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If you want your wedding to truly feel French you have to focus on one thing: Food. Delicious, fabulous, French food.

The French are deservedly proud of their gastronomic heritage, and a wedding is the perfect place to indulge. If you and your partner love food, consider throwing a gourmet reception at an authentic French restaurant; instead of blowing your budget on a band, you and your guests could celebrate your marriage with a meal you'll never forget.

The French take the enjoyment of food seriously, so think fresh ingredients of the highest quality possible and divide the meal into various courses (keep the portions small). The traditional courses are:

  1. Apéritif - A pre-dinner drink to "stimulate" the appetitte.
  2. Amuse-bouche - A small (just one or two bites) savory snack meant to introduce you to the meal you're about to enjoy
  3. Entrée - We tend to use the French entrée when we mean "main dish" but to the French, it's more of an appetizer - something to keep you happy while you wait for your main dish.
  4. Plat principal - The main course.
  5. Fromage - cheese
  6. Dessert - Need we say more?
  7. Café - Coffee, to keep you alert
  8. Digestif - An after-dinner drink meant to aid digestion and conversation

Gallery: French Foods

BaguetteFrog legsPoire Belle-HeleneA round of Brie...Appetizer
Okay, maybe that's not true. Maybe you can drink champagne all the time. But, we promise you, there are likely to be a couple of people at your wedding who, aside from the champagne toast, might steer clear of the bubbly. And so, in honor of Paris week here at AisleDash, we'd like to introduce you to some lovely French wines.

It will come as no surprise to you that there is a seemingly endless list of fabulous French wines from which to choose, so before you decide to try them all, you might want to do a bit of research. We really liked Wines of France in large part because it has a "Quick, what should I drink?" section where you can view wine suggestions dependent upon your criteria.

You can view by flavor by selecting your preferred tannins, body, and power. Or, if you know you want to serve a Cabernet franc, you can get suggestions based on just that. Perhaps it's important to you that the wine perfectly compliment the meal -- just sort by dish!



Continue reading Because you can't drink champagne all the time: French wines

Italy has pasta and wine, England has fish and chips, and Spain has tapas, but no country comes closer to decadent dessert heaven than France with their impossibly gorgeous pastries.

Just allow your eyes to gaze upon the wondrous delights showcased in the gallery and you'll soon see why France holds the prize for pastries. Whether or not you're having a Paris-inspired wedding, treating your guests to delicate petit fours or divine cream puffs is sure to garner plenty of smiles.

Also, if you're adhering to a vegan lifestyle and feel like baking, you can find a yummy vegan petit four recipe here. Très bon!

Want to be princess for a day? How about your very own princess cake? Good for a shower, this would be a simple cake for the maid of honor, the mother (or father!) of the bride, or any kitchen-friendly friend to make for a shower with a princess theme.

It doesn't have to be as large or complex as the actual wedding cake pictured here. A simple sheet cake could easily be decorated with a dollar-store tiara. Drape a glittery string of beads artistically along the surface, scatter a few plastic gems, beads or pearls, and voilà! Princess-pretty cake.

Of course, if you want a princess wedding cake, it seems they're on offer! Check with your local bakeries and see what they can do for you!
When you're aiming for green entertaining, re-usable items are best. Sometimes, though, you may decide that it's just not feasible. If you're looking for a less wasteful alternative to standard plastic disposable plates, cups and cutlery, you might consider Preserve.

This company makes bright and informal tableware from 100% recycled plastic. It's sturdy enough that it can be reused dozens of times, and, when it's finally served its final meal, it can be recycled. You probably wouldn't use anything this informal for any but the most casual of weddings, but it could easily be used for a shower.

Recycled, recycle-able plastic tableware. It's not a perfect solution, but it's not the worst, either. A decent compromise for moments of need!

via: Epicurious

Luxury is in the details, and what is more luxurious than a perfect flower submerged in champagne?

Wild Hibiscus flowers in syrup are grown and hand-made in Australia, and will add a glamorous touch to the champagne toast. Each flower is hand-selected and preserved in sugar in preparation for the eventual champagne bath. The flower arrives closed, and when dropped in the bottom of a champagne flute slowly "blooms" as the bubbles gently free the petals from their sugar coating. The flowers are fully edible, and taste of raspberry and rhubarb for a tasty finish.

They're a decadent feast for the eyes and palate - and surefire conversation starters.

Wednesday Wedding Wrap-up is a weekly roundup of highlights from the past week, covering wedding blogs and websites, reality TV, even particularly hot scoop right here at AisleDash. Think we missed something? Leave your favorite highlight in the comments!

Bridalwave gives us the scoop on the $10,000 proposal.

Polka Dot Bride has us drooling over the idea of customizing our own bubbly. Cheers to that!

We love the Capiz Party Garlands at Hostess with the Mostess. But who needs a party? We want to decorate our house with them!

Wedding Bee's Miss Toucan discusses her hesitation toward registering for big ticket items. If you don't register for them, you have no chance of getting them, but you don't want your guests to think you're greedy ... what do you think?

Stop thinking of champagne flutes as just one more thing you need for your wedding. While you certainly can go out and spend a pretty penny on them, you can also find something completely appropriate well within your budget. And, whether you decide to toast with Waterford or Wal-mart brand, rest assured that your champagne flutes can be another example of your personal style.

Think about it -- why buy boring glasses that will just get shoved to the back of your cupboard? Pick something you love, something you will want to use long after the wedding -- believe us, if you have gorgeous glasses and a bottle of champagne around, you'll find a reason to celebrate!

Not sure what we mean by "fun" glasses? Look for unique colors and designs, maybe hand-blown or etched. When you see it, you'll know. To get some ideas, check out the gallery!
Hmmm... Seems if you're going to spend TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS on a wedding cake, you'd want it to be pretty ...

What better place to bring in the fabulous geometrics and colors of Art Deco than in your wedding cake? The cake itself could be quite simple in design -- even a very large sheet cake would suffice -- if you put the the accent on the colors and patterns. Traced with paper and then painted right on to the fondant, you'd get a striking and dramatic cake worthy of the occasion.

On the other hand, if you equate "ornate" with "wedding", you'll be delighted to know that Art Deco did some amazing things with scupture and architecture. In the hands of a talented baker, your cake could become a veritable work of art AND architecture!

Yes, Wendy wrote about these only yesterday, but there's another style of 1920's cake topper that you could avail yourselves of if you're interested! Wendy showed you the classic bisque topper. Lots of timely style and fashion flare in those.

Another fashion fad of the 20's was the Kewpie doll. You've probably seen them: short arms and legs, big round tummies and oversized heads. Some people think they're cute and cute; others find them a wee bit creepy. If you're in the first group, you'll be pleased to know that Kewpie dolls made it as wedding toppers in the 20's. Dressed as bride and groom, often in crêpe paper clothing, these little munchkins graced many a flapper's wedding cake.

Perhaps you might do the same!

Although wedding cakes were the norm by the mid-19th century, cake toppers only started to gain popularity towards the late 1890's. The most popular types of toppers were bells, flowers and miniature bride and groom figurines.

Initially, the toppers were homemade creations of gum paste or plaster but by the time 1920 arrived, and toppers were officially de rigeur in high society, they began to be made of glass, paper and wood and commercial manufacture began in Germany, Japan and the USA. By 1927 the concept of wedding cake toppers was so accepted that Sears and Roebuck dedicated an entire page of their mail order catalogue to wedding cake ornaments.

Nowadays, vintage cake toppers are highly prized collectors items and one of the best places to find them, on the Internet, is at Fancy Flours. They are not cheap, but they ARE authentic. Or try browsing on eBay - you might just get lucky and find one at a lower price.

A vintage cake topper would add a fun (and nostalgic) touch to your 1920's wedding and what great keepsake it would be too. One that would likely increase in value as the years pass.


We've already told you that vegans can have the cake of their animal-product-free dreams, but what if you're a vegan and not terribly interested in a traditional wedding cake? No worries -- we've got you covered there, too.

Well, actually, Portovert, one of our favorite green wedding sites, has you covered. Whether you're looking for a candy buffet serving fair trade and organic chocolates and treats or you're more interested in serving a variety of tasty organic cookies to your guests, you've got options.

And, for the industrious, DIY vegan, Portovert recommends My Sweet Vegan, a cookbook focused on amazing, delicious vegan desserts that you can make yourself. The book promises that "this collection of recipes will satisfy any sweet tooth, and leave people asking, 'Are you sure this is vegan?'" And that in itself is pretty sweet.

Why top your gorgeous (and delicious!) cake with mass-produced plastic figurines when you can decorate it with gorgeous marzipan sculptures?

(Talk about having your cake and eating it too!)

Marzipan is a delicious and versatile creative medium - skilled artists can create anything out of the traditional sicilian delicacy, and wedding cake toppers are no exception.

From whimsical characters to traditional fruits fit to top the most sophisticated of cakes, you can have anything you want made to order for a custom cake topper that your guests will truly enjoy.



Incorporating color into your wedding has never been easier - thanks to the internet, it's simple to find entire communities of like-minded brides who share your love of color. If you're planning a pink and brown wedding, you're in luck - we've just made your life that much easier! Aisledash staffers have put together the ULTIMATE guide to a pink and brown wedding - come and take a look at all the pretty things we've found:


Continue reading Inspiration boards: Pink and Brown

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