Take Cupcakes Up A Notch!

Want to invite your guests to have a bite of these delicious cupcakes? You can make these simple signs yourself and watch those cupcakes disappear! 

Want to make those same cupcakes look more formal?  Use these 'high rise' glass holders to make them look like they are a 'cut above.'  All photography by Peter Lammers.

Daisies Do It!

Sometimes the simplest floral displays are the ones you can do yourself.  A simple white pitcher, some diasies and greenery--voila!  Don't forget to add the floral fresherner in to water so the flowers last longer. 

This photo and design courtesy of Florists' Review Magazine. Be sure to pick up some of their books or magazines when planning your special event.

DIY Paper Lanterns with Floral Details

All Photos courtesy of Masterpiece Weddings &/Or Crafty Nest

Masterpiece Weddings blog showed this great tutorial on making these fabulous paper lanterns.  Start with a simple white lantern (or lantern in your choice of flower color), glue on some fake flowers using your trusty hot glue gun, add some tiny pompoms for centers and voila!

This is an inspired crafty use of simple paper lanterns and fake flowers and pompoms from your craft store (my favorite is Michael's but in case there isn't one in your area, choose your personal favorite). 

Looking for more inspiration? Head over to Crafty Nest for the complete tutorial and photos of some colorful examples she found at a convention.  I do love crafty people!  Be sure to read the rest of the posts on Crafty Nest and Masterpiece Weddings for more fabulous ideas for your wedding.

Photo courtesy of Crafty Nest

Place Cards, The Natural Way

Using pears as a theme for your wedding?  Consider using a lush, juicy pear as a favor and leaning your place cards against it.  Some mail order catalogs like Harry and David offer huge, gorgeous and ripe Royal Riviera® Pears ready to eat that can be shipped to your home, this way you can avoid worrying about finding ripe pears.  A little more expensive but worth not having to worry about finding a hundred or more pears ripe and ready to eat at your local grocery store.  And the quality of the fruit is excellent.  You'll cross your fingers and hope someone forgets theirs--so you can take them home with you! 

Another option to use to hold your place cards is pomegranates (photo and tutorial by DecorItYourself.)   The only trick with these is getting one with a flat enough bottom.  Shop carefully or you'll have 'rolling fruit' every time someone knocks into a table! But they sure offer a pretty but natural option for place card holders.  Consider pairing with Pomegranate Bellini (recipe from Nest, where style starts at home) and you'll have a great natural theme going.

Pomegranate Bellini

Recipe:

-Cut 1 organic pomegranate into fourths and began separating the seeds from the peel. -Place seeds in a bowl with a small spoon for serving.
-Add a spoonful (or more) of your seeds to each glass of champagne.

Be careful to clean up any juice promptly, the juice from pomegranates will stain your cutting board or countertop if not cleaned up immediately.

Even more natural? Country Living suggests you choose a branch with some colorful leaves or berries attached to put next to your place cards.  Set both on top of rustic looking plates for a farmhouse look.

DIY Twilight Bottle Labels

With the rash of Twilight theme weddings, obviously we need a DIY project to fit the theme.  Hostess with The Mostess HWTM Daily Blog has these vampire labels for your bottles are easy to make and will show off your theme to your guests.  Print these Vampire Drink Labels, then just slide them over bottles of RED drinks like Pomegranate IZZE, Boylan’s Black Cherry Soda, and whatever other red concoctions the store shelves have to offer that can pass for Type A and B, the favorite tipple of any self-respecting vampire! Your grandmother may shudder, but your friends will love it! 

I'll be posting my recipes for some Twilight appropriate alcoholic drinks coming soon on my Signature Drinks for Your Wedding Blog.  Stay tuned!