“Bride” Ideas

I had never eaten a macaroon until recently and, boy, am I in-love with this delicious pastry! I received a small gift box from the famous macaroon shop in Paris, France called Laduree. They were to die for! It has a slight crispy cake on the outside and inside is the most delectable flavored cream. And the box they were packaged in were so beautiful that I kept it to hold little knick-knacks in my craft room.

photo credit: Laduree

These delicacies have been featured in many magazines and blogs not just for their divine taste but, also, for the myriad of bright colors they come in. You’re sure to find a color to complement your wedding color palette! Package them individually inside small glassine envelopes or a handful inside small favor boxes.

photo credit: Laduree

I found a few french macaroon recipes online and only a couple of pastry shops in the USA that ships nationwide. But if you can get your hands on these sweet treats as your edible wedding favors, you won’t be disappointed!

Just stumbled upon this website and I am drooling over this eye candy! I must visit this place the next time I’m in NYC.

According to owner, Erin McKenna, Babycakes “…offers all natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs.” Available at her store are cupcakes, mini loaves, cookies, cookie sandwiches (YUM!), crumbcakes, muffins and more! She just opened a location in Los Angeles, too, for those of you in the West Coast.

photo credit: BabyCakes

No doubt you’ve heard of the wedding candy buffet. A nice alternative to this sugar-filled delicacy is the all-you-can-eat popcorn buffet! Also known as a popcorn bar, this brilliant concept harks back memories of your favorite movies, afternoons in the ballpark or fun-filled days at your local carnival or amusement park. Fill your wedding popcorn bar display with the traditional “just butter” popcorn, the favorite flavors of caramel, toffee or butterscotch flavored popcorn and throw in the more daring watermelon, chipotle or lime flavors.

While we don’t sell popcorn, we do offer a stylized version of the traditional movie theater popcorn boxes. We also sell mini size white popcorn boxes on which you can rubber stamp or add personalized labels to create unique popcorn boxes!

Materials you can buy here:
Mini White Popcorn Boxes
“POPCORN” Personalized Labels

Materials you need to buy somewhere else:
“Happily Ever After” rubber stamp
Pink colored stamp ink
Popcorn

Instructions:
Our Mini White Popcorn Boxes are shipped flat. So, it’s a breeze to embellish. Here we rubber stamped the phrase “Happily Ever After” onto the front of the box. We then affixed our personalized “POPCORN” Personalized Labels below the rubber stamped image.

Place them in a basket or tray at the beginning of the line for the taking. Perfect favor boxes for a popcorn bar or candy buffet. Also, great favor packaging for an inventive pretzel bar!

Last Friday April 3rd, I stood in line at 9am at my local Michael’s arts and crafts store to see my idol, Martha Stewart! She was scheduled to appear at 12noon to sign her latest book “Encyclopedia of Crafts.” It was windy, cold, and rainy but I didn’t mind standing in line for 3 hours to see her, talk to her and have her personally sign my book. I was fourth in line.

She arrived at exactly 12noon and we were immediately ushered toward her. I was so flustered that I dropped my camera! And I was supposed to take the picture of #3 in line and vice versa. I felt so bad that I didn’t get to take my new friend’s picture as Martha was signing her book. But we ended up taking a picture of Martha in the background with us in the foreground - just to prove that we were there.

Martha was pleasant to talk to and so pretty! It was a thrill to see her in person!

Yesterday, Martha posted her pictures from that day and I am in the 3rd picture! LOL

The Martha Blog

I don’t think I’ve ever stood in line for 3 hours to see or meet anyone. But it was well worth it. I will surely treasure her book!

I introduced this idea waaaay back in 2002 and, to this day, the concept is still a customer favorite. $1 lotto scratch-off tickets are cheap wedding favors that also make creative party favors! Lottery ticket favors are the perfect complements to a “Lucky in Love” theme wedding. It’s so simple to make and guaranteed not collect dust in someone’s curio!

Materials You Need To Purchase:
Medium-size Glassine Envelope
Bridal Label (shown above in MS12; Metropolitan; Lilac)
Your state’s $1 Scratch-off Lottery Ticket
A penny (for scratching) with your wedding year printed on it

Instructions:
Enclose a $1 Scratch-off state lottery ticket in a glassine envelope. For scratching, include a penny minted in the year you are getting married (we simply rummaged through our loose change for pennies). Seal the flap of the envelope with double-sided tape. On the front of the envelope, affix a label that cleverly reads “Lucky In Love”!

Other clever sayings we’ve seen:
* Wishing your RICHES from the new Mr. & Mrs.
* We get HALF!
* Hope our luck rubs off on you!
* With a whole LOTTO love!
* MatriMONEY
* Your love means MILLIONS!

NOTE: Your $1 Scratch-off state lottery ticket is NOT guaranteed to fit in our glassine envelopes! Measure your $1 Scratch-off state lottery ticket first before purchasing our glassines.

Each morning and afternoon, I check just a handful of bridal blogs to get my daily dose of wedding eye candy. Style Me Pretty is one of the outstanding wedding blogs that I read each day and it’s written by the super-talented Abby Larson.

They reviewed my products and services and liked what they saw. So, they extended an invitation to me to belong to their exclusive Little Black Book!!! I am tickled pink and beyond thrilled! As a member, I keep company with a very elite set of wedding-related vendors. I am honored that SMP likes what she sees here at Bliss! Weddings Market. It’s validation that we’re doing something right and I thank her!

Be sure to check out the Style Me Pretty blog - I guarantee, you will be hooked!

Happy Friday!!!

I got my latest Pottery Barn catalog in the mail and I saw these darling yellow takeout pails in their Easter-themed installation.

I love how they wrapped the yellow chinese takeout boxes with a floral-designed paper. I love paper bands aka paper belly bands. You can easily make your own with decorative wrapping paper or cardstock.

We sell gorgeous Favor Boxes with Die-cut Paper Bands, Paper Favor Boxes with Reversible Wraps and White Cube One-piece Favor with paper bands. I predict Paper wrap bands will be a lasting trend.

To finish the look, they tied strands of natural-colored raffia ribbon of which we also sell in our store. Cute and simple!

We have similar materials in our store (although we don’t have the take out boxes in yellow) that you can use to recreate the look.

BTW, how can you not notice that awesome table centerpiece of cherry blossom branches? You all know how much I love all things cherry blossoms!

You can find lots of inspiration in your Pottery Barn catalog!

I’ve adored Carolyn Roehm for several years now. I have several of her darling floral books on my bookshelves and I frequent her website for inspiration. She was the source for my Navy and White wedding colors entry as well as my Blue and White color palette feature.

Well, last week, I received an email informing me that she will no longer be updating her website and will not be tending to her online shop as much. She has TONS of beautiful stationery, home decor, gifts and other accoutrements at 50% OFF! I suggest you take a look at these lovelies before all is gone.

I wish you well, Carolyne, you will be missed online! Looking forward to your off-line endeavors!

Feast your eyes upon this GORGEOUS wedding planned by the oh-so-talented designer, Melissa Barton, at A Charleston Bride. Melissa founded A Charleston Bride back in 2001 and she and her staff have been turning out memorable events ever since.

I adore this wedding color palette of black and white with splashes of bright green or “kiwi” green. Simply divine!

Casey and Peter’s wedding was a June wedding with both the ceremony and reception held at The William Aiken House in Charleston, South Carolina. Enjoy the beautiful photos captured by the talented Richard Israel as Melissa answers a few questions regarding this beautiful wedding.

What was the inspiration for the gorgeous green and black color palette?
Casey, the bride, loved and was set on the black and white color scheme. It wasn’t until Casey was in a paint store picking out paint colors, when she came across the vibrant kiwi green paint sample. She knew this was the splash of color she wanted to incorporate in her special day.

Do the green eco friendly favor boxes look familiar? The bright green organic favor boxes and black and white bridal labels can be purchased in our store!

What was your inspiration for the overall design of the wedding?
The “California cool” décor design allowed for a not-so-typical, laid back affair. Casey’s “organic” style could be seen throughout the event from the maiden-hair fern butler card arrangement to the fresh moss & hydrangea centerpieces to the favors, which were literally packaged in organic green boxes. Even the dance/lounge tent was decorated in vibrant kiwi linen with large organic cotton drum shades. All stationery stayed consistent throughout the event. The use of a simple yet sophisticated Indian inspired print could be seen on the save-the-dates, invitations, menus, table numbers, butler cards & welcome bags. This design was even replicated onto the three wedding cakes.

Aren’t the cakes above too beautiful to eat? Jim Smeal designed the above cakes. Cake Flavors (Left-Right; Top to bottom): Cake #1: Chocolate, Cake #2: Orange, Raspberry, Vanilla, and Cake #3: Coconut.

Thanks so much, Melissa, for taking the time to stop by and sharing a bit about this wonderful wedding. So glad we were able to contribute in some way to this event!

I *heart* cherry blossoms. Can you tell? My blog has beautiful cherry blossoms in the upper right. The first “bride” idea above is that of a cherry blossom theme favor box. Even the color palette of the blog and the store is pink and brown. So, when someone tells me that they are going to have a cherry blossom wedding, I stop short and listen. I want to know everything! What do the invitations look like? How is the cherry blossom cake going to be designed? Any cherry blossom favors in mind? * wink, wink *

Cherry blossoms are found in several Asian countries but a wide variety of them are indigenous to Japan. They say the best place in the USA to view cherry blossoms is in Washington, DC late March to early April. Japan gave 3,020 sakura trees as a gift to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the nations’ then-growing friendship, according to Wikipedia.org.

I am so happy that my vendors have finally GOT IT and have designed cherry blossom theme products. For all you cherry blossom event planners out there, I am proud to offer a nice and varied array of cherry blossom themed items: cherry blossom hand fans, cherry blossom program covers, personalized cherry blossom stickers, cherry blossom water bottle labels, Cherry Blossom Vellum Wine Glass Shades, Cherry Blossom Frosted Glass Coasters, and even a cherry blossom window cling decal - just to name a few (click here to view our entire cherry blossom wedding category of products).

I put together an inspiration board of all things cherry blossom that will get your creative juices flowing. If you’re not a fan or never considered designing an event around the beautiful cherry blossom (or sakura), hopefully my inspiration board below will inspire.