One growing trend predicted to be hot in 2008 is the bird cage veil. Made popular originally by Reese in Sweet Home Alabama and then seen on Jessica in The Fantastic Four.

Katherine Heigl gave the trend a huge boost when pictures of her December 07 appeared in OK Magazine spotting a stunning, chic birdcage veil with gorgeous pear shaped drop earrings!

Want the look, on a budget? Of course you do!! Take a look at what we found!

Birdcage Veils on Ebay, including the one shown above, sell for between $32-$60 ($38 for the one shown). You can also find a variety of colors including white, ivory, pink, red and black.

But - it’s more then just the veil that makes Heigl’s look pop - the stunning pear or teardrop shaped diamond earrings are amazing as well! So - we thought we better get some options for that as well:)

This first find is from Blair- a $126 pair of CZ earrings currently on for $59.99.

Then, I found a little jackpot over at Emitations - check out these amazing styles!

Prices, in order shown: $35, $119, $59, $65, $65, $89, $49.95 and $22.50

The Miaarte has these three gorgeous sets, each $23/pair.

Enjoy:) I anticipate another post on this look later this week, just don’t want to throw to much at you at once:)

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Having been a successful video producer for almost fifteen years, it was only natural that my sister would ask me to videotape the most important day of her life – her wedding.

I was thrilled. This was going to be my wedding present to her and her new husband – who was going to be impressed by the creative talents of his new sister-in-law.

My video camera was in perfect working order. I made sure to have lots of extra battery power and plenty of videotape stock. A last minute sound check assured me that the hand-held microphone was working fine.

Videotaping went smoothly as I made sure to capture all the happy activities that neither the bride or groom would see on their wedding day: the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready…wedding guests arriving…the best man tying the groom’s bow tie, and an impromptu and very funny interview with the Justice of the Peace who was officiating at the ceremony.

It was finally time for the big moment. The wedding was taking place in the expansive, beautifully lush backyard of my sister’s home. I found the perfect spot to capture her walk down the aisle, making sure not to block the view of any of the seated guests. The entrance of the bridesmaids went off without a hitch.

As the music changed, signaling the start of my sister’s momentous march toward her new life, I was suddenly overcome with emotion. I began to cry, and tremble uncontrollably. I couldn’t hold the camera still. Yes…you read that right! I, the consummate video professional, was HOLDING the video camera. I made the monumental mistake of failing to use one of the most essential pieces of equipment any videographer should have – a tripod.

It doesn’t matter if you use a VHS camera, DV cam or film camera – a tripod is one of the MOST IMPORTANT pieces of equipment that is used during the taping of a wedding. A tripod ensures that shots are STABLE, while providing CONTROLLED flexibility to perform simple zooms and pans.

Needless to say, my sister’s big moment was ruined and she will never get that moment back. And even though she has forgiven me, her wedding video is a topic we avoid.

The moral of the story: Learn from my mistake. Videotaping an important event, such as a wedding, where you only get ONE CHANCE to get it right, means that you shouldn’t forget the tripod.

Just ask my sister.

Article by:

Olivia Romero is an independent video producer with over 15 years experience writing, producing, directing and editing. Olivia teaches couples how to save substantial money by producing their own professional-looking wedding video. Its easy and fun! To learn more visit Wedding Video Secrets

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For our butterfly theme brides - here is some wedding sugar from my cousin’s wedding this past weekend:) Enjoy. When I return from Chicago, I will spend some time sharing some of my favorite parts of her wedding with you:) For now, I hope this sparks some inspiration for you.

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Recently, I posted an article full of ideas for a elegant affordable candy buffet. One of the idea’s I shared was to search thrift shops and sales for glass containers. This week I found an awesome deal at a local thrift shop for our candy buffet - I got all three of these containers for $1.50! They are glass, and the lids need some work. I am going to sand the lids a little and spray paint them white. It will probably end up costing about $5 for all three when they are done!

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On March 18th, I attended my second wedding for 2006. This wedding was special for me as well. My baby girl was the flower girl, and the bride was a very dear friend of mine. She was also wearing one of my dresses, which was exciting for me:)

The most spectacular thing about the wedding was the children! The bride owns a private daycare and has a lot of children in her life. Her wedding party contained 14 people, 8 of those were children! She had three “Angels” who were escorted up the aisle by 3 page boys, and dropped petals along the way. Then my 2 year old was driven up the aisle in a little electric riding toy! It was adorable.

Surprisingly, with all those children involved, the wedding was very calm and uneventful! The bride lost her voice the night before, and it was hard to hear her saying the vows, but that was okay. The people witnessing heard, her husband heard and God heard. That’s all that matters.

The wedding, with about 300 guests, was followed by a catered dinner including table service. The bride and groom choose not to have a dance, but their families put together a fun program for the guests to enjoy before the evening was over. It was lovely!

Some of the ways they saved money: The wedding dress was $300 from Chrys Cross Bridal. All four flower girl dresses were bought on ebay for less then $100 total: including shipping!! The organza bags used for favors and the white silk callla lillies used for the boutineirres were also purchased on ebay. The catering was done by the local ladies auxillary group who charged $300 to prepare and serve the food. The bride was able to then purchase the food in bulk and save a great deal of money. The decor featured white pillars with cherubs and lots of faux trees and ivy. These were rented, and created a romantic garden feel for a very low price. The invitations were hand made: a engagment picture was printed in black and white, and navy blue card stock was cut just slightly larger then the picture. Then a corner punch was used to create heart shaped slits at each corner to hold the picture. The invitation was printed on frosted vellum and placed over the picture. They wedding program was made using paper from the stationary store with a daisy design on one side. The program details were printed on the inside, and then they were rolled up and held together by a little silver ring (you get them for about 5 cents a peice at the craft store).One of Christine’s dearest friends is a ex-wedding cake decorator, so she asked is she could provide the cake. She made a wonderful three layer cake with a weave design, accented with a few fresh burgundy gerbera’s(the same ones used in the bridesmaid bouquets).

Picture 1: the flower girl(my baby) and the programs by the guestbook table

Picture 2: the flower girl and ring bearer getting ready to go up the aisle

Picture 3: The new couple!

More pictures available on the Real Weddings page at Chrys Cross Bridal: http://chryscrossbridal.com/real.htm

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A reader recently posted a comment on one of our posts called Using Table Markers to Enhance Your Theme. Their comment was so good, I thought it deserved it’s own post:

I am taking the table naming to a more personal level. I have picked out important events my husband-to-be and I share throughtout our relationship.

For example, the first time we ever spoke to one another was at a coffee stand. So, one of the tables will be named “Cafe o’ Le” followed by a very brief description on why it is named that.

I just feel personal is the way to go at weddings. Think about it, everyone is there to share this wonderful step in a couples life!

Enjoy!

Now THAT is a great idea!!

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You’ve probably heard my wedding story in short form “2 weeks, 200 guests, $4000″. I thought now might be a ncice time to share some more about my own wedding:) I was engaged on May 14th and married May 29, 1999.

Cermony: My parents owned a 5 acre lot completely surrounded by trees, so we had our ceremony there underneath a large tree. The natural surrounding was lovely in late spring, so nto much was needed for decor. We rented white chairs and a heavy aisle runner. We had a small table at the front with a white table cloth. My mom placed a white pot full of pink flowers in front and my bouquet or white roses and orchids went on the table for pictures as well. We also had two pots of flowers on either side of the aisle. We didn’t really have a “theme” in mind but looking back, if I had to pinpoint the theme of my wedding it would be Spring Flowers.

Clothes: At first, we were a little concerned. The guys had gone and rented tuxedos complete with tails! Now, we needed to find 4 matching dresses that were formal enough - within a week! Each girl came with $300, expecting to have to pay a lot to make that happen. We had decided that each girl would find her own dress in a pastel color, as that would work with the spring setting. The first store we stopped in was actually for one of the girls who needed jeans - it specialized in funky tees and jeans - and carried maybe 2 dresses per season. There, one of the girls spotted a pale blue summer gown, with a navy blue floral print on it. It was a summery dress, but floor length with spagetti straps so it looked fairly formal. As luck would have it - they had exactly 4 left, one in each size we needed - and they were $49 each!!! Each girl bought a pair of strappy sandals and white elbow length gloves to add an extra touch. The guys then surprised us by showing up for the ceremony with matching sunglasses - which helped to ton down their tuxedos and pulled the whole look together.

My Dress: I had originally planned to wear my mother-in-laws wedding gown. She had a beautiful gown, and when Dave and I first discussed getting married, she offered to let me have it. It was a vintage gown, which I was going to update by removing the sleeves and high color for a simpler strapless look. But, we decided at the last minute to have the wedding BEFORE the baby - and at 5 months pregnant, I couldn’t get it zippered:( In the ended, I borrowed a stunning, $3000 custom gown made for my cousin. It was not really my style, my wedding dress would have been much simpler - but my husband thought it was amazing.

The Ceremony: We were fortunate enough to find a hall that was available and my mom and her sisters did a beautiful job of decorating it in pinks and blues for me. My dad’s secretary (whom I worked with) knew someone who had 25 cherub centerpieces from her wedding and I was able to borrow them for free - we placed them with candles and potpourri as our centerpieces. After the wedding, she offered to let me buy two of them off of her for $10 so I kept them as a keepsake. Other decorations included: candles, balloons, streamers, ivy, icicle lights, a bride doll, a wall collage featuring pictures of us growing up, and white trees with lights behind the head table.

My uncles and aunts provided the meal as my wedding gift. They served meatballs, chicken, potatoes, veggies, jello, coleslaw, etc. We had most of the regular wedding rituals - untiy candle, cake cutting, first dance, bouquet toss, etc - but one thing we did cut out was the garter toss. I mean really - 5 months pregnant - by that time in the evening, my feet and legs were so swollen there was NO way a garter was going on or off, lol.

Our wedding cake was also a gift. My dad’s shop foreman and his wife - well mostly his wife - made up a goregous cake with a pink, white and blue basket weave design, 3 tiers, pillars, white silk flowers and swans. It also had an adorable little precious moments topper. The top two layers were fake, and we kept them for almost 6 years before they were damaged in a move. The bottom layer we ate the next day with our families as we opened gifts and cards at my parents home.

Regrets? Well, I would have liked to have had my own dress of course - but looking back I am happy with the way it turned out. Except maybe the veil - everytime I look at the pictures I think “What the *** was I thinking?” - I guess it just goes to show that styles change very quickly, lol.

 

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So, Joanne is offically a Mrs. now - the wedding took place this weekend and was even better then we had hoped. The professional pics are not back yet of course, but here are some pictures I took myself.

This is the alter at the front of the church. During the ceremony, the photographer was the only one allowed to take pictures to avoid distractions - so I will have to wait to show more of the ceremony. It was a fairly flawless ceremony: except for a flower girl who’s dad helped her up the aisle. She was only three, and the crowd scared her, but it was so cute. The ceremony also included two vocal solos by a friend of the bride that were beautiful.

Following the ceremony, the wedding party climbed into a limo with the photographer for a series of surprise photo shoots. The first stop was McDonald’s were the couple posed with the child attendents and wedding party for some fun shoots before the little ones headed home for some down time before the reception. The rest of the wedding party the continued on to a number of surprise locations including: a Convertible Mustang in a Ford dealership, the fire hall, a local park with a gazebo, an elegant home in town with an amazing fireplace setting and more.

The reception had a fall / daisies / orange & yellow theme. Here, you can see the table settings, as well as a close up of the centerpieces with the cutlery set and favors. Below you will see the head table, with a centerpiece that was also used as the unity candle arrangement standing on the signing table during the ceremony.

The forecast for the weekend called for thunderstorms with a chance of snow, so to be safe, the decorator set up two photo sets in the reception hall. This one, on the left of the head table, featured hay bales, leaves, flowers, plants, pumpkins and more - even accented with a few fake mice and a spider! Family pictures were taken in front of this set-up. The arch from the ceremony was placed on the other side, with plants, candles and a wrought iron bench for a second photo spot, as well as a backdrop for the area were the presentations and speeches took place.

And last but not least - the cakes. If you follow my blog regularly, you’ve been waiting for this! This is my first attemted at a wedding cake in fondant! The larger cake is white, the smaller is chocolate (in retrospect, more people wanted chocolate so the larger should have been chocolate). The topper is a discontinued design from 1982 that we found on eBay for $60 (similar models in store were $125 - $150). As promised, I will be posting more on the cake-making process, including the things I learned in the process - in another post:)

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So - my journey into cake making has officially begun. This weekend, I will be making my first wedding cake for an actual wedding! Actually, I am making two. One will be white, with 3 layers (14″, 10″ and 8″) and the other will be chocolate with 2 layers (10″ and 8″). I am covering them in fondant icing and decorating them with flowers to match her bouquet.

Last month, I attended a Fondant Cake Class with one of my sisters were we learned how to work with fondant. Today, I made my first batch of fondant icing. At the class, we used premade fondant but I decided to try making it as the premade is quite costly. Anyway, as it turns out, the homemade stuff is VERY easy to make AND tastes much better then the premade stuff!!(recipe below) I used almond extract instead of vanilla which gives it a great hint of almond taste. When we decorate the cakes on Saturday morning, we will be using buttercream icing underneath. This serves two purposes: it helps with taste, and it acts as a glue: holding the fondant to the cakes!

So: check back over the next few days as I will be sharing photos and tips I learn while baking the cakes, decorating, stacking, etc. To start off with: here is the fondant recipe I used.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. of Icing Suger (1 KG)

1 envelope Knox Gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup glucose (from cake decorating supply stores or craft stores)

1 1/2 tablesppons glycerine (over the counter at the pharmacy, I got mine at walmart for $2)

1 teaspoon clear vanilla or almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 3/4 of the sifted icing sugar in a large bowl, make a hole in the center.

2. Place 1/4 cup water in the top of a double boiler and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let is absorb the liquid. Once it has absorbed all the liquid, put over boiling water in the bottom of the double boiler. Add glucose, glycerine and vanilla, stirring well until all is melted and well blended (MY NOTE: I don’t have a double boiler, so I used two pots, boiled a little water in the bottom one and then placed the smaller one, with the ingredients, into the larger one. My sister said she used a metal bowl placed over a pot of boiling water)

3. Add liquid to well or hole in center of the bowl of icing sugar. Work in mixture slowly with a spoon and then by hand until all sugar is absorbed. Scrape out dough onto a clean counter sprinkled with someof the remaining icing sugar. Knead in balance of the icing sugar if needed. Stop when fondant no longer feels sticky to the touch.

4. Divide into managable portions and place in plastic bags that can be sealed. Be sure to place the bags in an airtight container and store in a cool place. Fondant can be stored for a day or two once sealed in this manner.

COLORING:

You can color your fondant by adding food coloring to the liquid before mixing with sugar. But, if you want more control over the exact color, want a hard-to-get color (black, red, etc), or want to color only part of it: you will need to buy Paste Color from a cake decorating supply shop. You then color the fondant by dipping a toothpick in the color and poking it into the fondant: then knead the color in until blended evenly.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED:

This depends on the size and number of layers. One recipe will do both a 8″ and 10″, or one 14″ with a little left over for rope edges (made by rolling fondant into thin snakes and twisting together). For myself, I am making 3 batches in order to cover all 5 layers and make thin ropes for the edges.

DIY Weddings, Real Weddings, Wedding Cakes | 3 Comments »

I have posted ideas for DIY wedding cakes in the past - and when it comes to using fondant, I have always suggested practicing a few times first so you are comfortable with it. When Joanne asked me to do her wedding cake, I decided to take my own advice and signed up for a fondant cake decorating class at Evelyn’s Cake Decorating Supply shop in Winnipeg. My sister, who has attended classes here in the past, took the 2 hour class with me.

It was a wonderful experience - and I learned that with the right tools, fondant is actually very easy to work with: much easier then regular icing when it comes to a weddng cake! Here are some of the things I learned:

1. Premade fondant is easier to work with then homemade fondant.

2. The fondant starts to harden if it is left out to long. On a cake, the moisture from the cake keeps it moist. In other words: if you aren’t using it, put it in a sealed bag.

3. You should not use regular food coloring to color fondant. You need to use food coloring paste from a cake decor supplier. Dip a toothpick in the color paste, and stick it into the fondant. Kneed and stretch until the color is evenly spread out.

4. You should pick up a few sheets of study plastic from walmart (like the ones you see us using in the pictures. Draw circles on one as guides and lighty spray with cooking spray - then wipe off. You need the fondant rolled 6″ bigger then the cake: so 14″ for an 8″ cake, 16″ for a 10″ cake, etc. The side facing you when you roll will be the top, so you want to make sure it is smooth. Once you have it rolled, cover with a second sheet of plastic, ungreased. Flip. Remove the first sheet of plastic. Now you flip it onto the cake. I found the best was to have your hand in the middle underneath, and then line it up so when you flip, your hand is in the middle of the cake.

5. You need to coat the cake with something before putting the fondant on. We used gelatin - but for taste reasons, buttercream icing is a better choice. Right before you roll the fondant, you should cover your cake with the buttercream so it is ready.

6. We got a smoothing tool in our kits to smooth out the top and get rid of air that could cause bubbles later on. Then, you smooth the sides by pulling out pleats a little at a time and then smoothing down with your palm gently. Once you have it smooth all around, you trim the edges and use a small spatula to push the bottom in. On a real cake, you would leave a little extra and tuck it right under the cake a little.

7. You can use fondant in molds - much like playdoh! You smooth it into a mold and then pull it out with a toothpick. The ribbon and bow details on our cakes were made with molds. This is very useful! You can get chocolate/baking molds in many many shapes: hearts, cherubs, bows, etc. You could also roll the fondant flat and cut out shapes with cookie cutters! These details are then attached to the cake using some sort of glue: we used gelatin, you could use buttercream icing or melted chocolate as well.
So, that is most of what I learned, lol. I HIGHLY recommend finding a local class so you can learn first hand how to do this before you do your cake. It was a rewarding experience - and now that I know how easy it is to do - I see some fondant cakes for birthday parties and such in the near future:)

Oh, and I also learned that the waiter at Olive Garden is very cute - at least my sister thought so, lol.

AND (how could I forget this) ICING SUGAR - use it like flour: if the fondant is sticky, to cover the kneading surface, on the rolling pin and spatula, etc.

DIY Weddings, Real Weddings, Wedding Cakes | 2 Comments »