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Archive for April, 2010

Wondering what to do with a hexagon-shaped box?  Wonder no more….hexagonal boxes can be used to create elegant wedding favors for just about any wedding theme or color scheme.  In the photo below, simple diamond patterned quilt favor boxes in a hexagon shape are used to create some fabulous looking personalized favors.

The upper right photo in the collage shows an affordable way to personalize your hexagonal shaped favor boxes.  Simply purchase custom imprinted favor ribbon in a color that goes with your color scheme.  Normally the ribbon can be imprinted with the bride and groom’s name along with the wedding date.  Also purchase some simple favor hang tags that say something like “Thank You for Sharing in Our Special Day”.  You can usually get about 25 of these classic thank you tags for under $5.  Tie the tag onto the box using the ribbon and consider using a little dot of hot glue to keep the ribbon in place on the box.

If you are having an autumn wedding, bring the fall colors into your favors through the use of ribbon and organic elements.  For the look in the photo, twigs from a local craft store (you could use ones from your yard too) were used along with a brown satin ribbon and gold organza ribbon.  Leaf-shaped paper cards were cut-out of green cardstock and hand-written with the word “Thank You”.  You can also find personalized leaf-shaped cards at Wedding Favors Unlimited.  They come in 4 different colors including brown, green, and red making them a great choice for fall-themed wedding favors.   You can personalized them with your names and date or your monogram.

Finally if you are looking to add a little glitz and glamour to your wedding favors, you can use crystal dazzlers, mongrams and a flashy bow like the ones shown in the photo on the lower right corner.  Kevin and Amber used their initials on the box for a personal touch that wowed their guests.  These do-it-yourself favors are a more expensive, but highly elegant option.

Photo courtesy of the Weddingstar Catalog.

One of the easiest ways to keep your wedding look cohesive is through a wedding theme.  If you’re still contemplating your theme, simply look to what you are naturally drawn to. For instance… it could be your favorite colors, a love for a certain era, a meaningful location, your culture or simply… the season of your wedding.

And, to add another level of WOW and polish to your theme, consider using a signature motif or a special design element that resonates with your theme and provides a focal point within your overall wedding look. Sort of like~ icing on the cake.

If threading a motif or design element throughout your wedding look sounds appealing to you {whether it’s your logo, monogram or charming lovebirds for a spring wedding theme} incorporate it into your invitation design and from there, add it into your attire and decorations.  From address labels and seals, seating cards and favors, to cake toppers and ring-bearer bowls, sprinkle your motif in surprising ways to delight your guests and put smiles on their faces.

Are you using a special motif in your wedding? Do tell…

Happy Planning!

Images:  “Covenant Love” Square Invitation inside a Petal Fold Holder via MagnetStreet Weddings and  Ring Bearer dish via Etsy

You may have seen my earlier post (aqua blue box ideas) where I suggested using treasure chest boxes for a shell themed wedding favor OR a blue chest with white ribbon for a Tiffany blue color scheme or a Something Blue wedding theme.  Here are some more fun ideas for using a chest-shaped box to create one-of-a-kind favors for your wedding guests.  Start with a simple treasure chest-shaped aqua blue favor box and embellish it for your wedding theme or season. 

To create the vintage look in the upper right corner of this collage, look to flapper girls of the 1920’s or Victorian hats worn in the 1800’s for inspiration.  This box was created using simple white feathers, ribbon, and natural floral components that can all be purchased at a local craft store.

For the splish splash beach-themed wedding favor on the lower left corner, you can create a sand surface in any pattern you choose by artfully placing on white glue and then sprinkling it with artificial sand or brown glitter.  For the sand castle, use card stock to make a cut-out and glue it to the chest after you’ve sprinkled it with “sand” as well.  You can buy miniature seashell decorations at a local craft store as well.  Simply glue them on to the treasure chest with hot glue.

If you are dreaming of a white Christmas, these snowflake adorned treasure chests might be the answer.  Simply cover the lower half of the chest in white glue and sprinkle with artificial snow to create a glimmery effect.  Then add a die-cut snowflake or snowflake dazzler.  The perfect favor choice for a winter wonderland wedding!

Favor photo courtesy of the 2009 Weddingstar Catalog.

Having trouble deciding on a cake theme for your beach wedding?  Well there is no need to worry!  In my previous post, I gave you some ideas as well as a photo collage of my favorite beach inspired wedding cakes.  So in this post, I thought I’d share my thoughts and ideas regarding cupcakes for a beach wedding. 

One of the biggest trends in wedding cakes this year is the fact that more and more brides are utilizing cupcakes instead of traditional layered wedding cakes.  Generally cupcakes are less expensive and guests love getting their own individual dessert that they can either enjoy at the reception or take home with them in a little cupcake favor box.

Like the large beach cakes, small cupcakes tend to incorporate the same types of motifs to create a tropical or beach feel.  Consider incorporating seashells or starfish, brightly colored tropical flowers, or palm trees constructed from chocolate or marzipan.  The most popular color schemes for beach inspired cupcakes are a sandy neutral brown or an ocean blue. 

In the photo collage below, you can see some of my favorite beach inspired cupcake displays.  In all cases, I like the use of cupcake stands to create an impressive, tall display.  As you can see, the most popular beach theme is seashells that are likely molded out of chocolate.  You can use various shapes on each cupcake (you can even use the shapes to denote different cupcake flavors).  For instance, you could use a starfish shape to indicate chocolate cupcakes, a seashell to denote vanilla cupcakes, and a seahorse shape to denote red velvet cupcakes.  The possibilities are endless!

Photo Credit:
1. Beach Wedding CupCake Towers; Wilmington, NC Carolina Cakes & Confections, 2. Beach Themed Wedding Cupcakes, 3. Beach Themed Wedding Cupcakes., 4. Beach wedding cupcakes, 5. an alternative to wedding cake – cupcakes!, 6. Beach Cupcake Tower, 7. 4989_1073228919465_1488420009_30201004_5981428_n, 8. Beach theme wedding cupcake at the Sawmill creek golf resort and spa Camlachie 2, 9. Wedding cupcake tower

One of my favorite do-it-yourself favor box choices for weddings are treasure chests.  You can embellish these simple boxes with ribbon, mini seashells, hearts or flowers, and personalized stickers or hang tags to create a one-of-a-kind favor for your wedding guests. 

This beach treasure chest was created using an aqua blue favor box, white “From The Happy Couple” ribbon, and starfish shaped stickers that are imprinted with the bride and groom’s names along with the wedding date.  All of these items can be purchased at Wedding Favors Unlimited. 

I suggest filling the boxes with seashell-shaped chocolates nestled on a bed of paper shred (as shown in the photo) or your favorite candies such as M & M’s in an aqua and white color scheme.

Using the same aqua blue treasure chests, you can create an elegant favor that would be great for a “Something Blue” wedding theme or chocolate and aqua colored wedding.  To create the look shown in the photo, you print out your favorite quote on a clear vellum strip and wrap it around the base of the treasure chest.  Then you wrap the white satin ribbon tying a bow around the chest in the other direction.  Use hot glue to add a heart-shaped confetti dazzler to the center of the ribbon bow and voila, you’ve got beautiful party favors for your guests.

 

Photos courtesy of the 2010 WeddingStar catalog.

Know the rules~ then modify them!

From a foodie perspective~ if you’re making a grilled cheese sandwich, the basic ingredients should include cheese and bread. And from there, you add the personal touches that take your grilled cheese sandwich to a whole new level. For me, that means adding cilantro, onions and ranch dressing!

It’s the same idea with wording your wedding invitations. Once you know the basic guidelines, then you have the freedom to personalize according to your wedding style and formality.

Your wedding invitation is responsible for a great deal and will set the tone for your entire event! Not only must it be stylish and all that… it also needs to communicate very important wedding day information: who, when and where. Whether your style is classic, modern, or non-traditional, a less formal wedding will allow for more creativity and less formality. While there are no longer hard and fast rules, use this basic etiquette as a guide.

Basic Etiquette:

• All verbiage is in the third person
• Be consistent with spelling: honour/favour or honor/favor
• Dr. and military titles need to be spelled out: i.e. Doctor Marie Johnson
• Use Roman numerals in names instead of second or 2nd
• Punctuation is used to separate city, state or day, date or Mr. Mrs.
• All days, dates and times are typically spelled out: Saturday, the twenty-third of July, Two thousand and seven at two o’clock
• Avoid abbreviations: spell out Street, Boulevard, Avenue…

Mr. and Mrs. William Iverson

Request the honor

of your presence

at the marriage of

their daughter

 

Holly Iverson

&

Ben Johnson

 

on Saturday, the twenty-third of July

at two o’clock

 

Grace Fellowship

Lake City, Minnesota

 

Gate-fold wedding invitation via: MagnetStreet Weddings

Happy Planning!

When it comes to creating a beach wedding cake that will wow your guests, consider the location of your wedding and use the local landscape and scenery as your inspiration.   Will you be getting married in a more tropical setting full of hibiscus flowers or a more nautical setting near a cliff-side lighthouse?  Take a cue from your surroundings and you are sure to have an impressive cake.

Seashells
Without a doubt, the most popular motif for a beach wedding cake is seashells.  Television shows like Cake Boss demonstrate just how creative and talented cake bakers across the U.S. are these days.  If you give your baker some shells that you love as inspiration, they should be able to create similar “shells” out of marzipan, chocolate, and other tools at their disposal.  I’ve found that it is best to try and get the shells to look as natural as possible using colors that you find on the actual real shells.

Besides shells, you can consider using other sea creatures on your cake as well.  Things such as sand dollars, starfish, and seahorses always tie in well with a shell and beach-inspired cake theme.

Sandcastles
If you’ve ever been to Virginia Beach during the sand castle building contest or to the malecon in Puerto Vallarta, you’ve seen some of the amazing sculptures that can be created using beach sand.   You can have your baker create an elaborate sand castle cake just for you.  They simply use brown sugar to create the “sand”.

Tropical Flowers
You can always choose to keep your cake classic and simple by utilizing some tropical flowers such as hibiscus, bromeliads, birds of paradise, etc. around the base of your cake.  You can also get your baker to create edible tropical flowers out of gum paste, marzipan, or icing for the top and sides of your cake.

If you are having difficulty choosing a cake design, I recommend looking around online for inspiration.  Below I’ve put together a collage of some of my favorite beach cake designs….maybe one of them will be just what you want for your big day!

Photo Credit:
1. Seashell Wedding Cake, 2. “Coral and Shells” with ruffled cupcakes, 3. Seashells & Bows Wedding Cake, 4. Mindy’s Beach Cake, 5. Beach Theme Bridal Shower Cake 2, 6. Chocolate Sea Themed Wedding Cake, 7. Beach themed Seashell cake, 8. Sandcastle Wedding Cake, 9. beach wedding cake

There is no doubt about it.  Today, an increasing number of people are buying their engagement rings and wedding rings online. 

By the same token, however, most online diamond retailers understand that buying diamonds online does not suit everyone’s tastes. Spending thousands on something that you can’t see or try on before buying can put even the most internet-savvy shoppers off.  In addition, buying something as personal as an engagement ring can be difficult to do “at a distance”.

So, why is it that more and more people are turning to the internet to buy their diamonds?

First and foremost, the internet provides a wonderful self educational tool, whether you are in the market for an engagement ring, new car or sofa.  Most people nowadays want to get an idea of what constitutes a ‘good deal’ and, more than anything else, understand their subject.  Few people will venture into the market for a $5,000 engagement ring without at least getting a basic understanding of the 4Cs of diamonds, which is the mechanism by which diamonds are graded around the world today.  The level of education and advice about buying diamonds available online today is fantastic, providing consumers with the ability to self-educate to a level never seen before.

As you brush up on your diamond knowledge, you’ll then encounter a world of online diamond retailers.  Because of the high ticket values, these website are often glossy, with high resolution images, incorporating all the latest marketing and graphic techniques to entice the customer.  After all, few people would buy an engagement ring from a website which was poorly constructed or maintained.  Some of the tools available to consumers today are wonderful, such as the ability to be able to view different designs of engagement rings in 3D rotations, videos and magnified images, for example.  Some even provide a virtual hand image with the ring, showing how the finished engagement ring will look on your finger.  Therefore, the need for you to even visit a jewellers shop is eradicated.

Perhaps the main benefit of buying online, however, comes down to one thing.  Price.

Any retailer with physical ‘bricks and mortar’ premises will have high overhead costs.  These costs are for the rental of the property, a shop window full of diamonds, display cases and a safe full of diamonds inside, 7 day a week staff costs etc, all of which adds up to a hefty cost which needs to be paid for.   By whom?  Well, the customer of course.  These costs are built into the price you pay for your engagement ring in the shop.  As a result, you’ll find that most online diamond retailers are significantly cheaper in price than normal jewellers.  Furthermore, the fact that there are hundreds of high quality online diamond retailers in one ‘virtual’ space means that prices are incredibly competitive, which again is great news for you.

The list of reasons for buying diamonds online goes on and on.  The main factors have been mentioned above, but what about the fact that when buying on the internet, you don’t have a pushy salesman on your back, and the fact that most online diamond rings are made to order and haven’t been sitting in a shop window for months on end, and probably tried on and rejected by a number of couples before you.  What about the fact that many online diamond specialists such as http://www.dejoria.co.uk for example offer consumers the ability to choose your perfect diamond from over 100,000 worldwide at the touch of a button, rather than trying to sell you something that almost matches your requirements from their existing stock.   And finally, what about the fact that the level of personal advice, expertise and guidance provided by most online diamond specialists is second to none.

Of course, you have to choose well.  Like anything, there are not-so-reputable diamond retailers out there, both online and in the high street, so make sure you buy certified diamond rings, and ensure that all the relevant supporting documentation, warranties and after-sales service are in place, and you can’t go far wrong.

If you are having a beach wedding or seaside event, then you’ve realized that there are endless possibilities when it comes to wedding favors.  In the photo collage below, I’ve pulled together some of my favorite choices that cover the gamut of beach styles from casual to elegant. 

Having a casual beach wedding?  Flip-flop themed favors are the perfect choice  for a casual wedding.  Choose from personalized lemonade packets, luggage tags, notebooks, and place card holders that all feature a flip-flop motif.  And don’t forget about the margarita or cosmopolitan drink mix favors.  Personally, I can’t think of anything better than digging my toes into the sand, kicking back on a chaise lounge and sipping a margarita on a sunny beach in Mexico.  Aaaah, wish I was there right now!

Want a more upscale feel at your beach wedding?  Favors featuring a seashell motif can have an elegant feel if you choose the correct item.    I suggest glass coasters, candles, or Adirondack chairs that can do double duty as the place card holder.  You can find hundreds of favors online that incorporate a seashell theme including several of the items in the photo below.

Personalize It!  I always think that adding your names and wedding date to a favor makes them extra special for your guests.  When it comes to personalized beach wedding favors, there are many great options including candy jars that you can fill with your favorite candy (like gummy fish for example) and then add a personalized sticker with a palm tree or flip flop design.  The margarita or lemonade packets that I mentioned previously can also be customized with your names and date.  But I have to say that my favorite personalized favor for beach weddings are the miniature bottles of sunscreen.  They come in tons of color and theme choices and best of all, their labels are printed with your names and wedding date.