The groom’s wedding band. Typically not the most exciting part of the planning process. I mean, what do you do?  Engrave your initials?  A phrase?  Mayra had a song lyric engraved in her husband’s band. But, beyond that, a gold band is a gold band, right?  NOT ANYMORE!

One of my clients showed me this site as a thought about her soon to be husband’s wedding band and I thought it was at once beautiful and clever!  The Cameo Ring by Rux.  It turns your profile into jewelry that will last a lifetime.  They will turn your profiles into art and you will always be able to look down and “see” the face of your significant other: symbolic and pretty all at once.  And in 18K gold at prices that start around $1700, a worthwhile investment.

They also make bangles and baby rattles (so cool!) in a variety of colors!  So cute and meaningful.

Today is Veteran’s Day, so hug (or at least just say thank you) to someone you know who has served in the Armed Forces or supports a man or woman in the Armed Forces. Growing up, Veterans Day always seemed a holiday for the greatest generation, but now, after 10 years of being at war, Veteran’s Day is just as much a day for the young… and for those getting married!

There’s nothing quite as stunning as a military wedding… it’s the uniform, I’m sure. But behind the striking tradition and celebration is often a lot of stress and anxiety of dealing with wedding plans combined with the strains of serving, or returning from service. Please enjoy our board of Military Weddings through the years…. Your service and courage is greatly appreciated.

(credits from left to right: Aaron Watson Photography, Jennifer Weems via The Knot’s Military Weddings Channel, Brooke Courtney Photography, Vintage postcard, Vintage unnamed WW2 couple, Lisa Schaffer Photography, Dana Goodson Photography, and 1919 Military Couple.)

One of the greatest challenges being a bride is that it’s so hard sometimes to visualize things… and one of the greatest challenges being a designer/ florist/ visual vendor who is working with brides is to help the bride visualize! So, when I saw this App on Stylist Home, I immediately had to download it to PLAY, play, play!
How it works? Download it to your phone, take a photo of your dinner plate or charger plate that you might be looking at for the wedding reception, and then pick from their 101 shades of linen. If you are contemplating purchase for home, it’s even more amazing because they will direct you straight to the retailer (Sferra Bros) website. It’s really, honestly fantastic with the one exception of the fact that you can’t email PHOTOS of your plate/ linen combo, you can only share on facebook. I guess it isn’t worth doing if you can’t share it with your 850 other “friends” :-)
Here’s the link to the App!

One of my favorite teeny, tiny little details of Josh and Marni’s wedding this past spring was during our Taco Truck lunch.  They both love hot sauce and took the time to order these itty bitty bottles of Tabasco with their wedding logo on it.  If you look really closely, you can see a couple of teeny little bottles hanging out on the taco truck.

I just adored them and they were such a reasonable little add on to the budget!   For $77 you can get a case of 144 personalized little mini bottles of Tabasco (they are 3/4″ tall!).  If you aren’t sure what to do with them, consider having them at your brunch the next day on a Bloody Mary Bar or ordering the next size and tagging them for escort cards for a casual wedding. OR, one of my favorite favors that I’ve ever received was all of the ingredients for Louisiana baked beans in miniature packaged together in a little satchel.  It was in homage to the bride’s hometown, it came with a mini tabasco AND I thought of them as I cooked up my beans in a few weeks later!

Yesterday we had a delightful break from The Mondays where we gathered with some of our favorite ladies (and men) in the business for an intimate luncheon with Pinch Food Design, the newest, hottest thing in town when it comes to catering. And, in a town like NY that means it better be good.

Pinch was created by a team of people who have put in career time at some of New York’s most innovative, delicious caterers like Creative Edge and Great Performances. So the motivation was to really bring something new to the scene by integrating the menu items with design and presentation and.. to some extent preparation as well.

The entire concept behind Pinch is that it is NOT for the people who want food to look, or even be served in a traditional way.  Think hors d’oeuvres that are miniature versions of everything from lobster rolls to spaghetti and meatballs.  They specialize in food interactions. Don’t think carving stations, think the kind of party where one person gets handed mini chips and their neighbor gets a mini guacamole and voila! you are speaking and mingling and dipping your chips in someone’s dish. Or, as we experienced, having chefs come and assemble and prepare your small dishes right before your eyes. We had a diver scallop cruda.

My favorite part of the fun luncheon were the desserts: I had a nutella galette from a “jungle gym” of hanging pastries.  Too much fun.

The goal was to bring the innovative dining experiences that foodie couples are getting used to having at our many amazing restaurants to your private party.   Everything was yummy, and ideal for those looking to really celebrate food in an interactive way.  Let’s see where the food trends take us….