Personalized Cups for Your DIY Wedding Favors

It seems that lately edible wedding favors and DIY gifts are taking over traditional favors like frames and soaps?  I think guests and brides are getting tired of all the small trinkets and knick-knacks.  And really, who could blame them?  After all, chocolate is loved by everyone (unless you're allergic...) and homemade recipes add that warm and fuzzy feeling you just can't find anywhere else.

To get that homemade feel in your wedding favors, I love the idea of using family drink recipes, cookie recipes, and any other recipes your family can bring home with them to use over and over again.  For an absolutely adorable edible favor presentation, check out this place setting idea put together with personalized cups, cellophane-wrapped cookies, and the family's cookie recipe.

Refreshingly unique! This idea is so great because your friends and family get to take home a delicious recipe to eat and the custom cup that holds it.  Attach a recipe tag to your homemade cookies printed with the ingredients along with cute phrases like 'A pinch of love', 'A dash of kindness', and 'A cup of passion'.  Have your names and wedding date custom printed on the front of your personalized cups so your loved ones will think of you every time they pour themselves their favorite drink.  Set at each place setting and voila!

Happy Planning!

Allie

Memorializing Lost Loved Ones at Your Wedding Ceremony

Getting married is the most joyful time of your life and meant to be shared with all of your loved ones. Unfortunately, some of your loved ones may have passed on and will not be at your wedding. You may be wondering how to acknowledge your lost loved ones at your wedding ceremony.

I would like to share with you some of the subtle ways that you can include the memory of your loved ones on your wedding day without taking the joy out of the occasion.

• Include Them In Your Prayers – Many weddings include a prayer during the ceremony. This is a good time to include the names of your lost loved ones.

• Dedicate a Song – Include a song in either your wedding ceremony or your reception that will pay tribute your lost loved one.

• Display a Memorial - You can also set up a memorial table with pictures of your loved ones and/or include a memorial candle that is lit for the loved ones passed. Then your guests can go by and remember them.

• Celebrate Their Traditions - Maybe you could include something from your late grandparents wedding, like a poem or a bible verse. If it is available you could also wear your grandmothers wedding dress or a piece of her jewelry.

Remembering those we've lost isn't meant to bring sadness into your day, but to honor those we wished could have joined us. Finding a way to remember and honor your loved ones should be something that you will always remember as a special part of the day.

Carrie

Eat Cake Be Merry...

After the Valentine's Day weekend, I must still have sweets on the brain because I found myself Googling wedding cakes.  It is amazing to see all the stunning designs that are available today.  Cake making has truly become an art form.

If you haven't heard of the fabulous designers at Eat Cake Be Merry, then today is you're lucky day.  Boy oh boy, do these girls know how to bake.  With a goal to combine modern design with delicious cake, check out some of our recent favorites.

Simply stunning.  I love the embroidered inspired detailing.  I can see this one used at a vintage themed wedding.

So modern and contemporary.  This cake just commands attention.  And the fuchsia pink, red, and yellow color scheme is absolutely refreshing.

Doesn't this one just make you wish for Spring?  I can already picture it being used at a backyard wedding reception.  Adorable.

Head on over to their website to view more extraordinary cake designs, pricing, and contact info.  eatcakebemerry.com.  Serving the New York metropolitan area.

Happy Planning!

Allie

Scrumptiously Sweet Valentine's Day Recipes

In celebration of Valentine's Day, I couldn't resist presenting these adorable, mouthwatering sweets for your sweetie.  Happy weekend!

Double Thumbprint Cookies from bhg.com.  Surprise your Valentine with a tray of these tasty treats from Better Homes and Gardens.

Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches from mintdesignblog.com.  Delicious and adorable.  A sure way to anyones heart.

Heart Pancakes from marthastewart.com.  The perfect Valentine's Day breakfast.  Easy to make and almost too cute to eat....almost.

Allie

Celtic Wedding Themes and Traditions

Celtic wedding themes and traditions are simple and meaningful and can be seen through out modern weddings still today. The Celtics belief in marriage was that two souls would join together so their strengths would be twice as great and hardships only half as hard. Marriage was an institution not to be entered into lightly. It was the union of two souls, two hearts and two minds.

The ceremony itself was a simple ritual called handfasting. The bride and groom would stand facing each other holding hands and they were bound by a ceremonial rope, cord or wrap. This is where the term ‘tying the knot’ comes from. Handfasting symbolized the unity of the couple.

The Celtic love knot popularly known as the eternity knot represents the union of two souls by interweaving two individual strands. They are commonly used in Celtic wedding rings which portray two unbroken loops that intertwine and are inseparable from each other. They also symbolize the never-ending cycle of life with their intricate and interwoven patterns that have no end or beginning.

Many customs are specific to local areas of Ireland and Scotland. Some Celtic wedding accessories have survived the times and are still used today, such as the Claddagh ring. This ring was named after one of Ireland’s oldest fishing villages and it has been in use in Ireland for several hundred years. The two hands clutching a heart are for friendship, the crown for loyalty or fidelity and the heart symbolizes love. The custom is that if you are single you wear the ring on the right hand facing out to symbolize your heart is open for love. You wear it facing in if you are spoken for. To show you are engaged, you wear the ring outward on the left hand. During the wedding ceremony, the ring is then turned inward to signify the final devotion of the heart in marriage. Even if you don’t use a Claddagh ring for Celtic wedding bands, the Irish Claddagh symbol can be incorporated into your wedding on invitations, accessories and even wedding favors.

Carrie

Reserving Hotel Rooms for Out of Town Wedding Guests

If you are planning a destination wedding, it’s a good idea to reserve a block of rooms with one or more nearby hotels. Most hotels will offer a group rate for weddings based on the percentage of blocks being reserved and if it's during a peak season . The hotel will give a code for your guests to use when calling to book their own room and typically require the reservation is made several weeks in advance.

You may include detailed information with hotel recommendations and costs on save the date magnets 12 to 6 months before your wedding.  Or once you receive the majority of RSVP’s included in your wedding invitations, reserve a block rooms for your guests and send informal cards with your recommended hotel accommodations.

My sister planned a beautiful winter wedding this past December and even though she did not have a lot of out of town guests, she did reserve a block of rooms at a near by hotel. I am glad she did because the weather forecast did not indicate 8 inches of lake effect snow that began to fall during the wedding ceremony. The block of rooms she reserved were quickly filled by the time the reception started.

Renee'

Hot Off The Press: Colorful Cupcake Boxes

After much ado, we are so excited to be able to introduce new colorful cupcake boxes to our line of personalized individual cupcake favor boxes.

These cupcake boxes are bright and bold ranging in colors like bermuda blue, lime green, hot pink, yellow, pink, and more.  They really add that vavoom, or 'je ne sais quoi' if you will, to your place settings and favor tables.  The boxes are a great alternative to traditional cake, making it easier to send guests home with dessert, budget your expenses, and eliminate left-overs.

From a construction standpoint, these cupcake boxes have both their advantages and disadvantages. 

Benefits

1) They have a glossy finish and are very lightweight.  Easy to assemble, the boxes are one-piece and pop right open.  2) They are made of high-quality paper stock, are grease resistant, and are FDA approved for food use.  3) They come in two sizes, standard and jumbo, for filling with regular cupcakes or extra large muffins.

Drawbacks

Be cautious when selecting your custom printing options.  When deciding on the printing color to go on your boxes, be sure to select a color that will contrast against the paper background.  We've noticed that the box color has a tendency to 'absorb' the color that is being printed.  i.e.  You do not want to print orange on a hot pink box because these colors are too close to each other in shade and hue.  The result will not be legible.  Instead, opt for white, black, blue, or purple as your imprint color.

To learn more, visit our website to view personalized individual cupcake favor boxes.  Happy Planning!

Allie