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