Friday Favorites

Here's a look at what we're loving this week.

DIY Lavender Ombre Wedding Favor Bags (100layercake.com)

These dogs. (lover.ly)

These items have us dreaming of a weekend camping trip. (thesweetestoccasion.com)

We just can't stop going back to this bridesmaid dress. (keep.com)

5 Reasons to have a Labor Day Weekend Wedding

Holiday weekends are becoming increasingly popular choices for couples when picking a date. Given plenty of advance notice, guests are able to treat your wedding as a vacation and your big day can easily turn into a weekend to remember.

1. Flexible Schedule - Since Labor Day adds an extra day to the weekend, you're not stuck following the age old wedding festivity formula of having the rehearsal on Friday and the ceremony on Saturday. Rehearsals can be moved back to Saturday and Weddings on Sunday being as there is a third day to this weekend.

2. Built in day off - Since Monday is already a day off for most people, they have an extra day to travel. Or, if you've chosen to forego the traditional wedding schedule and to have your rehearsal on Saturday, people are not compelled to take Friday off to travel.

3. Cheaper Vendors - By following this wedding weekend schedule and avoiding the traditional wedding weekend schedules, you have increased availability at venues and sometimes cheaper rates from venues since most of their weddings typically fall on Saturday instead of Sunday.

4. End of Summer Celebration and Getaway - By choosing a location with onsite accommodations, you are presenting your guests with an end of summer 3 day getaway. Also, what other time is more appropriate for long tables and family style menus then this last outdoor fete of the summer.

5. Not Quite Fall, Not Quite Summer - By having your wedding on the unofficial end of summer/beginning of fall weekend, you have opened up your color palette options to a multitude of seasons. Mix and match bright summer colors with neutral fall tones and play with your floral arrangements as you've found a rare time when anything goes.

Signature Wedding Cocktails

Having signature cocktails at your wedding is a fun way to compliment your party style. We've compiled a few signature drink recipes from pinterest to inspire your cocktail planning (and pinning!). There's no harm in sampling them all. ;)

Blushing Bride

2 oz passion-fruit nectar
3 oz Champagne
1/2 teaspoon grenadine
Handful of huckleberries

Pour chilled passion-fruit nectar in a flute. Carefully add chilled Champagne and grenadine; don’t stir, but allow to blend. Top with huckleberry garnish.

Tennessee Iced Water

1 oz. citron vodka

fill with lemon-lime soda

splash of lime juice

lemon wedge garnish










Just (Rose) Married Tequila Cocktail Recipe

1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 blackberries
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) tequila
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) lime juice
4 teaspoons (about 3/4 ounce) Simple Syrup
Ice cubes
In a cocktail shaker combine 2 sprigs rosemary, tequila, lime juice, and Simple Syrup. Add ice cubes; cover and shake until very cold. Strain liquid into an ice-filled glass. If desired, garnish with additional rosemary sprig and blackberries.

 

 

S'more Bamboozled Shake
3 scoops vanilla gelato 
3 tablespoons graham crumble 
Chocolate sauce 
Marshmallows 
1/2 ounce Smirnoff Marshmallow Vodka
Put 3 scoops of gelato in the blender, followed by your graham crumble, marshmallows and a 1/2 ounce of vodka. Blend all the ingredients up until everything is nice and smooth. Then drizzle your chocolate sauce in a tall milkshake glass, pour the contents of the blender in, shake and top off with whipped cream, more graham crumble and a couple of roasted marshmallows. Mmm, delicious.




 

Friday Favorites

Our favorite findings from the past week:

A champagne dinner engagement party. (greenweddingshoes.com)

A summer camp inspired wedding shoot. (ruffledblog.com)

We know, we know, our focus is on weddings. But we just couldn't resist sharing this adorable 1st Birthday Fiesta with you! Besides, what comes next after weddings anyway... (100layercake.com)

All we have to say to this one is, "Oui." (weddingchicks.com)

Cardigan Inspiration

We've started to pull our sweaters out from the bottom of our drawers with the upcoming fall weather heading our way and we love the idea of pairing your favorite cardigan with your wedding dress to keep the chills away on your big day.

What do you think about adding a sweater to your wedding day attire? Let us know in the comment section!

Photo Booths

Photo booths are a fun new trend in wedding activities.  The addition of props and a bright backdrop allow guests the opportunity to make their own memorabilia to remember your special day.

Would you incorporate a photo booth into your wedding festivities?

                                                   

Friday Favorites

Here are a few sites we've stumbled upon this week that we can't get out of our heads.

Because we aren't ready to say goodbye to summer. This shoot makes us want to book it to the beach for these late August weekends. (greenweddingshoes.com)

Terrariums, campfires, and S'MORES?! This is just all around great. (ruffledblog.com)

A late summer engagement party under the stars. (100layercake.com)

Flower crowns. (weddingchicks.com)

Happy Friday!

Autumn Inspiration

It's a gorgeous August day in Richmond, Virginia. Sunny with a high of 79. That's no typo, it's really 79 degrees in the middle of August in Virginia, which is a huge tease of fall weather because it is without a doubt going to return to the high humidity, steamy, August weather that we all know so well very soon--and as envious as we may be about the weather, we're nowhere near ready to say so long to summer yet.

That being said, we're drawing inspiration from an early Autumn wedding shoot featured by Green Wedding Shoes. This shoot captures all of the fall magic that we're dreaming of while still allowing just enough late summer greenery to keep the chill away.

Are you ready to welcome the crisp fall air or are you holding onto summer as long as you can? Let us know in the comment section!

Let Them Eat Cake

The Evolution of the Wedding Cake

Cake. Chocolate Cake. Yellow Cake. Confetti Cake. Cake covered in buttercream icing. Cake crumbs. Cake pops. Ice cream cake. Cupcakes. This list of confections could go on and on, but not one cake is as important as the wedding cake. For a cake of this stature, the wedding cake came from very humble beginnings.

The first wedding cake appeared, as many other wedding traditions, in Ancient Rome. Instead of a cake, a loaf of bread was served to the guests after it was broken over the bride’s head by the groom.  This was believed to enforce the groom’s status over the bride and bring good luck to the married couple. 

In Medieval England, cakes, or “sweet rolls” being a more accurate term, were stacked on top of each other as high as possible for the bride and groom to kiss over.  If they were able to successfully kiss over the stack, a prosperous life together was guaranteed.

After seeing the stacked cakes on a trip to England, a French pastry chef created the croquembouche upon return to his home country by piling profiteroles together and spinning them in a halo of sugar.

Following the creation of the croquembouche, the wedding cake became a wedding centerpiece in western culture. The cake is traditionally served at the wedding reception and range greatly in size and price. Cake decorating and wedding cakes have become a huge pop culture symbol resulting in shows such as Ace of Cakes and televised “cake-offs.” The wedding cake continues to hold lore, as it is still believed to be good luck for the guests at the wedding to eat a piece of cake.

It is common tradition for the top layer of the cake to be saved and frozen for the couple to enjoy on their first anniversary. While the cake quality after a year in the freezer is up for debate, the Anniversary Box is sure not to be soggy—unless of course from tears of joy evoked by the memories that come with it.