One of my favorite color combination’s is tangerine and fuchsia. It’s a fun, vibrant color pairing that can still feel very sophisticated when matched with cream, ivory or even black. Perfect for summer-y weddings, you can also give guests a cool surprise (that perfectly matches your color palette, of course!) by serving Creamsicle pops in orange/vanilla and raspberry/vanilla flavors!
Photo Credits:
Reception Table Floral Decor: The Brides Cafe
Favor Boxes and Parasols: Amorology Weddings
Candy Bar Display: The Ritzy Bee
So you’re engaged! Now what? Celebrate your future with family and friends at your Green Engagement Event! Find unique and beautiful vintage champagne flutes from local shops and tag sales. Fill them with some lovely bubbly and toast to your love with organic champagne or crisp prosecco poured over ice or homemade fruit pops!
Keep your décor simple and seasonal. Use local fresh fruit and flowers to create effortlessly elegant tablescapes. Any forgotten books in your home?
Hollow them out and place a plant inside! This unique effect creates a whimsical pot and adds a touch of natural beauty to any room or tablescape.
If you are planning a brunch celebration, make bite-sized French toast and croque monsieurs to cut back on waste. Take reducing waste a step further by sending your invitations to guests on personalized tea bags that they can enjoy later!
Honeymoons are a great way to unwind and enjoy the beauty a future together holds. Now, it is easier than ever to celebrate your love on a green honeymoon! Eco-tourism companies, green hotels, green cruises, and local retreats have all made sustainable travel easier and more obtainable for couples everywhere. Everyone can help maintain popular travel destinations by remembering these minimal impact guidelines for reefs, trekking, and wildlife safaris.
Reefs: Keep the coral healthy
Touching the coral or stirring up the surrounding sand can permanently damage and even kill coral. The best way to avoid unintended contact is to stay in deep enough water where waves won’t make you accidentally bump the fragile coral. Avoid lathering up in sunscreen before snorkeling:
National Geographic News reports that sunscreen contributes to coral bleaching.
Leave your fish food and plastic at home
While feeding fish may create great photo opportunities, it could…
These playful candy bags make great favors for a wedding, shower or party!
Total cost for each is around .50.
Supplies:
Colored mini paper bags (ours are from Michael’s)
White Pen
String
Scissors
Candy
Steps:
1. Write names (with table numbers if needed) on each bag.
2. Cut the sides of the bag about an inch at the top.
3. Fill with candy.
4. Fluff the top, gather, and tie with string.
Tips: Fluff out the top of the bag to make it look festive and keep the strings long.
No time? Buy it: Martha Stewart Candy Bags from Michael’s
Oh, how we love Frolic! Chelsea’s daily inspiration blog is always chock-full of pretty ideas that feel effortless and chic. So, we’re so happy that she’ll be posting DIY projects that easy to do while packing a big punch.
If you read a lot of blogs, chances are you have developed a few geeky blog crushes. Joy the Baker is totally mine. If we were in high school, I would vote her homecoming queen. So, when she graciously agreed to guest blog for us, I could barely contain my excitement (wait…is this starting to sound creepy?) and may have let out a giggle. Check out this great post and then scoot on over to her blog so that you can have a crush, too (I will not confirm or deny that I have pre-ordered her cookbook). Enjoy, friends!
No one can say no to brunch. There’s something about the enticing smell of potatoes roasted with onions and butter that absolutely no one can deny. Pair those roasted potatoes with fluffy eggs and homemade Bloody Marys and you’ve got the makings of one fine (and totally inexpensive) engagement brunch…
When I was a kid, we had some close family friends, the Manfredas. Mr. & Mrs. Manfreda had come from Italy and settled in San Francisco, finding a home in the North Beach neighborhood and raising their three children. This was a family that was serious about their food. In fact, they converted the entire lower level of their home (which would have ordinarily functioned as their garage) into one giant kitchen and dining room with a massive table where friends and family would gather together for any reason to celebrate over a big meal.
During many a get together, out of this basement kitchen would roll enormous piping hot platters of homemade pastas: spaghetti with fresh marinara sauce, baked ziti, when we were lucky, pasta alla carbonara , and on, and on. Every dish was always delicious, made with love, and with every bite you knew that life, friends,…
Christmas this year reminded me of planning a wedding. See, my family puts a lot of time, energy and preparation into Christmas. We plan and we prep and we build on traditions that we’ve already spent years creating…and then Christmas arrives and, in a whirlwind of wrapping paper and Harry Connick, Jr. and pie, is gone.
Just like a wedding. Although in a wedding, the pie is most often replaced by cake and the Harry Connick, Jr. by Louis Armstrong (or the Electric Slide). The wrapping paper remains, but has fewer angels covering its foil.
But that doesn’t mean that all the planning and the preparation isn’t worth it. No matter how much time we put into the days we make important, if we’re willing to sit back and enjoy how they unfold once they finally do arrive, all of the work is worth it.
It’s worth it to…
I’m not going to lie to you, I love myself a girly ruffle. And it seems to me that there is no better time for pulling out the pretty than right around your wedding. Whether you’re adding a ruffled necklace to your shower outfit, decking your bridesmaids out in these killer peony dresses from Quail Bridal or adding a ruffle-y heel to your wedding dress, it’s a feminine way to let the world know here comes the bride.
Peony bridesmaid dress: Quail Bridal
Ruffle necklace (with DIY instructions!): Ruffles and Stuff
Cake stand: Vessels and Wares
Unicorn heel shoes: ModCloth
Ruffle purse: Piper Lime
Heels with ruffle ankle strap: Coclico
Ruffle bra: Anthropologie
If the bride-to-be is addicted to the Food Network and has a pile of Gourmet magazines sitting by the door, a kitchen-themed bridal shower might be right up her alley.
Some ideas to get you going:
The invitations:
Use a cooking themed invitation or modify recipe cards with the time, address, and instructions. See below for gift theme suggestions you can include with the invitations.
The gifts:
How about giving your guests a theme for their gifts? Ask groups of guests to bring either a favorite kitchen gadget, cookbook or gourmet ingredients. Or have every guest bring their favorite recipe and create a collection of them for the bride. Just make sure that if you are asking for themed gifts, you make it clear on the invitations.
The food:
In keeping with the theme, I think that providing appetizers and desserts that require a bit of interaction are interesting (and…
5 Things You Should Do First
1. Share
You’re engaged! Congratulations!
Share the news with the most important people in your lives, right away, in the most personal form of communication that the circumstances allow. For great ideas on telling your loved ones, read more from the Green Bride Guide’s Experts blog or check out mywedding’s Etiquette and Planning Guide.
2. Talk
Schedule some time with your parents, and/or anyone else who might be involved in the planning, budgeting or decision-making for your wedding. You don’t have to hammer out too many specifics, but this is your time to get a sense for who wants to be involved in your wedding planning. These important conversations will help you determine what kind of wedding you can have, especially if budget and family contributions to the budget are a consideration.
This is also an especially important time…
Inspiration Board: 50s Sleepover Style Shower from the City Sage
Newlywed Perspective: Christmas Reflections
An Indian-Themed Rehearsal Dinner Idea from Maharani Weddings
Budget-Friendly, Alternative Engagement Rings from Satomi Kawakita 
Inspiration Board: Tangerine and Fuchsia
Inspiration Board: What to Wear to a Luncheon Shower
DIY (sort of): Dolling Up Your Cupcakes with Ticings 
Easy Candy Favor Bags from Chelsea at Frolic
Handmade Undies With a Kick from Mahoohoo
Canvas Wall Art Featuring Your Vows and Photos
Crave versus Save: A Bachelorette Party Purse
Crepe Cakes are Making It Impossible for Me to Focus
Inspiration Board: Kitchen Themed Bridal Shower
Cheap Flight Deals and Packages for Your Guests
An Inspiration Board That’s All About the Ruffle
Southern-Inspired Bridal Shower Inspiration Board
The Ultimate Preppy Bridal Shower Inspiration Board
Sarah and Nathan Win Dream Getaway to Devil's Thumb Ranch
Outfit Ideas for Your Upcoming Engagement Parties
Engagement Party Inspiration: A Break Out The Bubbly Shoot from Host-it Notes
Erica and Getting Engaged Your Way
Newly Engaged? Kick Off Your Green Wedding Planning!
Stop the Presses! Some Serious Fun Just Crossed My Inbox
Violins and Vows DIY Rehearsal Dinner Theme from Host-It Notes
