11/15/10

Reviews: Be Our Guest

McFadden's Catering/Lakeside Manor Catering - Gibbsboro, NJ



Kevin McFadden and his staff did a wonderful job catering and running the show at my wedding. Almost a month later people are still commenting on how good his food was. Kevin has his own facility on the lake in Gibbsboro, NJ, but is also on the preferred list at the Camden County Boat House at Cooper River Park. His facility is nice and spacious but the boathouse just blew us away. His prices are extremely reasonable and you get a lot for the money.

He has tastings once a month so you can try his food before you even book him. He has a suggested menu but he's very flexible about customizing it. The cocktail hour spread was a large array of veggies, fruits, cheeses, crackers, and antipasta, plus many served hot items. The portions were large and well put together, plus the cake was included if you use one of his bakers (he gave me a discount since i used a different baker).

He includes over 20 colors of linens and a full bar set up. John the Bartender was essential in planning our liquor order with canal's (we were able to return unopened bottles). The bartenders were great and made sure everyone "had a good time."

When my guests arrived at the boathouse almost an hour before cocktail hour Kevin didn't even hesitate about opening the doors early and serving them. His staff is wonderful and helped carry down every last box to the cars at the end of the night.

During the planning process Kevin met with us at least 6 times going over all the details and tasting food. He arranged for special consideration at the boat house for us to get in early on friday to drop off stuff and set the room up. He is super attentive and his wife is the travel agent that help us book our awesome honeymoon. There is no way my wedding would have been as successful as it was with out him! 

11/9/10

Reviews: With This Ring

Canzi Creations - Philadelphia, PA


Roy of Canzi Creations custom made both my Engagement ring and our wedding bands. Located on Jeweler's Row in Philadelphia, he doesn't have a big show room but he is an amazing craftsmen. He has great ideas and suggested a beautiful band to really compliment my engagement ring. It was awesome to see our designs in the 3-D CAD pics he sent us before we made our decisions we were able to tweak the designs and make them perfect. The prices were great, the work was phenomenal and the turnaround time was about a month from design to rings in hand. I will be using him for all our jewelery needs.

7/27/10

Gifts for our Besties

As we get closer to the wedding, I can't help but feel so very loved and Jon and I really want to express our gratitude to our friends and family for being such a big part of our wedding. It means so much to us to have them standing up there with us and giving our marriage their support.

I already mentioned what we're giving our parents - Digital frames with our engagement photos in them and once we get our pro pics we'll add those too.

My cousins - Erica, Larissa, Miranda, and Bella. Erica is singing and Larissa, Miranda, & Bella are reading. They are getting custom headbands from Magdalina Designs.


The Bridesmaids - Natalie, Jackie, Rachel, Amanda, Sonia, and Olivia are getting goodie bags filled with Flip Flops, a headband, a necklace, a fruity coach change purse and I will also be covering the cost of their makeup.

The Groomsmen - Mike, Jack, Peter, James and Mike are getting goodie bags that include sunglasses, socks, pocket square, and monogramed flask with 2 cigars.


Since my brother is only 17, he won't be getting any cigars or Jameson in his flask instead I picked him out an awesome pair of wooden plugs for his ears.

6/14/10

First Glimpse of my Florals

My mom and I took a little trip to visit Darlene and go over our floral order and surprise, surprise look what she had for us to see....


Its a mock up of what our tall centerpieces will be! I think we'll be using short votive candles instead of long tapers and she'll be draping strands of pearls through the arrangements

4/22/10

Fun with a Glue Gun

So remember awhile back around Christmas time that I had purchased a decorative lobster trap. It sat around in our office for about 4 months and I finally did something with it. When I was at Sonia's house last weekend, we were in Baltimore and I purchased 2 squeaky rubber crabs from a souvenir shop for $6. I gathered up my glue gun and some other fun things and got to work.


The two crabs became a Mr. & a Mrs.


And they were placed on their new home making a perfect Lobster Trap Card Box.


While I was gluing things, I also prettied up our Bathroom Baskets.

3/26/10

DIY: Cake Pedestal

The window of the bakery was filled with beautiful display cakes in all shapes and sizes, the one thing they all had in common was that they were all displayed on beautiful cake stands. At the end of the appointment I asked her if she could show us what options she had for us to use. Unfortunately, our cake was too large to go on one of the stands she had but she would look at her suppliers and if we found anything we liked we could use that.

Our Requirements
  • 16" in Diameter, at least
  • Must be able to hold at least 100 lbs
  • Must be very stable - no wobbles!
After 2 hours of googling, surfing Etsy and Ebay and hunting through T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, etc. I couldn't find anything larger than 12" and under $60. Then I started looking for materials to make my own. I had seen DIY tutorials on Weddingbee where the poster used a vase or glass and a plate. Still no luck. Everything was either too small or too big or the plate was to curved or it had a ridge.

Walking through Target, I found it! A wooden candle holder meant for a 3" pillar. It was about 7" tall and had a cool shape to it I bought it for $10 figuring we could cut the platter part from wood easily. After scouring Michael's and only finding 6" & 8" wood plaques, we headed to Lowe's. Instead of getting a sheet of wood to cut up we found precut circles meant for table tops or barstools. At 18" wide it was a little bigger than we need but it works. Also needed were screws, screw in "eye" hooks, and paint.

Materials Pic



Jon did all the hard labor, I just did the decorating.

1. Remove the metal dish on the top of the pillar

2. Find the center of the 18" wood disk and mark 4 screw holes



3. Match pillar up so it will sit in the exact center (Super Important! If its not in the center the balance will be off potentially making easier for it to tip once the cake is placed on top.

4. Make sure the stand is level and test with weight



We thought it was a little too shaky so I ran to Micheal's and picked up the 8" wood plaque to place on the bottom - same process as top. Then we tested again. Much more stable!

5. I then sanded the whole thing. I really wanted to get all the finish off the candle pillar.

6. I painted the whole thing with 3 coats of Valspar Tropical Sea. Letting it dry between each coat.


7. At this point, you can spray with a shiny finishing spray.
8. After letting it really dry for a few days I measured the circumference and did some math, I screwed in the eye hooks equally around the underside of the dish.



9. Once they were all in I started beading, first all the dangles, then all the swags using beads I found at Michael's.



 The finishing touch was a 15" mother of pearl scalloped charger plate I found at Pier 1.
    The Final Product



      Total Cost: $40 ish

      7" Pillar from Target: $10
      18" Wooden Disk from Lowe's: $10
      8" Wooden Plaque from Michaels: $5
      8 Screws: $4
      10 Eye hooks: $2
      Sample can of Paint: $3
      Beads: $26 but I'm using them for other projects too.

      2/28/10

      Let them eat CAKE!

      Four different kinds of Cake, while we're at it.

      This cake tasting has so far been my favorite vendor meeting. My mom and I met Olivia and Aunt Sandy at Adelaide's Bakery in Glendora, NJ.


      We met with Stefanie the shop owner and head pastry chef and sugar artist. She's maybe only a little older then me. She's owned the shop for a little over 3 years, and my aunt drilled her with questions and advice for Olivia about schools and experience. She sat us down at a little table and brought out 2 huge trays one was all different cake options and the other had little cups of fillings and frostings.
      This is what we tasted:
      • Plain Pound Cake, Lemon Pound Cake, Raspberry Pound Cake, Raspberry/Lemon Pound cake, Chocolate chip pound cake, Chocolate chiffon Cake, Vanilla Chiffon Cake, Italian Rum Cake, Pound Cake drenched in Bailey's Irish Cream, Stawberry Shortcake, Red Velvet Cake, Coconut Creme with Pineapple, Peach/Mango Hazelnut pound cake.
      • Standard Butter Cream, Italian Butter Cream, Lemon Curd, Passion Fruit Preserves, Raspberry Preserves, Coffee Butter Cream, Hazelnut butter cream, Chocolate ganache, whipped chocolate cream, Peanut butter cream, 2 different versions of Bailey's Irish butter cream.
      I think I got them all. the plates looked like this when she came out. Plus another tray full of fillings.



      We ate to our hearts content. All of us really liked the Italian butter cream over the standard. Her plain poundcake was amazing and I felt it was a good base to go crazy with the flavors. Before we met, Stefanie and I had been emailing back and forth and I had asked if she could make cake or filling flavored with Bailey's Irish Cream. I thought it would be something special for Jon since he's Irish and we just went to Ireland. She went above and beyond and 2 different fillings and cake for us to try. The one version of the Irish Cream was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G everyone liked it a lot.

      We started talking designs and my absolute favorite cake that I've seen is this.



      I want to do flowers on top and maybe one large flower resting on the middle tier. She showed us books of these amazing sugar flowers and mentioned that they last forever and since we aren't saving our first tier for our anniversary, my mom thought maybe she makes them instead of using fresh flowers.I'm thinking 2 big pink hibiscus or peonies.





      What we ultimately decided on was a 3 tier round cake 12" diameter x 5" high, 9" diameter x 5" high, 6" diameter x 5" high. This will serve 100 people then we'll have a separate sheet cake in the back that serves 50. We are doing different flavors for each tier of the cake. She can do the butter cream real smooth and most of the pearls will be piped and painted with a lustre, the larger ones will be made of fondant.

      I made a diagram to show our flavors....



      The top Tier was the very summery combination of pound cake coconut cream and pineapple chunks.
      The 2nd Tier consists of the classic pound cake, raspberry preserves and Italian creme.
      The 3rd Tier for my Irish Fiance, pound cake and bailey's irish cream.
      For the sheet cake we decided to change it up and go with chololate chiffon cake and peanut butter cream filling with a chocolate ganache frosting.

      Soooo excited! I was shocked that it didn't break the bank.

      After we put the deposit down on the cake we headed to a little cafe for lunch. Olivia was so excited about going to the tasting and was brainstorming about what bakeries near her house she could be intern at.

        2/27/10

        They Better Come Hungry



        Even though I wasn't feeling super awesome, I had three may-jah appointments to keep for this weekend that were long overdue considering they were originally scheduled a month ago when the first big snowstorm hit.

        My parents and I met at the Boathouse to speak with Kevin McFadden (our caterer) to go over all the foodie details of the reception. In April, we will go to a tasting at his place to eat all the yummy things we picked.

        Hors D'oeuvres
        • Cold - Fresh Fruit, Assorted Cheeses and Crackers, Veggies and Dip, Bruchetta, Antipasta, Roasted Peppers, Marinated Mozzerella
        • 10 Hot, Passed - Scallops wrapped in bacon, Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms, Sesame chicken, Cho cho beef, Mini crab cakes, Pigs in a blanket, Tortellini on a stick, Quiche Lorraine, Seafood Kabobs, Coconut Shrimp
        Appetizer
        • We decided to nix the pasta course so we could have more time for dancing
        Salad
        • Romaine and endives with candied nuts, strawberries, and fresh mozzerella with a sweet vinegarette dressing
        Entrees
        • Fish - Crabmeat stuffed flounder, rice and broccoli with tricolor peppers
        • Beef - Beef bourgeois topped with onions and mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes, and broccoli with tricolor peppers
        • Chicken - Chicken Saltimbucca, garlic mashed potatoes, and broccoli with tricolor peppers
        Sweet Table
        • Mini cannoli, chocolate covered strawberries, cream puffs, mini eclairs, etc
        • Slices of our cake
        • Coffee bar
        Also included in our contract is the champagne toast, all our linens and table setting, votives, and bartenders. We will be purchasing our own liquor, beer and wine and he handles the delivery for that as well as buys back the unopened bottles. He's throwing in so many little extras for us its unbelieveable.

        Sound Yummy?

        2/6/10

        DIY: Beachy Table Numbers

        I really wanted to do something cool for our table numbers. The last wedding we attended named her tables all different tables (ie. Pool Table, Periodic Table, Table of Contents, etc). After buying "The DIY Bride" at Barnes & Noble I saw a project for a save the date that I thought could be adapted for table numbers.





        Its pretty much a shadowbox frame with information inside and sand and starfish inside
        I made mine a little simpler. Especially since I had to make 20 of them for my tables.




        Supplies
        • 20 - 5" x 7" Acrylic Box Frames from Michael's - $1.99 each
        • 2 pads of 12" x 12" Scrapbooking Paper 48 sheets in each pad - $19.99 each
          • I only used about 12 sheets total
        • 2 Foam Core Boards
        • Sand
        • Assorted Shells and Starfish
        • Pearls, Beads, Sequins, Glitter
        Steps to a Beachy Table Number

        1. Cut down the foam core so that it fits the outside of the frame it ended up being 5 1/8" x 7 1/8"



        I was able to get 12 foam core backing pieces on each sheet



        I used a L ruler and a utility knife to get clean cuts

        2. Figure out how to work printer.... I needed a different driver in my case.
        3. Pick a font. This took me almost an hour. I love fonts. I used fancypens which I downloaded from www.dafonts.com.
        4. Cut 10 - 12 pieces of 12" x 12" scrap booking paper in half.


        5. Set up a document in Word for a 5" x 7" paper reset your margins, font size and paper type. Make many test prints on plain paper, then make test prints on good paper.
        6. Once you are happy with your prints, use spray adhesive to attach them to the foam core. Trim away any paper that hangs over the edges.


        7. Fill the Acrylic box frame with decorations - sand, sequins, beads, shells etc.

         

        8. Using hot glue go all around the edge of the frame and glue number on. Go around the edges once more to be sure nothing will leak out.


        9. Pat your self on the back and repeat 19 more times.




        I am considering adding a pre-cut mat frame around the box frame and I will be displaying them on plate stands that my mom found in the dollar store.

        2/2/10

        DIY: Sophia's Pomander

        Seriously... How cute are little girls carrying giant balls of flowers?




        In our little rule book from the church it says we pretty much aren't allowed to throw anything - no flowers, no petals, no seeds, no rice. I gave this some thought and decided Sophia would be carrying a pomander or a ball of flowers. I priced this out with a florist and she came back with a price tag of $40... whoa hold the phone $40 are you kidding me for a styrofoam ball and some roses with a ribbon.

        I knew what I had to do... DIY. Where I work we have hundreds of fabric flowers that we use on the dance costumes in every color of the rainbow. We also have tons of satin ribbon. I placed an order with one of our customer service people for about 40 flowers ranging in price from $0.20 - $0.78 each. I spent about $20. Then I went to Michael's and picked up a 7" styrofoam ball.


        The look I'm going for

         

        My Supplies
        • Hot glue gun and plenty of sticks
        • 7" styrofoam ball
        • 40 ish fabric flowers
        • 18" floral wire
        • Pearl Corsage Pins
        • Plyers/wire cutters
        • Not Shown: Ivory satin ribbon 1" wide
        Step one: Fold 1 piece of floral wire in half leaving a loop at one end. Tape the 2 loose ends together



        Step 2: Jam the wire through the middle of the ball straight through to the other side. Keeping the loop visable 

         

        Step 3: Untape the other ends and bend them so they form a "T" Then hot glue to the ball.



        Step 4: Start gluing flowers on to the ball I started at the top working my way around and down. I used a variety of different color and size flowers. Tip: if you are using a High Heat glue gun blow on the glue for a few seconds before attaching the flower to the styrofoam so it doesn't melt as much. Also hold in place 30-60 seconds until the glue cools a bit.

         

         

        Step 5: When you have used all your flowers go into work and buy more..... then finish covering the ball with flowers

         

        At this point the back of the ball was still a little naked
        Step 6: Make a Bow and glue it on. Tie ribbon to the loop that was made with the floral wire. Add in pearl corsage pins where necessary for decoration or if any flowers are loose.

        The finished product.


        Plus it will last a lot longer then real flowers and I think it will be able to take the abuse of a 5 year old.

        Total Time: 1 Hour
        Total Cost: $30