Mrs. Pancakes, New York/Costa RicaAge and Occupation: 26, Law School StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Latin American Policy AnalystEngagement Date: March 12, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Casa Punto de VistaAbout Me: I’m a perfectionist with a big heart. I love a good laugh and firmly believe no one has ever regretted being prepared! My motto is “go big or go home.” I am incapable of doing anything in moderation, especially when it comes to shopping, TV, food and travel, and some would say wedding planning! The other half of this nearlywed team is a laid-back, adventure-loving, accident prone, sweetie from LA. He makes me laugh, is always down for an impromptu dance party, and totally indulges most of my hare-brained schemes. Now, in my final year of law school, we’ll be spending the spring abroad in Amsterdam and planning a DIY, whimsical, detail-filled destination wedding in Costa Rica!
About six months ago, Mr. Pancakes went to a wedding and was OBSESSED with the homemade dark chocolate chip cookies with infused milk shooters. He talked about them FOR WEEKS! While I am not sure it’s something that we’ll do, I can certainly see the appeal. The only reason we wouldn’t do it is because I don’t like chocolate chip cookies or milk. I didn’t grow up in the States, so they’re not really comfort foods for me…but there are so many great ways to do milk and cookies at a wedding.
Milk & Cookie Bar: You could have all sorts of cookies and flavors of milk for your guests to choose from. You could do peanut butter, oatmeal, Oreos, etc., and then have jugs of strawberry, chocolate, skim, and whole milk! It would be so easy to do and really budget friendly.
Mrs. Eggs Benedict, SeattleAge and Occupation: 29, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, AttorneyEngagement Date: December 5, 2009Wedding Date: February 2011Venue: IslandWoodAbout Me: I'm a Northwest girl who spends my time goofing around with Mr. Eggs Benedict and our dog, hiking, traveling, drinking wine and planning a wedding that will showcase the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. I also love photography, beating Mr. Eggs Bene at Mario Kart, and watching the most ridiculous natural disaster flicks you can think of (seriously, how can you deny the awesomeness that is The Core or 2012?? That's right, you can't). We are planning our weekend wedding adventure at an environmental educational center, and I can't wait for the fun to begin!
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
No, don’t go! I promise this post is filled with incredibly scrumptious-looking pictures, even if they do lack animal products.
As you might remember, instead of a wedding cake we’re having a dessert table with desserts baked by some of our friends and family. This is one project I have delegated to my baby sis, so I haven’t spent much time thinking or worrying about this. We bought some decorations for the table last night, and I’m so excited to see what she comes up with. I have also contributed to her cupcake making by purchasing these adorable cupcake wrappers:
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
One of the other ways I tried to incorporate Mama Lioness’s creativity was by having her host our engagement party. I love seeing an inspiration board featuring an engagement party that could rival a wedding. I didn’t want all of that, though. I wanted something low-key, inexpensive, and casual. Also, I didn’t want people to bring presents, as we hadn’t had a chance to register yet. We decided to have it at Mama Lioness’s townhouse on December 26th, 2009. We were in South Florida visiting three of our four divorced parents for the holidays, so it was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of already having many of our favorite people in the same place at the same time. Five of my six bridesmaids are also from South Florida, so they were home visiting family as well.
Mama Lioness sent out e-vites (did I mention how casual I wanted this to be?) and started brainstorming with Sister Lioness. They decided on afternoon cupcakes and champagne with DIY decor. They got mini-cupcakes from Allegria at the Promenade in Coconut Creek. (They sell fro yo and cupcakes…who could ask for anything more?) These are the flavors they decided on: Read more…
Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
Due to lack of space in our venue, we decided to go for a photobooth instead of a candy buffet. But if we were doing a dessert bar and had the time for some homemade goodies, these mini-cheesecakes would be at the top of my list!
I started making these mini pieces of awesomeness when I worked at my first “real world” job out of college. We would have potlucks every month, and this was a way for me to contribute and not kill anyone. I kid. I’m really not that bad of a cook, but I hated to make something and then have to reheat it in the microwave at work. That thing would take forever! I found the recipe online here, and with a few simple ingredients, a mixer (which I didn’t have the first time I made these…let me tell you, beating that batter by hand was not fun!), and an oven, you too can make these.
Ingredients (I doubled the original recipe to accommodate my work crowd):
Mrs. Espresso, Corona/Big BearAge and Occupation: 23, Community Services SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Maintenance TechnicianEngagement Date: December 21, 2007Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 25, 2008Venue: Outside a rustic b&b in Big Bear LakeAbout Me: I'm a lover of all things good: coffee, music, travel, rain, and of course- my handsome fiance! I'm a full believer in the "Life is Short," mantra - and therefore, eat lots of dark chocolate. I'm a Geographer by degree and nerd by choice. I cook to the sound of French and Portuguese music even though I speak neither. I love road trips, camping, hiking, and capturing life through the lens of my camera. Take me to Anthropologie and I may never leave. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, bargain finds, and old movies. Mr. Espresso and I are high school sweethearts and I am so blessed to be this amazing man's future wife.
Yesterday I made my way up to Big Bear to tie up some loose ends before the wedding. Stop #3 on the to do list: North Pole Fudge and Ice Cream Co. (Posts on stop 1 and 2 to come).
Mrs. Canary, New YorkAge and Occupation: 24, MarketingFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Journalist/EditorEngagement Date: February 16, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: October 19, 2007Venue: Pier Sixty, Chelsea PiersAbout Me: I'm a born and raised New Yorker who loves all things crafty and artsy, food (cheese and dessert!), magazines, and shoes. I'm a power shopper always on the lookout for good deals or great quality-- sometimes I'm lucky and I find both! I love to dance and "shake what my momma gave me" but can also really enjoy a quiet night in with Mr. Canary and a good episode of Seinfeld or curl up with a good book.
I have a huge sweet tooth but funny thing is, I don’t like cold sweets very much because I have very sensitive teeth. But all of that went out the door when I encountered Bubbies mochi ice cream at a food trade show last year. Mochi is originally a Japanese creation of a sticky, glutinous rice shell with some sort of sweet paste filling (usually red bean or green bean) but in this case, the filling is delectable ice cream!
Mrs. Hydrangea, DallasAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network AnalystEngagement Date: June 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: January 14, 2008Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W HotelAbout Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
For our wedding reception, I want to try incorporating new ideas that are fun and entertaining that our guests will remember for a long time to come. Partly because I like to be a little different, but mostly because I want everyone to have an awesome time.
In the South, you grow up attending wedding receptions where there is the wedding cake…and then there’s the groom’s cake. If any of you have seen Steel Magnolias, think blood red armadillo cake. To many, it’s the chocolate cake at the reception, usually depicting something important to the groom, whether it be his alma mater, favorite sports team or hobby.
Mr. Hydrangea is pretty impartial to the whole wedding planning process. He likes to stay in the background and watch Mom H and I plan, and only gives his opinion if it is something that really concerns him. A few months ago, I brought up an alternative for his groom’s cake which he seemed to like.
Miss Peppermint, LA/Palm SpringsAge and Occupation: 23, ActressFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Web ProducerEngagement Date: October 21, 2006Wedding Date: December 2007Blogging Since: July 2, 2007Venue: historic estate overlooking the heart of Palm SpringsAbout Me: I am a Southern California native who enjoys cooking, writing, travel and all things in the arts. Mr. Peppermint and I met in college and he proposed on our four year anniversary in one of our most special places, Joshua Tree National Park. We're having a destination wedding in Palms Springs that will incorporate tradition as well as reflect our personalities!
The best part of the tasting was, of course, the dessert! Now I must confess, I LOVE desserts. I live for desserts. I’ve been trying to curb these desires given that I have two months to get into a wedding dress, but this was the day I could throw caution to the wind!
After deciding on our starter, we were brought three delectable plates full of desserts. You may remember that for dessert we’ll be doing a sampler. Basically, we’ll have a smaller “show” cake so we can cut the cake. Guests will get a dessert plate with a small piece of the wedding cake, a sorbet and a mini creme brulee. Here was our first option:
I didn’t grow up in the States, so they’re not really comfort foods for me…but there are so many great ways to do milk and cookies at a wedding.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
