Archive for March, 2009

Chicago is Breaking out the Bubbly!

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

If you love trendy atmospheres, chic bars and of course champagne…I would highly recommend looking into the bi-monthly champagne flights at Rebar Cocktail & Sushi Lounge.

Rebar, located in the luxurious Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, is the new hot spot for all of the bubbly lovers to come together and celebrate their love of champagne!  A variety of fabulous champagnes will be featured on the second and last Wednesday of every month, each week focusing on a different champagne house.  Petite Champagne Flights will offer 3 two-ounce pours at $35 a person, or enjoy the Champagne Table offering a larger variety from the monthly champagne house.

On March 11, Rebar’s VIP section was filled with socialites and always flowing bubbly at their first kickoff Champagne Table of the year!  Will you be one of the many celebrating together at the next?!

For a sneak peek at what still to come check out the following:

April:  Taittinger

May:  Veuve Clicquot

June:  Perrier – Jouet

July:  Summer Sparkling Wines

August:  Dom Ruinart

September:  Prosecco

October:  Rose Champagnes – In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

November:  Grower Champagne

December:  Tete de Cuvee or Head of the Class

Anyone interested in attending?

Marital Bliss

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

You have heard the saying “chocolate is a girl’s best friend”…this chocolate bar spells it out perfectly!  For those of you who are planning on getting married soon check out this smart chocolate bar!  For those of you who have been married for awhile, you have probably already figured out the math.  :)

Spoon Sisters has some really fun and creative gifts that would add some humor to bridal showers or even the wedding!

Source: Spoon Sisters

Mashed Potato Martinis

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Why only use your martini glasses for your alcoholic bar drinks?!  Change it up and surprise your guests with not only an open bar during your cocktail hour but offer a mashed potato martini bar for appetizers.

Trust me. I know what you are thinking right now.  MASHED POTATOES?? … In MARTINI GLASSES?  What are my guests going to think??

Not only are they are going to be completely surprised by how creative you are, they are going love the yummy potatoes displayed in an elegant chic way!

Check out this fabulous website Catered For You. They offer a martini mashed potato bar as an added specialty on their menu! They are one step ahead when it comes to thinking outside the box!  It is an easy 3 step process:

1. Start with over-sized martini glasses, with either a station set up or passed around during your cocktail hour.

2. Add a large display of deliciously creamy potatoes.

3. Display a variety of toppings so your guests can customize their appetizer to their liking.

And end with a beautiful display of “mashtinis”… I guarantee you never thought mashed potatoes would ever look so artistic :)

I want to know what you think?  Would you serve up these specialized ‘tinis at your wedding?!

Sources: Catered For You, The Sweet Unfolding,Catering Kitchen Tulsa

St Patrick’s Day Wedding :: Going Green

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Hosting a St. Patty’s Day wedding is a fun way to involve your Irish heritage and an easy way to tie in all of the fabulous shades of green!!

Check out the inspirational photos below that will convince you to go green!!

Saint Patricks Day Green White Shamrock

What details did you add into your Irish wedding to make it unique?!
Sources: Pink Cake Box, Etsy, CK Flowers, Jennifer Bowen Photography, Angela Liguori, Petite Papier

Monday Movie Inspiration :: The Wedding Date

Monday, March 16th, 2009

There are hundreds of wedding movies that are filmed every year representing the celebrations and troubles brides go through to plan their perfect day.  There is so much inspiration in each one of these movies and I plan to go through them one at a time, and pull out the great ideas within the storyline.  First off I am starting with one of my favorite wedding chick flicks, The Wedding Date.

Movie:  The Wedding Date

Starring: Debra Messing & Dermot Mulroney

Quick Recap: Kat Ellis (Messing) returns to her parents’ London home for her sister’s wedding. Overwhelmed at the thought of confronting her ex-fiancé, who dumped her two years before, she hires a handsome male escort (Mulroney) to act as her new boyfriend.

10 Top Inspiration Finds from ‘The Wedding Date

1. Top hats the men wore in the wedding -I love these!  We rarely see these in weddings in the U.S., but I think they add a lot of character to the wedding.

2. Hair piece Debra Messing wore – The hairpiece Messing wears during the wedding is fabulous. It reminds me of what I usually see in a peacock themed wedding.  It is a great accessory to make the maid of honor stand out and looks great with the teal dresses!!

3. Variety of bridesmaid dress styles – This is becoming more of a trend with modern brides (remember this movie was made back in 2005).  Brides are realizing that not all of their friends are made with the same body type and are personalizing each dress to fit the girl.   This will allow your bridal party to be more comfortable walking down the aisle and in pictures.

4. Cathedral veil worn over her face -I have still seen these long formal veils in elegant churches and formal settings.  With the new trend of the blusher veils these longer styles are not used as much.  What I also found interesting was the way she wore the veil covering her face as she walked down the aisle, another trend that I haven’t seen much recently!

5. Outside reception decorated with pink lanterns – Although risky, renting tents and hosting an outside wedding reception can end up being fabulous.  It was decorated beautifully with pink lanterns strung about for additions of color throughout!

6. The day before the wedding spent relaxing at a BBQ - The reception dinner is tradition, why not extend it to an all-day event spent celebrating with your friends and family from out of town.  This will distract you from worrying about your walk down the aisle and force you to relax and have fun with everyone who is there to support you.

7. Themed bachelorette parties - So often I see bachelorette parties with the sole purpose and “theme” of simply drinking. Why not have some fun with the party and create a true theme around an activity or item that the bride enjoys.  In the movie they had a golf theme where all of the girls dressed up accordingly and each new place they went was a different “hole”, ending the night with 18 holes.

8. Decorating the bride and groom’s get away car - It is fun to rent a flashy car to drive into the sunset with your new bride.  However, a fun event for the groomsmen is to organize and deface the groom’s car as a get-away car.  I have seen some really creative and funny designs that the bride and groom have driven away in.  Always a great laugh and serves for a great photo memory.

9. Taking dance lessons before the wedding day – Grooms may loathe the idea of dance lessons, but the thought of dancing alone in front of 250 of your friends and family might just be enough to scare him into the idea.  This is a fun time for you and him to learn a few new dances but overall just feel comfortable with each other for your first dance.  If you know the song you want to dance to, bring it with you on a CD and practice with an instructor, most likely they will give you some tips for the song!

10. Limit the number of drinks at weddings -  Throughout the movie you see numerous times when drinks affect a variety of different peoples actions.  Whether it is too many drinks before you stand up and give a speech and end up saying something you might not want to, or it is that one last drink that makes you make a decision you regret the next morning!  Usually in the name of celebration people tend to drink more than they might normally.  Know your limit, especially if you play a big role in the wedding, you dont want to be “that person” embarassing yourself at the end of the night!

If you have seen this movie I want to know what ideas or inspiration you gained from the movie, ‘The Wedding Date‘.