The grandparents in this video are so amusing, charming and very genuine . Enjoy!
Funniest Wedding Toast
{Love Notes}
“Love doesn’t make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning
10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Stationer
Today I wanted to share with you an article that is so well-written and answers many of the questions I get asked frequently. It was written by the owner of Lion In The Sun Paperie in Park Slope, Brooklyn and appeared in The Huffington Post Weddings section on April 20, 2012.
In my opinion it’s an important read for anyone looking to make a stationery/invitation purchase. Here are the highlights but please follow the link to read the article in full here.
10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Stationer
1. ”They are just going to end up in the garbage anyway”
2. ”It’s only paper, why is it so expensive?”
3. ”I could do that myself on my home computer and print it.”
4. ”Can you just make me one and I can just photocopy or email a scan of it to everyone?”
5. ”I know I approved the proof, but we changed the time of the wedding.”
6. ”But we only need eight more invitations.”
7. ”I left the invitations in the trunk of my car and then went to the car wash” or “We were drinking red wine while assembling the invitations…”
8. “We’ve addressed all our envelopes already, but I mail-merged the guest list incorrectly and all the zip codes are incorrect, what do you mean you don’t check each of our guests’ zip codes for us?”
9. ”I sealed the envelopes and I realized I forgot to stamp the reply cards” or “We just used regular postage and dropped them in the mailbox on the street.”
10. ”We would like to put ‘monetary gift only’ on the invitation.”
Party Planning Checklist
Getting Started
(1 month ahead for a formal party; 2 weeks ahead for a casual gathering)
__Decide on the date, place, and style of party.
__Make up the guest list.
__Plan the menu.
__For formal parties, mail invitations. For casual parties, mail invitations or telephone your guests to invite them.
__Decide what table settings, decorations, centerpieces, and music you’ll use.
__Make arrangements for any items you’ll need to rent or borrow.
Preliminary Preparations
(1 to 2 weeks ahead)
__Telephone any guests who have not responded to your invitations so you can get a definite guest count.
__Do preliminary housecleaning, especially any time-consuming tasks. Make sure all appliances that you’ll be using work. If you’re grilling, don’t forget to buy charcoal or fill the gas canister.
__Compile your grocery-shopping list. Check on items such as matches, candles, and liquor, and
add the things you’ll need to your shopping list. Don’t forget ice.
__Check that table linens are clean and ready to go. Decide on tableware and serving pieces.
__Order any special flowers, meats, seafood, or other ingredients you’ll need.
__If you’re making decorations or centerpieces yourself, now’s the time to get started.
__If possible, make some foods ahead and freeze them.
Gearing Up
(2 to 3 days ahead)
__Shop for everything but the most perishable items.
__After you return from shopping, recheck your recipes to make sure you have everything you need.
__Plan your timetable for cooking the foods.
__If possible, make non-perishable items, such as snack mixes, ahead.
Down to the Nitty Gritty
(1 day ahead)
__Shop for perishable and last-minute items.
__Reclean the house as necessary.
__Decorate for the party. Prepare an area for coats and umbrellas.
__If possible, arrange and set your table(s) and serving areas.
__Prepare as many recipes and ingredients as possible. For example, chop vegetables you’ll cook as part of a recipe. Some chores, however, such as cleaning salad greens, should wait until party day.
__Thaw frozen items. If the items are perishable, thaw them in the refrigerator.
Let’s Party
(Party Day)
__Go over the house again for a final cleaning check. If necessary, move furniture.
__Prepare the foods according to your timetable so everything will finish when needed. (Wash dishes as you go along to save cleanup time later. Don’t forget to run the dishwasher, so it’ll be empty and ready for party dishes.)
__Make sure all foods and beverages to be served cold will be well chilled by party time.
Last-Minute Details
(1 hour ahead)
__Put all the finishing touches on the meal and tables.
__Clear a spot for placing used dishes as guests finish with them, and provide an easily accessible place for garbage.
__Set out cheese and non-perishable appetizers or snacks, if using.
As the Doorbell Rings
(5 to 15 minutes ahead)
__Open wine, if serving. Set out remaining appetizers and snacks, if using.
__Light candles and turn on music, if using.
How to Throw a Cinco de Mayo Party
The holiday of Cinco De Mayo, “The Fifth of May”, commemorates the victory of the Mexicans over the French army. Why not throw your own Mexican theme party? When you are doing a Mexican theme, think vibrant and vivacious. The colors should be bright, loud and excessive. The music should be upbeat and fun.
The Invite
Get the fiesta started! Send out colorful invitations asking friends to join you for Margaritas and Munchies. Like this one here. Spice up your Cinco de Mayo fiesta party with these fun invitations featuring a chili pepper border.
The Look
Layout Mexican blankets, sombreros, dolls or any other souvenirs you’ve collected from Mexico. Incorporate them into your decor. Decorate with lots of colorful streamers using colors mainly such as red, green and white.
Decorate the room with colorful, oversized paper flowers and make smaller flowers for the female guests to wear in their hair. Tutorial here.
Don’t forget to hang a pinata!
Margaritas!
As your guests arrive, have a cold margarita ready to hand out. Hint: Give your glasses an edge by rimming them in lime juice and rock salt or sugar first. Try this “guilt-free” Partida Margarita here.
Make a Create-Your-Own-Taco Buffet or Burrito Bar
Keep it simple. Make two DIY main course meals out of the same ingredients. Place shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo in serving bowls; then arrange hard and soft shells on a platter. Layout burrito sized tortillas. Encourage guests to pile up their tacos and roll up their burritos…and come back for seconds!
Music
Play Latin tunes like Mariachi music. Just hook up your iPod to a small set of outdoor speakers and you’re ready to jam.
Dessert
How about serving up these Corona Popsicles with a slice of lime. Maybe Strawberry Margarita popsicle sounds better. Keeping it really simple…no recipe! Just pour and freeze. Instructions courtesy of Bakers Royale
- Dixie cups, popsicle sticks and Mike’s Hard Lemonade Strawberry Margarita. As a side note, the traditional margarita made with Tequila needs a much colder temperature to freeze than the traditional home unit allows, so that’s why something like these Mike’s Hard Lemonade is better suited for making these popsicles.
- To assemble: Pour and freeze the Strawberry Margarita for two hours then insert the popsicle sticks in the middle. Freeze for another two hours or until the Strawberry Margarita Popsicles solidify. Garnish with a lime and serve.
- Small note, do not rim with salt until serving time as the salt will melt the pops. Alternatively, you can rim the Strawberry Margarita Pops with chunky crystal sugar for an aesthetic effect without worrying about the melting factor.
- To keep popsicles chilled as long as possible, place the serving tray in the freezer and then top the tray with a layer of crushed iced.
{Love Notes}
Love is forgiving time and time again,
sometimes against better judgement.
Love is what can drive us to do things
we would never once consider.
~ Anonymous ~
Vintage Inspired Lace Wedding Cakes
Wanted to share with those planning their weddings some of the wedding cake trends I am seeing today. Many of these mimic the bride’s lace on the cake or even use an applique of the lace (good way to save money on the cake!) – show your baker your dress or a piece of lace and let them be inspired by it with a lace pattern on your cake.
If only I were able to go back in time I think I would want this as the style of my wedding…intimate, detailed inspired, and a touch of vintage…love, love, love it!
Click images for direct link
Wedding Wine Guide
Primer for Buying Wine
An easy manual for making one part of your own special day forgettable
No, we’re not encouraging you to serve cheap tasting wine to your guests. We’re providing you with an easy guide that will make selecting your wines an easy task. One you can quickly check off from your to-do list. So relax, pour a glass of wine and browse through these tips for a successful celebration. Make your choices and forget about it!
Where Do I Begin?
Start out planning to stock one white and one red, plus a sparkling for the toast.
How Much Should I Plan to Buy?
Typically, the rule is two glasses of wine per person one glass of sparkling wine for the toast and additionally a glass of wine per hour after the first three hours.
Generally servings of sparkling wine are less than when serving red or white wine. You can plan on getting 8 glasses from sparkling wine and typically six glasses from a bottle of red or white wine.
How Do I Calculate What I’ll Need?
Let’s use a round number. {It’s easier that way} Round your number up or down accordingly. We’ll go with 20 guests.
Remember you can expect to get 8 glasses from a bottle of sparkling wine and 6 from the table wine.
Let’s start with sparkling wine used for the toast:
20 guests x 1 glass per person = 20 glasses/8 glasses per bottle = 3 bottles
Now let’s calculate the table wine:
20 guests x 2 glasses per person = 40 glasses/6 glasses per bottle = 7 bottles
Plan to purchase 3 bottles of sparkling, 7 red and 7 white bottles of wine.
Do Your Friends Like to Drink?
You’ll need to take this into consideration. The younger the crowd the more alcohol is consumed. If this is the case consider bumping up the minimum:
Sparkling wine:
(20 people x 2 glasses per person = 40 glasses/8 glasses per bottle = 5 bottles)
Table wine
(20 people x 3 glasses per person = 60 glasses/6 glasses per bottle = 10 bottles)
Using this revised formula plan to purchase 5 bottles of sparkling, 10 red and 10 white bottles of wine.
But What About The Other Alcohol?
An open bar is important in factoring how much wine you’ll need for your party. That earlier figure could very well drop by more than half. On the other hand, if you’re only serving beer, wine and champagne and you have bunch of drinkers, that figure could increase by 25% to 50%.
How Do I Account for the Open Bar?
For an open bar you might want to include .75 glasses per hour as the consumption rate. If you’re party will last longer than the initially calculated three hours consider this as well. Let’s bump up the party duration to five hours. You’ll need an extra 5 bottles added to the total calculated above. This would bring your total to 10 bottles of table wine.
Your formula would look like this:
(20 people x 2 extra hours x .75 glasses per person = 30 glasses/ 6 glasses per bottle = 5 extra bottles)
If you’re not having an open bar but serving a thirsty crowd consider using 1.25 glasses per hour as your consumption rate. You’ll need an extra eight bottles added to the total calculated. This would bring your total to eighteen bottles of table wine.
Your formula would look like this:
(20 people x 2 extra hours x 1.25 glasses per person = 50 glasses/ 6 glasses per bottle = 8 extra bottles)
Remember, all you need to figure out how much wine to buy is a basic math formula and calculated guesses.
{Color Inspiration) Purple, Platinum & Blue
Purple and silver are oh so pretty!
You can choose to pair rich purple hues with silver and blue as in this color inspiration board. Purple can work for a summer wedding. You can go with light purple tones for summer (lilac, lavender, or orchid) or you can go with a deeper purple and lighten it up with lighter accent shades in white or silver.
{Love Notes}
You don’t marry someone you can live with – you marry the person who you cannot live without
~ Author Unknown ~