cheerio

Another weekend passed leaving another shower in the past. This one came with a unique theme. The bride’s favorite place is London, England so we brought Union Jack back. Picture lots of red, blue and a telephone booth.

Fortunately we skipped the British favorite entrée of fish and chips and just stuck to American cuisine. We didn’t have a fryer to make that happen and well fried fish just didn’t sound appealing to serve to 50 ladies anyway. Too bad London isn’t close to the Mediterranean or we could’ve snuck in some hummus…

We did manage to get some sugary, sweetness in the form of a telephone booth cake. It was tasty. I wish I still had some but I always wish for more dessert.  I love the phrase on the cake (not just because it has my last name) because it is more personal than generic Showers of Happiness or Best Wishes.

And a double decker bus cookie favor. Yum! I just love giving edible favors to guests.

I was introduced to some new concepts at shower throwing. Did I mention this was my 10th bridal shower to assist in throwing? I guess you can teach an old bridesmaid new tricks.

I had never heard of the Purse Game before in the category of, what else, bridal shower games. In case you haven’t either…you just make a list of items that can be found in a woman's handbag including bizarre items like a shoe, a rock, or anything weird you can think of. Give a point value to the items you list. The guest with the most points wins.  Just leave a list for the guests to keep track of on their own while you're playing hostess and waiting for the guest of honor to arrive.

Or don’t.

I personally hate shower games. I know. I’m a party pooper. Although finding out how consistently the bride and groom answer questions about their first date, favorite foods, future plans, etc. can be funny. I’m sure you’ve all played that one before. So basically, I like games where I can laugh at the bride (in this case, my future SIL) without having to actively participate or clean out my purse.

Here's the invitation I designed.  Relatively simple but of course I had to get some Olde English font in there.  It's a classic.

I came across this bit of fabulosity on Miss Mustard Seed's blog.  She's a repurposing genius with a paint gun (and sorta local!).  Look at the Union Jack dresser she created!  Too bad I didn't spot this gem sooner.  It would've made the perfect prop/gift for the London shower.

No more shower planning in my near future. This weekend I am kicking off 2011 wedding season on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. I will let you know how the country cover band brings down the house. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get a spray tan.

-The perennial bridesmaid

overload

It is hard to believe it is already Thursday and a new weekend is staring me in the face. I am still recovering from last weekend’s bender.

Not that kind of bender unfortunately.

It was a full-on jam-packed weekend starting with a rager of a baby shower. Balloons hanging from the rafters. Diaper cakes. Banners. Cookies. Games. Music. Like I said, a real rager!

Although baby showers are not in my wedding jurisdiction, I am really spending a lot of time at them. I think I am almost ready to take on the DIY diaper cake. From what I am told, you just need a ton of diapers and rubber bands. Roll ‘em up, group ‘em together and hide all of your mechanics with some ribbon. I think I can handle it.

I aspire to make one this stunning...

The shower was a display shower as all the trendy ones are these days. It makes sense for baby showers, right? Either the boxes are so big that wrapping them is a total waste of paper or the little outfits and things are so cute that you just want them out on display for everyone to peruse. Plus, everybody wants to be green. This particular display shower looked like Christmas for the kid’s first 3 years. They cleaned up!

The theme was “Celebrate the Peanut”. The whole peanut thing is picking up in the baby shower world. It ran full swing in every detail. I provided the centerpieces which were a traditional vase arrangement of cut flowers in the shower’s color scheme. But look closer. I told you peanuts were everywhere so I subtly incorporated actual shelled peanuts into the arrangements. Hopefully people noticed them and you can find them in this picture. I ate some too while arranging.  Maybe next time I will make arrangements full of chocolate...

Having not seen most of my relatives since Christmas, we kept the momentum going. I spent the majority of the weekend with various family members. We covered everything from who’s walking to who walked out and absurd Facebook statuses - one of our favorite topics. Come on, you know you do it too. I suppose I’m good until spring.

Or at least until the next shower anyway.

The weekend also included one of my Nearly-Famous DIY wedding invitation parties. Yes, I just dubbed it that. Does it have a nice ring to it?

One of my 2011 brides got her bridesmaids together so we could hand make the soon-to-be-released invitations. Sorry, no teasers here. I can tell that all 120 are finished, return-addressed and even have coordinating thank you’s. We only ran into one minor (nearly major) hiccup. All was solved and completed by sundown just in time for the super bowl. Let’s just say “the eagle has landed” and leave it at that.

Oh!  And I just might have found the local and inexpensive tailor that I have been searching for thanks to a referral from one mf my SILs.  Stay tuned!

Did Christina Aguilera really mess up the national anthem? I was too busy eating and rounding out the gossip. I found out on Monday who won.

-The perennial bridesmaid

vegas, STDs and babies

I took a bit of a sabbatical from all of the blogging to realize I missed ranting and raving about weddings and how I typically spend my weekends – at showers playing bridal bingo. Therefore, I am back and kicking off my return with a bang! 2011’s first bachelorette party is about to begin. Vegas. This weekend.

Can’t Wait!  (insert Bart Scott/Jets voice - google it if you don't know)

But as they say…what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas so you probably won’t hear much else about that trip.

I will have a big blog announcement coming soon though. Stay tuned my loyal readers…er, mom. Anyone else out there?

In the meantime, I have updated the wedding countdowns and, well, they never seem to end. We’re counting far into 2012 already. You should see my fridge. The save the dates continue to arrive. 

It seems that the 4x6 postcard style save the date has made a major comeback for 2011. Magnet save the dates are apparently so 2000 and late. I’ve got none.

Oh baby!

Baby? Yes they’re due to arrive daily in 2011.  It's evident that everyone is living happily ever after out there.  I’m attending so many showers; I’ve got to start wearing rain gear. Sorry. That was lame. Anyway, more stories to come on that front.  (Get it? Front?  I can't stop myself.)

And for the first time in my history as a bridesmaid, I am going to attempt to wear a bridesmaid dress again!  The challenge is to wear the dress long in March and then cut it and wear it short in May.  Can I pull it off?  I know the suspense is killing you but you'll have to wait and see!

For now, let’s hope my flight to luxurious 60 degree weather is not delayed due to more frigid snow.

-The perennial bridesmaid

baby, baby

First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage

I took a break from the wedding circuit this weekend to attend back to back baby showers. Literally. Back to back. Just 2 hours apart.

So I learned that jungles are big for the 2010 tykes. Specifically monkeys. They were a feature on each baby’s registry. They had the whole jungle nursery thing going on. Cute.

I also learned a few new shower games. I don’t actually know baby shower games so maybe they’re not new at all but I suspected some originality that I am here to pass on to the world wide web.

Enjoy.

First, Make a Baby. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is a competitive game and grandmas were present. You take play-dough and make a baby. The Mama-to-be then judges the babies. Voila!

Baby Songs. Make a play list of songs that mention baby in them. Really this game could go on all day. Think about all of the baby songs you know. Anyway, make a short playlist. Have guests write down the name and artist of each song. The guest with the most correct guesses wins. And you’ve got yourself some background music for the party. Double voila!

I think you could easily transfer the Baby Song game to a Love Song game for a wedding shower. Make a playlist of songs mentioning love (which really are endless) and have guests record the song and artist throughout the shower.

Oh baby!

-The perennial bridesmaid

going global

Man, I love weddings but they are seriously popping up left and right. In the last 2 weeks, 2 great friends got engaged! Yay!

The first proposal was on the back of a boat at sunset. How romantic! Having known both the guy and girl separately for years and now watching them unite forever is truly awesome!

The second proposal occurred 2 nights ago. He popped the question at the exact location of where they first met. All of their friends were in on the surprise so they were there to take pictures. Mexico 2011 here we come!

Love is in the air this weekend. On the same day, in 2 different time zones I have a couples shower and a wedding. Obviously, I can’t be in 2 places so I am attending the wedding and, yes, giving a speech! Although, I am a bridesmaid in the wedding that the shower is being held for, I will just have to be there in spirit. Bummer.

Finally, dresses. I need to pick up a bridesmaid dress this afternoon and place an order for another one for a March wedding. The collection is growing. So far, I haven’t worn the same color twice in a wedding!

Looks like I am facing 2011 head on! It is shaping up to be the biggest wedding year yet with 7-8 on the horizon so far. I'm updating the countdowns on the right as quickly as possible! There seem to be more destinations playing into these wedding themes too. That should make for some interesting posts.

Stay tuned.

-The perennial bridesmaid

the nerve

A close friend asked for my advice the other day on how to politely decline the request to use her house to host a bridal shower. This sounds like a tough one but it actually isn’t. Once you hear more details, you too will agree that she needs to say no.

Let’s call my friend Sally.

Sally was recently married. She chose her family members as her bridesmaids. They threw her a lovely bridal shower. (Not totally relevant to this story.) One of these family members is now engaged and chose to have mostly friends for bridesmaids and did not include Sally. She was fine with this decision. Less responsibility for her, right?

Wrong.

The harem of bridesmaids decided that the shower should be held at a family member’s house so they asked Sally to host! Sweet Sally was put on the spot and quickly agreed. Only a few days passed when she realized that she didn’t really WANT this responsibility nor was her husband too happy with it. After all, she wasn’t asked to be a bridesmaid so why take this huge task on?

My advice? I told her that she needs to tell these girls that she is not able to host the shower at her house. Period. It’s not her responsibility!

The kicker is that some of these other girls have houses where they can hold the shower. Of course, there are other options like having it out somewhere if their budget allows.

The bottom line is that the bridesmaids are responsible for hosting the bridal shower (and the mothers of the bride or groom, if they so choose). That is exactly why a bride choses bridesmaids.  They are essentially friends and family chosen to host events and help the bride throughout the wedding process. 

-The perennial bridesmaid

bridal shower invitation by yours truly
note it says: Hosted by the Bridesmaids

icing on the cake

In an era when reality televison and cooking shows have combined to produce offspring such as Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes, it is no wonder that wedding cakes are huge again. Pun intended. Cakes don’t seem to be an area where couples cut corners, layers or tiers for that matter.

By now you have probably heard about Chelsea Clinton’s lavish wedding last weekend. Her wedding cake alone was allegedly nine tiers, 500 pounds and 4 feet tall. It took 9 people to put it together! Did I mention that it was gluten free?

My friend is having a wedding cake buffet at her September reception. This entails about a dozen friends all putting their best cake forward to offer a tasty variety for dessert. Each cake will be displayed on its own cake stand and will be neatly labeled with the type of cake and any necessary dietary info. Yum! I will be sure to sample and follow up on that cake buffet.

Another cake I’d like to feature was one that we had thought up for a bridal shower a couple of years ago. The bride was wearing a cherished pair of blue Manolo Blahnik shoes on her wedding day. (Carrie was actually wearing these in white when she married Big for you Sex & the City fans.) To make a long story short, the shoes were hard to find in the right shade of blue and size that the bride wanted. The bridal party all knew what the shoes meant to her so we decided to preview them at her shower…in cake form. She loved it! A very skilled baker put this together.

Now I’m hungry.

-The perennial bridesmaid

pulling it off or putting it on

Hopefully you read the last 2 posts about the Greek themed honeymoon shower we threw last weekend. I wanted to follow up with some other details that went into the theme to round out this "mini-series" of posts.

Having never thrown a honeymoon shower, I didn’t know what to put on the invitations. I googled a few things but didn’t like much of what was out there. Collectively we came up with the following...

[Bride] and [Groom] will marry soon
Followed by a Greek Honeymoon

Let’s send her to Greece in style!
Out of the box, off the registry…

This verbiage combined with some stellar graphics (which I can't take credit for) seemed to do the trick. Guests came equipped with honeymoon and vacation gifts (see previous blog entry for honeymoon shower gifts).

Polka dots have played a big part in this wedding overall. The bride loves them. We decided it would only be appropriate to work them into the shower as well. It was subtle on the plates and napkins. The fact that they were blue and white also worked to our Greek theme being that they are country’s colors.

The guest of honor got to sit in the Aphrodite chair which was simply a chair lined with tulle and dotted swiss fabric. It may look simple here but once she was in it she literally looked like she was on a cloud channeling her inner goddess, of course

Favors are on of my favorite shower elements to put together. I like to come up with favors that are practical. Fortunately we started the planning early so I was able to pull of my vision. Wine charms are not necessarily a new concept in the favor category but we put a Greek spin on it that played to the theme quite nicely.

After researching significant Greek symbols and their meanings, we settled on the following four which also lend the appropriate symbolism to the upcoming marriage that we are celebrating.








Owl – wisdom, protection, inspiration
Meandros – permanence, stability, infinity
Evil eye – protection and good luck
Selene – goddess of the full moon, womanhood

Here is a tip, these charms were not easy to find. Hit etsy to find an artisan who can create yours for you! Wildbryde was awesome to work with and custom made the charms for us - the only party of the shower we didn't DIY! We added the charms and a few beads to the hoops and voila!

We didn’t just pull of a bridal shower but we put on a themed event! It was easy to hit all of the elements in this shower because of the partnership between the MOB and me. The more communication and organization that goes into these things, the better the execution! Did I mention she’s a great baker too?

-The perennial bridesmaid

how do you spell greece

Where did I leave off? Ahh, dessert.

Before we could actually move onto dessert, we had to have an inevitable bridal shower game. It’s not just any game. We made this one up ourselves so we like to think it is original and more entertaining than the typical games turning up at showers.

Let’s call it “honeymoon girl”. The object of the game is for a guest to answer a correct trivia question. Then they get to put an article of honeymoon attire on the bride for the guests’ sheer entertainment.

By the end of our game “honeymoon girl” had everything on that she needed for the beach and we all had a good laugh! She was a good sport. This game is easily transferable as long as you come up with trivia questions that apply to the couple or their destination. Our questions were related to cities named Athens. Turns out there are tons of Athens beyond just Greece.

Now for dessert – baklava, oh how I wish I had more of that. Chocolate cake, almond cookies, brownies. I am sure I missing something. Check the menu. Did I mention that the brownie was iced in the Greek flag? How cute. Mmm, more baklava please.

We wrapped up the shower with gifts. As you know by now this wasn’t a typical bridal shower so there was no need for buying cutlery and sheets from Macy’s. We asked that the guests bring gifts that were “out of the box, off the registry” so we could send the bride to Greece in style.

We asked and they answered! She got fabulous floppy hats, beach bags, flowing dresses, summer scarves and more practical things like an umbrella, a passport purse, travel guide books, luggage, custom luggage tags, sunscreen, travel games and tons of flip flops. These are all ideal gifts to give at a honeymoon shower. The bride could get on the plane tomorrow to Greece and be set with those presents.

She also received several fun "before and after" gifts like a Greek cookbook and photo albums.

One guest had a creative way of presenting her honeymoon gifts. She lettered 6 blue gift bags with the letters G-R-E-E-C-E. Each bag had a different present that corresponded to the letter on the bag. For example, G – “Get ready for your trip”. The DVD of My Big Fat Greek Wedding was one of the items inside! There are so many ways you can spin these lettered bags to work for you for almost any occasion. It was such a clever idea! I want to try it.

Overall, this shower was as un-bridal shower as a shower can be and that was pleasing! A little bit of creativity and a great theme can really spice things up.

Stay tuned for some details about planning.

-The perennial bridesmaid

defining a honeymoon shower

I’m still recovering from my fantastic weekend that was jam packed with wedding festivities. As promised, I am sharing details. I have been trying to organize them in my brain to present them in a comprehensive manner.
Let’s start with the bridal shower… I am going to break it into a mini-series, if you will.

The bride’s mom and I opted to plan a honeymoon shower. I had heard of this concept but never executed it before. Commonly a honeymoon shower is thrown to prepare the couple for their vacation. The idea is to shower them with travel related gifts rather than items from their registry.

We took it a step further. You could actually say about 3 steps further…

The newlyweds will be vacationing in Greece later this summer. Therefore, we themed the entire shower around Greece. This was not only a surprise for the bride but also a surprise for the guests. They knew they were invited to a honeymoon shower for the bride but didn’t know it would be Greek themed for them as well.

When guests arrived they were presented with apps to munch on like olives, hummus & pita. Once the guest of honor came, we broke into Greek dance. This was led by a very talented little boy appropriately named Alexander. He is a Greek dancer who came prepared in the traditional outfit. Alexander taught us the traditional moves.  Opa!

Think that’s better than bridal bingo? We do.

After we caught our breath from dancing, we toasted to the bride with ouzo. An anise flavored aperitif that I’m sure the bride and groom will sample more of on their honeymoon.

Finally it was time for the delicious main course, which consisted of spanikopita, tzatziki, dolmades, olives, hummus, and many many good things that I do not know how to say, let alone spell. The mother of the bride is such a fabulous cook and baker. She made it all herself from scratch! And no, she is not Greek. Check out her menu below.

Hungry for more? Stay tuned for dessert.

-The perennial bridesmaid

cocktails, cardstock & crinoline

I’ve made it halfway through 2010 ‘the year of the weddings’. I only have minor aches and slight sleep depravation. This feeling is probably evident because it is Monday morning after an insanely busy 48 wedding hours.

It started with an invitation assembly line. 10 crafty ladies with a goal of 140 wedding invitations. Stacks and stacks of cardstock surrounded us. How exciting to know that it would all be transformed into something beautiful.

I woke up early the next day and put on my best 1950s ensemble. With Kinicki on my arm we headed out to rock around the clock at the rockabilly themed wedding. Into the pastures of rural Pennsylvania we went. Soon we were surrounded by more polka dots, muscle cars, greasers, 45s & red crinoline than this century has ever seen. The morning turned into afternoon and the bride and groom turned into husband and wife.

Before we knew it afternoon was evening and it was time for our next stop. June brides share the stage with grads. I soon found myself even further into the country and looking slightly out of place when I brought rockabilly to graduation. The bonfire was burning bright but I was burning out. As tents began to line the landscape, it was time for me to call it quits on Saturday.

Sunday morning came early with another enticing theme on the horizon. The 50s were behind me and a Greek honeymoon shower was ahead. We stacked pita and scooped hummus, sampled baklava and tzatziki, toasted with ouzo but most of all truly surprised a bride to be. She opened gifts for her honeymoon to where else but Greece!

Sunday evening finally arrived. I came home to my weekend’s mail. One package with an invitation for yet another wedding!

My eyelids grew heavy but why was it so hard to sleep? Visions of Greek men in polka dots & red crinoline skirts danced through my head while holding purple cardstock and shouting opa!

Have I lost my mind?

I’m glad to see a well needed vacation in my future. A little down time from the wedding scene might do me some good. But don’t worry because I have enough content from these past 48 hours alone to keep my loyal readers satisfied. Stay tuned for details.

-The perennial bridesmaid

10,000 diapers

Whoa! My mailbox has shifted from wedding invitations to baby related invitations…christenings, showers, announcements & first birthdays. When did the weddings subside and make room for babies?

Oh wait, the weddings haven’t subsided! But babies are still quickly on the rise.

It appears that many of my 2008 brides are having 2010 babies. Makes sense, right? Two years of newlywed bliss equals one on the way.  The summer count is up to 3 fall babies, one already here and celebrating a baptism and a first birthday!

There’s only one problem for me besides fitting all of these events into my schedule.

Registries.

I’ve got the whole bridal registry thing down. I know how to navigate Macy’s, Crate & Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond. I know how to put a practical, yet coordinating bridal shower gift together all while saving 20%.

But now I’m stumped. These baby registries confuse the hell outta me. What goes with what? Is buying a nursing pump for someone too personal even if they did register for it? I know I would blush opening that gift in front of 30 of even my closest female friends and family.

One of my expecting friends mentioned that babies go through 10,000 diapers in their first year. I think I heard that correctly. 10,000? It seems obvious that the new parents could really use a gift of diapers. But really? Should I give a gift that I actually know will get shit on and tossed in the garbage? This is not like gifting crystal or flatware that will be cherished for years to come.

I need help.

-The perennial bridesmaid

happy earth day

In order to properly celebrate earth day today combined with all things wedding, I’ve put together a list of green wedding ideas…some you’ve heard of before and others that are totally original.
Consider upcycling, recycling, vintaging or eco-ing your wedding!
Hug the planet today.
Read on.


invitations

The invitation is the first impression your guests will get of your wedding.

Invite guests to your nuptials in an earth friendly manner with seedpaper that you can actually plant! I love this concept.
PulpArt on etsy

wedding & shower gifts

Off the registry but so worth it!

Pressed Flower Card. How refreshing!
JanesArt on etsy

Clever. The preserved glass bottle is being upcycled into a serving tray. And of course it is personalized with the announcement.
PJ's Glass Creations on etsy



























bridal party tokens

Trying to think of something unique to give your bridesmaids & groomsmen?  Try these eco-friendly jewelry options.

Vintage typewriter keys upcycled into cufflinks that you can personalize with letters or numbers. How original!
19Moons on etsy

Actual preserved rosebud made into a necklace. Stunning.
mcstoneworks on etsy

favors

Being a horticulturalist, I love the idea of giving your guests something that they can watch grow as their take-away. And personalize it with your day.

Seed packs for Spring Weddings.
Gift Bags By Susan on etsy

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bulbs for Fall Weddings.
Yvonne's Cat House on etsy

-The perennial bridesmaid

P.S. Don't forget to save the tissue paper & gift bags for reuse.  By far my favorite "green" thing to do!

seedy

I mentioned the bridal shower this past weekend. Since it was the first weekend of spring, it seemed appropriate to play that into the theme when coming up with a favor for the guests. With that said, flower seeds were a welcoming token after this long winter.

I bought up all of the sunflower seeds that I could find but that wasn’t enough. We needed to personalize the packs to the occasion so I came up with the following poem…

Put on your garden gloves
and plant a seed
as we watch
the bride and groom’s
blossoming love
grow indeed


Some less tasteful rhymes that ended up on the cutting room floor…

Welcome Spring with a fling
Don’t forget to check out the bride’s ring!

Thanks for showering her with gifts
Now take an hour to plant these misfits

Soon they will tie the knot
Don’t let these seeds rot

Thanks for coming to the shower
Here’s a sunflower

-The perennial bridesmaid

shower tool belt

Bridal showers seem to pop up left and right on my calendar so it was no surprise when this past weekend brought one along.

The affair followed the methodical bridal shower approach of drinks, lunch, games, presents and cake.

Presents. As a member of the bridal party, I stepped up to the mountain of wrapped gifts to strategize gift opening flow. I like to keep things moving as the unofficial present-passer/re-boxer/stacker-of-unwrapped-gifts. That’s me.

I take this job very seriously. There is a strategy in the gift box stacking, un-stacking and re-stacking. It is no joke and often entails working up a sweat from the circuits of squats, lunges, hurdles and lifting. Let me tell you, I need to start bringing a few extra accessories to get the job done…

• A weight belt for support while lifting the really heavy boxes
• A hair clip and sweat band. Forget the blow out. It’s just got to be hair all back while doing this much impromptu strength training.
• A mister and ice water for hydrating in between rounds.
• Knee pads would save my knees as I crawl from pile to pile.
• And forget a cute bridal shower-esque dress. This maid needs some yoga pants, sports bra and a beater to get down to business.
• Might as well bring a stop watch to appropriately time the circuits.

Perhaps you’ve been there too? If not, you are probably just picturing a scary body builder type woman overtaking a formal Sunday tea.

-The perennial bridesmaid

the beans

...don’t spill ‘em!

There tend to be secrets and surprises that need to be kept around weddings and engagements…all in good fun, of course. Bridal showers have traditionally been a surprise and often still are.  Of course, proposals are also traditionally surprises. As hard as it might be, we should keep these secrets at the request of those planning the surprise.

If you are a parent and your daughter’s boyfriend has the coveted can-I-marry-your-daughter conversation with you or your spouse, don’t tell her about this conversation! How frustrating is it for the dude that is trying to surprise her? The guy does the traditional thing by asking for the girl’s hand in marriage before proposing and then you turn around and tell her? Of course it’s killing you but you’ve gotta keep this secret. Don’t blow what could be the surprise of her lifetime.

On a lighter note, I walk into work today and see my best good coworker friend. What’s the first thing she says? “Did you get an invitation to my bridal shower?” Hmm. If a got an invitation, the last thing I’d do is tell her! She goes on to tell me that she KNOWS her “surprise” shower is in March and she KNOWS that invitations went out.

What did I do? Considered running away but faced the demon instead and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about do you want to go to lunch.”

She followed up by asking if I could attend the shower. She’s going to be a tough one.

-The perennial bridesmaid

where is the love

I mentioned previously that I was involved in a bridal shower this past weekend. I signed myself up for favors. A wedding themed cookie came to mind. I began calling bakeries to find out what they charge. To my dismay, I can buy a box of chips ahoy for the price of one of those professional gourmet cookies! It seemed to make obvious sense to bake the cookies and decorate them myself. How hard can it be?

I decided that I was going to make sugar cookies. I have a set of cookie cutters that spell out LOVE which were actually a favor from another shower. According to my plan, each letter would be iced in yellow, accented by white and mounted to navy cardstock to match the wedding colors. The four cookies would be packaged in a cello bag to produce an elegant, edible favor that would possibly replicate the LOVE sign in Philly.

That was the plan.

After logging in about 18 hours to successfully make 40 favors (160 cookies), I quickly found out why the bakeries charge so much. And that doesn’t include the hours that my mom spent decorating and packaging the cookies when I called for help. I didn’t let her leave for exactly 24 hours. No exaggeration.

To be honest, it didn’t have to take this long but the first batch tanked for several reasons. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes:

1. When the recipe calls for butter, use actual butter. I had no idea that there was a major difference from butter, margarine or well, country crock. There I admit it. I tried this recipe using country crock! Ha. Don’t do it. In the words of my bf, the cookies were “dense”. Of course I took insult to that until I realized why they were so dense. Country crock is not butter.
2. There is a MAJOR difference between frosting and icing. It seems not even some of the savvy bakers in my life knew this. Listen carefully: Frosting is for a cake. It is sugary and soft. It will not harden...ever…not even if you freeze the damn cookie. When I tried to put the cookies in the bag, the “frosting” got all over the cellophane. It was not a cute presentation. “Icing”, on the other hand, is what I needed. Icing hardens when dries and allows you to decorate and package the cookies.
3. Learn to count/possibly repeat kindergarten. Somewhere along the way I miscounted my finished cookies. I was short 10 Vs. What is LOVE without a V? LOE just doesn’t work for me.

BTW there is still a batch of “dense” LOEs covered in “frosting” lying around if you’d like to sample. They’re really not THAT bad.

I FINALLY achieved success by following these steps in order:

1. Follow the Rich Roll Cookies recipe from Joy of Cooking (referred by a trusted baker friend of mine.) Cream: 1 cup butter & 2/3 cup sugar; Beat in: 1 egg; Combine and add: 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon vanilla; Chill dough 3 to 4 hours before rolling; Preheat oven to 350 degrees; Roll out and cut; Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly colored. Makes approx. 60 2-inch cookies
2. Repeat
3. Repeat again
4. Call mom for help
5. Throw all cake frosting away & buy fancy icing from craft store. Heat icing in order to easily spread icing on cookie. Get desired color with food coloring.
6. Ice entire cookie surface
7. Let icing dry for awhile
8. Decorate with contrasting icing color
9. Let icing dry for awhile
10. Individually adhere each letter cookie to cardstock using icing to spell LOVE. Be firm.
11. Let icing dry for awhile
12. Gently place cookie on cardstock in cello bags
13. Let mom go home

The finished product was quite tasty. Butter & icing really do make a difference in producing just the right textured sugar cookie. I pushed those favors like a girl scout pushing her cookies outside of a wal mart. No one left empty handed.

-The perennial baker, I mean bridesmaid

surprise

It has been a month since I officially launched 10,000 weddings. That means one month of the year of the weddings is down. January primarily consisted of planning for all of the upcoming events although yesterday was the first wedding event of the year. It went off without any major snafus other than a minor heating issue that was quickly solved. So the guests left their coats and gloves on for the first hour…there was alcohol to warm them up!

The shower was held at one of the bridesmaid’s houses. She lives in a beautiful, old farmhouse where the barn has been renovated into a magnificent ballroom. No exaggeration. We couldn’t have asked for a better venue. Forty guests easily fit into this room complete with an enormous bar, pine hardwood floors & ceilings that I am guessing are 20 feet high. It was the backdrop for a great day!

The shower was a traditional luncheon complete with the dreaded but fun bridal bingo. It kept the guests busy and stirred up some friendly competition while the bride unwrapped her gifts. She acquired so many amazing things including a stunning hat made of ribbons & bows! Where did this tradition stem from? I must find the answer before forcing another woman to put the paper plate/ribbon contraption on her head. Why do we do this?

In my research I have found out where the overall tradition of bridal showers stems from…sort of. There seem to be lots of variations on this one...bridal showers evolved in the 1800s as a means for a bride to acquire all things needed to establish a home. The alleged first bridal shower took place in Holland. A dutch girl was marrying a poor man who wouldn’t be able to afford all the luxuries she’d need to start their home so her close female friends showered her with gifts.

The story also says something about a rich father who didn’t approve of his daughter marrying the poor fool. I think I’d like to leave that part out in my version.

Ever wonder why showers traditionally are surprises? Originally a shower took place at the bride’s house. The other women would just drop in one day and surprise her with all of these wonderful gifts. Can you imagine 40 of your closest friends just showing up unannounced these days? I know I would be scurrying to clean the bathroom or something instead of admiring a new waffle maker. Its funny how that tradition has been modified, isn’t it?

Traditionally the woman that would throw the bride a shower would not be related to her. Apparently it was considered rude if the bride’s mother or relative was requesting friends to shower her with gifts. I guess mom didn’t want to look like a gold digger so she’d assume her daughter’s closest friend would coordinate the event, And that’s how a maid of honor evolved. The other girls with the gifts were typically the bridesmaids.

Can we work on upgrading those titles now? Maid just seems so politically incorrect.

-The perennial bridesDIVA

ch-ch-ch-chia!

Bridal showers come with many themes. Traditionally they are for women close to the bride to come celebrate and, well, shower her with gifts. Untraditionally, they are cocktail parties, brunches, pseudo-bachelorette parties, picnics, dinner parties with other couples and so on. I have just heard of the most untraditional shower to date…the unspoken fundraiser! This could become tradition near you…

The bride and groom were not only expecting their wedding to come soon but they were also expecting their first born. Why not just make it a baby/bridal shower? Heck, it saved my friend, a guest, another Sunday afternoon travelling out to east bumble by having the combo shower. Guests came with two gifts - one for baby and one for parents-to-be, er, bride and groom. The heavy lifting was done and now it was time for the guests to set their multiple gifts down and enjoy a tea sandwich.

While enjoying their lunch, guests were bombarded with 50/50 raffle tickets. I think they were 3 for $5 or something obnoxious like that. Anyway, bridesmaids/aunts-to-be wouldn’t let up. “Support the couple in starting their new life together!” After the third attempt, my friend purchased a few tickets. It didn’t take long for her to realize that this shower was merely a fundraiser for the couple.

Hanging from a ceiling was an upside down umbrella. It was a shower after all! Next up on the itinerary, the money toss! I kid you not. The umbrella was used to capture any loose change guests could toss up into it.

Loose change? Raffles? Weren’t the two gifts enough of an offering to the couple, their baby & their future? My friend won a “prize” at the raffle. You guessed it, ch-ch-ch-chia!

BTW, the couple raised $318.47 toward their future.

-The perennial bridesmaid