Favoring Food

You could definitely put us down as massively obsessed foodies. Really, there are few things that better analogize the love Mr. B and I share.

Though I'm not big on the whole favors-at-weddings band wagon, I do love a chance to get in extra goodies so long as it is cheap. Sorry folks, no trendy french macaroons [srsly, they are the new cupcake] here. But we all love the edible favors, as Samantha has figured out.

First idea to suck me in was Jenna's homemade flavored olive oil. Mr. B and I made an incredible trip to Sonoma last year, and tasting olive oil straight up is one of our favorite memories. AMAZING. But checking out her DIY tutorial [Parts 1 and 2], made it clear this a 'Week Of' project. Unfortunately something I won't be making time for. Also expensive to get good oil [at least by Mr. B's sky-high standards]!

But last week Amy Jean posted a note about the fantastic blogging over at MyRecipies.com. We use it all the time for the Cooking Light recipes, but I had no idea they had a great entertaining/foodie blog called You've Got to Taste This. Contributor Ashley Johnson is getting hitched herself and full of great food-related DIYs.

Enter: our current favor idea. The Candied Pecan!

A southern favorite, the pecan can be sugared to be sweet, coated to be spicy or a covered in a sweet+savory mixture. Imagine in a cute clear box with custom label available for pick-up at the start of the ceremony at the Park, where there otherwise would be zero snacks. 

And best of all, we can make this several weeks in advance. Hooray!

Maple syrup, here we come!!

Hey party people! So we've decided on favors and I'm really excited! Since Brad is from New Hampshire and we'll be getting married in the Fall, we are going to be doing maple syrup. We are buying little maple leaf glass containers (I think) and then Mr. L's mom will be putting syrup into each bottle in an assembly line with her friends.

I think that we'll make little tags that say our names, wedding date and a note about Mr. Livalittle being from NH, hence the syrup. Any ideas for favor tags? I'm liking the look of this....

Also, any ideas for some witty wording? Victory, do you have ideas for cool-looking DIY tags?

Vote Today!

Today is the last day to vote in the Project Wedding's DIY contest! I would encourage you to vote for the DIY Calligraphy project for 3 reasons:

1. It's brilliant! 

2. I'm totally using this cheat to address my envelopes

3. It was thought up by my friend Jenn over at With This Ring. She's marrying a guy from my high school class!

DIY Resources!

I just came across a DIY gold mine: free photoshop patterns. A lot of them.

The beautify of these pre-made patterns is that they repeat perfectly, meaning you can seamlessly tile them to whatever size your heart desires.

Get 'em here. Count on seeing 'em as part of our DIY stationary suite.

Delicious decor

Two great ideas for reception decor just in from Style Me Pretty this week! It's pretty clear my love for food is strong. [Mr. B is convinced I'm a fat kid on the inside] And these ideas help avoid florals, while introducing organic and textured elements at a DIY cost!

First up: Citrus Centerpieces 

Not for every table, but I've got two unique silver cake stands, and would switch to lemons for that brilliant yellow color. Imagine with the guest book or tucked in some random niche.

And next: Herbed Place-setting

Just tuck a sprig of rosemary into a napkin with a menu card for a dash of texture on the table. What a lovely detail! And luckily for us, rosemary grows wild in huge bushes all over town . . . so some midnight clipping might be in order to help make this a totally free decor item. 

It's making me hungry already!

Two amazing projects, one crafter

This week, I came across two projects that are seriously in consideration for the final set of DIY activities. They both fall into the cheap, labor intensive and awesomely creative category - just my kind of projects!

This great idea comes to us from the be-all-end-all of wedding inspiration: Martha Stewart. Does anyone remember she was in jail? Nope, all is forgiven and her wedding mag is king. Currently, this great feature gives ideas for decorating a reception with paper. Paper! Can't get any cheaper or custom than that. What do you think of these place mats? Darling! 

The second project is near and dear to my heart. As many of you know, I was/am obsessed with colonial American history, and I remember doing this exact tin punching project in elementary school. The Vintage Glam blogger who featured this project is planning her own colonial inspired extravaganza wedding and I'm wicked jealous.

I just love projects like this that are taken from everyday life [I mean, who doesn't reenact colonial American household life on a regular basis?? In accurate period dress?] and applied to weddings.

So for the project, you collect tin cans, stencil on a design and go to town with a hammer and nail to punch out little holes. Place a candle inside and you have a beautiful, colonial-inspired table decoration! Rustic, chic, historic. Brilliant!

The B's just chillin at home. [Just kidding, it's at Ms. Livalittle's 2008 Halloween party. But yes, I do own that dress!]

I am about to utter a very hypocritical phrase

See, I am a total cultural snob. I studied modern and contemporary art [and know the difference]. And I am consistently appalled when daft spectators encounter a beautiful minimalist piece and say to their daft on-looking pals:

"It's not art. I could do that!"

Yeah right dipshit! The depth of meaning is clearly lost on you. 

Which leads me to these adorable cake toppers:

But seriously, I could do that! The artist is charging $50-60 for each custom painted little couple, but their Etsy store sells blank people you can paint yourself for a mere $5. This is a no brainer. It won't be art, but it will certainly be personal and cost effective!

Inspiration in the Mail

What is the best day of the month? Pay day? No way. It's the day the new Domino magazine arrives in the mail! This month's issues provides some sinfully stylish ideas that are easily adaptable to weddings. 

I can't believe I didn't think of this idea earlier: vintage postcards! In Domino this month they suggest using old holiday-themed postcards as holiday decor orfor  your own Christmas correspondence. A quick check of their source (Ebay, naturally) yielded a metric ton of Atlanta-themed cards.

Think about it, the uses are endless: Save the dates, invitations or RSVP reply cards, table numbers, strung on a line with clothespins for general decor! I can't wait to strike a deal with one of the sellers to send over a whole stack. And look at the Emory one they are listing from the 1930s! Golden!

VB Was Here

Came across a fantastic idea today on Weddingbee to involve wedding guests: the quilt square guest book. Just leave out fabric squares and pens for people to sign, sew all the squared together and voila, you have a pretty and meaningful keepsake.

The smart Weddingbee who posted the idea (and she got it from Style Me Pretty) has heard of Spoonflower, the design-it-yourself fabric printer. Submit your design and receive the custom fabric back for $18/yard. Brilliant, I love it!

However, I already know for certain that I want to have a traditional guestbook. My father's parents started a guestbook at their wedding in 1946 and have kept it ever since. The simple wood cover with 'Guestbook' engraved by hand holds yellowed pages stiched together. My grandmother ensured the participants of family gathering signed throughout the year and she recorded the births, marriages and deaths of everyone in her family. It's great to look back and see my father and his four sisters entries from their childhood. One of the best entries is from Aunt Teresa's birthday, dutifully noting how her sister Lennie gave her a chicken.

So, how much guestbooking is too much?

I'm thinking that I will certainly go with the traditional guestbook, but maybe we could encourage people to write marriage advice on the fabric squares to be sewn together. What do you think??