If you are planning a Snowflake Themed Wedding, here are a few craft projects from Micheals that you may be interested in:)

This snowflake wreath could be used as a centerpiece, place a rented hurricane glass in the middle with a candle burning in the middle. You could also use some white gosgrain ribbon and hang the on the church doors, above the alter or any place that needs a little something.

This  is a very simple yet lovely idea for a wedding favor. You can purchase the bags, and add the snowflake accents and ribbon. Fill with mints, white chocolates, white candies….

This snowflake  needlework design is actually fairly simple to complete and would be a great way to customize a table cloth, napkins, tabel runners, etc. If could also be done on white in a pale blue or silver color.

Another way to accent a table cloth, runner or napkin is to use stencils, fabric dye and spray on fabric paint. This table runner was dyed blue and then stenciled with white spray paint. You could do silver on white, white on silver, blue on silver, or blue on white as well.

Here is another unique idea that could be used for Save The Date cards, thank you cards or wedding favors. It is a card, with a detachable ornament keepsake. You could use these as wedding favors and include a thank you note inside so your thank you notes are taken care of:)

DIY Projects for Brides, Decorations, Snowflake Weddings, Theme Weddings, Wedding Favors, Winter Weddings | No Comments »

One of the most popular themes for a winter wedding is SnowFlakes. Here is a selection of unique, snowflake-themed wedding cakes for a winter wedding.

Snowflake Weddings, Wedding Cakes, Winter Weddings | No Comments »

In school, we all learned the four seasons - those of us in the wedding industry know a few extra seasons. There is “Wedding Season” which runs from May - August and is the most popular time of year for a wedding. And then there is the “Engagement Season” from December - February. More engagements happen during those 3 months then the rest of the year combined.

Jewellers like Abazias Diamonds know that the next three months will be filled with future brides and grooms looking for the perfect ring. Abazias Diamonds features over 80,000 loose diamonds and a wide selection of jewelry at wholesale prices. For many brides, this is the first thing they purchase, if it wasn’t already purchased before. Here are a few tips to help you save money as your search for that perfect ring:

- Shop online - or at least comparison shop - but take some time to learn aobut the different cuts and clarities so that you know what to look for

- Watch for sales. Shopping just before Christmas or Valentine’s Day is not a budget wise decision - instead, watch for sales after these holidays are over or into the summer months.

- Get Insurance!!! Once you make the investment - protect it! In most cases, you can added this protection to your home insurance for a minimal cost.

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I promised a while back that I would share what I learned while making these wedding cakes for my sister’s wedding last month so here goes:) I will start by sharing info on actually baking the cakes:)

First, I have to confess something - I used box cakes, lol. They are affordable and taste good but tend to be to light for a wedding cake. To resolve this problem,  I added a 1/2 cup of flour to each mix. This makes the cakes a little heavier and they hold their moisture much better as well.

To actually cook the cakes, I used three different size cake pans: 14″, 10″ and 8″. The 14″ takes 3 boxes (or 3 regular size cake recipes), the 10″ takes 2, the 8″ takes 1.

Preparing the cake pans:

These cakes take a while to cook, so you want them to come out nicely. I sprayed each pan with PAM Cooking Spray, and then coated with flour. I also traced the shape of the pan on parchement paper, cut it out and placed the cut out parchment paper on the bottom of the pan before pouring in the batter.

Another concern with a wedding cake is avoiding that ugly bump in the middle of a cake. To fix this, you can purchase Cake Bake Strip which are special strips that you soak in water and then wrap around the outside of the pan. This helps distribute the heat evenly so you get a flat, even cake.

For large cakes, like the 14″, you also need something in the middle. I used a tin can, cleaned and delabled. I placed it in the middle with a bit of batter in it then poured the rest of the batter around it. Once cooked, this bit of batter filled the whole in the middle. Make sure you spray and flour inside and outside of your can.

Cooking Times:

At 325 - the 14″ took almost 2 hours, the 10″ took just over an hour and the 8″ took just over 30 minutes. Once the cakes were done, let them sit and cool about 10 minutes, then flip cake onto cooling racks.

Filling:

You can buy special cutting tools for this - I jus tused a long knife. I am not terribly brave - so I cut only once. I cut each layer in half, lined the centers with raspberry jam, and then placed the halves back together. If you have the time and want to, you can cut the cake into three layers and feel in between each. You could even use different fillings in each center: chocolate icing in one, raspberry filling in the other, etc.

Coming Later: Decorating:)

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More then a month ago, I agreed to do a review of an EBook for a friend. I expected it to be a very easy project - read the book, tell everyone what i like about it, end of story. Then, they sent me the cook. The moment I opened the file, I knew this one deserved more time.

I printed out the entire book, punched holes, and put it in a binder. Then, I got out my highlighter to start marking out the good stuff. Well, now i have a VERY colorful binder, lol.

Tim and Lisa Spooner are a young couple who know what it means to plan on a budget - they planned their entire wedding for under $2000!  After enjoying their beautiful, affordable wedding - they decided to put all the things they learned into writing to help other couples save money on their weddings as well - Dream Weddings On A Budget is the result! No matter what your budget is - be it $10,000 or $1000 - this eBook contains valuable insights to help you maximize your resources and create a Dream Wedding On A Budget.

In my time as a Budget Wedding Writer, I have only once recommended spending money on a planning book - this makes it two. Dream Weddings On A Budget is only $12.95 - and will save you so much that it is an expense that you NEED to take!

To make it even better - Dream Weddings On A Budget also comes with a ton of bonuses: Wedding Planning Software, Wedding Planner’s Guides, Schedule and Charts, Wedding Ministers Resource Kit and a Personal Wedding Website! Those bonuses alone could cost you hundreds! No matter how you look at it - it’s a good deal!

I mentioned this book briefly a few weeks ago - and at that time, I said that it was by far the best wedding planning book online today - and now that I have finished inspecting it - I would like to say it again - it is THE BEST and you will not regret the small investment.

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For Engagements that is. Christmas is the second most popular tim or year for popping the questions - after Valentine’s Day. No surprise there and retailers know it to. The next 4 months will be the busiest part of the year for jewelers selling engagement ring.

With the flood of proposals each year -comes a flood of brides sporting pricey engagement rings and asking “What do I do first?”. I get asked this a lot, and generally, my answer is: Set a date, set a budget. But, actually, there is something you should do first and that is look into and purchase insurance.

If you own a home, your engagement ring may be covered in your home owners policy - if not, you should look into insurance options for your new ring. Then you can concentrate on wedding planning without worrying about losing your engagement ring.

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Many brides have asked for ways to honor loved ones who have recently passed away. Here are a few ideas I have seen used at recent weddings:

Some couples have choosen to have a special candle at the alter in honor of those who could not be there in person - usually this candle is lite at the beginning of the ceremony by someone close to the deceased - your grandma or parent for example. It can be done at the beginning of the processional, or as part of the ceremony.

Other couples have set up a seperate place of honor, were they place a picture and candle or other memorabilia. You can do this at the church, or at the reception location.

Another option is to have a special reading - a passage, a poem, ort even a song, etc - in honor of that loved one.

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Well, weddings are expensive - and offering a FREE wedding is a great way to get some attention. PayPerPost has some smart, if not a little wacky, marketing staff who have come up with the idea of sponsoring a PayPerPost wedding!

Three couples are vying for the chance to be the first PayPerPost couple! The winners are going to get a true Vegas wedding: their certificate, ceremony, wedding night hotel and a $1000 spending money.

Personally, I’m voting for  Mike & Corrin. Why? Well honestly, it was a hard choice - I think all three are more then deserving - but in the end, it was the puppy that swayed my vote:) It seems I am not alone - after I voted, I learned that they are currently in first with 52% of the votes!
Who did you vote for? Voting ends November 8th.

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- christmas candies or chocolates

- shaped cookies (snowflakes, gingerbread men, etc) One wedding I attended last winter had gingerbread snowflakes with icing sugar sprinkled on top

- evergreen seedlings - there are actually companies who specialize in these! Treat each guest to a small evergreen seedling, planted in a small terracotta pot decorated to match the decor. They can then plant the seedling in spring!

- mistletoe

- fruitcake

- hot chocolate cones - who doesn’t love hot chocolate in winter? Buy a gourmet hot chocolate mix, and divide into individual servings. Place each serving in a small paper cone (make them from parchement or buy them premade) Top with marshmallows, twist, and tie shut with a ribbon. Insert a small candy cane into the ribbons.

- candy canes

- ornaments

Christmas Weddings, Wedding Favors, Winter Weddings | No Comments »

I took a dress to the cleaners today and there, hanging in the pick up area, was a dress I designed!! It was an awesome feeling, I couldn’t resist pointing it out to the lady at the counter, lol. It was the dress shown here, which I designed for a good friend’s wedding earlier this year.

Anyway - I had to take tell someone about it. It felt almost as awesome as it did watching her walk down the aisle in it!

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