Precap: Table Number DIY

We housed our table numbers in vintage looking, mismatched gold picture frames. Calling this project a DIY is kind of a stretch, but bear with me, this is an easy one:


Step 1: Go to Home Goods and TJ Maxx and immediately see large collections of gold frames.


Step 2: Estimate 20 tables. Find five differnet style frames you like, and buy multiples of each. (That's important! If you have 20 entirely different frames, it looks ghetto. If you have 4 of each of 5 kinds of frames, it looks cool and intentional).

Step 3: Buy frames. Get annoyed when you realize the 30 day return policy means you're stuck keeping all these after the wedding.


Step 4: Take shimmery cardstock and cut down to the size in the frames. Call calligrapher at last minute and feel relieved she only charges 30 cents to write a number on a piece of paper.


Step 5: Pop the numbers into the frames. Voila!

Extra Credit: Beg calligrapher to make signage for the bars as well:

(All frames were purchased at Home Goods and TJ Maxx. Cardstock was Opal Stardream from Cards and Pockets. Calligraphy was done by Carmela Mazzarulli).


(Also, my best friend and her cousin are using these for their weddings, so I feel better about spending $100 on picture frames).
What did you do for table numbers?

Precap: Menu DIY

Okay so before I get into the recaps, I want to finish my last DIY posts. My personal favorite DIY was the menus I created for our wedding:

Pic by Spark Photography

I used Microsoft Publisher to create this. I started with your standard 8.5 x 11 page, and split it into two columns. I copied and pasted our monograms off our invite proofs and placed that at the top. The text was all written in separate text boxes so that I could center it appropriately, and then I just copied and pasted from one column over to another. Very simple. I liked this because it allowed me to print two per page, which saved me about $80.


I had them printed on Opal Stardream cardstock from Cards and Pockets, like all my other DIYs.

Then, we had to cut down the middle of each page to separate them.

I used a corner rounder to round the corners, and then swiped the edges through a gold stamp pad.

Below, you can see how much that little edging added to the menus. (It also matched the gold edges on our invitation, though I cannot imagine a single person besides me would have realized that).

To make it easier, I ran stacks of about 20 menus at a time through the stamp pad. I had to do it twice to ensure everything got a bold enough gold color.


At the reception, we had these slipped into the fold in an ivory napkin. They looked beautiful and I felt this was a DIY well worth the effort.


Are you designing menus?

Floral Look

So I haven't shared something with you, mostly because it's not the hugest deal in the world, but Mr. B and I decided to switch florists a little while back. When we booked ours I was really excited about it, but over time we had a few miscommunications, I found her a bit cold in personality, and when I began delving into the idea of rental items, I realized she was shockingly overcharging me for things- $40 for plain tablecloths, $5 per votive candle on tables when I'd want around 9 per table, that kind of thing.

So on the recommendation of a wedding planner, we booked our house florist, Touch of Elegance instead. I instantly loved Lisa, the florist there, because she was warm and really excited about her job. She had fun looking at my inspiration board, immediately whipping out fabric swatches, brainstorming napkin ideas, and sharing a flurry of sample photos. I felt like she really understood what I wanted, and she was giving us much better prices. So we switched.

And this past weekend, we saw our sample centerpieces, which I think fit in perfectly with our theme of  formal, traditional elegance:

The centerpieces are a vintage look gold candelabra, stuffed with peonies, hydrangeas, some type of chrysanthemum, and dendrobium orchids. We're also going to be adding hanging bits of ivy as well.

Something else I liked about Lisa's work was her attention to detail. Our last florist would only give us plain white tealight candles, no votives, included with our centerpiece. Lisa is giving us nine candles, an assortment of votives and floating pillars, all included- no $5 per candle rental fee. We're switching these plain votive holders in the picture to a gold mercury glass look: 

I really love the look Lisa captured and am really happy with this particular flower arrangement. However, there's one thing I need your opinions on, and that would be our linens:



I LOVE this linen. I think it perfectly encapsulates our theme and I think it's absolutely beautiful. However, sometimes I think that in order to pull off a look the right way, you have to exercise restraint and cut something you love. I'm concerned that this blue linen is too much blue for the room. I'm afraid it might match the carpet too much. Here's a pic:

It's really similar to the carpet. I'm not sure that having that carpet and very similar tablecloths is too much. Maybe I should be opting for a damask linen in the beigey color in the carpet, so that it coordinates but isn't the same shade.

What do you guys think? Use the linen pictured here, or opt for something else?

Tasting Recap

Apparently our wedding is fast approaching, because Mr. B and I have just had a whirlwind week of wedding tasks, including the super fun food tasting!

Attending our tasting made both us and our parents feel so relaxed about our venue choice, not that I was doubting it. We met our coordinator, Alex, for the first time, and she was unbelievably organized and sweet, putting us all at ease. She led us into a private room in the kitchen, with a glass wall so we could watch the chef do his thing (I didn't realize this and sat with my back to the view- whoops!).

We started with wine. Our venue offers a red and white option served tableside during the party, and our wine waiter (yes, wine waiter) led us through a tasting of three whites and three reds. We settled on a Laboure-Roi Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir for the table wine, though all six varietals will be available at the bars throughout the reception.

Next, we sampled three appetizer choices: a delicious crab cake, perfectly seared scallops with chive oil, and mozzarella en carozza, basically a fancy grilled cheese with slices of salty prosciutto. Though all were delicious, we chose the mozzarella option, figuring it was the most crowd pleasing.

We also chose to combine our appetizer and salad courses to leave more time for dancing, so that's the big pile of baby greens you see there. It's topped with a smoked tomato vinaigrette.

We sampled the three entree choices for the wedding.  They were served exactly as they would be presented on the big day, both in look and generous portion size.

For the seafood option, we selected halibut served over risotto and wilted greens, and topped with a relish of capers, olives, and sundried tomatoes. It was delicious. Mr. B's mom loved it.

For the chicken dish, we chose a garlic and herb roasted Cornish hen, cut up and served with a bread pudding (which reminded me of Rachael Ray's "stuffin muffins"), and roasted root vegetables. This was easily the majority favorite.

And for the beef, we'll be serving an herb-seared filet mignon with a port wine sauce. I don't eat steak, yet I'm considering ordering this, that's how good it was. It was tender with a nice charred crust, mmm. We sampled it with a potato gratin with gruyere cheese (delicious!) and rosemary baby carrots, but opted to swap the carrots for asparagaus to get a little green on the plate. I have a hang up of always thinking a plate needs green.

We will be having a Viennese display for dessert, so we got to sample a chef's selection of desserts, including pineapple upside down cake, blueberry frangipane, cherry chocolate mousse, mini tarts, and cheesecake. Our Viennese also features a flambe station and a "boardwalk station," serving zeppoles in mini paper bags. My Jersey shore upbringing is extremely excited about this.

We sampled our cake as well. I loved the way they presented it- we chose three sponges and three fillings, and were able to mix and match to find the flavor combo we liked.

We surprised ourselves by opting for a hazelnut sponge cake and chocolate parfait filling. I could care less about cake, but really found this very delicious.

We also got to go through our cocktail hour menu options, though we didn't taste anything. It's extensive, with fifteen passed hors d'ouevres and multiple stations. We chose the offerings for our carving station, pasta station, saute stations, and opted to include a paella station and raw bar as well.

Overall, our tasting was phenomenal. I do expect that the food quality may drop a bit when they're cooking for 225, but it started out so good that I really don't think anything will be bad. I was super happy with our venue and the classy, organized way they handled everything.

The wedding is starting to feel really real now and it is so exciting to see it all take shape! I loved going for the tasting!

(All pics courtesy my iPhone)

Giving Up My Morals for a Photo Op

I always planned to skip the bouquet toss. As a wedding guest, I hate awkwardly running out on the floor, pretending like I care, or getting shoved out there if I try to hang back and skip the whole deal. And as the bride, I feel like there's something sort of demeaning about making your single friends desperately clamber all over each other like they just can't wait to get married. It’s a little unbecoming.

But, um. My venue has a Juliet balcony:

Source

And I LOVE the idea of getting to stand up there and throw the bouquet. Just look at these pics (both actually are at my venue)

 Source

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So without a second of hesitation, the bouquet toss is now in. I will totally admit I completely backed away from what I still think has a cheesy meaning just to get a picture op. Hopefully the ladies at my wedding don't have the same feelings I did (do?) on the bouquet toss. Because this balcony thing is so happening!

(And hey, it’s not like I’m asking my MOH to give her speech up there!)

What did you say you'd never do, then promptly changed your mind on?