Category Archives: Wedding

The Perfect Guy

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A few weeks ago I was digging through some old photos and high school memorabilia to make a slide show for their wedding reception and ran into this gem…

It’s like a teenager’s dream board for the Perfect Guy. I mean seriously… who wouldn’t love a guy who “won’t get weird on you” or who “buys you stuff”? Especially when there’s “nothing you can do to mess things up”.

Before Ashley met Greg, she was dating someone else and asked me one day if I liked him… If I thought he was “the one”.

I said no.

I mean he was nice enough… for someone else. But no. He wasn’t the one for her.

Of course, she burst into tears and told me I never liked anyone she dated… that there wasn’t a perfect guy… that I needed to stop being so negative.

I told her I was sorry, but that she needed to find a guy that works as hard to make her happy as she works to make him happy. I told her that would be the guy for her.

She said that guy didn’t exist. I said he did. I can’t remember if she hugged me or not. I’m guessing not.

Then one day she met Greg. It took about a year for them to date and a bit more to figure it all out, but one day she called me to tell me that she came home from work to a surprise from Greg… a set of pink golf clubs for no reason at all, except that he wanted her to learn to golf so they could do it together.

He wanted to golf with her. He bought her pink golf clubs. Pink. For no reason.

Suddenly I knew. This was the perfect guy. For her.

A few months later she told me she that she now knew what I meant way back then. Back when I told her she needed to find someone who worked as hard to make her happy as she works to make him happy.

I may have teared up a bit and we definitely hugged. I thought my heart would burst with happiness for her.

So last week when I found the dream board of the perfect guy buried deep in a bin of teenage memories, I knew I had to make this…

I laminated it, forgot to get a better photo and gave them both to her this past weekend at her super fun bachelorette party…

and as we all raised our glasses for a toast before she takes on the world with Greg by her side, my heart swelled again… because she really did find the perfect guy – the perfect guy for her. xo Amy

 

Creating a Dessert Table

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A dessert table, in my opinion, is all about the sweets, color, serving dishes and layers. Although, truth be told, if we’re being honest here, it’s mostly about the sweets. Well, sweets and adorableness.

Here’s some tips to keep in mind when creating a dessert table for your next party…

  • Group Them. Keep your sweets together. Whether you dedicate a whole room or simply a table to your desserts, make sure you group them all together. A grouping creates impact. If you spread things out, they’ll get lost.
  • Color Coordinate. Select colors that match your theme and stick to them. You could use multiple shades of one color or pick two or three colors to carry-out throughout the table and the theme of the party.
  • Make the Food your Focal Point. Use neutral or coordinating serving dishes so that the eye can focus on the food – not a hodge podge of mismatched items.
  • Use Various Heights. Use trays, platforms, tiers, etc. to create interest by introducing layers of various heights.
  • Add Details. They say beauty is in the details and that applies to dessert tables too. Details can include signs, doilies, banners and more. Just make sure that the details are complimentary to your sweets and not a distraction.

For the bridal shower, I decided to dedicate the dining room (with my new chandelier) to sweets only. The decorations had a “Princess Ashley met her Prince Charming” kind of theme and the horse-drawn carriage that I found at an antique sale years ago was perfect for the center of the table…

I had princess themed card stock leftover from the banners I made and had the “brilliant’ idea of sewing them together until I realized that logistically they couldn’t be sewn together because the paper didn’t roll/bend/fold well. The next best thing was to sew one end of each sheet of paper and then glue them together with a glue stick. It actually turned out really cute and was super simple. I should note, that I am a hack at sewing and If I can sew, anyone can…

I love cupcake tiers to add height to a table. I already had one, but used a Michael’s coupon to purchase a second one for the party. I’ve adapted a few recipes and made these white raspberry filled cupcakes (and some without filling) a few times now and they’re really delicious…

I thought that the cupcake holder on the left was adorable…

and they are… BUT they are also a reminder that looks are always not everything. I will never buy them again, because they are too big, too awkward, and totally ridiculous to use. You cannot put them in a muffin pan – they don’t fit and if you put them on a cookie sheet, you can only fit a few at a time. So cute. So dumb.

I removed the centers of some of the cupcakes for the raspberry filling and rather than eating them throwing them away, I put them in some cute sampling cups with mini-spoons and topped each with raspberry filling and icing. It took me all of about 5 minutes and they were deliciously cute…

In my opinion, a sweet table is not complete with some serious chocolate and I have a recipe for some incredibly delicious brownies. You’ll notice that I haven’t quite mastered how to cut them yet – the plan was to cut them into perfectly adorable 1 inch squares and serve them in individual cute candy cups, but the perfectly part of that dream was a big fat fail. Fortunately, they still tasted delicious…

A few days before the party, I stumbled upon some pink heart-shaped marshmallows at Wal-Mart and decided to dip them in white chocolate and sprinkles. These are such an inexpensive add for a sweet table and they were as yummy as they were cute…

Another big hit was the stemmed maraschino cherries dipped in white chocolate and coconut. I just love these…

You can never fail with chocolate covered strawberries, although I’ve yet to master drizzling 101…

Did I mention there were cake pops? You have to love cake pops…

I need to fit into my dress in a few weeks, so I bought some cute pink to-go bags and announced that it was everyone’s obligation to take home some desserts and ensure that not one sweet thing was left behind at the end of the day. They were very dutiful guests… only crumbs remained.

If you are looking for an overall photo, you’ll have to close your eyes and imagine it.  I’m just thankful to have these less than perfect shots, because it wasn’t until five minutes before the first guest walked in the door, that I snapped out of my last-minute frenzy long enough to grab a camera and get these photos.

I’ll share the recipes later this week.  xo Amy

Adorable Ball Jar Glasses with Name Tags

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I am just smitten with these glass mason jars. We made over 4 dozen of them for Ashley’s Bridal Shower last weekend and they turned out adorable. Of course there really wasn’t any doubt that we would love them, but we were concerned about how everyone would keep track of which glass was theirs.

Greg’s mom ordered the mason jars on-line and the future Ashley Moeller (see note below) found hot pink straws, but then I started thinking about what to use for name tags… they needed to go around the rim, be fun, easy to do and inexpensive.

This is what I came up with…

They were perfect! Want to make your own? You’ll need some mason jars…

and elastic hair bands to match the theme of your party, along with a box or two of key tags (you can find these anywhere that they make copies of keys) and fun stickers – I used hearts that I already had, but you can use any style you want. You could also use stick-on rhinestones, stamps, scrapbook appliques… you’re only limited by you’re imagination!

Once you have these items…

assemble the tags, add one to each jar along with a straw, throw in a sharpie…

 and voila!!! Instant cuteness…

Below are instructions plus a link to a source for each item…

What you’ll need…

  1. Ball regular mouth pint mason jars (Get a dozen or two at Bed, Bath and Beyond – if you have a 20% off coupon, you can get a dozen for $8.00)
  2. A pack of hair elastic bands to match your theme (here’s a pack of 30 at Wal-Mart for less than $4.00)
  3. Metal rimmed tags (you can find these at kiosks that make keys (Lowe’s has a pack of 25 for $5.25)
  4. Foam stickers ($2.24 at Joann)
  5. Straws (50 for $7.68 including shipping)
  6. Sharpie ($2.97 at Wal-Mart)
Directions:
  • Remove and store the jar lids
  • Attach the tags to hair bands
  • Place the bands around the rim of the jars
  • Add a straw
  • Provide a sharpie for guests to write their name

The cost to make 2 dozen glasses with tags is around $38.00 or $1.58 ea. What I love about these is once your party is over, you can use the jars to store soups, juices, left overs, etc. and you can never have enough hairbands and sharpies!

Note: Things can be very confusing around here. My daughter is Ashley Moeller. She has a friend from high school named Ashley M. who is a bridesmaid in her wedding. There’s a debate around here regarding if she used hang out at our house during high school because of her friendship with Ashley or if she really came because she thought my older son Michael was adorable, which of course he is.

Either way, fast forward 10+ years and Michael has asked his sister’s friend, Ashley (who is also an Ashley M.) to marry him. We are so excited about that, except that every time anyone says “Ashley” they both think we’re talking to them. Until we figure this out, we’re just call her the future Ashley Moeller.   Very. Confusing. Yes. I. Know.  But, we adore the future Ashley Moeller, so all is good.

Next up is the Mimosa Bar! xo Amy

Planning a Bridal Shower

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I love crafting, planning and creating fun, beautiful things. I love things that match and don’t match, but still match in a fun kind of way. I love friends and parties and a cup of coffee. I love a good love story, happily-ever-after weddings and planning a wedding.

Have you met my daughter Ashley? She’s smart, beautiful, hard working, thoughtful and sweet. I highly recommend having a daughter just like her. Ashley has met her prince charming – his name is Greg and they are about to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. She could not be happier…

We’ve been knee-deep in wedding planning, but I took a break recently to co-host a shower for her at my home this past Sunday, with her future mother-in-law and fiance Greg’s two sisters. It was such a beautiful, sunny, perfect day and there’s so many things to share with you that I’ve decided to make this week all about the details.  Who knew hosting a bridal shower could be so much fun?

Some of you may be saying whoooaaa… “it’s not appropriate to throw a shower for your daughter”, but I can promise you – I’ve looked into that. The idea for a large shower originally came from my friend Lynne. She, along with her son’s future mother-in-law, hosted a bridal shower last year for Lauren, her future daughter-in-law. Until then, I had never entertained the concept of having one big shower, but was so intrigued.

A quick google search confirmed that it’s a new trend for the mother-of-the-bride to throw a shower for her daughter and according to Emily Post Etiquette,  it really is okay. Ashley loved the idea of having one big shower with friends and family from both sides and we thought it would be fun that everyone could meet each other before the wedding.

Pitching in to help was Ashley’s maid of honor (mom of a toddler and three-week old adorable baby girl), the bridesmaids and other friends who brought fruit for the mimosa bar, Servati’s baked pretzels with spinach dip, a healthy vegetable tray, cucumber sandwiches, seared salmon and tuna, a yummy salsa and more. It definitely was a group effort that came together seamlessly. The food was delicious… I’d show you a photo, but it didn’t occur to me to snap a picture until the food was long gone.

Guests included friends of Ashley, Sandy (Greg’s mom) and I, along with family from both sides. Most of the guests didn’t know each other before Sunday. We love that they have had the chance to meet and chat prior to the wedding.

The only people missing were friends and family from out-of-town and a few relatives from my mom’s side of the family that were invited the week before to an intimate brunch/shower for nine hosted by my Aunt Shirley at her home a few weeks ago. Ashley’s great Aunt, Betty Jane, would have been overwhelmed at a large shower, but the small gathering that included her sisters, their daughters and daughter-in-laws was just perfect for her. It was such lovely afternoon with a yummy menu and beautiful details. We all had such a great time catching up with each other…

Shirley’s shower was themed in patterns of black and white… This past weekend it was all about shades of pink, green and sky blue. Think princess, prince, frogs, castles and carriages. I’ll give you a close up of the details each day this week, but for now, here’s a sneak peek…

  I

There were so many awesome gifts… the designer in me loved how well they coordinated with the banner in the background. Isn’t it adorable? I made that with my new favorite toy tool… a silhouette cameo that I got for Christmas. It was so much fun to create banners, garland, labels and more with the happily ever after themed card stock I found at Hobby Lobby.

Of course a party wouldn’t be complete without some festive tissue poms and lanterns…

Ashley sent me a link for a mimosa bar she saw on Pinterest. We decided to create our own and it was a huge hit…

We wanted some fun glasses, so Greg’s mom got 4 dozen mason jars, Ashlee (my son’s fiance – yep, there’s another wedding in the future -yay!) found some hot pink straws and I came up with an idea for colorful name tags to help guests keep track of their drinks…

Confession: At times, I may or may not have a hard time letting people do things… some might use the term control freak or perfectionist… I prefer the term executive detail coordinator, but you would be proud of me. Greg’s sister Gina offered to do the games and prizes and although it was slightly painful for a few seconds, I graciously handed her full control – full, as in from that point forward, I didn’t ask a word about it – ever… I trusted her impeccably and boy, was I was glad I did… she did an amazing job. She brought these little mini rose bushes as prizes… how cute are they?

The dining room was home to the sweet table. We provided “to-go” bags and made everyone promise to take ALL of the sweets home with them to help ensure I fit into a smaller sized dress next month. Thankfully, we had dutiful guests and these plates were emptied by the end of the day…

along with all the other serving dishes on the table…

In decorating news, I finally got a new chandelier and dimmer in my dining room. It was looking all “look at me” and glam – dripping with crystals above the sweets table…

Tip: I highly recommend having at least one party a year… it’s a surefire way to get things done around the house. I painted a ceiling medallion at midnight last week to match the antique bronze finish of the chandelier before we hung it. I love, love, love how it turned out. That’s a  DIY “how-to” topic for next week!

All in all, it really was a perfect day, because seriously… how could it not be perfect with a guest list that included 55+ of the most fabulous women in Ashley’s life? Check back  tomorrow for the mimosa bar and mason jar details! xo Amy

Wedding Projects: We need Paper. Lots of Paper.

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During the day I am attached to my computer working on a new website and shopping cart. By night I’m a pinterest wedding craft-a-holic. It’s actually working out quite well… my mind is shot by the end of the day, but after a quick two or three mile walk and a carrot-apple-ginger juice, I can’t wait to sit down at night and work on a new craft project.

You won’t see those projects just yet, I want everyone to be surprised when it all comes together, but after the wedding it’s on! I’ve been photographing and writing notes about the whole process so I can share it all with you at a later date!

Several months ago I designed some DIY invitations and although they were beautiful, they were a bit ambitious and would have taken a ton of work to make. We’re inviting well over 300 guests, and we have almost 200 invitations to send out. When we crunched the numbers and looked at the time and supplies that it would take to make the invitations, it just didn’t make sense with everything else that needed to be done, so last week we ordered invitations from a little mom and pop shop called Land of Oz that we found in town. The invitations are completely different from what we envisioned in the beginning, but they’re simple, classic and perfect.

Over the weekend I went to Hyde Park Square to visit World of Beads… I could wander this place for hours…

I really didn’t go there for the beads, but for some metal stamping supplies for a really awesome project I’m doing for the wedding. As I headed back to my car I noticed I had parked next to a lovely little stationary boutique called poeme - an adorably chic shop that just happened to be having a warehouse sale.

As I browsed through the papers, card stock and envelopes I discovered they sold everything by the piece… for example – a piece of card stock was 10 cents, an envelope 15 cents, etc. The coolest thing is once you decide what you need, they will cut your paper to size. I found a pack of shimmery paper already cut to use as printed inserts for the wedding invites if we decide provide directions or additional day-of-wedding information. Also found was some card stock cut to my specifications for 80 shower invitations, 80 shimmery envelopes for the shower invites, and 15 envelopes and card stock to create thank-you notes for the wedding party. Get this… all of it was less than $25.00. It was a major score!

Of course, once home, the mind was ticking as I realized I should have gotten card stock for 300+ menus, 300+ seating cards, 35 day-of-the-wedding schedules and 175 or so programs for the ceremony! Did I mention the warehouse sale is back on this weekend? Live in Cincy and need some beautiful paper?  It’s definitely worth taking a trip to Poeme this weekend! Maybe I’ll see you there!

If you’re planning a wedding, it’s never too early to start thinking about paper. It can cost you a small fortune to custom order everything. If you decide to do some of it yourself, look for local and on-line deals for card stock and envelopes. I couldn’t be happier with what I found! xo Amy

Note: Shimmery paper can only be printed with a laser printer.

A Wedding in FOUR Months!

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I can’t believe it. Four months from today our little girl is getting married. It seems like just yesterday they were engaged, yet here it is almost a year later and the wedding day is getting closer and closer.

According to wedding planning checklists we are a bit behind, but that’s a good thing, because…

A few weeks ago they decided they really wanted a Saturday wedding AND that they weren’t really happy with their reception venue. So, after some juggling, they changed the date… and the venue… and the church. Did I mention it’s going to be a month earlier?

It’s a good thing I do my best work in the 11th hour! There are some things we’ve accomplished though…

  • We booked the church, again – the one they wanted originally. It was available for The new date!
  • The new venue for the reception is booked as well… we are really, really happy with the new date and location!
  • Ashley has her wedding dress and it is gorgeous… breathtaking. I can’t wait to see Greg’s face when she walks down the aisle.
  • Their wedding website is almost done… she just needs to add a few more details before she shares it with her friends and family!
  • We have a head full of ideas for decorations, now we just need to start crafting! Be warned, If you’re my friend and live nearby, I see some crafting nights in your future!
  • A photographer was chosen too - Daniel Michael Photography. Ashley and Greg just got back their engagement photos and they are beautiful…
Here’s a few…

I just love them… both Ashley and Greg and the Photos.

I’m really looking forward to the whole process and I’ve promised myself not going to get too overly stressed over anything – to enjoy every last second of this… the planning, the shopping, the crafting and the actual day. Remind me of that in a few months, haha!

Of course I’ll share some details along the way and lots of details once it’s over! xo Amy

 

She said Yes… Now What? Five Questions to Answer ASAP

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So he asked and she said yes. Ashley and Greg are engaged. Now what? Of course there are hugs, photo’s, the story of how he proposed and the showing of ring, but then what?

We quickly discovered 5 questions we needed to answer sooner than later…

1) What is the date or a set of possible dates for the wedding? We started looking at churches and reception venues in February 2012.  The wedding was approximately 17 months away and yet to our shock, we found some places were already booked. I couldn’t believe it! Ashley and Greg were tossing around the idea of a Friday wedding and were torn until they found their possible Friday date was the wedding anniversary of both her grandparents AND his grandparents. Needless to say, Friday it is. How perfect is that?

2)What is your budget? Mike and I came up with a lump sum to give Ashley and Greg for their wedding to use any way they wanted. Anything above and beyond that would be their responsibility. Greg’s parents also told them what they would help with. Having a budget defined at the beginning was crucial because will affect all of the decisions they’ll make.

 3) How many guests will attend your wedding and reception? Several things come into play here. How many friends and family members do you wish to invite? How many friends and family can you afford to invite? Is it more important to have a lavish dream wedding with a smaller group of friends and family or to have a larger wedding on a tighter budget and be surrounded by lots of friends and family? Ashley and Greg agreed was better to have everyone that is important to them at the wedding. This means finding a venue that will hold 275 to 300 people. They found a great place across the river and booked it! I can’t wait to meet with the planner there. The goal, for me, is to help Ashley create the wedding she’s dreamed of since she was a little girl and keep it within the budget.

4) Will it be an Indoor or Outdoor Wedding? Ashley really, really wanted an outdoor tented wedding. The problem was two-fold… Cincinnati Weather is totally unpredictable and a tented wedding with everything they wanted for 300 people was not realistically in their budget.  It was possible- but there would have been so many variables, lots of work to pull it off and so many unknowns. In the end, they decided it wasn’t worth the stress. They settled for an indoor location they both really loved.

5) What kind of ceremony will you have and where? It’s really important to Greg that they get married in a Catholic Church. Because it’s important to Greg, it is just as important to Ashley.  She isn’t Catholic, but they often go to church together. They’ll get married in a Catholic ceremony – Ashley’s only wish is that it’s a traditional, beautiful church with a long gorgeous aisle. I think the place they want is a go and I love it! It is downtown, steeped in history and absolutely stunning.  Turns out, time is of the essence when booking a church too… who knew?

Being thrown into the world of wedding planning made me realize there needed to be some rules of engagement for both Ashley and I if our relationship was going to survive this process. I’m not worried about our relationship surviving, but I do want to make sure it is FUN. I want good memories of planning this special day with my only daughter. We don’t really need rules, but we do need boundaries. Okay, I need boundaries because it is her day! More about that next week. xo Amy

She said Yes!

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I hope you like Weddings. I really hope you do, because I’m going to be talking a lot about weddings all through this year and into the next! I’ll still be talking about decorating, organization, cooking, gardening and what ever else pops into my head, but now we get to add wedding planning to the mix! Yay!

Meet Ashley…

Isn’t she adorable? I admit I’m just a tad prejudiced! She’s my favorite daughter. Okay, I can say that because she’s my only daughter and she really is adorable, isn’t she?

Ashley has always made me proud. She’s kind, sensitive, smart, athletic, generous and always thinking about someone else. She excelled in school, played volleyball, basketball, softball, was a cheerleader and volunteered lots. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati and has settled into a job that keeps her really busy. Pink is her color, she thinks she’s a princess and has always dreamed of happily ever after with her prince and little prince and princes running around. She is pretty, fun, tall (5′-9″), opinionated, confident and best of all, she’s in love!

Meet Greg!

Isn’t he handsome? The key thing here is he is as nice as he is cute! He’s a fireman at two different departments, smart, athletic, tall, (Ashley can wear 4″ heels and still be shorter!), adventurous, confident, from a big family, loves his mom and best of all loves my daughter! I knew that he was the “one” when he surprised her one day (for no particular reason) with a set of pink golf clubs. He said he wanted her to learn how to play so they could golf together. How awesome is that? Most guys are wanting to get away to the golf course, he wants her to join him. I love that!

I told Ashley a few years before she met Greg, that she should be patient. I told her that she would know when she met the right one, that it would be worth it. She got a little upset with me at the time, but I felt that it needed to be said. I told her that the guy that was the “one” would work as hard at making her happy as she did at making him happy. She told me a year after she started dating Greg she now knew what I meant… that Greg was the “one”. That makes me happy.

The first week of January Ashley asked me to go to dinner with the girls – Greg’s Mom, one of his sisters, his brother’s fiance and a friend. I was debating on if was going to go, until Mike said Greg had called and was stopping by for a cigar and to “talk about his future with Ashley”. My heart went pitter-patter… I was a nervous wreck! Haha! I immediately texted Ashley and said I would be there. She had no idea he was going to propose and I had to work really, really hard to not let on. Greg and Ashley had talked about rings, but she thought maybe he would propose later in the year.

I saw Greg right before I left for Olive Garden and gave him a hug, got all teary-eyed and probably made a fool out of myself. I was just so darn happy for them. He said he was going to ask her on top of a snow-capped mountain the following weekend while on a ski trip with friends. The cutest thing about it all was how nervous he was about the ring. He picked it out and designed it all by himself. He wasn’t nervous about asking her to marry him or talking to Mike… he was nervous about if she liked the ring… of course she L.O.V.E.D it. Loves it, loves it, loves it. He did good. She tells me all the time that it is perfect and it is.

Greg also told me before they left for the ski trip, that he had asked his mom to have an engagement party for them when they got back – isn’t that the nicest thing for him to have thought about that?  I helped out with the food for the party and along with some other things, I made some really yummy white chocolate raspberry filled cupcakes. I’ll share the recipe for those next week!

On January 14th, 2012, they officially became engaged…

Yay! She was is so happy. We are so happy for them and of course now we are officially planning a wedding. The goal is to have her dream wedding within a budget…should be a snap, right? Pinterest has my head spinning with tons of great ideas! I see lots of fun DIY experimental projects in the future!

I asked Ashley if her and Greg would mind if I blogged about their journey from “Yes” to “I-Do”! …she said I could! I hope you’ll enjoy this as much as I’m going to! I’ve got lots of ideas to share with you already and would love to hear any of your favorite one’s too!  xo Amy