As we all suffer through winter (which in LA means non-stop rain) and wish for spring, I thought a feature on florals would help us all through. I love lush, feminine florals. I love single stems in a container. I love using vintage or unexpected pieces as containers. I love garden roses. I love peonies. Here are some of my favorite wedding florals to help you dream of spring:
Pretty pretty paper!
I just had to share a blog post that combines two blogs that I love. Nole from Oh So Beautiful Paper was the guest blogger yesterday at The Bride’s Cafe. Nole’s wedding was a source of inspiration for me when planning my wedding (check it out here…it is absolute perfection), and her blog always features pretty paper, stationery, and invitations, which are some of my favorite things. Below are Nole’s words of wisdom regarding Save the Dates and photos of the ideas she shared. To see the full feature on The Bride’s Cafe, go here.
From Nole:
1. Set the tone with your Save the Dates. Aside from the invitations themselves, Save the Dates are the first insight that your guests will have into your wedding. Since Save the Dates are usually sent out pretty early in the wedding planning process, chances are most brides and grooms won’t have all the details figured out when the Save the Dates are mailed out, but hopefully you have a sense of the style of wedding that you’re planning. Here are a few ideas:
{Inspiration Board} Tufted Love
Maybe it is the dreary and rainy weather, but all I can think about right now is curling up in front of the TV and staying in. I love home design and I have been dreaming of a new couch (the 10 year old slip-covered one we have is just not cutting it anymore). With new couch research comes lots of other ideas for the living room, bedroom, and rooms I don’t even have in my apartment! Here is a collection of photos I found on Decor Pad that are inspiring me. I am loving tufted furniture at the moment!
{Inspiration Board} DIY Inspiration
I’ve seen so many great DIY projects for weddings and loved doing projects for my own wedding, so I thought doing an inspiration board focused on DIY projects might be fun. One wedding in particular, featured on Style Me Pretty last week, was filled with so many DIY elements and I loved every one. The event was carried out beautifully and infused with so many personal touches I feel like I know the couple myself. You definitely need to head over to SMP and see the feature in its entirety!
I hope this post will inspire crafty and non-crafty brides alike to find a project they can handle and personalize their wedding!
The husband and I are headed out of town to visit some friends, so happy long weekend!!!
Love is Sweet!
There is something about french macarons that I love. I don’t know if it is their yumminess, or the pretty pastel shades they come in, or that they make me think of Paris…but I know they make me happy. While I am more of a cupcake girl when it comes to desserts, there is just something so simple and lovely about french macarons. And they make beautiful pictures!
Tips and Recipe:
Color & Flavor Coordinate: Presentation is key! You eat with your eyes first. Take that into consideration when you are making your French Macarons. Choose three flavor and color combinations that compliment each other and taste delicious.
Personalize: Adding a personalized custom label to your favor is a sweet touch that is simple and inexpensive. A helpful online source is https://www.myownlabels.com/. Chose from a variety of label templates and colors. Cost: approximately .75 per label.
Packaging: Choosing recycled eco-friendly cardboard or clear favor box is a creative way to show off your colorful French macarons. A cost effective online packaging source is https://www.papermart.com/ Cost: approximately .50 per box
Ingredients:
3 ½ cups Powdered sugar
½ tsp. Vanilla extract
3 cupsAlmond meal
6 Egg whites
Pinch Salt
½ cupGranulated Sugar
Helpful tips before you get started:
*Oven temperatures vary. Test this recipe first, before you begin production to ensure the cookies bake perfectly. If the cookies crack on top, your oven might be too hot. Turn your oven down by 5-10 degree’s. The cookie should have a smooth shell top.
*Chose three different food colors for your cookies and decide what flavor will correspond with the color. Example: A pale green macaron filled with mint chocolate ganache.
*Gel based food-coloring works the best. Divide your batter mixture into three separate bowls, and add a different color per bowl. This will allow you to have three different colors and flavors.
*Use a toothpick when adding the food coloring. A little goes a long way.
Instructions:
Pre-heat Oven 240 degree’s
1. Whip egg whites in a mixer with whisk attachment until frothy. Rain in granulated sugar slowly. Whip until the egg white is a soft peak. Add salt, vanilla extract and food coloring.
2. Continue to whip until a medium peak forms. Do not over whip.
3. Sift powder sugar and almond meal together.
4. Fold powder sugar and almond meal into egg white mixture.
5. Fold together until mixture is the consistency of slow moving lava. (About 20-30 seconds of folding.) Be careful not to over mix.
6. Fill pastry bag fitted with #828 tip with macaron mixture.
7. Pipe into small silver dollar size rounds on parchment covered sheet pans.
8. Once all rounds have been piped, allow it to sit out for 30 minutes to dry and create a shell.
9. Bake at 240 degree’s for 9-11 minutes. Rotate halfway through baking process so cookies are evenly baked. Cookie tops will pop up creating a macaron “foot” below the shell top.
10. Allow to cool before piping filling.
11. Fill with your favorite butter cream, preserve, or chocolate ganache filling. This recipe yields 40 French macaron sandwiches.
Try them at home, or if you are in the LA area head over to the Vanilla Bake Shop and buy some instead!
Saying YES to the Dress
A bride’s search for THE dress is a daunting but exciting time. I had many mixed feelings about going wedding dress shopping: fear of not finding the right one, dread of feeling too fat to look good in them, joy at thinking of yourself on your wedding day, and relief that you are finally getting to shop for a wedding dress for an actual wedding for yourself! I had poured through bridal magazines tearing out pictures of gowns I loved for 5 months before I went gown shopping. My mom flew out to LA and we went to a couple of bridal boutiques in an effort to track down the perfect dress. It was such a memorable experience that we had together, and not just because of a Denzel Washington encounter that we had on our way home! In the end I found my perfect gown, the one I had loved most from my magazine ripping phase, and the first one I tried on.
For some brides, it is an easy thing to find a wedding gown. Others search far and wide and can’t make a decision. Luckily for the newly engaged, there are many gorgeous gowns from the Spring 2010 season to choose from. Here is a wrap-up of the highlights, plus a few of my all-time favorite from past seasons: