Breakfast At Tiffany Fashionable Stationery

Something blue  that never goes out of style  is found at  the world famous store Tiffany.  Many brides use the inspiration they get from Audrey Hepburn in the classic movie Breakfast At Tiffany for their bridal shower theme, and it couldn’t be more fun to decorate, and to get your guests anxious for the festivities when they receive their invitation.

I always enjoy bringing new artists to your attention, and I’m sure you’ll agree, “getting your party started” with these gorgeous invitations will set the tone for your beautiful bridal shower.  Elaine Biss designed this invitation, and there are many more delightful designs to choose from.

Courtesy of Elaine Biss

Every girl needs their “Little Black Dress” and this would also be a perfect design for your Breakfast At Tiffany party.

Courtesy of Elaine Biss

If you’re known for having a pair of shoes and purse for every outfit,  this design would be perfect.  I think going to a thrift store, buying purses you love and using them as a “container” for your centerpieces would be fabulous.

Courtesy of Elaine Biss

Don’t forget to send your bridesmaid’s an invitation to be in your wedding party.  A perfect way of doing this would be a Tiffany blue box with a  diamond paperweight (how appropriate for a Tiffany theme).

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

For other decorating ideas visit my bridal shower section and scroll down until you come to the article on Breakfast At Tiffany Bridal Showers.

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

While wedding cakes are still one of the most beautiful features of your reception, cupcakes are holding their own as a popular trend in 2010.  If you were concerned they wouldn’t be elegant enough, look at  what some decorators are doing with them to enhance their beauty and make them fit your reception decor, including a cake at the top of the display for tradition.

I love the fact that they included a crystal monogram on the top of the cake and for added elegance, they have the crystal trim surrounding each layer.

Courtesy of cupcakecollection.com

Black and White is still a very popular color scheme for weddings, and this display of cupcakes looks gorgeous.  There are also black and white cupcake wrappers if you’re doing it yourself,  that will enhance even store bought cupcakes.

Courtesy of vanillabakeshop.com

Courtesy of The Cakery

The Cakery’s display, above, uses Filagree Cupcake wrappers on some of the tiers.  Notice they also have a cake at the top, which is a touch I really like.  Since the Filigree wrappers come in black and white, I can see alternating them on each tier for a black and white color scheme wedding.

These cupcakes by Blue Cupcake  represent a wonderful Summer or Springtime wedding.  A lovey cake at the top, and the cupcakes bring a smile to my face as they are still very elegant, yet suitable for an outside garden wedding.

Courtesy of bluecupcake.com

Courtesy of bluecupcake.com

If vivid colors (a big trend for 2010) is your fav, look at the above cupcakes by Blue Cupcake, for inspiration.

I enjoy the fact that you have so many options available to you to suit any budget.  You can have one of these wonderful bakeries do them for you.  You can bake your own and have fun decorating them yourself.  You can pick up cupcakes from your local bakery or even supermarket and use the gorgeous new cupcake wrappers that come in a wide variety of designs and colors to enhance them.  It’s great when there are so many choices.

Flower Inspirations For Your Wedding

Flowers are synonymous with weddings.  This is one time we can be a little extravagant.  They give your reception that  ahhh moment we all dream about.  There are many ways to decorate a wedding, but most will  agree flowers are the principal way.

Florists are no longer limited to what is growing seasonally in your region, but can buy flowers from all over the world. Of course, the cost will be higher for flowers that are not seasonal, but this is your chance to be luxurious if you see an arrangement you love with your favorite flowers.

A number of years ago I visited a very high end hotel in Las Vegas and was blown away by the flower arrangements there.  Very simple, yet a new, totally fresh approach and I could envision a bride and her “worker bees” able to capture this look if she was having a DIY wedding.  Recently, I found the floral designer who came up with the look, Jeff Lautham and thought you would want to see his incredible work.  Whether you call Jeff,  try this yourself, or give the pictures to your florist for inspiration, this will be a feast for your eyes.

1- Using lots of risers/pedestals  Jeff fills a room with pink hydrangeas, which are a perfect flower for lots of volume.  Notice he keeps it monochromatic for impact as well.

Image courtesy of Jeff Lautham

2- If you are using long banquet tables at your reception, this is a beautiful centerpiece idea.  You can use flower petals in abundance (as seen here) or you  can even use flowering plants if you’re flower arrangement challenged.  Lots of votives give the table a very romantic look.  Nowadays the battery operated votives are a life saver for reception halls that don’t allow open flames.  Again, notice the big splash of monochromatic color.

Image Courtesy of: Jeff Leatham

3- I think this is brilliant!  You can always have a round rose bowl with submerged flowers or an arrangement coming out from the top, but this is so interesting, isn’t it?  For safety sake, I would use a wax like product they use to hold candles in a candle holder, or that can be purchased in a home improvement center made for protecting items from falling off shelves in an earthquake (tell them what you need to do, they will figure it out) to temporarily secure the top bowl to the bottom.

Image Courtesy of Jeff Leatham

4- I guess what I love about Jeff’s work is that he thinks outside the box.  Making a “bouquet” of any kind of flower, keeping it monotone, and “leaning” it in a very tall container is his signature look.  It’s what first caught my eye at the hotel I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Check out your local party rental store, or search online to see where you can rent containers like this.  Again, hydrangeas are an easy flower to work with and  because the heads are so large, you don’t need as many flowers,  Calla Lily’s work wonderfully as well, and they come in all colors.

Image: Jeff Leatham

Image: Jeff Leatham

Prepare Yourself For Your Wedding Day

Every bride wants perfection on her wedding day.  After all, it’s what she has dreamed about since she saw her first “At Last I Found My Prince” movie.  However, there are some things you need to know  so you will be prepared for the unexpected, which I can almost guarantee will happen.

1- To save yourself a lot of grief,  recognize  there will be mishaps – don’t expect perfection, it will only lead to frustration.  Your cake might have something happen in delivery – perhaps it’s leaning.  Know that it’s your wedding day and you’re going to have a great time!  Even the most seasoned wedding planner might encounter last minute hitches in your wedding.

2- When thinking about your Limo  think about the season of your wedding.  If your wedding is in the high wedding season or holidays, you’ll have to book it way in advance.  As soon as you set your wedding date, book your transportation.  You might get a discount for booking early or take advantage of special packages they offer.  If you wait until 2 months before the wedding, you may be paying next year’s prices.

3- Expect the unexpected!  If you’re having an outdoor wedding, make sure you have a plan B.  Always choose decor that can be used indoor or out so if things have to be moved inside it will look as good inside as it does outside.  Think about having a tent for your outdoor reception to protect your decor from the elements in case of rain.

4- Think about insurance.  You have a lot of money invested in this day.  Since it’s one of the biggest expenses you’ll have in your life, it gives you peace of mind knowing you have insurance in case of any financial loss.

5- When choosing a wedding planner, be sure you feel comfortable with them, you’re trusting them with the most important day of your life.  Interview more than one planner and  find somebody that gets your vision, understands what you are doing and relates to you on every level.

Since I mentioned “At Last I Found My Prince” at the beginning of this post, I thought you’d enjoy seeing  some  popular fairytale favors.

$200.00 Free Favor Offer

Favors By Serendipity is offering a $200.00 Shopping Spree towards anything on their site – including Cake Jewelry, Bridesmaids Gifts, Bridal Shower Favors, Wedding and Party Favors, Candy Buffet Packaging and more…..just for giving your opinion.

With Winter approaching, they want to know if you will be using winter theme favors or what your favorite favor is and would love to win.  Visit Favors By Serendipity and then post a comment here and be entered into the drawing.

Giveaway ends November 20 at midnight PST.

Winner is chosen randomly and will be notified Monday, November 21st  and announced here as soon as they accept the prize.

DIY Eco Friendly Moss Ring Pillow

Being green is easier these days (sorry, Kermit), with so many helpful ideas and tips being shared on wedding blogs.  I came across a wonderful project for a “natural” ring bearer pillow today on the blog of one of my favorite wedding planners Simply Natural Events and knew you’d love this idea.  I can see this same idea being used for centerpieces down a long table  in a garden wedding without the bow and inserting  votive candles in the four center squares and sprinkling some flower petals for color on the table.  The perfect wedding favors would be Eco friendly ones as well.

What You’ll Need: A 5″ x 5″ X 2″ piece of Styrofoam, 2 feet of ribbon (2″ wide),  3 yards of ribbon (1/4″ wide),  a 6″ x 6″ scrap of fabric, a handful of sphagnum moss, straight pins Round-headed corsage pins and a pair of scissors.

Instructions

1. Center your fabric face up on the Styrofoam square Fold the fabric
edges over sides of the Styrofoam and secure with straight pins. Wrap
the corners neatly and pin. (see figure 1)

2. Turn your Styrofoam over so the fabric side is down. Take your
sphagnum moss and stretch it out across the top of the Styrofoam. Be sure
that the moss completely covers the surface. (see figure 2)

3. Cut a length of the skinnier ribbon and run it diagonally across the
mossed surface. Attach both ends of the ribbons on the sides of the
Styrofoam using straight pins. Repeat this process to create a diagonal
grid of ribbon on the top of the pillow.

4. Take your corsage pins and stick them into the points where the
ribbons intersect on the pillow top. (see figure 4)

5. Turn the pillow on it’s side and pin the end of the wider ribbon in
the center of the side, using your straight pins. (see figure 5)

6. Wrap the ribbon around all four sides, concealing the fabric edges and
skinny ribbon tails. Pull it tightly as you go and keep the ribbon edges
lined up with the edges of the pillow. (see figure 5)

7. When you pass your starting point, fold under the ribbon tail and pin
it down using your corsage pins. (see figure 6)

8. Trim off any loose moss bits.

9. Cut a 12″ length of the skinnier ribbon and tie it to the corsage pin
in the center of the pillow. Attach your rings by tying a bow. (see
figure 7)

What it costs:
Styrofoam square $.90
Ribbon $3.00
Corsage Pins $2.00
Small bag of moss $1.80
Total = $7.70

Project created by Laurie Cinotto,

Save The Date Magnets – A Must For Your Wedding

Personalize your wedding from the start with Save The Dates.  For just .95 each you can find a style to suit your theme.   Whether your wedding is local or in a tropical paradise, you will want to send Save The Dates because they  allow your  guests to have enough time to make plans for your wedding and get them excited for your big day (especially knowing how busy everyone is these days).

Using a Save The Date Magnet makes it a convenient reminder, and can easily be placed on the refrigerator or a filing cabinet.

1- Choose a design that will set the tone for your wedding and express your personalities.

2- Make sure you send one to everyone on your guest list as soon as you set the date.

3- Your Save The Date can reflect the style of the invitation to come, but don’t be afraid to mix and match styles of the Save The Date and your invitation.  For example, you can send a fun, trendy Save The Date and follow it up with a formal invitation.

Your Save The Date can be sent out a year or so before your wedding.  Your invitation should be sent out 8 weeks before. If you have a personal wedding website, include your URL on the Save The Date so your guests can be informed about getting accommodations, etc. especially  if you get a block of rooms.

Now for your inspiration:

Aisle Style – Decorating Ideas For Your Wedding

The first thing your guests will see as they arrive is where they will sit, the decorations on the arbor, and your aisle.  Whether it’s traditional or exceptional, this is the first time your guests will witness your wedding day style.

View your aisle as your runway and when you walk down it all eyes will be focused on you so it should look fabulous.  Here are some ideas:

1- Decorate the chairs down the aisle.

2- Typically rose petals are used and sprinkled down the aisle.  Why not be creative and instead of sprinkling them straight down the aisle, how about doing something more creative?  Could a diamond shape of petals be created every few feet?  A wavy “S” design of petals?   For something unique, if you’re having your wedding at a home or where there’s a lawn, consider mowing a design into the grass.

3- If you’re wedding is on a beach, sprinkle flowers to give the sand some color.

4- If you’re wedding is in a garden, you can use potted flowering plants creating a colorful visual landscape down the aisle alongside the chairs.

5- Monogrammed  aisle runners are also a growing trend.

Make sure you check with your venue to make sure it doesn’t have restrictions regarding an aisle runner or decorations on the chairs.  Safety is always a concern and they want to make sure you, your bridal party or your guests don’t slip on something.  Taping or weighing  the aisle runner down will avoid a lot of problems.

Image: Wedding Jeanie

Aisle Planters: Frank Events

Chairs With Orchids & Starfish Wedding Jeannie

Image: Enchanted Florist

Martha Stewart Fall Wreaths for Chairs

Falling in Love With A Fall Themed Wedding

There was a time when all brides thought the summer was the perfect time for their wedding.  However, Fall has become a very popular time of year and for many good reasons.

If you’re guests will be traveling to your wedding, the Fall season will be less expensive since, as we all know, the airlines and gas prices always go up in the summer.  Also, hotels and reception sites will be more readily available.  Since most tourists head home after the summer, hotels will welcome your business and this can be reflected in their banquet facilities as well as the rooms for your guests.

I love the Fall because of the beautiful colors of that season.  Think of your wedding pictures with the beautiful, rich fall colors as a backdrop.  If you’re doing the wedding yourself, decorating can be so much fun using gourds, fall leaves, pumpkins, apples, etc. and the warm glow of candles inserted into these items as candle holders are wonderful for your banquet table or centerpieces.

To make candle holders from apples, tiny pumpkins or gourds, simply make an indentation in the fruit deep enough to hold your votive, taper or battery operated candle.  Also, you can cut out pumpkins and gourds and use them for serving dips, soup, dessert, etc.

I hope you’ll enjoy these inspirations:

Fall Bouquet

Image La Partie Events

Image Jennifer Wahlquist

Image: Tapestry Flowers

Image: Skye-Blu-Photography

There are Fall Theme Save The Dates and lots of wonderful Fall Theme Favors that will tie in beautifully with your wedding.

Wedding Place Cards Do You Need Them?

Ever wonder what the difference is between a Place Card and an Escort Card?  An Escort card tells your guests what table they are assigned to.  A Place Card has the guests name on it and is placed on the table so your guests know which seat is theirs.  This is very helpful to the servers if your invitation included menu cards with different meals offered and your guests got to choose which meal they prefer.  The Place Card can have the meal choice printed on it so the waiters don’t have to interrupt the flow of conversation to ask the guests what meal they are having.

Escort Cards  serve an important function at your reception.  Most brides  have family members or friends you know will want to sit with each other.  Even though your invitation states what time the festivities begin, people arrive at varying times, and it’s possible others will fill in the tables that would otherwise be used for those who want to sit with each other.  This is where Escort cards become a very useful tool. It helps things to be organized and convenient for your guests and should definitely be used if your wedding has 100 guests or more and if it’s a formal affair.

True, it does take a lot of planning, organizing and then re-shifting as you learn some guests won’t be attending, but it’s worth the trouble.

The Escort Table is the first thing your guests will see when they enter the reception hall or before they enter the hall, so why not  make your Escort Cards and Table “Numbers” fabulous as well as functional.

1- Figure out how many guests you are inviting and whether you will be using a table that seats 8 or 10.  Sometimes the table sizes will vary, depending on your guest list.  There are programs that are designed to help you do your seating chart, however, I simply made a large drawing of the reception room with circles representing the tables and used little post-it notes with the guests name printed on them.  This made it easy to rearrange the tables as I learned some guests weren’t coming, or Aunt Sue is no longer talking to Cousin Jill, which I didn’t know when I originally made the seating chart.

2- To help make your seating arrangement “fabulous” think outside the box for your table “numbers”.  Choose a theme that reflects both of your personalities.  Examples can be places you’ve visited together, artists you especially love, movies you love, flowers that are your favorites, names of sea shells or beaches if you’re having a beach theme wedding and either use postcards as your “table numbers” or create your theme from pictures or on the computer.  Coordinate your escort cards to match your “table numbers”.

2- Put your escort cards in alphabetical order on the table so your guests can find them easily.

3- Putting your escort cards into picture frames or place card holders serves as a favor as well and your guests can use them for a wallet size photo afterwards, a helpful tip for those on a budget.  Frames and Place Card Holders come in a wide variety of themes and styles from sophisticated to whimsical, so you’re sure to find exactly what will work with your reception decor.

Work of Art Antique-Finish Photo Frame

Beautifully Beaded Photo Frame and Placeholder

Shell Design Place Card Holders

Autumn-Inspired Candle Favors

4- If you’re having a DIY reception, you can purchase Table Number Holders or use any tall Place Card Holder.

Thought you’d like to see some imaginative “Table Numbers” to inspire you:

Image: Brittany Photography

Honeymoon Destination

Favorite Cities

Number with Picture Image: The Flower Alley