Bringing the Holidays to Weddings!

Joe Elario

Just a little holiday inspiration as we head into the last few days before the celebrations begin!

What is a December wedding without a Christmas tree?  Unless you're Jewish, in which case check out this cool bride and groom driedel! Happy holidays everyone!

Jewishbazaar

Holiday Cookies!

The holidays are all about love and giving and eating cookies, right? I do love cookies and holiday cookies are the best. December brings out cookies that we don't see for the rest of the year (don't ask me why). So in the spirit of giving and cookie eating, here is one of my favorite holiday cookies recipes (courtesy of Karin Christian from allrecipes.com).


Molassas Ginger Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
2. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
4. Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp. If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!

240 Sweet {Magnificent Marshmallows}

Every year, we find some really unique items for our brides and one of our favorites this year is hand-crafted organic marshmallows from 240sweet. This fun company creates gourmet marshmallows in tons of amazing flavors from salted caramel to vanilla lavender to chocolate chip to roasted pineapple!

Partners Alexa Lemley and Samantha Aulick hand-craft the artisan treats in Columbus, Indiana. Originally, they made marshmallows to give to their catering customers. Soon, people begin clamoring for more puffs and 240sweet was born.

They are perfect for hotel welcome bags along with a bag of hot cocoa mix and no one will have seen anything like them before! Trust me when I say they are seriously yummy!  Check out all the amazing flavors at 240sweet.

Here is a fun marshmallow recipe from their website:

• Fleur de Sel S'mores

  Are you ready for the best s'more you will ever enjoy? We use Maldon sea salt and Chef Alexa's own caramel in the Salty Caramel Twist puff. The addition of dark chocolate and crunchy graham crackers makes an irresistable delight.
  
  6 puffs Salty Caramel Twist 240sweet Artisan Marshmallows
  6 miniature dark chocolate candy bars
  12 graham cracker cookies
  
  On a platter, place cookies upside down. Individually, place miniature candy bars on six
  of the cookies. Reserve remaining cookies to top s'mores.
  
  Using a skewer, roast puffs to toasting preferences. Place one roasted puff atop each candy bar and cookie stack. Place remaining cookies
  atop stacks and squish. Indulge immediately.
  
  Note: To make these s'mores in broiler, place half of cookes topped with candy bar and marshmallow under a hot broiler until puff is the desired shade of brown. Upon removal, immediately top stacks with remaining cookies.

Sneak Peek of an Indian Extravaganza {Rachna and Samir}

The fun same-day edit video from my wedding this past weekend by the amazing team at Suburban Video. Congratulations Rachna and Samir! More on this amazing wedding to come!

Borrow It Bindaas! {Sarees for Rent}

This past weekend I learned about an amazing website: www.borrowitbindaas.com. One of the bridesmaids at my wedding had rented her saree from the site and it was beautiful!  The site works pretty much like renttherunway.com where you rent a fabulous outfit for a fraction of the purchase price and then return it. This is perfect if you don't go to Indian weddings often but want to wear a saree or if you just don't want to invest a lot in an outfit you may not wear again or if you don't want to wear an old saree.

Some of these sarees are so pretty that I'm dying to try them on even though when I attend an Indian wedding, I'm usually working at it (and a fancy saree doesn't seem appropriate wedding planner attire).  But the next time you get an invitation to an Indian wedding, be sure to check out BorrowItBindaas.  Happy shopping!

Fake Fur Fun! {Faux Real}

lovellabridal.com

I have become entranced by Amanda's yummy fake fur jacket. It's just so soft I can't stop petting it! I'm not a believer in wearing real furs but the fake kind can be so much fun. I've had several winter brides don furs to keep warm. Here are some fun wedding {faux} fur looks!

k. thompson photography

Beth + Scott – Photo by Ali Beamish via Green Wedding Shoes

 Mad Men inspired wedding by Christopher Currie

Elephants and Horses and Drummers, Oh My! {Baraats}

Greg Gibson

As we get ready to go into a big Indian wedding weekend, I thought we'd share some of our favorite images of the Baraat. The Baraat is the processional of the groom and his family and friends to greet the bride's family before the ceremony. It can be done on an elephant, a horse, a car or on foot. Music and dancing are always a big part and I love having dhol drummers lead everyone.

As far as logistics go, elephants are the trickiest (for obvious reasons) but even with a horse, you need to get permits from the city and have a police escort on hand.

CB PhotoArts

The Baraat is one of my favorite parts of an Indian wedding because it leads off the whole celebration with such energy!  This weekend we have a horse from Harmon's Carriages (our go-to source for Baraat horses) plus dhol drummers from Event EQ to lead the crowd and we can't wait for the fun!

Earlier this year, I had the honor of working with Tina and Jason on their fairy tail wedding at the Ritz Carlton, Washington, DC.  Tina knew exactly what she wanted and I am so excited we made her vision come true.  You could feel the love and excitement in every room the couple entered all day long.  Check out this amazing teaser put together by Bill Bowen of Suburban Video.



Sara

Holiday Cocktails!

I found these yummy holiday-inspired cocktails in Special Events Magazine and had to share.  Just reading them makes me want to tip one back and it's not even noon!  Are they drinks? Are they dessert Who cares!!

Pumpkin Pie Cocktail

1 tsp pumpkin pie filling
2 oz chardonnay
1 oz Hennessy cognac
2 oz apple cider
1 oz pumpkin pie spice syrup

Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and serve in a pretty glass.



Savory Apple Pie Cocktail

1 oz VeeV Acai Juice
1 oz Calvados
1 oz cinnamon bark simple syrup
Juice of 2 lime wedges
Splash of apple cider

Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and serve.

A Whimsical Woodend Wedding {Ginny & Chris}

Although September proved to be a challenge for us weather wise, Ginny and Chris got blessed with a beautiful day for a ceremony and reception at Woodend Sanctuary!  The beautiful, classic venue was perfect for the vision they wanted to create!

When I first met Ginny (and later on Chris), I fell in love with them as a couple!  They are quirky, real, and obviously so in love!  A wedding planner’s dream come true!  Ginny and I found our common ground- both James Madison University alums!  I loved all the wonderful touches that she wanted to add to make her event unique and perfectly reflective of the couple’s relationship! 

We got Ginny and Chris ready at the Bethesda Doubletree which is so convenient to the venue!

One of my favorite touches were the programs, which were created by Lilypad Weddings (as well as the invitations, programs, escort cards, and table numbers)!  They listed each of their wedding party along with their superhero power- a nod to Chris’s love for comics!  It was great to read all the descriptions and hear the giggles in the crowd as guests read through the program!

Woodend is a beautiful backdrop for wedding photos!  Chris and Ginny took a ton of pictures in the grove with the talented Emily Johnston Anderson Photography who came all the way from New York to capture these moments! 

Cocktail hour was held outside with cornhole games to keep the crowd moving!  I love this shot of one of the ring bearers taking a break from the party!  Windows Catering served delicious nibbles and yummy cocktails outside on the portico!

We moved under the tent for dinner and were treated to red wine braised boneless short ribs or harvest chicken! Yum!  Christopher from Amaryllis created beautiful arrangements for the different tables.  Ginny and Chris both work in the publishing industry in New York and had been collecting a variety of 1st editions from vintage bookstores which were arranged with small turquoise vases filled with seasonal flowers.  The other tables were birdcages overflowing with flowers coupled with some mason jars holding smaller arrangements.

Mike from MyDeejay kept the dance floor going after dinner and toasts (which were some of the best I have ever heard)! 

Not to mention, a spirited cake cutting!

All in all- a beautiful night for a stunning couple! 

 

Thanks to Emily Johnston Anderson for sharing the beautiful images!

Congratulations Ginny and Chris!!

Amanda