DIY Hydrangea Wedding Centerpieces

One of my best childhood friends, Michelle, got married a few weeks ago, and I had the pleasure leading up to the big day of helping to make and set up the centerpieces for her Cocktail Hour Tables and Guest Tables. I haven't done this before, but I've seen a lot of beautiful centerpieces and felt pretty confident that we could figure it out and make them look beautiful! I think we succeeded! I also offered and was happy to make Bathroom Baskets for the Ladies' Room & Mens' Room, and everything turned out really nicely. Here are a few pics...

Here's Michelle's mom on our first shopping trip! We went with a mission and bought about 50 hydrangea stems at Michaels, as well as some beautiful roses, baby's breath, and green leaves for filler. Using fake flowers meant we could prepare the centerpieces in advance and take time to make them look just right without worrying that they would wilt or cost a ton of money.

High top tables at Cocktail Hour got a small round mirror with a small fishbowl vase, 1 hydrangea stem, and a few little gold swirls coming out. We found the clear, white and silver filler at Michaels and incorporated it into a few vases throughout our design. 

Half of the tables got a gold charger with 2 vases (one with a floating candle, 1 with a flower) and a purple bottle with gold sparkly twirly twigs (there's a name for these, but it's escaping me)! These had 3 votives and white feathers, and a string of white pearls. 

These were the Wow ones! Half of the centerpieces sat atop tall Pilsner vases on a square mirror- with 3 votives, a golden string of garland, and a table number sitting in a LOVE holder. The topper included about 12 hydrangea stems, 4-6 roses, some baby's breath, and green leaves, as well as 4 white feathers- all pushed into a piece of green foam and sitting in a small plastic tray that fit on the vase. Gold swirls came out from the top and clear icicle garlands hung down. Doesn't it look lovely?! 

The bathroom baskets were fun to put together, and included items purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond- we have a store in King of Prussia that has a great Travel section. With coupons, this all came out to about $35, plus the box at Michaels that was just too perfect to pass up. I reorganized everything the day of, added a framed poem  to each, and put them into the bathrooms before the party started. 

A big congratulations to Michelle & Jim on a beautiful day and best wishes for a very happy lifetime together! The Foundry was such a great venue and we were so honored to celebrate with you. 

 You already got lucky finding each other, and picking a date that was just 1 week after Phoenixville looked like this! Here's to lots more luck and many more happy memories <3

It's All in the Details: Signature Drinks

Spotted on Jetfete's post about Micaela and JaChel's wedding in Mexico

Do you and your significant other have a favorite flavor when it comes to refreshments? Have you thought about a Signature Drink (or 2) for your celebration?

Spotted on The Bradford Estate's online post about New Trends

A Signature drink at your wedding or next big event is a popular and eye-catching way to help tell your story, and get your party started right! How does it tell your story? Well, pick a drink you like and give it a fun name to honor your marriage, your relationship, yourselves, and just have fun- and your guests will, too!

Spotted on Jessica Schmitt Photography

For example, if you met in college, you may choose to honor your Alma Mater by naming a drink after it.
If you have a pet together, you may want to give your beverage a fun name that ties your fur-baby into the celebration.
If you're going somewhere exciting for your honeymoon, you may want to choose a location-inspired recipe and name it after your destination.
If you each have a favorite drink, you may just want to give them fun names that include your first names (Chris-tini, Jack & Coke, Lex on the Beach) and offer 'His' & 'Hers' drinks to your guests.
Excited about sharing a last name? You can include your last name (Tom Collins, Wu-woo, Gold-Fashioned) in the name of your drink.
If you want to honor the place where you grew up, where you met, where you're getting married, or where you're moving next, you can always find a way to make that happen (Manhattan, Long Island Iced Tea, California Love, Southern Comfort, Tennessee Whiskey)
Think about your wedding and come up with a punny name! Apply ever after, Love me tender, Marital Bliss, Pucker Up, Buttercup...the list goes on and on!

Signature drinks- mixed drinks, beer, wine, whatever you want- are often butlered by Servers as Cocktail Hour begins and may be available at the bar throughout the rest of the night. Sometimes, they're stationed instead- for example, a Martini Luge may be set up as a station where guests can help themselves, or a Warm (Spiked!) Apple Cider station may be there as a DIY option on a chilly Winter evening.

All spotted on Pinterest 

Wediquette Photo 

If you have a Signature drink idea in mind but aren't sure that the ingredient(s) are available at your venue, speak with your contact and see what can be done. Sometimes if they don't offer it, they may be able to bring in specialty items for a nominal fee to make your vision a reality. For example, I worked a fabulous, Flamingo-themed birthday party last Summer where the 'Signature drink' was a sweet cup of Rita's Water Ice with a splash of vodka. If that didn't whisper chill, refreshing, and yet ready for a good time, I don't know what does. I've seen families bring in favorite local beers, I've seen concoctions expertly mixed up on a large scale in preparation, and I've seen guests with eyes open wide watching a martini make its way through an ice sculpture tunnel into their glasses. People like to be dazzled, and Signature drinks have a tendency to do that in a really fun, tasty way!

Spotted on Pinterest via StyleMePretty

Source: Swooned Magazine 

So you've decided to have a Signature drink and you picked your lucky libation. You even have a fun name picked out for it. How will guests know that it's available and what it's called? 1) Make little signs for servers to carry on their trays when offering the drinks and/or make a big sign guests will see as they enter. 2) Ask if servers can offer them by name, and let guests know where they'll be available from this point forward.

Spotted on 100 Layer Cake, Kendra & Robb's Palm Springs Wedding

...and that's pretty much all there is to it! The only thing left to do is make sure you get some for yourselves, and enjoy!

Cheers to you!

Want to see more great Wedding & Event drink ideas? Check out this Wediquette Pinterest board!

Have you seen a great Signature Drink? Have an idea to share? Leave a comment!

Phantastic Philly Wedding Ideas!

I worked a wedding this past weekend where the Bride & Groom incorporated the LOVE Park statue in their Cocktail Hour decor and cake topper, and continued their Philadelphia Love theme by naming the guest tables in the Ballroom with some of their favorite Philly spots. This led me to a fun search of Pinterest for Philly-inspired wedding ideas, and here we are...

If you live in or near the City of Brotherly Love, you might feel inclined to tie in the Phillies, the Eagles, the Flyers or the Sixers (or maybe not the Sixers) to your big day, too!

Here's some inspiration from weddings I've worked and attended, plus the new Philadelphia Wedding Pinterest board with MANY more spectacular city-centered stuff you can do! Out of Town Bags, End-of-the-Night Farewell Treats, Grooms' Cakes, Stationery, and much more!

What do you like? What have you seen? 

What would you do if you were centering your wedding around your favorite city? 

Lucky in Love

Have you seen this generous, sweet and downright LOVELY idea? I've attended a wedding and worked another where the bride & groom gave each guest a scratch-off lottery ticket and a penny with a note saying that they hope they're as lucky in love as the couple themselves! Adorable, right? You never know- you (or a guest at your event) could end up getting really lucky and taking home more than you anticipated!

Black, Silver & Gold Weddings in Winter

Note: All wedding cake photos taken at RiverCrest Golf Club except for the top right (a contestant in the cake contest at the David Tutera show in the Fall)  and the bottom left (a friend's wedding at the Phoenixville Foundry in June)

Hello and Happy New Year! Sorry it's been so long since I last posted- Wedding season wound down and Holiday party season picked right up! The holidays were a blast, and then we went to California to visit family and here we are!
   I also was gearing up to buy a URL and make this blog a little more legit, but unfortunately the site I was hoping to get was renewed by the current owner (who isn't even using it, boo) so we'll have to rethink the plan and try again.

I also haven't posted about my recent adventure at the David Tutera Your Wedding Experience bridal show in Philly! I went along as part of our club's Wedding Sales Team and got to assist, walk around and check things out, and attend a session with David Tutera and Buddy from Cake Boss! Oh, and they had a cake contest, Sweetheart table contest and more! Watch for another post on that soon.

Today I decided to write a quick post about a continuing trend that you just have to love! I wrote last year about Great Gatsby-esque weddings and parties and how the Roaring 20's are making a comeback! I started and have continued updating a Pinterest board for Gatsby-themed and black-and-gold-schemed events and I watched with excitement as the trend picked up in weddings throughout the past year where I work! Whether brides and grooms like the theme itself or simply decide to add some classic charm and bling to their events, we've seen so many shimmery cake table linens, shiny bridesmaid dresses, beautiful brooch pins on bouquets, flowing floral centerpieces, carefully constructed (and so creative!) cakes, perfect pearls, glimmering garlands, and black, silver, and gold galore! We've even seen a vintage car dropping off the bride and groom, bow tie shaped napkins, and a New Years' Eve soiree fit for a New York City crowd.

I don't think the shimmer is going anywhere and I'm really not upset about it! I actually have a friend getting married next weekend and she's going for a similar scheme, plus a beautiful Sangria color for the girls. Im so excited and honored to have helped put together her centerpieces and be helping to set them up the day of the wedding. Watch for pictures in a few weeks.

In the meantime, here are a few photos I've taken from recent events that have a Black & Gold and/or Silver scheme, plus a few that combine gold and silver with another bold color:

Most of these photos are from weddings I've worked at RiverCrest Golf Club, 

with the exception of the top right (a wedding we attended at the Phoenixville Foundry) 

and the bottom right (a wedding we attended at The Valley Regency in Clifton, NJ)

Top middle and bottom left were beautiful winter decorations at Longwood Gardens (West Chester, PA) that would be easy enough to duplicate for Winter event. Top left, center, and top right (Ceremony backdrop) at work,

and bottom right from a friend's wedding this past Summer at the Reading Liederkranz! 

A recent welcome board made with a beautiful frame, chalkboard and stickers (and a lot of patience!) 

and a Cake Pop display I made for a friend's bridal shower a few months ago! 

A 'Selfie Station' for a recent wedding I worked. There were Selfie Sticks on each guest table, too!

Beautiful tables! Sweetheart on the left and right, 

party horn favors/place cards in the center for a New Year's Eve wedding! 

Some beautiful tablescapes, table numbers and centerpieces! 

Oh, and when you're talking about a Winter Wedding, you can't forget about 

the Hot Chocolate Bar and/or Extended Coffee Bar! 

While we've seen a lot of color this past year (mostly pinks, blues, purples, and deeper natural/rustic schemes), the shimmer and sparkle of silver and gold have been undeniably present in many events, and I think it's fantastic! I'm excited to see what the coming year brings, and to attend a number of family and friends' celebrations myself! 

What do you think of the sparkles and the old-timey color scheme!? 

Any other great ideas you've seen and loved?!