaged to Mr. Daniel Westling February 24, 2009. You can learn a lot about a country by watching a royal wedding. Best of luck to the soon to be wed Royal couple. All the world's eyes will be on them tomorrow and I am sure many wish them much happiness in their new life together!

The Best Bridesmaid

A bridesmaid can help assist the bride in her wedding plans. She can be a great asset to the bride by doing a few simple things to help out. When you look at wedding lists, you usually see who does what refers to the bride and groom but add a list of "to dos"for the bridesmaid and she can make the bride's life much easier.

Bridal Shower Power
A thoughtful bridesmaid can plan and organize a fun bridal shower. You can go do a homemade party and invite the bride's friends and family. Or you could plan an outing to the bride's favorite restaurant. Everyone pays their own way. Get a list from the bride and set the date with her as well. Then plan away!

Keep The Bride On Task
Get a calendar and mark the dates, places, and things the bride has to do. You can check in with the bride often and act as her personal assistant to make sure she doesn't forget important appointments and dates. Offering to drive her to her next appointment would be both helpful and fun for the bride. Once in awhile, offer to take her to lunch so you and she can chat about wedding plans and other topics with the goal to help her de-stress!

Personal Secretary
Offer to help address invitations, announcements, and thank yous for the bride. Organize a way for her to keep track of all that she needs to accomplish before the wedding.

Wedding Day Duties
It is the bridesmaid's job to help the bride have a memorable wedding day. Watch for things that you can do for her without having to ask. Does she need a drink of water, something to snack on, etc...Also be prepared with safety pins, wipes, tissues, mints, etc...in case of a last minute emergency you can help her not to stress but turn the situation from disaster to laughter.

At the end of the day, you can fall into bed and dream happy thoughts knowing that as a bridesmaid your mission was accomplished!

Soft Sashes and Headbands Are In!

Taking a look at the latest wedding dress fashions, sashes are in! These beautiful sashes were designed by Kirsten Kuehn Designs Beverly Hills. They can double not only as a sash but can be worn as a headband.

Adorned with feathers and large sophisticated elegant looking fabric flowers (my personal favorite), don't you think you would take center stage in your wedding dress sporting a beautiful sash such as these?

Up do's and hair pulled back off the face would look stunning with a headband like these. Delicate, soft and very elegant these make a wonderful wedding fashion statement!

For Your Wedding Helpers!

OK so I came across these darling aprons on Ruffles and Stuff. Disney is sooo creative and she gives you the whole tutorial with photos on how to make these amazing aprons!

You could make one for each of your kitchen helpers and servers for your wedding event! Make them match and you've got a fashion statement going on for all those who help out at your wedding. When they are done, your helpers can take them home as a fun gift for their time spent helping you!

Also just a reminder that Father's Day is coming up this Sunday, June 20th. Make one for dear old dad! He'll grin from ear to ear to think that you cared enough to make him a fun t-shirt apron that he can wear in the kitchen "wink wink, hint hint Dad" or he can wear when he has messy jobs like working on the car or making home repairs!

Need an idea on what to do with all your extra t-shirts? Take a look at
Ruffles and Stuff and get sewing! It's easy and you'll finish it in no time. Happy sewing!

Great Wedding Gift

Looking for the perfect wedding gift to give a friend? Why not give a french rolling pin. I discovered the ease and fun of using one of these last year at Christmas. I was given a beautiful handmade French rolling pin made of black walnut wood.

They are easy to use and actually make rolling out dough fun! They don't have handles on the edge you just put your hands in the middle of it and start to gently push it around. The pin is easy to maneuver and it is easy to flatten the dough.

Pair your French rolling pin with a nice oven mitt and some fancy dish towels. Your friend will love it and each time she uses it in her kitchen, she will think of you! You can find them at The Wedding Contessa.

Chill More When Planning Your Wedding

Isn't it better to enjoy the journey than just look forward to the destination? When planning your wedding, make it an enjoyable experience. It may seem like a lot of work, but isn't the end result worth it?

Take time to relax, laugh, and take it easy. Follow these easy tips to make your wedding experience a great one!

1.It doesn't have to be perfect! Things may go wrong along the planning way or there may be glitches but that can lead you to something better if you let it. Be flexible and take a deep breath then forge ahead and find a solution.

2.Keep a wedding notebook. Keep track of your wedding planning adventures. Someday you will look back and laugh at all the little things that happened along the way. Journal your feelings and experience at the end of each day. Add some photos for a pre wedding scrapbook.

3.Plan ahead so you have plenty of breathing room! Keep a planner at your disposal. No matter if you have 6 months, 2 months, or 3 weeks to plan. Plan your days so that you don't feel rushed in the process of putting together your wedding. You want to enjoy the week before your wedding and planning ahead is key to your success and your sanity! Stay on top of your wedding game plan!

4.Take time for yourself! Don't spend all your time before your wedding in planning, shopping, and worrying about the wedding! Do some things you enjoy! Take time to stop and smell the flowers! Take your mom and grandma to lunch!

5.Use your sense of humor! When tension or stress starts to build, try and find something funny about the situation. This will help take the edge off and you'll feel much better about things.

6.Relax! Find ways to relax! Turn on your favorite tunes and soak in a bubble bath. Whatever helps you unwind and rejuvenate...take time to pamper yourself once in awhile! You're worth it!

7. Pace yourself! Trying to do everything at once is very overwhelming. Plan well and space things out. Learn to delegate if you need to . Enlist the help of family and friends in getting your wedding to do list done!

8.Go With The Flow. If you have to turn down an invitation or two once in awhile, only take on things that you can handle right now. Don't over schedule yourself and learn to say no if you need to. Right now focus on the things that are most important to you in your life at this time.

9. Exercise and stay healthy! Find time to exercise! It is very important to your over all well being! Get plenty of rest and eat healthy! Reward your efforts by splurging once in awhile with a special sweet treat.

10.Enjoy the journey! It's possible you know to enjoy the process of planning your wedding. Hopefully it is a once in a lifetime event for you and you want to capture the essence of this special moment. Life passes so quickly! Enjoy this time so you don't look back with regret that you didn't laugh more and worry less about the whole wedding thing.

New Spin On An Old Favorite

Summer time means grilling or barbecuing. Recently my sister suggested we try s'mores in a little different fashion. Instead of using the traditional piece of chocolate we tried a chocolate peanut butter cup candy in the middle of the graham cracker and then added toasted marshmallows. Delicious!

If you have friends or family over this summer for a backyard barbecue, use this recipe guaranteed to become a favorite (unless someone hates peanutbutter!) The taste comes together in a delightful fashion. It's easy and it's a fun recipe for summer cookouts! Happy entertaining!

Some More Smore's Please
graham crackers halved
large marshmallows for toasting
chocolate peanut butter cup candies

Design in Food and Fabric

Once you pick a theme for your wedding and once you choose your wedding colors, you can carry your design throughout the food, the fabric, and the centerpieces. Over at Elizabeth Anne Designs , you can see a great example of this created by April Foster Events . The design chosen for a wedding is seen repeated in the cake, the table decor, and the desserts served to guests. Photos are by Megan W Photography. The colors are very relaxing and peaceful. So summery and inviting! You'll even find the how to's!

Simple and Sweet Flower Girl Rose Petal Bouquet

Here is a creative bouquet for the flower girls in your wedding line. Dainty, soft, and pretty indestructible you slip the flower girl bouquet on the arm and wear it like a purse. The flower petals won't wilt as they are made of fabric. They can be made in any color and you can order ribbons or lace to adorn it as well.

This cute simple and sweet flower girl bouquet can be made in a larger version for a throw bouquet. It is sure to get noticed and nods of approval from your guests! Available from The Wedding Contessa. You can special order the color you want just convo me under contact The Wedding Contessa!