Signature Cocktails

I’m very detail-oriented, so I love adding that extra special little touch. A little personalization goes a long way. A new trend that I have witnessed among weddings is the idea of a signature cocktail. A signature drink can serve to enhance your wedding theme, colors, and even compliment the bride and groom as a couple. Our venue is very accommodating to the types of drinks and alcohol we want offered at our reception, but it is always a good idea to check with your venue to verify the option of providing a signature cocktail. Some event venue bars are not equipped with knowledgeable bartenders that will be able to accurately make the signature drink, and some venues will not accommodate special requests.

Think a signature cocktail is right for you? How do you choose one?

• You may be surprised to find that you may already have a signature cocktail or drink. Think back to the last time you went to dinner together. Do you like to order the same drink over and over again?
• Color -- Unlike flowers, almost any color can be recreated in liquid form.
• Liquor -- What is your favorite spirit? Use that as a base for the drink.
• Always offer a non-alcoholic version of the signature drink for children are guests who do not drink.
• Personalize it! Change the name to something that relates to you as a couple or after a place that is meaningful in your relationship.

Are you a free-spirited couple? Offering a signature drink is a fun idea that breaks the mold of traditional wedding receptions. Even your signature drink can be non-traditional. Make up your own recipe (try it first!) or use a lesser-known recipe.

My Choice:

The Purple People Eater

2 oz Grape Vodka
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Blue Curacao

Shake and strain into tall glass. Garnish with berries.

Choosing Colors

Many couples spend a lot of time debating over a wedding color scheme. Yes, you should choose colors that you like and compliment you as a couple, but a variety of different factors come into play and have to be considered. A few tips and questions:

• Does your color scheme compliment your venue? Things that cannot be changed, such as paint color and carpet, should be taken into account.
• Is your color choice appropriate for the season? Some colors and color shades are more appropriate during a specific season. Pastels, for example, are not the best choice for fall or winter.
• Does your color choice reflect the mood of your event?
• Choose exact hues by visiting a fabric shop or paint store. If you say your dominant color is purple, there are a variety of ways in which that can be interpreted. Eggplant, plum, or wine offer a more specific shade.
• Apply your colors to paper. Envision how they will look on invitations and programs.
• Not all flowers come in a variety of colors and shades. If you are settled on a particular flower, try to plan around the colors of the flower and realize what colors offer more floral options or limitations.
• Tie it all together -- Make your color choice consistent.
• Think of your bridal party! What colors are more flattering than others?

So, what is my color palette?
To be quite honest, our color choice evolved from a conversation in a bar after a friend’s wedding. The best way to get inspired is to attend other weddings. What did they do that you liked? What didn’t you like? This wasn’t really such a significant decision for us. Like many aspects of planning, it is different for every couple. Much of what we have planned has naturally evolved over the course of our relationship. We are very much attuned to each other’s tastes and creative directions.

Although we are getting married in spring, we chose a more dramatic color scheme: eggplant, silver/grey, and black. Below is an inspiration board created using dessy.com.

The inspiration board is a really fun tool that can also be useful in getting your ideas all together to see how they interact and compliment each other.

Flower Girl?

My cousin Anja as my sister's flower girl

Everyone has looked down the aisle at the beginning of a ceremony to see a beautiful little girl throwing flower petals down the aisle as she approaches the front (or at least we have witnessed an attempt, usually followed by a parent holding their hand after they've stopped in the middle of aisle). So, why a flower girl? What's the significance?

The flower girl represents innocence and purity, and precedes the bride down the aisle by dropping flower petals that represent fertility. In some cultures, it is customary that children are the only attendants to the bride. Royal weddings, for example, often feature multiple flower girls. The modern flower girl emerged under the reign of Queen Victoria.

Flower girls attending Princess Diana

So far, Alex and I have decided not to include a flower girl or ring bearer in our ceremony. It's a cute tradition, but we don't like being faced with the task of having to choose from our various relatives. However, the aisle will still be lined with flower petals. Throughout the time Alex and I have dated, I have dried and saved every bouquet of flowers he has ever given me. The petals along the aisle will be the petals from these bouquets. As we both walk down the aisle, we will be reminded of each one of those special moments.

Dinnerware: What Style Fits You?

Selecting wedding china can be one of the first steps a couple takes in defining their collective style. What seems like a simple decision can actually be somewhat complex. Are you traditional? Contemporary? Vintage? Artistic? What image do you want your china to reflect? Of course, the amount of thought placed into this decision usually relates to the amount of entertaining a couple plans on doing. A more elegant style may be appropriate for hosting special family events, while a modern style may be more appropriate for intimate, casual occasions. Click here for more advice on selecting wedding china.

Apparently, the average couple should register for 10-12 five-piece place settings. However, since we probably will not entertain large groups of people, Alex and I will request 8-10 place settings.

Since I was a child, I have loved the Fiesta Dinnerware collection. Now, it wouldn't technically be considered china, since the collection is made of glazed ceramic. Although the line was introduced in 1936, the art feco style of the collection appears very modern and eclectic. The current collection offers 26 different colors. Since we prefer a more relaxed, contemporary style, we will not register for one particular color. We will mix and match the various shades to create a unique group of colors. Even place settings can be mixed and matched.

Cup of Joe in Cedar Falls, one of my favorite coffee shops,
also serves their food and drink on Fiesta Dinnerware.

For a more formal setting, Alex and I will also inherit pieces of fine china from my dad's vast collection of Farmer's Rose, one of Porsgrund's oldest and best known patterns, made with feldspar porcelain and accented with 24 karat gold. The pattern is based on the rosemaling heritage of the Telemark province in Norway. Out of all of my dad's Norwegian china collections, Farmers Rose has always been my favorite.

In addition to the Farmers Rose, Alex and I have also admired my dad's collection of Kongetinn, literally translated to "Royal Pewter." The pewter line of flatware is designed based on the Viking escapades of King Olav the Holy. The Scandinavian king and his men are featured on the flatware handles.

We also enjoy the Kristin collection from Fjord Design, which is inspired by traditional Norwegian wood carving.

Viva la Vino!

A May Term trip to Sicily in 2009 has made me particularly affectionate of wine. Having a glass or two of fine Italian wine every day with each meal might have caused this. While traveling the island, I purchased a bottle of wine (or two!) at each major city in the hopes of finding that perfect bottle to take home with me. In Syracuse, our first stop on the island, I purchased a bottle of Corvo Glicine Bianco.

After travelling the island for two weeks and visiting Milan, I decided to purchase another bottle of Glicine, which had quickly become my favorite. I'm not a big fan of red wines, since it is difficult to find one that isn't too dry, so I gravitated toward the white wines and dessert wines. In the sea-side city of Sciacca, I purchased a bottle of Florio Grecale Moscato -- another favorite. This moscato is very different from most moscatos purchased in the states. It is more orange in color than the typical white or yellow and is much sweeter than its American counterpart.

All together, my suitcase was laden with five bottles of Sicilian wine by the time I got back home (and a few bottles of Sicilian olive oil). Because the Corvo Glicine Bianco was my absolute favorite, I could not bring myself to drink it once I was back in the states. So, over two years later, it was still sitting on my kitchen shelf. I vowed not to open it until I got engaged and truly had a reason to celebrate. Soon after our engagement, Alex and I enjoyed my last bottle of Sicilian wine. It is best served while it is still young, but the extra two years didn't hurt at all! Delicious!

So, instead of importing my favorite Italian wines, I will serve my wedding guests a selection of wines made right here in Iowa! I have recently become obsessed with Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque.

Stone Cliff offers many traditional varieties, such as cabernet savignon, chardonnay, riesling and white zinfadel. Instead of these more obvious choices, my guests will be tasting more exciting flavors.

The couple's wine of choice: Purple Cow
(to coincide with our wedding color and
complement the Heartland Acres venue)
"Welch's with a kick"
Concord grape flavors served chillled as a dessert wine.

The toasting wine: American Moscato
A pale gold wine, sweet but light with amazing aromas of
citrus, pear and apricot.

Sweet Cherry Wine
"Cherry pie in a bottle"
Made from Door County cherries.

Late Harvest Sweet Apple
Made with apples from the local Czipars orchard in Dubuque, IA.
This sweet apple wine has a smooth finish with a light hint of spice.
Enjoy this wine hot with a cinnamon stick or cold for sipping.

Favors: Candy Buffet

At our reception, our guests will be encouraged to make their own wedding favors by filling colorful Chinese take-out boxes with a variety of sweets featured at our Candy Buffet. Most wedding favors are simply thrown away or shoved in a closet, so I thought this would be a more exciting and interactive version. This way, guests can take home as much or as little as they want, and they can customize their favor with their favorite flavors. It's inexpensive, fun, and a beautiful, eye-catching display that is sure to please guests.

To coincide with a rustic theme appropriate to our venue, the candy will be displayed in various sizes of Mason jars.

Consider a theme, either with the containers used to store the candy and/or the candy itself, when planning a candy buffet. The candy buffet should compliment the overall look and feel of your wedding.

Old-fashioned theme

Some couples choose to feature only candy that is made in their wedding colors.

Although this is an emerging trend, I actually got this idea from my sister's wedding in 2009:

My sister's candy buffet featured a variety of sweets, including Tootsie Roll Frooties, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, gummy orange slices, Skittles and M&Ms.

Cupcakes!

With popular shows like DC Cupcakes and Cupcake Wars, cupcakes have become the new craze. And they're showing up at weddings, too! In addition to the Norwegian wedding cake, we will also be offering our guests cupcakes from Scratch Cupcakery in Cedar Falls, Iowa. My parents visited us last weekend and brought a dozen cupcakes to sample.

My favorite:
"Wedding Day" almond cream cake | vanilla buttercream frosting

My parents' favorite:
"Raspberry Love"  vanilla cake | raspberry buttercream frosting

"Raspberry Love" and "Wedding Day"

A few more samples. We also tried "Mocha," "Chocolate Chip,"

"Mint Chip," "Red Velvet," and "Turtle."

Although all the cupcake samples were delicious, I really want to try the cupcake called "Monkey Business." It's banana cake with peanut butter frosting. YUMM! They only offer this cupcake on Wednesdays in the shop, so I will have to make a special weekday trip up to Cedar Falls.

How can you Display Cupcakes at a Wedding?

• Tiered cupcake stands to resemble a wedding cake
• Individually on a dessert table or at the guest tables
• A custom-built display

Photo from marreroevents.com

Why Cupcakes?

You can offer guests more variety in cake and frosting flavors:

•  I will have at least two flavors at my wedding

Cupcakes will save you money in your wedding budget:

• Professionally made cupcakes range in price from $2-4 (The average cake cost is between $5-6/piece).
• Caterers, hotels, event centers don't charge cake cutting fees for cupcakes because there is nothing to cut! (be sure to confirm this with your wedding planner or caterer).
• Deliver fees for cupcakes are often much cheaper because they are easier to transport than a large wedding cake.

Kransekake: Norwegian Wedding Cake

I grew up in a distinctly Norwegian household. Many “old world” traditions have been passed down from my great-grandparents to my generation. My sister got married nearly two years ago, and I was designated as the one to bake and assemble the traditional Norwegian wedding cake. Now, this isn’t a cake in the traditional American sense. Kransekake literally means ring or wreath cake. It is made up of 18 rings of decreasing size stacked on top of each other to form a cone-shaped tower.

The dough is made of almond, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and egg yolks. The rings are essentially almond-flavored cookies -- hard on the outside, chewy on the inside. After assembly, the rings are decorated with icing and can also be adorned with miniature candies and Norwegian toothpick flags. For my sister’s wedding, I decorated her cake with the toothpick flags and placed a bottle of Moscato d’Asti beneath the tower.

As my own wedding approaches, I will likely make my own kransekake for the occasion. No one in my family has quite mastered the cake like I have. It’s a very tricky baking and assembling process. If the rings are not cooked long enough, the tower will collapse in on itself. If the rings are cooked too long, they will look too dark on the outside. The rings all have to be baked at the same temperature for the exact same amount of time in order for the rings to be consistent in color.

Want to try it out? Click here for a recipe, or purchase a cake here.

Kransekake decorated with candy and flags

The kransekake I made for my sister's wedding in June 2009 (you can see the top of the wine bottle barely poking out of the top).

My sister's kransekake at the head table.

The Venue

Alex and I have officially booked our wedding venue. We did a lot of shopping around, but eventually settled on a location close to where we both went to high school. Absolutely perfect.

Our wedding and reception will take place at Heartland Acres Agribition Center in Independence, Iowa. This is a relatively new wedding venue, and we're very excited to be among the first couples to get married here. The events will take place in the adjacent Events Center, but we encourage guests to visit the main building (The Barn), modeled after existing 1800s barns in Buchanan County, with a theater, interactive displays, and exhibits. The site is also home to one of the Midwest's most unique collection of classic cars, many from the early decades of the 1900s.

The Gazebo

(Ceremony location)

The Patio

(An outdoor area for guests)

Photos courtesy of heartlandacresusa.com

What's in a Date?

May 19, 2012
Theknot.com tells us to pick a date that is both personal and practical. Elements to consider: symbolism, season, price, holidays, and conflicting dates. We've chosen the route of symbolism. Our engagment will last a total of 18 months in order to reach that special date. We will be married seven years to the day since we started dating in high school. No, we didn't pick the date out of convenience. Alex is not one of those stereotypical men who forgets his anniversary, in fact, he might remember it better than me!

Symbolism in a Wedding Date

Some cultures use traditional methods to choose a date -- Japanese families use the koyomi, an ancient astrological calendar, to pick the most propitious day, while ancient Greeks divined pig entrails! We are fortunate in that May 19 falls on a Saturday in 2012. Others may not be able to marry on the exact day -- the venue you want may be booked or that special date could fall on a Monday -- but you can probably get pretty close.

My advice: Set a date as soon as possible, and don't budge once the date is set!

Planning

Like so many women, I've been looking forward to planning a wedding since I was a child.  Now, when the opportunity is upon me, however, I can't help but shy away from the responsibility. As a public relations major in college, I've had a lot of experience planning and organizing various special events. It's a task I have really come to enjoy. When it comes to my own wedding, however, I've been so tempted to hire my own wedding planner. It's kind of ironic, really. Maybe sad, too.

Well, realistically, I'm not going to hire a wedding planner. Besides, Jennifer Lopez has shown us how disasterous that can be. Nope, I'm just going to have to do this on my own...with the help of friends and family, of course. Besides, who needs to hire a planner these days when so much planning and information is available online for FREE? Martha Stewart offers a very detailed To-Do List, and for the budget-wise bride-to-be, Frugal Bride offers a more pocketbook friendly version.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my wedding planning blog! With just over 14 months to go before the big day, I will be sharing my thoughts, ideas, and wedding plans. Feedback is much appreciated!

Who are we?
My fiance Alex and I were introduced to each other through mutual friends in high school. Yes, we're the storybook high school sweethearts. We sat next to each other in Spanish II and began dating at the end of the spring semester of our sophomore year. After high school graduation, I moved away to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, while Alex attended Ashford University in Clinton. We've been together for the past six years and now share an apartmenet in Cedar Rapids with our recently adopted cat, Thor. To most outsiders, we are essentially opposites, but like most yin-yangs, we find a way to balance each other out.

We are so excited to share our wedding planning process with you!  Enjoy!