Chiavari Chairs

Is it worth it or not? Grant it the chairs at our venue is actually not bad to begin with. They are fairly plain but they are suffice and serve its purpose. However before I even started wedding planning, I always loved the chiavari chairs so it's definitely on the "if budget allows wish list." I've found a couple of vendors in the area that can accomodate this service.

http://www.weddingchaircovers.com/home.html

http://www.coveredaffairs.com/about.html - best priced vendor according to a couple of people I know who've used them.

Manzanita Trees

My love for nature really draws me to these manzanita trees. I'm not sure about actually using them as centerpieces because I know how pricey it can get so I think I will just use it as an accent to the escort table. I want to have it as the focal point of that table with some pebble stones scattered around it and the place cards layed out on top of it. I want the tree to have a dual purpose. Not only do I want it to serve as a decoration but also as a place for people to hang some of their wishes and advice for the couple. I was opting to do this instead of a guestbook. I feel that it is more personalized and it would be nice to hear people's insights on marriage and relationships.

Here are some great websites I've found for manzanita trees:
http://www.etherealdecor.com/tree_centerpiece_crystal_tree_manzanita_center_piece_wedding_event.html -inspirational ideas
http://www.manzanita.com/trees.htm - Rich sent me a quote for a 4ft. tree and his estimate was $30 in natural red, and $50 for sandblasted plus shipping and handling.
http://www.nettletonhollow.com/manzanita-branches-natural.html -another place to get manzanita trees

For some crystals to use to decorate the tree:
http://www.artbeads.com/swarovski-crystal-bead.html

Here's a tutorial on how to make manzanita trees:
http://www.watch-wedding-videos.com/watch/?vid=53773

Boarding Pass Invites

Photo courtesy of knottie "lisakeiko"

Since I've planned to have a destination bachelorette party, I thought that this would be great to use as my invitations for the ladies. I've wanted to have my bachelorette party in Las Vegas for as long as I can remember. I just love Vegas! It's one of my favorite cities.
I first saw this idea of using the boarding passes as wedding stationary from http://www.grapevineweddings.com/. I wanted to use this as my STD but since I wasn't having a destination wedding, I didn't think it was necessary. I did see the same concept again from knottie lisakeiko's bio and I thought that it would be perfect for the bachelorette party invites. I got a template from aylee designs at http://gnyc.net/bio/b-diy.htm. She was kind enough to email me the template. I will show you the final product when I have the chance to finally work on it.

Pomanders

Since my church does not allow flowers to be thrown down the aisle, I have decided to have the flower girls carry pomander balls instead of baskets. I am going to attempt to make these myself for 3 of my flower girls. I also want to create extras to use to decorate the church aisle. Here are some DIY instructions and inspirations I've come across from various websites...

http://www.perfect-wedding-day.com/make-your-own-wedding-flowers.html

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_floral_arrangements/article/0,,HGTV_3418_1933027,00.html http://books.google.com/books?id=iXcVNPSVWY0C&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=decorative+balls+pomander&source=web&ots=qKacdouOOL&sig=09Pr7CYGGX0ba2pBoaomUzEnyfQ
http://www.theknot.com/ch_article.html

Object=A21125111626&keywordID=150&keywordType=2&parentID=527
http://www.heartofheaven.com/pink-wedding-pomanders.html

http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=PomanderBio

For materials, I will likely use "save-on-crafts.com" since they seem to have the best pricing out there. http://www.save-on-crafts.com/flordessupyo.html

Candy Buffet

Having a wedding favor that was practical was my goal for our giveaways. What better way than to give the guests something that was edible. I've read from many forums about brides doing candy buffets for their guests. I saw pictures and thought it was something fun and different to do for our wedding. I haven't personally attended a wedding that had a candy buffet. I want to incorporate our colors into the candy selections - pink & black. Since there are likely not many candies available in black maybe I will do white instead in honor of breast cancer research. I want to use pink chinese take out boxes for the container guests can use to collect their candies.

Here are pictures of some of my inspirations...

For more inspirations visit http://www.theknot.com/co_profileview.htm?profilename=candybuffet&MsdVisit=1

I bought numerous apothecary jars over the summer from Marshalls & TJ Maxx. I will likely buy more of the cylinder apothecary jars like the photo above used for the cookies for the rest of my containers. I saw various stores carrying them like Wal-Mart, Target, and Big Lots. I was thinking of either labelling the containers themselves or putting the names of the candies in frames. My sister-in-law was kind enough to pick up the frames for me during the Umbra sale this year. For scoops, I've heard of people buying them from the Container Store but their price just seemed a little bit out of our price range. The best deal I've seen is from an online store - http://store.primaryshopping.net/30002414.html. Another option would be to look into restaurant supplier stores.

Personalized Drink Menu, Martini Luges

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue"

It would be nice to incorporate this concept to our drink list menu at the bar.
Having been a bartender in my past life, this is something that I really want to include.

Here are some ideas... (I would prefer a Martini Menu)

Old: Classic Martini - vodka, splash of dry vermouth, lemon twist or olive
New: French Martini - vodka, chambord, pineapple juice, lemon twist
Borrowed: Apple Cosmopolitan - vodka, apple sourz, pineapple juice
or Chocolate Martini - vodka, Godiva chocolate liqueur, creme de cacao, half & half
Blue: Hoya Blue Martini - vodka, pineapple juice, blue curacao

Other drinks:
Electric Lemonade - citron vodka, blue curacao, sour mix, and lemon lime soda
"Something blue" - hypnotiq, white wine, and ginger ale

http://www.drinksmixer.com/
http://www.drinkalizer.com/

Martini Luges





I guess I've been watching way too many episodes of "Platinum Weddings" but everytime I see this on the show, it just becomes more and more appealing to me.
I use to love throwing martini parties and I think that this idea truly suits my personality. If budget allows, I will definitely have to convince the fiancee with
doing this.

Candy apples as wedding favors

(Photo above courtesy of knottie Oct142006 bride)

I've seen this idea used from a couple of knottie's bios. I think that I really like the candy apples wrapped in the cellophane and distributed either in the candy buffet or at the guests tables. Here is a listing of some local vendors I've found here in the Chicagoland area:

http://www.longgroveonline.com/merch-pages/apple-haus/applehaus.html

Apple Haus in Long Grove according to another knottie is $2.50 per apple. She's not sure if that was a sale or volume price because of the bulk amount purchased.
This vendor seems to have more selections in flavors.

http://www.affytapple.com/store/

Affy Tapple has a factory store in Niles. $15.95/case and each case has 24 pieces.