Make your own "April Blossom"

Here's the "April Blossom" cocktail recipe that was created by a mixologist for our New Orleans bride.  Happy drinking!

April Blossom

1 ounce sweetened passion fruit puree

3/4 ounce Strawberry puree 

1/2 ounce your favorite Vodka

3 ounces champagne

Preparation

Assemble in a pitcher the two purees and the vodka and stir to blend; try to find the large glass pitchers that are wider at the top… that will allow you to pour the champagne gently down the side of the pitcher while gently pulling the puree up from the bottom with a long bar spoon. Pouring gently helps to avoid losing the bubbles. Strain into a champagne flute glass and garnish with a half strawberry.

New Orleans--Sneak Peek

Here are some images from our New Orleans event a few weeks ago.  Sean Randall was the fantastic photographer for this wedding.  As you can see, the couple had their own New Orleans Brass Band lead guests in a traditional "Second Line" while waving white handkerchiefs and carrying drinks.  The "Second Line" walked from the courtyard ceremony to the reception.   We'll post more images from the reception next week.  Guests were greeted with an "April Blossom" cocktail upon arriving at the reception.  Also, stay tuned Carrie leaves for a Turks & Caicos wedding on Tuesday...

Daily Inspiration

More Justin & Mary

We posted some images yesterday from the always-talented Justin & Mary Marantz.  More eye candy.  Enjoy.

Daily Inspiration

Justin & Mary Marantz

Justin & Mary Marantz are incredible photogs out of CT.  We love their unobtrusive style, fresh take on wedding photography, and of course, their infectious personalities.  Here are some images of their work--we know you will adore them as soon as you lay your eyes on these...  Enjoy.  And*more*later.

Daily Inspiration

Daily Inspiration

"To Do" List

General:  Listening the the always-classic tunes aired on Johnny Cash Show.  New York: Check out the Tribeca Film Festival that has now over-taken our hood.  Always fans of the "drive-in" at the pier, we remember when the festival showed the final episode of friends at the Drive-in.  So sad.  L.A.: The Annenburg Community Beach House Opens this weekend.  Once the guest house of Marion Davies, the club is a five acre spread along the Santa Monica beach.  You can also pre-order a picnic for opening weekend.

Daily Inspiration

Local Flavor

I cannot get enough of anything André Balazs, so when I found this I knew it is the perfect way to incorporate some local flavor into your gift bags.  If you are planning a Hamptons wedding this summer, think Sunset Beach and their new wine.  You'll guests will **loveit** and Rosé is a great summer wine.   Just like Balazs' properties (xoMarmont) the bottle is vintage and lovely.  Perfect gift.

Daily Inspiration

Being Green: Catering

As you know, there is so much food wasted at weddings and events.  The excess can sometimes be overwhelming.  However, we thought we would share with you an eco-friendly way to serve your guests at your wedding:  Be a Locavore.  What does that mean?  Here's a link that explains the philosophy in more depth, but to provide a synopsis: use and serve local foods.  We have a wedding next month on a beautiful flower farm in the hills of Litchfield, CT, and because the bride and her family want to be eco-conscious when serving their wedding meal, they have decided to use local, grass-fed beef, that has been raised on their farm.  With the help of the always-fabulous Marcey Brownstein Catering, we plan to have the beef that has been raised on the property serve as the meal for guests.  Not only will it reduce waste by using the local beef, but we also plan to serve this as the main option, other than a vegetarian one, to also reduce waste of providing choices and over-ordering large quantities of food.  We love the idea.  Happy Earth Day!

Daily Inspiration

Earth Week: Rebel Green

We're sure you've heard of the rad company Rebel Green.  They provide a line of eco-friendly products ranging from veggie wash to tote bags and even baby onesies --all so retro and too cute.  Definitely check-out the site and invest in some great products that are eco-conscious.  Here's a bit more about the company...

Ali Ruvin and Melina Marcus created Rebel Green because they love fashion and beauty, but also wanted to make the world a prettier place by giving back and being eco-conscious. Rebel Green was born out of the determination to design chic, edgy, rebellious and eco-friendly products for men, women and children. We, at Rebel Green, create products made right here in the USA that are specifically designed to minimize waste and motivate a fundamental shift in thinking about our impact on the planet we share.

Style has power and our goal is to get people to become fashionably eco-conscious. We know our designs must have a bigger impact than what’s out there. Let’s start with the simple reusable shopping bag. We are not convinced the whole world wants cutsie bags with polka dots, hempy looking sacks with preachy green slogans, or worse, the dreaded polypropylene bag shouting "Buy Local" though the inner tag says it’s made across the ocean. We wouldn’t carry any of those and we think we’re not alone.

Daily Inspiration

**courtesy** 

Earth Week: Cute Cutlery

For Earth Week, we wanted to share some green ideas.  Not only are these Ecoware products cute, but also eco-friendly.  They would be perfect for a rustic-themed event: think Rehearsal Dinner.  They also remind us of the bamboo pieces used in our Prairie Chic photo shoot with Matthew.  Made from wood birch, the utensils are completely biodegradable, natural, and adorable.  Check out the site for more info.

Daily Inspiration

Daily Inspiration

New Orleans Inspiration Boards

As we are dedicating all week to our New Orleans wedding, we thought we'd post the Inspiration Boards created for the wedding. The bride wanted to hire a NYC wedding planner to create an organic palette of green and cream, moss, and natural branches. She wanted a bit rustic--a bit Southern. So, here is where we started from. We'll show you where we ended up after the wedding!

Daily Inspiration

Daily Inspiration

**courtesy**

Destination: New Orleans

Carrie & Noah are in New Orleans this week producing a week-long wedding and we thought it would be fun to share the details of the event, their travels, and the ideas that came to-be in order to create this unique celebration.  Today, we are going to share with you the gift bags that the always-talented ladies from Melangerie created for the event.  Obviously, as the wedding is in New Orleans, we incorporated the local flavor,  flare, and authenticity that only New Orleans can offer.  Here's a description about the project from the Elana @ Melangerie...

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A BIG DAY IN THE BIG EASY

Monica & Gregory are to be married in New Orleans, LA in April 2009.

We designed their welcome gifts to feature food stuffs from New Orleans proper, including Aunt Sally’s creamy pralines, Zapp’s potato chips, and McIlhenny Co. Tobasco Sauce. We also created a custom designed guide to the wedding weekend, along with a map plotting important locales and recommended spots.  Artwork for the custom guide and tote bag coordinated with the couple’s wedding invitation, which the bride created herself.

PROCESS INFO

The first step in creating a custom mélange with us is defining the overall product theme and mélange aesthetic.

Monica & Gregory chose to focus their welcome gifts around local, New Orleans food items, so we went to work researching potential products to include. The bride & groom have a special fondness for Zapp's potato chips (made in New Orleans) and creamy pralines, so we looked specifically into those, as well as a variety of other made-in-New Orlean's snacks, spices and sauces. Once we had a few good candidates, we presented Monica & Gregory with a list of potential items, and they narrowed it down and picked their favorites to be included in the gift.

In terms of aesthetic, the bride and groom wanted their welcome gift to coordinate with the wedding invitations they had already created, so we designed a custom, silk-screened canvas tote bag as the overall gift packaging. The tote bag referenced the same pattern, fonts, and colors as their invitation, and is a great packaging option because it can be re-used by guests during their trip to New Orlean's and beyond.

In addition to the packaging, we also designed a coordinating custom wedding weekend guide for Monica & Gregory. The guide was included in the welcome gift, and informed guests of important events, as well as recommended places to eat, shop and hang out from the bride and groom. Finally, the guide included a custom map which plotted these locations, and acted as a walking guide for the French Quarter.

Daily Inspiration