Unique Wedding Favor

An old superstition says that if you put a slice of a wedding cake under your pillow it will bring you sweet dreams of your future spouse. This video from Wedding O LaLa, gives you a way to do this without waking up in the morning in a pile of cake, icing, and ants! Check out this video below to learn how to make this unique wedding favor!

Show Me the Money!

Wedding traditions are different throughout the world, but are especially different among different cultures. This “money dance” tradition was started at Polish weddings and has been adopted in many other cultures.  We think this is a great idea!

The “money dance” is always popular at a traditional reception in Poland. Guest’s pin money to the bride’s wedding dress to buy a dance from her. The newlyweds might put these gifts of cash towards their honeymoon expenses. More traditionally, the maid of honor wears an apron and collects the money given by the guest to dance with the bride. After all the guests have danced with the bride, they form a tight circle around her, and the groom tries to break through the circle while the guests try hard to keep him out. Once he breaks through, he picks up his bride and carries her away from the wedding reception. The money collected during the dance is sent with them to spend on their honeymoon.

Valentines Day Wedding

Valentines Day is a day of love and this year it falls on a Sunday! What a perfect day to have a wedding. We got these 10 tips from the knot.com on how to pull off the perfect Valentines Day wedding!

Show Your Love

To get started, think about Valentine’s Day and what it means to you. Look for inspiration from your own love story — if you met on the ski slopes of Vail, incorporate cool blues and other wintry hues. Or take your decor cues from an ultraromantic destination you’ve been to, like Paris or Venice.

Find Your True Colors

Valentine’s Day is synonymous with pink and red. Depending on your style, you can go with this traditional palette or do something unexpected. For example, choose a classic black and white palette and subtly add hints of red or pink. Do so by carrying a deep red bouquet or wrapping pale pink satin ribbon around the tiers of an all-white cake. Another way to make these romantic hues stylish is to go for contrast. Think deep crimson paired with ballet slipper pink.

Seal It with a Kiss

For a semiformal affair, get guests in the mood by sending save-the-dates decorated to look like vintage Valentines. Instead of a guest book, you might leave out Valentines for your guests to send to you with their well wishes and words of advice (make sure there are extras in case they want to give some to each other too!). For a formal wedding, flocked paper, whether for your invitations or escort cards, makes a luxurious statement with its rich, soft texture.

Create Room for Romance

Speaking of texture, use it to your advantage to create a romantic vibe. Lots of candlelight will shine even brighter if you choose table linens that have a silky sheen. For lounge or cocktail areas, a few faux fur pillows or throws will create a comfy, cozy mood (as well as a perfect spot for guests to snuggle). And if a fireplace or fire pit is an option, by all means, light it. Any frosty February chill will be forgotten thanks to its comfort and warmth.

Add Some Mood Lighting

Think about lighting to set the mood. Splashes of soft pink light will warm up a space and make everyone look great in photos. While you may not want hearts everywhere, a heart-patterned gobo spotlight would look quite modern dressing up your dance floor. And, of course, nothing says romance like a candlelit dinner. Go for ornate, flower-draped candelabras or create a more contemporary vibe with frosted glass votives.

Say It with Flowers

Roses on Valentine’s Day are a given. But other blooms can be just as romantic and stylish. Amaryllis is one showy winter flower that’s dramatic and gorgeous. For a rich contrast, mix deep red calla lilies and cockscomb. Another option, no matter what your budget: Experiment with adding nonfloral elements, like feathers or crystals, to your centerpieces for a rich and luxurious look.

Toast Your Love

A Valentine’s Day wedding calls for its own special signature cocktail. A pink sugar-rimmed cosmopolitan or a flute of champagne with gold flakes will play up the romance factor. A chocolate martini is another delicious option. You might also consider having small bowls of classic Valentine candies, like Conversation Hearts and red cinnamon hearts, at the bar for a sweet but subtle touch.

Have Your Cake and More

Valentine’s Day is a day to indulge. Last year, $14.9 billion worth of chocolate was sold in America. Consider serving decadent desserts like individual-size flourless chocolate cakes drizzled with raspberry syrup or dark chocolate-dipped dried fruits. For the actual cake, a modern heart pattern embossed into white fondant is a great option, or choose a red filling (like red velvet cake or fresh strawberries) so that each slice will have a hint of color.

Play Sweet Music

It’s more than likely your first dance will be to a love song. But if you want to keep the mood romantic all night long, ask your guests to fill in their first dance song (or simply the name of their song”) on their RSVP cards. Mixing some of these tunes into your playlist is a lovely way to honor your guests and help them relive loving memories.

Give ‘Em Some Sugar

Don’t forget to let your guests know how much you love them. Leave them handwritten messages — love notes, if you will — in glass bottles at each place setting for a fun favor. Or send guests home with something sweet, like chocolate truffles or chocolate-covered espresso beans, packaged in a creative way. Add a personalized card with a cute saying like, We’re in love…with you! Thank you for coming.”

Defining Couture

For many, a wedding dress is the ultimate piece of couture. This video from GetMarriedTV defines what couture means to some of the world’s top designers. You will hear from Austin Scarlett, Carolina Herrera, Anne Barge, and many others.

Eco-Friendly Wedding Centerpieces

One of the biggest trends of 2010, not just in weddings, is going green. Everywhere you look there is an eco-friendly alternative and with stores such as Earthfare, Greenwise and Whole Foods, these alternatives are very available.

We found these eco-friendly centerpiece tips from greatgreenweddings.com.

If you are looking for a vessel for the center of your table to hold sea shells or colorful rocks, consider vases made from recycled glass or a bamboo bowl, due to renewable tendencies. VivaTerra. has a centerpiece item that is cast from real twigs, and created in recycled metal . The design of twisting branches ingeniously intertwine with the stems of flowers you insert into their base to create an instant floral arrangement.

Recycled Glassworks has some beautiful original bowls created from recycled glass. The colors and patterns are yummy and will allow you plenty of creativity when it comes to filling the center of the table.

Greenfeet has recycled glass bowls in two different shapes and eight different colors. Check out the delightful Ecospheres. These would be great to get the conversation going. Ecospheres are totally enclosed ecosystems – completely self contained and self-sustaining miniature worlds.

Kiss me not?

Traditionally Scandinavians don’t like to rush into marriage. Marriage is a serious business and in many parts of Scandinavia an engagement may last three or even four years, allowing plenty of time for the couple to get to know each other, to see each other at their best and at their worst.

At the wedding reception in Denmark it is traditional for the groom to disappear during part of the ceremony so that all the unmarried young men can kiss the bride – and then it is the bride’s turn to disappear while all the single girls kiss the groom.

I can’t imagine how long that must take at large weddings but it’s an interesting tradition to have!

We found this tradition at www.worldweddingtraditions.com.

Trendy Chair Covers

An easy way to dress up your reception room is to pick out colored or custom chair covers. To make your tables pop with color or sparkle with elegance, you can create beautiful, unforgettable chair covers.

GetMarriedTV describes some trends and tips in how to customize chair covers in this video. If you are interested in dressing up your chair covers, check this video out!

2010 Wedding Reception Trends

We found these trends from yourweddingcompany.com and we love these ideas. We have previously mentioned a few of these ideas, so check them out and you might use them in your wedding!

Brides are choosing centerpieces that are in the same color tones, but of different sizes. This gives the reception tables a more interesting look and a less “coordinated” feel. Unique vase fillers include glass marbles, sea glass shells, acrylic ice, water absorbing crystals/beads, and fresh fruits such as lemons and limes.

Faux rose petals, diamond confetti and shells/starfish remain the most popular confetti. Also, flowering vines or individually cut flowers are placed directly onto table linens. Reception chairs are decorated with either tulle, fabric overlays, floral swags and/or ribbons. Other popular decorating items include Chinese lanterns, garlands and balloons. Disposable cameras, placed on each table, allow guests to capture candid moments.

An increasingly popular trend is the candy buffet or confection bar. This consists of a variety of candies or treats placed in varied sizes of glass containers and grouped on a table. Pretty silver spoons or scoops in each container allows guests to fill small boxes or bags as take-home favors.

Bolts of economical tulle fabric are typically combined with white lights and/or floral garlands for draping between pews and decorating banisters and ceilings. Click for more tulle decorating ideas.

Candles, always a popular choice for centerpieces, lend a romantic feel to any room. Choices include pillars, tea lights, tapers and floaters. Since some facilities do not allow candles, alternatives include faux tea light candles, battery operated LED lights, and fiber optic lights.

Head tables are replaced with a small table for just the bride and groom. Many couples plan weekend weddings that start on Friday and go for the entire weekend. Dove releases and add drama and excitement to the event. Butterfly releases, despite the environmental issues, also remain popular.

Today’s couples most often pay for their own weddings and make their own decisions about what they want for their wedding day. Using a budget calculator allows them to allocate their money and prioritize wants and needs. They want to enjoy a wedding that is uniquely theirs, and one that displays their own sense of style and personal taste. Personal touches appear throughout the entire wedding, and can be found in attire, favors, decorations, stationary, photography, themes, flowers, gifts, and locations.

Mini Mac and Cheese

This mac and cheese is not only delicious but can be served in cute little bowls or cups to be passed around as an appetizer. We found this recipe on marthastewartweddings.com.

Ingredients

Makes 84 one-ounce servings

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for ramekin
• 6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts trimmed, torn into cubes
• 5 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked 2 to 3 minutes less than package directions

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter 84 one-ounce ramekins. In a small pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter; toss with bread in a medium bowl.
2. Heat milk over medium heat until just steaming. Melt remaining butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, stir in flour; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in hot milk, bring to a boil, and cook until thick enough to coat back of spoon.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in nutmeg, cayenne, 3 cups cheddar, 1 1/2 cups Gruyere, salt, and pepper. Stir in macaroni.
4. Pour into ramekins. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs. Bake until browned, about 30 minutes.

Unique Wedding Entertainment

There are so many ways to be unique and nontraditional in your wedding plans. Using creative entertainment for your wedding will really make your wedding personal and stand out!

This video from GetMarriedTV gives great tips on how to make your wedding entertainment special and personal to you. You never know where you may be inspired so take a look at this video!