A Fabulous Fall Bouquet!

Gorgeous orange cascade from our friends over at Martha Stewart. Lovely!

Halloween Candy Take Two!

Off the wedding train for a day to bring you an important public service announcement! Tons of leftover Halloween candy? Check out these fun recipes for ways to creatively use up those "fun" size bars and even Pixy Stix (aside from just pouring them into your mouth two or three at a time)!

Pixy Stix and Sweet Tart Cake
From EasyBaked.net

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 boxed white cake mix (plus the eggs, water and oil needed to make it according to package)
• 8 Pixy Stix candies
• 3-4 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 c. margarine
• 1-3 T. heavy whipping cream
• Food coloring gels
• about 1 c. of crushed Sweet Tarts and or Smarties (I think Bottlecaps or even Spree would work in this recipe as well)

DIRECTIONS:
Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray 2  eight or nine inch round pans with cooking spray. 
• Place a piece of parchment paper (cut to size) in the bottom of each pan and spray again.
• Make cake mix according to package.
• Pour about 1 c. of cake mix into each pan.  
• Sprinkle contents of 4 Pixy Stix over cakes (dividing equally) ***note: blue and purple will show up the best in the baked cake, red and orange are very pale***
• Use a knife to swirl colors together
• Add the rest of the cake mix over the top (dividing equally) and repeat the Pixy Stix sprinkling and swirling.
• Bake cakes at 350 for 30-35 minutes (use your cake mix directions as a guide and check often)
• Cool cakes in pan over a wire rack.
• When cool, tip pan over onto wire rack and remove parchment paper.
• Use a serrated knife to make each layer level.

Frosting:

• Cream together the powdered sugar and margarine in a large bowl. 
• Beat on high for about 3 minutes (I used a whisk attachment).  
• Add cream and beat for about another minute until a thick spreading consistency.
• Crush candies in a small food chopper or processor.
• Add crushed candies (and all the ensuing sugar dust!) to the frosting and fold it in. 
• Add any food coloring you want to make frosting a desired shade.  (On its own the mix of candy colors make the frosting a terrible shade of gray). Adjust consistency if needed with powdered sugar.
• Frost the cooled cake and decorate with remaining candies.

Chewy Butterfinger Cookies

makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 8 fun sized butterfinger candy bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl and set aside. With an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Beat in egg until just combined.
Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in butterfinger pieces by hand.  The dough will be very thick. Drop by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool and enjoy!
© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012 recipe & photos


Frozen Peanut Butter Cup Bananas

By Melissa Roberts , October, 2010 and featured in Real Simple

Ingredients

• 2  bananas, peeled and halved crosswise
• 4  Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (21 grams each)
• 6  ounces  chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Insert a wooden stick into each banana half. Freeze the bananas and the peanut butter cups for 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, heat the chocolate in a double boiler or medium heatproof bowl set over (but not in) a saucepan of simmering water, stirring often, until melted and smooth.
3. Chop the frozen peanut butter cups. Line a plate with parchment.
4. Coat the frozen bananas in the melted chocolate. Sprinkle with the chopped peanut butter cups. Freeze on the prepared plate until firm, 4 to 5 minutes.   

 Salted Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Ingredients

• 8 1/2 ounces bread flour
• 8 1/2 ounces cake flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 10 ounces light-brown sugar
• 8 ounces granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 10 ounces mini peanut butter cups, halved
• fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Directions

• Sift together the dry ingredients: flours, baking soda, and baking powder.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until fluffy. Beat in sugars and salt. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter. On low speed, add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until incorporated. By hand, mix in the chopped chocolate and peanut butter cups. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 to 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Using a 2-inch releasable scoop, form balls of dough and place no more than 6 on each baking sheet. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Bake in batches until cookies are spread, set in the center, and brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Keep dough refrigerated in between batches. 
• Provided by: Joseph Erdos, Gastronomer's Guide

I'm Dreaming of a White Pumpkin!

Divanee

I'm not a big fan of Halloween-themed weddings where the bride and groom dress as zombies and fake cobwebs are considered decor. It may work for some people but it isn't my thing. I do think fall weddings are fabulous, though, and love working in harvest touches in sophisticated ways. For instance, I love using white pumpkins and the collection of miniature pumpkins under glass (above) is pretty fabulous. 

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween!

Oscar De la Renta Trunk Show!

Please join us for the Spring 2013 Bridal Collection 

Trunk Show

November 1st, 2nd & 3rd

By Appointment Only

 

5510 Wisconsin Avenue

Chevy Chase, MD

301.652.2250

Punk Rock Bride 2013 Collection

Punk Rock Bride is pleased to announce the launch of their 2013 Collection!

The 2013 Collection consists of five designs and continues in Punk Rock Bride's mission of offering brides a fashion-forward alternative to the traditional wedding dress. Several themes tie these dresses together, including the use of beaded embroidery and Swarovski pearls, innovative details and belted accessories.

As always, fabrics and textures were an inspiration for this year's designs, with many of the dresses incorporating intricate beading and embroidery.  Some of the fabrics used this year include silk faille, silk zibeline, crinkle chiffon, and heavy silk taffeta.

Nearly all of the dresses incorporate an overlay detail, such as the crinkle chiffon over "Amy" or the silk wool pique over "Morgan".  Most also include a separate belt to give the bride more options.  Pleating, subtle ruching, layering and pockets top off the details.

Please visit punkrockbride.com to view the complete collection.

Miami Vice {Signature Cocktail}

In honor of our fabulous Miami wedding, a signature cocktail that sounds as fun as it tastes (and I love the 80s homage)!  Cheers!


Miami Vice

INGREDIENTS:
1 strawberry, stem removed and sliced
1 slice kiwi
1 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces Absolut peach
4 ounces Red Bull

Paper umbrella, for garnish

METHOD:

In a glass, combine strawberry slices, kiwi, and simple syrup. Mash with a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon. Add ice, Absolut peach, and Red Bull, stirring to combine. Garnish with umbrella. Sure to keep you going late into the night in South Beach!

Miami Style!

 

Sleek South Beach-inspired style in honor of the Engaging Affairs team hitting South Beach prior to our big wedding weekend. Fun!

Miami Bound! {St Regis Bal Harbour}

This week we're headed off to Miami for a wedding. We love destination weddings and especially ones at locations as fabulous as the new St. Regis Bal Harbour! This gorgeous new hotel is the wedding venue and our home base for the week. How lucky are we?

With amazing views, a stunning pool and gorgeous indoor spaces, this hotel is a dream come true.  We love the sleek, modern design!

Stay tuned for more Miami updates!

An Engaging Evening!

I could not be more excited to marry my fiancé.  I have been waiting for quite some time (almost 4 years) for him to pop the question so when he finally did in June, I couldn’t wait to start planning the engagement party.  Yes, typically an engagement party is hosted by a friend or family member but, as a wedding planner, I could not relinquish that much control.  I thought it would be “fun” to plan a party for 110 of our closest friends and family at our home.  I learned early in the process that being a wedding planner made the planning even more stressful because I knew every detail counted … especially to me.  My fiancé allowed me to handle all of the décor while he took care of the food. 

The invitations dictated our color scheme of bright orange and peach.  Our love of Miami dictated the overall look and feel of the party.  Since we were planning on hosting our party in the backyard of our house, I loved the idea of bright linen on the tall cocktails tables to add a bit of a color to an otherwise green background.  So, with the help of Liz at DC Rental, I was able to find the perfect orange cocktail table linen.  

 

Bill and his amazing team at Edge Flowers helped to make the cocktail tables and our pre-existing wrought iron tables pop by creating gorgeous low arrangements that included orange orchids, fluffy peach garden roses (my favorite!) and fun green accents.  They also created a 4 foot tall “C” and “V” that served as the centerpiece of our main food buffet and also as the main focal point as our guests entered the tent area.  

My fiance actually prepared the entire menu (along with his mother), which included items such as lobster tails, seared tuna, homemade meatballs, BBQ ribs, crab legs, grape leaves, and exotic cheeses. 

The furniture was very important to me so I brought in Jeffrey Fox of Fox Ventures to help me turn my backyard into a Miami-style party.  We placed 2 white leather furniture groupings with a frosted Lucite coffee tables in 2 corners of the tent.  Accented with orange and white pillows, this was a great area for our guests (specifically my friends) to gather.  The main buffet was a chunky white 8ft long wood table.  The 2 seafood buffets were 3.5ft frosted Lucite squares and placed on each side of the main buffet.  

Fox Ventures also created 2 Lucite mirrored bars that served as a dessert buffet and self-serve drink station that included blackberry mojitos, Lynchburg lemonade and mini bottles of champagne (my personal favorite).  All of the drinks came with orange straws (flexi straws for the champagne) and personalized napkins that included 4 different fun facts about us.  Fox Ventures also provided Lucite benches that we added to a rectangular table for additional seating.  Lining the center with orange vases and tall glass candles created an intimate area for our guests to eat and relax.  

Some of the additional fun touches were the orange bow ties our bartenders and drivers wore, the photos of the two of us throughout our relationship (printed on orange paper) that were scattered around the party, printed signs for the beverages and bar menu, and custom napkins with fun facts about us.

 Not to mention the delicious chocolate peanut butter topped with orange buttercream, vanilla with dolce de leche center and peach buttercream cupcakes that Kendall of Kendall’s Cakes crafted for us.  Wow, is about all I can say about them!

A special thanks to Occasions Caterers for providing an awesome bartender that kept the drinks flowing all night!  Thank you to Remona for styling my hair!  Thank you to Zach Gibson for the amazing photos!

Oh, what a night!

Hitched Styling Night!

If you've been feeling a bit overwhelmed [or underwhelmed, for that matter] by the selection of bling and baubles you've seen so far, stress no more! The Hitched gals would love to help you put the final touches on your bridal look at their next Hitched Styling Night on Thursday, October 24th!

What: Styling Night Open House at Hitched

When: Thursday, October 24th from 5pm-8pm

Why: To experience an incredible selection of veils, jewelry, belts, sashes, birdcages, statement necklaces and hairpieces to complete your wedding day look!

Details & Perks: As an added perk, all accessories purchased during the event will be 10% off!

RSVP: 202.333.6162 or info@hitchedsalon.com

No appointment is necessary, but they do need an RSVP for the Open House.