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DIY inspiration board

This week we brought you Do It Yourself (DIY) weddings. One of the great things about doing it yourself is the money you can save. And who else knows what you want better than you do? Here are the things we found for you:

Continue reading Inspiration board: DIY wedding


Iced cookies are currently a big favor favourite with many brides and, although they come in all sorts of shapes and colours, it can be hard to find something that's different to the usual wedding cake/shoe/dress design. It does exist though. For something a little bit edgier, a little bit funkier, with a lot more pizazz, try the cookies from Whipped Bakeshop.

What makes these cookies so special is that they aren't decorated with standard icing. They are 'hand painted', which gives them that fabulous customised, arty look. Whipped Bakeshop is run by Zoë Lukas, who is both a baker and a painter, and she has pulled these two talents together to create these little masterpieces. A real marriage of art and food.

If you don't live in Philadelphia you can still order these cookies as Whipped Bakeshop delivers throughout the USA. Custom cookies are priced from $3.50 each, excluding delivery/shipping costs.

Fabulous favors indeed.
There's nothing new about iced wedding biscuits and there's no doubt that they do make great wedding favors. But how about an iced biscuit bouquet? It's certainly a fun and quirky idea and while it isn't really suitable for a traditional and classic wedding (can you just imagine the bride swooshing down the aisle holding a bunch of biccies?) it could be quite a funky bouquet alternative for the offbeat bride in a fun and informal setting. Well, why not?

Okay, maybe that is stretching the imagination just a tad but the idea of sending a bouquet of biscuits as a thank you gift is actually lovely. It's always nice to have a delicious biscuit with that mid-morning cup of coffee and how cool would it be to munch on a iced wedding-gown or shoe or top hat? Lots of fun, we think. Another good idea is to use them as funky table centrepieces, and they can do double duty as favors too.

There are a number of companies that supply biscuit bouquets, ( a quick Internet search will bring up a good list) but we really like these ones from Biccies. The biscuits are handmade, they look good, they taste good and at £44.99 they're not too destructive to your bank account.
Edible favors, be they sugary-sweet, candy-coated almonds, iced wedding cookies or sinfully rich chocolates, will always be appreciated by your wedding guests. After all, who can resist a sweet treat? But if you're looking for something just a little bit different, then why not go for sophisticated, stylish (and increasingly trendy) macarons?

Now, if you're in Paris (or London too) and money's no object, you can head off to the luxurious La Duree and indulge yourself but, if that's not an option, then try these fabulous ones from Paulette Macarons, in Beverley Hills.

Priced at $4.00 for a mini-giftbox containing two macarons, there are 12 mouth-watering flavours, including caramel pecan, Madagascan vanilla, violet cassis, Sicilian pistachio and raspberry rose. Yummy!
favor boxWe love DIYBride around here! There are always such great ideas, things you see and know that's just what you were wanting for your wedding, or things you see which inspire other ideas, perfect for your day.

Which is why, when we found instructions for making these super-sweet, super-easy treat baskets, we just had to try them out! When she made hers, Khris used some funky scrapbook paper. Ours are made from pale blue card stock. Two different approaches yielding two quite different looks -- but both take only minutes to make! Check out Khris's post to see her basket and instructions, and then check out gallery below to see our very own step-by-step construction of this very simple favor.

sugared almondsLove the idea of the traditional bomboniere? Does the thought of those teeny organza bags in your wedding colors, filled with five lovingly-counted almonds just thrill your romantic soul? Do you delight to the tradition of the five almonds, the five symbolizing health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and long life?

And do you really, really hate nuts?

Here's the solution! They look like sugared almonds, but under that pretty candy shell is chocolate! Is that not too perfect?

(If you're interested in these candies, check out The Last Detail.)

Gallery: Favor File

Mini-lanternsButton tissue holdersFunky felt bagsPyramid gift boxHoliday blown glass pens

Favor your lucky guests

Favors

clover kit

Want to give your guests the gift of luck? How about presenting them with this 4-leaf clover kit? An attractive box becomes the planter when you drop in peat pellet (how's that for authentically Irish?). Sprinkle on the seeds, pour in some water, and within a couple of weeks, your guests will have a little pot of white clover.

The 4-leaf variety is a mutation of the more common 3-leaf clover, though, so no promises on the lucky 4-leaf variety showing up. Even without it, though, your guests can enjoy the symbolism of the three leaves: one stands for faith, one for hope, one for love. And if they do find a 4-leaf clover in their crop? That extra leaf, it stands for luck!

For more information on the Four-leaf Clover Kit, check out The Spoon Sisters.
When selecting all the personal touches for your wedding and reception, don't forget the signature cocktails. You can pick your favorite drink to serve, create something of your own, or give your cocktails personalized names with memories from your relationship.

As a sweet favor, you can even send your guests home with the drink recipes on special coasters.

SKYY Vodka
has created five great wedding recipes with great wedding names, like SKYY Wedding Bliss:
2 oz SKYY Vodka
¾ oz Cinzano vermouth
Lavender simple syrup
Vanilla bean
Chop a half vanilla bean in small pieces width-wise and place in a cocktail shaker. Add lavender syrup and muddle the vanilla bean, crushing the vanilla bean. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice, add SKYY Vodka and Cinzano. Shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with fresh flower and vanilla bean.

View the gallery for more signature cocktails and recipes.

Are you looking for a fun favor to give your guests, or are you a wedding guest trying to find the perfect little something to add to a gift for the couple? Either way, you'd be smart to check out Placetile Designs -- their Erasable Ceramic Bottle Stoppers have been shown on HGTV and been named as "the best little gift under $20" on numerous lists.

Placetile Designs offer the aforementioned bottle stoppers, as well as ceramic place cards and wine tags -- all are ceramic and are meant to be written on, erased, and written on again, which means you can write a little something on it for the wedding, like the date, or the recipient's name, and then later they can write something more useful on it.

Want to see how versatile these items can be? Check out the gallery for a few examples, but be sure to check out Placetile's website to see everything they have to offer. You might have to get an extra one for yourself!


This week it was all about the theme wedding. Renaissance weddings, to be exact. Let's take a look at what we've found for you:

Continue reading Inspiration Board: Renaissance weddings

Probably the very simplest way to personalize many aspects of your wedding is with labels. Think about the number of applications for a monogrammed label, or a label expressing your thanks: favor boxes, your very own music mix, place cards, thank-you notes, the order of service, on the invitations, as seals on the envelopes, coasters, wine bottles ... The list could go on and on.

You could probably accomplish this on your home computer with the right software, or you could go through one of the many online printers. Check through the gallery of choices from one such source we found, and check out the website. Google for more. Maybe you've already found other websites you'd like to share with us!

Something as basic as a simple motif repeated on placecards and favor boxes can give a sense of a well-designed wedding, without costing the earth.

Gallery: Label Options

CoastersFavor boxesCD labelsThank-you notesPlace cards

Renaissance women never went anywhere without a little pouch, made of leather or fabric, to carry things about or for storing herbs that they found and gathered. For your renaissance wedding, the pouch is a great way to give favors to your guests. Pretty much anything can be tucked inside a pouch, from those traditional herbs to Celtic cross soaps and even Celtic-patterned chocolates.

You can buy fabric pouches from Ye Steady Hands from $5.00 per pouch (they do give discounts for large quantities) or leather pouches from this wonderful Etsy seller, Eves Originals. At about $13.00 each they may be too expensive as favors if you're having a large wedding, but they would make lovely gifts for your wedding party. Pop in a little treat for a bridesmaid or groomsman and voila! a great wedding keepsake for those who are special to you.
Sweet favors for your Renaissance wedding, these little silver castles come tucked into sheer silver organza bags, and accented with a silver heart. If you like, you may also choose to decorate each bag with a personalized ribbon and/or thank-you tags or stickers. Not only are they a gift in keeping with the theme, they'll add to the table's decor.

Small enough to fit easily into a pocket or purse, your guests will be able to take the mood of the event home with them. Once they get it home, they'll experience the next big advantage of a consumable favor: after they enjoy its light for an evening meal, they'll have one less momento to dust!
Sometimes it's hard to remember whether contrasting colors are okay or which colors are complimentary. And which colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel? What colors are on the color wheel, anyway? If you need a little help, take a look at the Color Studio at Brides.com.

A spin of the color wheel will yield you a sample color combo. Spin again and again to find different ideas. You can restrict the color choices to a particular palette if, say, you know you want blues. It's like a video game - keep spinning until you see something you like!

It's a great way to play with several different color combinations. But it is definitely random. You can't tell it to choose two colors to complement the red you found, unless you want to keep spinning the wheel until it comes up. So while it does have a few minor imperfections, it's still a great place to start, especially if you're not even sure what colors you want for your reception.
These romantic placecard holders will make welcome favors when your guests take them home and house a new picture inside them. Maybe they'll even slip in a picture of your wedding!

What better way to invite your guests to take their seats? The castle frames the placecard, and in the lower corner, a knight rides off into the sunset with his beautiful bride. This sweet little frame would be useful for either a fairy-tale or Cinderella-themed wedding, or for a wedding themed to a time in history -- the middle ages, the Renaissance.

For information on purchasing this castle placecard holder, check out Favor Warehouse.com.

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