Chevron spoons make ice cream bars cuter

Tell me that these cuter than cute spoons don't make you want ice cream just a little more?

 

I found these at Arabesque Naples yesterday when I was looking for some baby shower invitations and a few gifts. I can just see a perfectly scrumptious Florida Gulf shrimp on the end of the spear!

The spoons, forks and picks are made from birch and are disposable of course.  They come in an assortment of colors and they can even be customized with messages. It's little details like these that are fun to add to your wedding cocktail hour or late night menus when you have a little wiggle room for a spot of fun!

An actual garden wedding in Florida Vol 2

How to make your tablescapes better (+ maybe less expensive)

The Grand Wedding Vol 2. More Details

I don't know how we're going to get this done in under 5 volumes.

Left to Right: The escort card table we blinged out with tulips and roses in a perfect raspberry color.. Crystals everywhere. Rather than individual menus at the small tables, we designed these little tents with the table number on one side and the buffet menu on the other.

 Reserved seating cards for the ceremony.  Lauren was the soloist, oh it was so beautiful!

Feathers, roses, hydrangea, tulips, stock...all the white lovliness we could get our hands on! Signature Florals provided all the personal flowers (those pictures are coming, I promise!) and did a few more pieces like this one just because they're that nice!

 Most of the cabaret tables had this simple setting.

 I don't think there's anything I enjoy more than walking into a room and being handed a nice glass of champagne.  For this wedding, we added pomegranate and raspberries to the glass and then poured the champagne on top as guests arrived.

Two ring bearers, 2 ring rings to deliver to mom & dad.  We used our studios 2011 ring bearer bowl (which now bears all the names of our 2011 clients) from Palomas Nest and the classic ring pillow.

 This is another piece from our studio that we use often to collect cards or well wishes.

 Here's a full view of the escort card table...sparkle!

LOVE this cake by Kakes by Karen.  We always leave the design up to her and boy does she ever always get it spot on!

You know how sometimes you just want to nibble on something while you're having a cocktail with friends, but you don't want to get up?  These little platters fixed that.  I'm not sure why I never thought of them before.
Click here to go back to Vol. 1.  Volumes 3 thru who-knows-how-many are on the way!
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A Sophisticated Garden Beach Wedding on Captiva Island: Vol 1

I know, garden and beach are two totally different things.  I admit, I wasn't sure it was going to feel right- but wow, was I ever pleasantly surprised by how well they blended. This wedding proves quite well that you can have a sophisticated and elegant formal affair at an island beach resort.
Please enjoy these images from Emily & Caleb's wedding here and you can see more in The Knot magazine currently on newsstands.

All the wedding guests received this custom map designed by Samira Gast.  Samira is one of my favorite calligraphers and is hands down one of the nicest (and most patient) people on earth.  On the back, Emily & Caleb wrote personal notes to welcome everyone to their celebration.

 This wedding was different from most destination weddings that I've planned in that it was just about 24 guests, all were family, and half were kids!  In the next volume you'll see how we made sure all those kids had the time of their life.  This single card was the invitation and the response card we designed.  Everything all wrapped into one.

 The epitome of a stunning garden brides bouquet by Floral Artistry. I loved how delicate it looked with the barely there colors in the roses against the orchids.

Emily.  She has the most amazing style. Such a classic wedding beauty.  I knew right away that Jenn King was who we needed to have for this look to be perfected.  So off to New York Emily went for a trial.

Caleb had this effect on Emily- she smiled this big every time he looked at her.  Yes Emily, you really do. 

 I love real strings at ceremonies. A nice trio or quartet just changes everything.

This is without a doubt my favorite menu ever.  It was the most luxurious table top detail we have ever designed and I so wish we could have them more often. Being that there were just 24 to make, we were able to splurge.  The calligraphy was by Samira and it was placed on top of 3 layers; one of which being shantung covered.  Each 9.5x7 menu was over a quarter inch thick!

All images by Impressions Photography
Don't worry, there are more coming. Be on the lookout for Vol. 2 (and maybe 3)

Ring bearer pillows are so last year

Well, ok, not really.  Ring bearer pillows will forever be carried down ceremony aisles. But what I love is that there is a new way to carry those rings that I just find so sweet; the ring bearer bowl. One of the reasons that I love the bowl is that it can actually be used to hold your rings when you have to temporarily remove them.

Earlier this year I bought this bowl from Palomas Nest.  Its the newest part of the history we're building at Weddings by Socialites.

Every time we have a wedding, we add the bride & grooms name and their wedding date on the back.  I love that its already gathering its character (dirt).  Its the sign of a true heirloom ya know.  wink wink  You could make your own bowl an heirloom by passing it on to your kids.

Pink White & Gold: The California Bride Series Vol 3

This wedding is kind of addicting isn't it?  I just realized that I hadn't shared the location.  The ceremony was on the beach at LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort and the ceremony was in the resorts Vanderbilt Ballroom, which is on the bayside of the property.
Alrighty, on to some of the details of the day:

Magnums from the bride and grooms birth years served as the "guest books"

Sparkler exit, custom koozies from the welcome bags, Krupnika (homemade lithuanian honey liquor) on each guest table, petaled specialty linens

 Lithuanian and tradtional wedding cakes, the aisle treatment of bamboo, lanterns and petals, and the escort card display

 I adore calligraphy. These gold ink escort cards were from Calligraphy by Jennifer

Those who know me well know that I am huge on decorating the back row of chairs at outdoor ceremonies.  It really defines the ceremony space and its an opportunity to add another layer of texture and/or color.

I hate table numbers.  Well, let me clarify. I hate the look of digits.  So when I design now, we spell out the table number or use table names when there are just a few tables.  I also prefer to use "Grand" instead of "Head" Table when the wedding party is sitting together.

Catch up on the entire The California Bride Series by clicking here
More tomorrow!
Photo credit to Impressions Photography

Blue Wedding on the Bay: The Cambridge Bride Series Vol 2

Real weddings are so difficult for me to blog.  Editing down the images is excruciatingly difficult (thanks to photographers like Ashley and Sam Brockinton).  Below are some more of my favorites.  Oh, and make sure you stop by Style Me Pretty they blogged about this wedding yesterday!

The ceremony was so completely perfect.  Intimate and sweet and just lovely.

Continuing with a bit of the bubble theme, we had paper lanterns everywhere.  As a surprise we made these initials for Kate & Tim.

The dinner reception and dancing took place on the pool deck in the lanai. Blue uplights and the colorful lanterns sweetened up the white space.

Bridesmaid bouquet

Brides Bouquet

I loved the simplicity of this wedding.  The flowers by Signature Florals were the perfect focal point on these small tables that seat 4 guests each.  The textured white linens made certain that the tablescape still felt "polished" with the white of the walls and floor.

I'm a big fan of candlelight.  It turns an otherwise insignificant window into a warm space.

The guest book was perfect for all the fun photos taken at the photo station we set up.

Blaine's catering.  Oh my gosh.  The food was INCREDIBLE.  Yes, I confess, I ate the 2 missing Tuna spoons on the left.