Wedding Wraps

In honor of the change in weather (thank God for four seasons), here is a post about the fabulous fall/winter bridal accessory: the wrap! From fur, to bolero, to feathers and lace, this fashion accessory is the perfect option for that chilly evening and can spice up even the simplest dress.

{Sources: All photos - Brides.com; Clockwise: Amsale, Pat Kerr Couture, Mikaella, Justin Alexander, Carolina Herrera, Angel Sanchez, Angel Sanchez, Suzanne Ermann)

The Barefoot Contessa

She is a Goddess, and now that I have cable...I am addicted. I saw a show the other day in which she spent the entire time cooking/baking the perfect TV dinner, then packaged it neatly in a little white box and delivered it to a friend, in hope of cheering the friend up and providing some comfort. Now, isn't that the kind of friend we all want in our lives?

Tonight, I intend to make the following and will enjoy it with my sweetie in front of the crackling fireplace, catching up on all my saved Ina Garten shows. That sounds like the dream evening to me!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Barefoot Contessa
Episode:
Back to School

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 2 tablespoons good olive oil


• 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)


• 2 tablespoons mild curry powder


• 5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)


• 1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples)


• 2 teaspoons kosher salt


• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


• 2 cups water 2 cups good apple cider or juice

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

John and Kira's Chocolates

In honor of Blog Action Day (there are just a couple of hours left), I wanted to get you all some more information about a company that I've previously only briefly posted about. John and Kira's is one of my favorite (local) companies! They support and encourage community activism while making a product that tastes great (you have NO idea). All of their chocolate is mixed with local ingredients, such as mint! According to their Web site, when they started the company they agreed that to make extraordinary chocolates, they needed to source flavors from extraordinary people. At that time Kira had been working with a group at the University of Pennsylvania that was spending time in public schools setting up nutrition programs. One of their new efforts was a student run garden at Drew Elementary and UC High School in Philadelphia. These students grow all the mint!

Here are two of my other favorite season items:

Magical Lady Bugs!
Too cute to eat. These hand-painted ladybugs have a dark chocolate shell filled with raspberry (red), garden mint (green) or honey lavender (yellow) Valrhona ganache.



Pumpkins!
Fragile calabacita figs from Spain, filled with a delectable whiskey clove ganache, and dipped in a thin layer of white chocolate tinted a perfect shade of pumpkin. The perfect gift for the Fall!

Going to get sloshed

It's time to get in car and head out to the Finger lakes! Bon voyage!

Karen Smallbone

To follow up my earlier post on sweets for your wedding, I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to Karen Smallbone's website. I've been a fan for a while, but I was thrilled to find that Karen is now offering delicious old-fashioned lollipops and suckers online "in 6 delicious flavors, and five fun shapes".

Choose from Cotton Candy, Bubble Gum, Tangerine, Pink Lemonade, Wild Cherry or Sour Grape!

Karen also offers fabulous packaging options for you wedding favors. Browse her idea gallery or have her custom design something special. Her blog also has some great ideas and fun photos from a number of weddings.

Coveting Apiary Design

With an online store, custom work, and a blog, Apiary Designs has quickly become one of my favorite stationary companies. I love the bright splashed of color, the funky exteriors and simple, elegant insides!

Here are a few of the fab designs from the online store:

Friday, Friday!

I'll be heading out of town this afternoon for the annual upstate NY wine tour weekend with the girls, but I'm going to try to get to a few posts today before I pop out. I saw the picture below in today's Inquirer and just fell in love.

The photo is from the High Point Market in North Carolina, a mammoth affair, with more than 2,500 manufacturers and distributors showing in 12 million square feet of exhibition space spread out over nearly 200 buildings.

SALE: Wedding Paper Divas

I can tell you from experience, the service is great and the quality is fantastic as well! (We purchased our save-the-dates from WPD.)

Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas are delighted to offer you 20% off your entire order when you purchase any of our holiday photo cards, party invitations and other festive products. Shop now! Coupon code: EARLY20 (expires November 5th).

Here are a few of my favorites:

Putting my money where my mouth is...Part I

So, to follow up my post on how it's "all in the details," I thought I would put my money where my mouth is and share a few additional details of our wedding. We've recently received our professional photos, and there are some great shots of the little things that we put so much time and energy into!

Cocktail Napkins: I wasn't originally going to go with something so bridal, but then I became obsessed with the brown and pink, found these for a great deal on EBay, and splurged. And you know what? I friggin' loved them!


Placecards: I wanted the placecards to be fun and funky. We bought the 2"x2" boxes on sale spur of the moment, wrapped them in brown paper, and tied a pink ribbon the alternate direction. On top we double sided taped the placecard ... which was printed in fabulous handwriting by a friend. ... Oops! And IN the boxes ... pink and brown mardi gras beads to celebrate my Cajun heritage.

Family Table: Rather than have an empty table once the placecards were gone, we decided to fill in the space with our "heritage" frames (photos of our grandparents and parents on their wedding days). We also put some albums out with photographs of us over the years. It was a huge hit, as these things usually are!


Tissue Flowers: Are you sick of me talking about these yet? If not, to recap, I made nine arrangements (one for each for the cocktail tables). People loved them (in fact, a few naughty ones were trying to steal them throughout the night) and our photographers got some great detail shots of them.



Centerpieces: We knew we wanted our centerpieces to be seasonal and vibrant, so we decided to go with cluster arrangements of hot pink dahlias with lighter roses, and huge gatherings of stock (a filler flower that is rarely every used like this and it's insanely cheap .... comparatively.) We did NOT want to spend a lot of money on the flowers! (clearly, since I spent so many hours making them.) Since we weren't quite sure how our arrangements would turn out (we'd never seen anything like what we wanted) we decided to supplement with some twinkle. We found these mosaic votives at the Pier One outlet store (what a great resource if you have one in your area) for less than $2 a piece. The peach and red went perfectly, so we bought the whole store's supply! (And we were so thrilled with the flowers too!)


More photos to come tomorrow!

New Wedding Magazine

Rumor has it (thx Bklyn Bride) there's a new wedding magazine out there for green inspiration and alternative solutions.


The first edition of Bond magazine is at newsstands now. For a sneak peak, check out the Web site ... or keep on scrolling.

"Organic and local is the key here – from event location to flowers to great food."

Any magazine that includes an interview with Margaret Cho AND an article on supporting gay marriage is QUICKLY going to the top of my reading list!

"The frilly white wedding cake is now semi-retired and has been replaced with organic ingredients, modern design, natural beauty and a bit of whimsical flair. The trend towards small cakes, tarts and, of course, cupcakes is infiltrating organic bakeries around the world."

It's all in the details...

Pay attention to your guests, and they will remember forever. Introduce them to your relationship by including the things that are most significant to you as a couple. Your guests will truly feel a part of your celebration if you pay attention to the details. The weddings I remember the most are the ones with unexpected, beautiful surprises.

Here are a few wedding details that I've seen today and loved:

{Sources: Colorful cupcakes courtesy of Tangorra Wedding Planning, ladybugs of all design from John & Kira's, the favor boxes from "A Today Show Wedding", and a Candy bar revisted on The Knot and Glamour This}

Fabulous new wedding resource!

I ALWAYS love a new discovery. As a recently married (*still weird*) women who was crafty and made everything in the wedding (from the jewelry, to the invitations, gifts, favors, etc.), I appreciate unique and intricate touches. Therefore, I can only imagine how addicted I'll become with this site.

The Handcrafted Wedding launched this week, offering articles on DIY, etiquette, food and drinks, you-name-it! Additionally, the site links to some fabulous Web sites, including Mommy Makes Roses (hand made paper roses), Rabbit Toes (personalized dinnerware) and The Uncommon Bride.

Some personal favorites

Adorable clutches from 1154 Lill Studio:

Aisle runners by Event Bella Designs:


Custom fortune cookies by My Own Cookie: