Fresh Take on Edible Centerpieces.

The thing I love the most about wedding planning is the endless amount of creativity that exists, so when I get to work with couples who challenge me with an idea that gets me to put my thinking cap on, I couldn't be happier.

This weekend, I met up with good friends of ours who are getting married next summer. The bride is just about the coolest nutritionist on the planet, so her desire to have edible centerpieces didn't really surprise me, but did get me thinking, "How on earth could we possibly make these cool?". Most research presents tacky hollowed out large fruits or vegetables stuffed with more fruit and veggies, which is such a literal take on the idea. Outside of these tacky traditional takes on edible wedding centerpieces, mini cakes, cupcakes and candy jars are the second most commonly used foods, but we want these ones to be truly unique, so I've had to think a little outside the box.

Sourced from Rachael Ray.

Food is probably one of the best ways to bring people together and every bride wants her wedding to be memorable, so having an edible wedding centerpiece doubling as an appetizer or dessert is a surefire way to make your wedding a night people will remember.

Depending on the vendor or the types of products used, these types of centerpieces can be just as expensive as floral ones, so be sure to do your research on what products might fit with your budget, or how much work can be expected if you are putting them together yourself.

Sourced from Martha Stewart.

For this wedding, I'm hoping to do two or three variations:

• The first being, a combination of leafy greens, whole artichokes which have a very floral shape to them, bunches of grapes and whole limes.
• The second incorporating skewers of meats styled to resemble flowers, cheese, crackers and pate, possibly offset by more leafy greens on silver platters.
• The last, a wooden box, similar to the following, packed tightly with a selection of beautiful fresh veggies, accompanied by various complimentary dips.

So much to think about, and I'm sure it will all evolve with input from the bride and groom, but I'm incredibly confident that we will end up with a gorgeous result!

Sourced form Nancy Conner Design.

Lastly, a few more suggestions on how to incorporate food into your centerpieces:

• Skewers of bocconcini cheese, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves standing upright in a jar.
• Deli meats woven back and forth or twisted around skewers, resembling flowers.
• Use a tiered cake or dessert stand to present a variety of sweets on each tier.
• Bunches of asparagus, tied with a ribbon, accented by white pillar candles.
• Mix whole grapefruits, apples, lemons, etc. with brightly colours flowers.

DIY Bouquet with a High-End Look

There's something so incredibly beautiful about a tight grouping of a single type of flower. This weekend I got inspired to try to make a diy bouquet using faux flowers that would give a high-end fresh flower bouquet a run for its money. While I'm not completely convinced that faux flowers are the best idea for a daytime wedding, I do think that it is incredibly difficult to tell the difference in more intimate lighting without physically touching the flower.

I started my trip at the dollar store where they had these fabulous creamy full bloom roses that were better than those I could find at Michael's and for a  fraction of the price. A few of them came with rosebuds which I initially didn't think would be useful for this particular bouquet, but the variety in blooms actually worked quite nicely. The addition of lace, guinea feathers, a glass brooch and ribbon really finish this diy bouquet off and give it that high-end look we're all after for such a great price.

STEP 1. Trim the stem of excess leaves and twigs and group all stems of roses together to create a nice round shape. You may need to bend some of the stems to get this perfectly round shape. Wrap the stems in wire in a couple of places to keep it al together.

STEP 2. Cut 6 - 8 pieces of lace drapery trim. Bunch each piece together so that you have a ruffled look. Position them evenly around the stem of the bouquet, as close to the bottom of the flowers as possible. Secure with wire.

STEP 3. Wrap the stem in ribbon and sew a brooch to to the ribbon handle. Sew 10 guinea feathers around the base of the bouquet.

SUMMARY OF COSTS

Flowers - $9

Drapery Lace - $1.67/m

Antique Brooch - $5

Ribbon $2

Total Spent CAD17.67

Whoever thinks that a high-end look can't be achieved with a low-end budget is sorely mistaken! I'm so pleased with how this diy bouquet turned out!

Fabulous Poms

I just stumbled upon this precious gem and fell in love immediately! Poms are so big right now, but it is hard to justify making them out of paper when they look so gorgeous outdoors and there is always a risk of rain. I've been trying to come up a more durable way to making these poms, but those incredibly fantastically crafty folks over at OnceWed beat me to it! While I try not to recycle other people's imagination as much as possible, in hopes that I can offer new and unique suggestions, these were too fabulous not to share. They would be so great lining the aisles and hanging from trees and make an lasting impression while costing pennies to make! Check them out here.

tip! For an even more durable and cheaper option, try swapping the lanterns out for styrofoam balls.

The Prettiest Bouquet

So I found the most gorgeous bouquet to be in inspired by and boy, is it unique. Made out of paper, this gorgeous little gem I found at Project Wedding is right up my DIY ally. As much as I love fresh flowers, I really want to do things differently but still keep everything classic. The colours and mixtures of textures  are a perfect combination to make something really beautiful. I know it's going to take a lot of work to do my bouquet, and possibly smaller versions of for the bridesmaids, but I think they'll really be an attention grabber. One key element I'll be trying to add are bleached peacock feathers.

*image sourced from projectwedding.com

Not only is finding an economical way (with a little bit of hard work) to get an expensive look for less a huge passion of mine, but I have always loved the look of fascination on people's faces when they do the second look and realize that something is handmade. It's one of the reasons I went to school for what I did. I love working with my hands to make stunning things. I'll share how they turn out and whether or not I survived making all of those little flowers...just like the invites, I think a bottle of wine (or 3 or 4 in this case!) and some crafty friends will keep me sane throughout this process.

Leave Them Breathless

This week I got inspired to make a bouquet and centre piece for the budget conscious bride. I tried to think about the most cost effective items that were still beautiful.

I don't think people give Baby's Breath very much credit as most people consider it to be somewhat of a weed that's added to floral arrangements as a filler. The interesting thing is that it really is quite beautiful on its own and can fit into so many themes depending on how it's used.

Used in a bouquet it has a very country chic look about it.

THE BOUQUET HOW-TO

Materials.

- Five bunches of baby's breath $15.00, local florist

- Ribbon $0.99 cents per metre {with lots left over!}

- Boutonniere Pins 5.99 for 100 at Michael's

Total cost: $21.98

Steps.

1. Bunch approximately 5 bunches of Baby's Breath together so the centre top is a bight taller than the sides, giving it a nice round shape. {If you find you've got long and short pieces combined on one stem, snip the stems to separate the bunches so you have more smaller pieces to work with}. Leave the ends long. You can snip them to the right length later right before you add the ribbon.

2. Secure the stems with floral wire. Be sure to get as close to the base of the flowers as possible, for a nice clean look.

3. Cut a piece of card so it can wrap around the stem once. Secure with tape. This helps to smooth out the bumps in the stem so when your ribbon is wrapped, it's got a more polished look.

5. Cut all the ends at once for a nice clean base.

6.Begin wrapping your ribbon around the stem from top to bottom and secure with your boutonniere pins.

7. High five your neighbour for your job well done!

Used in a centre piece, it's got the most beautiful city posh look.

THE CENTRE PIECE HOW-TO

Material.
Glass Candlestick - $8.00, Winners Clearance

Florist's foam / Oasis - $2.99, Michael's

8 bunches of Baby's Breath, $18.00, local Florist

Total cost: $28.99

Steps.

1. Soak your Oasis/ Florist's foam as directed on the package.

2. Secure it to the top of your candlestick with crazy clue, tape, or whatever method works for you.

3. Snip the pieces of your Baby's Breath so they have about a 4-inch stem.

4. Begin sporadically placing the Baby's Breath into the foam. As you go, be sure to fill consistently so that there aren't and bald spots. Step back every now and then with a fresh set of eyes.

5. One satisfied you can no longer see the green oasis, place your hands on either side of the arrangement and ever so gently push the sides in and up to maximize its fullness.

6. Give yourself a pat on the back!

There are so many other things that I can imagine making. What about aisle decorations? Grab a round foam oasis and fill completely with flowers. Attach a ribbon from the top and hang from the side of the chair or pew.

Hope you are inspired to make your own!

Vintage Hats

My future mother-in-law loves to sew and be crafty.
Correction: LOVES to sew and be crafty.
So when she came up with this wicked idea to make vintage hats, I was immediately on board.  What a cool accessory for our lady guests if they feel so inspired to wear one!

Found in the VintageVogue section of the Vogue site, these patterns are so perfect for our vintage themed wedding. Not sure how hard these will be for a beginner sewer, but they sure are fantastic and I am so excited to see how these turn out!

Paper Buildings

I have absolutely fallen in love with the idea of using these paper building templates to build rad decorations. They are fantastically perfect for the 1930s Art Deco theme of our wedding and I am on the hunt for more!

I found free ones at Paper Toys and SkyscraperModels which seem to be as simple as having them printed to the appropriate size on cardstock and following the instructions to glue them together. Templates on Paper Toys seem to be easier and less detailed, so probably best to practice on these before tackling the one from SkyscraperModels.

Here's an example of the Empire State Building in NYC, completed in 1930.

And hey, if these don't work out, I've learned a thing or two about being incredibly crafty with foamcore and double sided tape from my visual merchandising days ;).