WEDDINGS TRENDS: VARIATIONS ON A GUEST BOOK

A Bible, guitar, a cookbook, even Jenga game blocks! Brides and grooms are coming up with unique and creative ways to remember their wedding day by asking guests to forego signing a typical guest book in favor of something more personal to them. My good friends at The Sonnet House, one of my favorite wedding and event venues (located in Leeds, Alabama) have shared some wonderful and personal variations on the traditional wedding guest book. Here are some of my favorites...

Photo by Alisha Crossley Photography at The Sonnet House Leeds, Alabama

This bride and groom asked their wedding guests to highlight a favorite bible verse in a family Bible and sign it. Each time they look through the Bible over the years of their marriage, they will be reminded of their wedding day and the family and friends assembled to wish them well.

Photo by Amy Carson Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

This couple had their wedding guests sign a guitar which they will hang on a wall in their new home as a reminder of their wedding day.

Photo by LaShay Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

In keeping with the selfie station trend you find at many events these days, using a Fujifilm instax™ Mini 8 camera and smartphone wireless printer, this couple had family and friends take a selfie which was printed on the spot and clothespined to a rustic board for the wedding. Later, the couple will assemble the photos into a keepsake wedding guest album. Find the camera at Michael's, Wal-Mart, Amazon, etc. From $70.

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Photos by Rob and Wynter Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

This creative couple will be able to relive their wedding day each time they pull out the Jenga blocks! If you have a large guest list, you may need to provide several games to accommodate all your guests good wishes. Afterwards, these wooden blocks can be fixed to a frame and hung as a piece of art.

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Photo by SCB Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

One of my favorite wedding guest book ideas for foodies, cooks and food lovers: have wedding guests sign pages in a favorite cookbook! Love this! Maybe one day, a bride and groom will have guests sign MY cookbook!

Many thanks to Ellen, Jared & Corey at The Sonnet House and all of the couples and photographers for the inspiration.

WEDDINGS: PLAN A WEDDING IN ONE WEEK? YES, I DID!

When a lifelong friend and longtime bachelor calls you on April Fool’s Day and says… “I got engaged yesterday and I want to get married THIS coming Saturday AND we want you to plan the wedding”… the normal reaction is to bust out laughing. Which I did. But when he says he’s serious, it is time to jump on the planning ASAP. Here’s how I pulled together a beautiful, sentimental family wedding in only one week. And here are the photos to prove it.

When you have less than a week to pull together a wedding, you don’t have time to procrastinate and stress about the decisions you are making. You have to make decisions and move on… and that’s what we did. No time to sweat the little things! Trusting your planner is essential:)

I was the vendor for just about everything. I was the planner, the chef, the florist, and even rental delivery… just about everything. What I could not make, I purchased. The one vendor I did hire was the photographer, Mo Davis from Arden Photography. Mo is a rock star, capturing every moment and every detail. Advice to brides: don’t skimp on the photos. The pictures and the memories last a lifetime. AND I must thank my sweet friends Jared and Corey from The Sonnet House in Leeds, Alabama. Corey made the lovely bridal bouquet and boutonnieres… aren’t they beautiful!

For the decor, the couple wanted a rustic theme to fit the farm setting so we used bales of pine straw, pots of spring flowers, branches, burlap, moss, Mason jars, rustic lanterns, and lots of candles. The pine straw along with the flats and pots of spring flowers were used at the front gate and also for the ceremony site. The couple has already planted those in their yard to enjoy all summer long. We also did not want to have to worry with rental china so we opted for this eco-friendly recycled paper and bamboo place settings which were recycled again after the event!

We continued the rustic theme throughout the decor and for the food service. Wooden serving trays, cutting boards, bowls were all used. Charcuterie of cured meats, cheeses, and sausages plus grilled lamb pops were waiting for guests after the ceremony. For the main course, we kept it down on the farm with smoked pulled pork over organic grits and collard greens. For dessert, the two-tiered wedding cake was vanilla butter cream and filled with layers of homemade lemon curd and raspberry preserves. Since there was going to be a fire in the fire pit after dark, I made my signature s’mores with Nutella instead of a groom’s cake and also made plenty as favors for guests to take home.

Wishing a lifetime of happiness to my sweet friends… thank you for letting me be a part of your day! Thanks to my assistant Caroline, my grill master Brad, Lauren, Kristal, and Sohaila along with Mo and Jared and Corey from the Sonnet House in Leeds. You made this easy!

TABLES & DECOR: COTTON CANDY TREE AND CANDY TABLE IDEAS

We did this adorable cotton candy tree and candy table for my sweet friend Kristina’s wedding and it has been the most shared PIN I’ve had on Pinterest. What a fun idea for a wedding reception, a birthday party or centerpiece for a candy bar or candy table buffet for any occasion: anniversaries, baby showers, graduation parties, sweet sixteen parties, Quinceañera or even school parties for Easter or Valentine’s Day parties. Since you can find or make cotton candy in almost any color, it is a great way to tie a color scheme to your party theme.

COTTON CANDY TREE HOW-TO

Decide on a color for the candy. You can readily find cotton candy in lots of colors- even at the dollar store and Wal-Mart. Kristina’s wedding colors were blue and green so she opted for blue cotton candy. There are lots of online stores for cotton candy with tons of colors and cheaper prices if you have the time to order. You can always make your own cotton candy but you’ll need to use it quickly; it will not hold more than a day before it begins to shrink and  sort of melt. If the weather is very humid, you’ll need to use it immediately.

Get tiny glycine envelopes or plastic treat bags from the party store or hobby store. Make up labels with your name, monogram, or a photo and affix them to the bag. Oriental Trading Company has the clear mini-treat bags $1.99 for two dozen.

You’ll need a tree branch for the arrangement. A manzanita branch works well. I got branches from the yard… but hobby or floral supply stores have several different types if you don’t happen to have a yard.

Secure the branches in a tall vase. You’ll need something to really weight it down. The “trunk” part of the branch needs to be pretty long if you are going to use a tall vase. We used river rock in the base for weight and filled the vase with water so it was very heavy. Be sure to push the tree to the center of the table so children will not be tempted to pull on it. You should not use a glass container if the party is for kids. Use a plastic vase or a sand pail filled with sand (add a little water to wet the sand for weight) for a kids party.

Tie the bags of cotton candy to the tree with matching ribbon. We also tied several pairs of mini craft (not pointy) scissors to the tree so guests could snip the cotton candy. To make sure the centerpiece tied in with the other wedding decor, I clustered some Hydrangea in wedding colors around the top of the vase.

Under the cotton candy tree, we put glass bowls, cylinders, and vases filled with different candies along with mini Chinese take-out boxes so guests could take home a treat from the couple. Easter candy is out so now would be a good time to find an assortment in the stores… but the day after Easter, all of the left-over candy will be 1/2 off so stock up for your next party or wedding.