Looking over our winter wedding favors the other day, we talked about winter weddings we’ve attended.  The consensus was that winter weddings are few, but usually truly spectacular.  The stories we shared gave me a great idea for a blog post, so here I go with the five best winter wedding memories from our Product Development meeting.  Maybe you can pick up an idea or two from the ones that impressed us the most?

You may think the wedding was a total failure if  Soup was the lasting impression but oh no!

“…a beautiful winter wedding – everything was white like snow.  The bridesmaids wore forest green satin dresses with white sashes, the flowers were all white – gardenias, white roses,  stephanotis  – the wedding dinner was white everything! It was really cold outside, but the first course at dinner was the Grandmother’s recipe for Italian Wedding Soup!  Sadly, her grandmother passed away several years ago.  The menu cards each had a recipe for the soup.  It was so poignant!  I still make that soup in cold weather!”

Yes, that’s right.  Guests were treated to a sleigh ride from the parking lot to the reception hall at one Ohio wedding that Gina attended.  White horses, jingle bells and faux fur lap blankets for every guest as they were whisked up the hill to the banquet!  Gina says this set the flavor for  the day in a gorgeous way and yes, a light snow was falling as well.  So perfect!

Now Amanda had a particularly spectacular memory.  One of her sorority sisters got married in December last year down on the Alabama coast at Point Clear, a beautiful old hotel near Fairhope.  The centerpiece for the reception was a huge ice sculpture of a swan.  The wings formed an ice bowl, which was filled with fresh boiled shrimp straight from the Gulf.  Amanda said it was the most awesome thing she’s ever seen!

Upstate New York, a magnificent old hunting lodge, snow and ice outside, and a casual wedding set before a large stone fireplace – Christina’s favorite winter wedding memory.  After the ceremony, the guests settled into enjoy a sumptuous buffet in the large room, with pheasant and all the rich trimmings of the season.  Christina bets you could’ve easily fit the entire wedding (50 guests) easily into the fireplace (provided it was empty, of course).  The roaring fire made the whole event both cosy and exciting!

My favorite winter wedding memory doesn’t have so much to do with decor or what everyone wore, but of the fragrance of the day, I guess you could say.  A ski resort in Colorado, in front of enormous picture windows looking out over the slopes.  There was a pretty good snow going, so the view was extravagant!  The entire room was draped in hand-woven bows of fresh pine with pinecones and small berries.  The aroma was incredible!

Soup, sleighs, ice sculptures, roaring fires and the aroma of fresh pine needles – pretty good high points for our winter wedding memories, don’t you think?  We design our winter wedding favors to keep those memories fresh for years to come!

I do!  And guess what?  We’re also working on a Fun Facebook Fan Site and I’m just so excited!

So if you enjoy a little social networking with brides, wedding industry professionals, and regular people like you and I who have great ideas and tips to share, become a friend or become a fan, or both!

Click here to become a friend.

Or become a fan and watch our progress – just click my picture!

Looking forward to sharing more with you!  What fun!

Andrea in Human Relations hosted a baby shower with two other friends this weekend for their mutual friend, Alyshia, and, according to rave reviews, it was simply FABULOUS!

A little background before I get into the details.  Andrea and Alyshia have been friends since they were 10.  Matter of fact, Andrea was maid of honor at Alyshia’s 2009 wedding to her husband (and father-to-be) Greg!

Now here they are a little over a year later, celebrating the upcoming Special Delivery.

Alyshia is absolutely glowing, isn’t she?  And I think it might be due to the bouncing baby boy she’s carrying.  Little Greg III is due for his grand entrance in October, the very same month his daddy and grandfather were born!  How cool is that?   I’m also thinking he’s going to be an Auburn fan, because  Little Greg will wake up to an Aubie the Tiger mural over his crib every morning!

So on to the details!  Leah, our senior graphics designer, provided the custom design for the precious invitations in Alyshia’s green and blue theme colors.  You can see her cute-cute work at the top of this post.  The guests enjoyed little pimento cheese and chicken salad finger sandwiches, cut into the shape of baby onesies and baby carriages. So clever!

There were little blue candies and cookies and chocolate-covered pretzels and veggie trays with Alyshia’s  favorite – Buffalo Chicken Dip.  Lots of goodies!  Libations included Sangria and a blue punch (sans alcohol), which Andrea swears should remain in the dark.  She says it was not her best attempt, but it was blue! (don’t worry Andrea – we’ve all made the same punch at one time or the other – tee-hee).

And of course, there was an Auburn cake…

Games?  One game that was a big hit, according to Andrea, was the string game, where everyone cuts a piece of string about the size piece they think will fit around Alyshia’s belly.  The winner?  Another pregnant attendee (who Andrea says might have cheated a bit by measuring her own baby-belly-LOL!).

Alyshia received tons of great gifts for Little Greg III.   And of course you know the guests went home with something special – our favor containers with a personalized baby label,  filled with green and blue M & M’s!  Perfect touch!  Here’s Alyshia showing them off…

Congratulations Alyshia and Greg!  Exciting times ahead for you!

And thanks, Andrea, for sharing.  You know how much I love to see our favors doing their job!

The Hostesses with the Honoree

                                                                                         Photo courtesy of Paris Mountain Photography

Brides ask me about welcome baskets all the time.  Do I…Should I…How do I?  And here’s what I tell them.  Yes, yes, and it’s easy.  Let’s throw one together for all you brides with fall weddings this year, shall we?  It’ll be fun, and we’ll invite your bridesmaids to help.  Shoot, we’ll make it a party!

• Your baskets don’t have to be expensive, just cute.  And they don’t all have to match.  Find them at your local craft store, like a Michaels or an AC Moore! 
• While you’re there, pick up some coordinating ribbon and tissue paper to line the baskets
• Go to your local Chamber of Commerce.  Get free maps of the city and local interest brochures.  Your guests will appreciate it!
• Stop by a Sam’s Club or Costco and pick up those 6 ounce bottles of water.  Always welcome!
• Purse-sized packs of tissues.  Everybody sheds a tear at a wedding, right?
• Hit the grocery store for small packs of snack crackers and cookies
• Mints are always nice.  Try our “Mint to Be” tins.  So cute, with heart-shaped mints!

  

 Hope you liked my suggestion!

 

Oh I just found the absolutely-most-preciousest idea for for Labor Day parties!  Ready for it?  Here you go!

The Favors (also Table Decor)

 The Dessert (how cool is this?)

Cheeseburger cupcakes!  Idea compliments of the Flickr blog.  See the link here.  I just tickle myself to death sometimes!