Deeeeelicious!

We are making some progress on building a fabulous dessert buffet. We have decided to go with Sweet Mandy B's for the mini cupcakes and some assorted bars. If you live anywhere near Chicago you must check this place out, the cupcakes were amazing and the guy who helped us was so nice and helpful.

Image found here.

As for the rest of the buffet it will be a bit random but I am hoping a huge hit nonetheless. Here are the goods so far:

Trader Joe's: Dark Chocolate Caramels & Milk Chocolate Pretzels, SO GOOD
Whole Foods: Two Bite Brownies & Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, also, SO GOOD
Fannie May: Trinidads (the fiance's favorite) & Mint Meltaways, again, SO GOOD!

I am still scoping out where to get the vegan and gluten free treats but so far I like Bleeding Heart Bakery and Babycakes NYC.

I am so excited! We are thinking it will come to about 4 pieces per person which seems like a good amount and there will be take home boxes for anyone who wants leftovers. I also got these ADORABLE napkins from Paper Source, I can't afford to have them for cocktails but got enough for dessert. Since the display will be fairly simple with white and chocolate being the only colors I think this will be a nice pop of color.



We are trusting our awesome DOC to help pull this all together, otherwise I do not know how this would be possible.

Candyland

We have our dessert tasting next Saturday, I am more excited about the dessert I think than the food. I want it to be incredible! I think we have decided to go with the popular all white look, I suppose there will still be a lot of brown with all the chocolate but anything else will be white. The other fun part is picking our display pieces, what do you think?

One of these from C&B (on sale right now!)



A bunch of these from CB2, they look just like the plates in the Amy Atlas tables I love so much



We have a beautiful vintage green glass cake plate we got off of e-Bay (sorry I don't have a picture)

I think I may need some jars...what about any of these?



Both from C&B, I know the bottom jars are technically for the bathroom but the large size could work...

This website has great deals on apothecary jars, some for under $10!

I am lucky that I just so happen to have a friend at work getting married May 1st (just a few weeks before me) who is also doing a dessert buffet so we can split the cost of the containers and then either divide them up or sell them on e-Bay.

SO Happy!

Success! We found our caterer, we are so excited. The food was great, we were blown away by the service and attention to detail and are thrilled. I can't tell you how glad I am to have that decision out of the way. I suppose flowers and invites are the next big ones but a little break is in order.

And the other good news? My poor mom has one less sewing project, they actually had table runners in a color we liked, "citron."

A - MAZ - ING

When I saw this on Once Wed Blog I think my jaw may have dropped, how gorgeous are these candy/dessert buffets, I hope ours turns out this nice!








P.S. Drink flags/cupcake flags shouldn't be that hard to make, what am I doing wrong?? So far that idea has gone out the window, I am a bit sad about it. Maybe there is still some hope...




Images found on Amy Atlas Events via Once Wed

Pleasant Home on Prairie Mod

Our reception venue was featured on Prairie Mod yesterday. They linked some great black and white pics taken by Lee Bay. This place is so beautiful, I can not wait to share it with all of our family and friends. If you are ever in Oak Park you should stop in for a tour.

Image from Lee Bay via Prairie Mod.

Yours for $8,500!

The Ivy Room at Tree Studios is becoming increasingly popular for Chicago weddings. The courtyard is really a gorgeous spot for an outdoor ceremony. But this will cost you a pretty penny, $8,500 for a Saturday evening, even a daytime Monday-Thursday still runs $2,500, eek!

Nonetheless, I thought I would share this beautiful space with you.

Food Update

Thank you everyone for you input and votes on the food debate. As you can see plated dinner took the win and I think that is what we might actually be going with! BUT with a slight twist.

I loved the idea of a mashed potato bar too much to let go of it completely. Though there is not room for an actual "bar" and it would be silly to serve guest their meal and then expect them to get there own mashed potatoes we had to brainstorm another option. This is still up in the air but what I am thinking is having waiters carry around trays of the mashed potatoes, pre-scooped in martini glasses but will have the 3 varieties on each tray and as they walk from table to table guests will select their favorite flavor. They can have 1 or 2 or 5, whatever! This way I still get the yummy yum mashed potato selection I wanted and it flows more with the plated dinner without just having a plain old scoop on the plate.

Now we just have to make some decisions on what entrees to offer. I am a vegetarian and a lot of my family members are also vegetarian or vegan. No offense to anyone out there but every wedding I have been to the vegetarians get the shaft! Vegetarian food can be really good so I want to make sure our veggie option is delicious. Do you then offer, veg, chicken, beef AND fish, I would be most likely to cut out the fish but maybe people like fish?

If you are going with the traditional plated dinner which entrees did you choose to offer your guests? If you were a guest what would you love to see as an option?

Image found here.

Latest Obsession: CHAIRS

So between obsessing about the food and the bridesmaid dresses I have found time to obsess about the chairs we are going to rent for the reception. Our venue does not have chairs or tables so we will be renting everything. Originally I thought we would go with the white wood folding chair, standard and under 4 bucks each (which still seems like a lot for what it is).

Then I thought how nice the Chivari chairs would look nice in white with the square tables, those come in around 9 bucks each and then white cushions are not included in the price, only ivory, so another $1.75 per cushion! This seemed ridiculous and I personally don't like the bamboo detail on the Chivari.



THEN I found the Ghost chairs!


I was in love, my fiance and I have always wanted one of these and thought how awesome would they look at our reception, so unique and very us, and when I got the quote back...


$50 each! For ONE CHAIR.


Ok I DO NOT love them that much, we could buy ourselves 8.5 Ghost chairs with that kind of money. So alas we will probably go with the least expensive folding white wood "garden" chair.
Anyone else been obsessing over chairs?


Images and price estimates from Hall's and Tablescapes.

Reception Venue, oh How I Love You

I realize I have never posted about my reception venue. I suppose I was weary to do so since my venue is not as well known, even though not that many people read my little blog (a huge thank you to those that do!). We went to visit it this weekend in Oak Park and I fell in love with it even more, it is perfect! We will have a few logistical issues since I am pro-food station and anti-plated dinner and the space is a little limited but I heart it nonetheless.

My fiance took these pictures so I thought I would share.

Want to know more? Click here. There are some great interior pictures on the Pleasant Home website and information on tours and rentals.

Caterer Questions?

We are meeting with one of our caterer finalists this weekend and another next week. I downloaded free from Real Simple these questions to ask your caterer. I hope this helps as this is all so foreign to me. Was there anything you wished you had asked your caterer ahead of time and regretted you didn't ask later?

Two other caterers on our list I have had no luck getting in touch with, I figure if I can't get them to help me now it will be a long and irritating road. Again, as with my trolley frustration, I do not understand why these people make you work for them. I mean this isn't pocket change we are talking about, shouldn't they want my business? I have little tolerance for bad service these days. I mean just e-mail a girl back, that is all I am asking!!

Project DIY: Episode 6

I am SO pumped for my Gocco and my Xyron to arrive, I will make sure to post any projects when they happen, but for now (as always) I just have a ton of ideas. One DIY idea I am especially excited about is drink flags and cupcake flags. The Xyron will definitely come in handy for this.

Episode 6 (and 6 1/2): Drink Flags and Cupcake Flags

Unfortunately I do not have images for drink flag inspiration but I am sure you get the picture, same deal just on a drink stirrer and not a toothpick. I actually ordered the stir sticks already from Bar Supplies.com, 500 for just $9! I got clear but they do have a few colors available, buy some here.


Now we just have to decide what to write or what image we want on the flags. We have debated for the drink flags doing trivia questions about my fiance and I. Question on the front, answer on the back, it could be a good conversation starter for those who don't know each other well, but then it could be a total flop and come off cheesy so we have to think about that one. For the cupcake flags we may do stripes, or perhaps the verdana design we like so much:

and maybe a simple J & E printed on there somewhere (our first initials). Or I like how in picture two they used several different decorative papers that are all in the same color family. Just pop some paper into the Xyron, cut a cute flag shape out, (or cut first, then insert into Xyron, I will have to see what works better) wrap around toothpick or stir stick, stick two sides together and viola, instant flag awesome-ness!

What do you think would be a cute design or saying to put on either a drink or cupcake flag?

Images: 1 &2 The Knot, 3 Notepolish, 4 Broadway Paper

Ice Cream Part Two

So as I am researching more on the Cold Stone option I also came across a company Melody Ice Cream Co. If we were having an afternoon wedding or if our reception venue wasn't as formal I would be all over this, for just $100 (2008 pricing) an ice cream truck will come to your location and then guests can pick which of their favorite ice cream treats they would like. Prices range from $2-$2.75 per person which is so affordable and fun! I think guests would be so surprised to see an ice cream truck pull up come dessert time.

You Scream, I Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream?

So my wonderful mom sent me a link she found on Bride's.com about a new trend in wedding dessert. I think I saw this on an episode of Oprah but assumed it was too expensive. What do you think about a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream station?? They make the ice cream per order right there and apparently even have take home boxes. Bride's says it is only $300 for setup and then you have to pay $30 per hour per employee and since I am saving thousands by not have a fancy cake this could really be an option! What do you think?
Would our guests scream for ice cream??

Inspiration - Table Settings

This is what I am thinking for our table settings. I like the look in picture one, (which I apologize I do not remember where this picture was found so if you know please tell me and I can give credit) I like the two heights of flower vases and a few votives. I am not so much into huge centerpieces and I am guessing the more simple 2-3 stem arrangements will save money also.

Then I found picture two on Rebecca Thuss (I can't get enough of her site) and I like the striped runner a lot but not so much the bowls. Plus our reception site requires all candles to be in a container so this would not be an option. So I am kind of meshing these two settings together.

I found this striped fabric on Repro Depot and I think it could be perfect, my sample is coming soon so we will wait and see! Lucky for me my mom is an excellent sewer and could whip me up some table runners in no time.

UPDATE: So my sample arrived and I love the stripes and the green but unfortunately I do not love the ivory. I was hoping it would be more of a yellow but this ivory I think will just look off with a white tablecloth underneath. Bummer! If you see any green stripe fabric out there PLEASE pass it along, Thanks!

Food: i say potaato you say patatoe

We are not quite to the point where we should be picking our caterer yet but I did come across something I must have...a mashed potato bar! Has anyone ever been to a wedding that had a potato bar?? Being a carb/starchaholic I love anything potato and I am all over this. They apparently serve them in a martini glass which at first I thought was a bit cheesey but I am running with it. Guest would get to pick their own toppings, cheese, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, etc. Since we are trying to stay away from a sit down dinner but also not have it seem too buffet I think this would be perfect.

Candy Buffet

I really, really want a candy/chocolate buffet at our reception. As much as I love a beautiful wedding cake I would rather get a smaller cake and have an assortment of goodies. I am thinking brownies, truffles, cupcakes, you name it, I want it! I figure not everyone likes cake. This image from MS Weddings (via Rebecca Thuss) is what is inspiring me. YUMMM!!

My imaginary Minneapolis wedding...

I spent most of my teen years in the Minneapolis suburb of Wayzata (which is probably best known for being the town where Brenda and Brandon of 90210 fame were supposed to be from). My parents and a few friends still live in the area and I figured I could save a buck or two so I briefly researched what my options would be in Minneapolis. I do love the idea of ceremony and/or ceremony + reception at:

Walker Art Museum - The Cargill Lounge

You can have up to 250 guests and the windows face the sculpture garden. I like that the clean white space would allow you to choose any color scheme. Rates are around $2,000 for a Saturday evening.

Chambers Hotel

I love the colorful modern art and furniture that is placed all over the lobby and in many of the rooms. They seem to have both indoor and outdoor space options which is nice, a rooftop lounge with a giant fire pit sounds fab to me! Rental fees are not listed online but you can contact them here.

Mill City Museum

This historical museum which sits next to the Mississippi river houses the ruins of one of the largest flour mills in the US! This is a truly unique site for a more unconventional couple.
To contact for more information and pricing click here.

Promontory Point

I love this location for a ceremony or ceremony plus reception. This historic building is located right on Lake Michigan just south of downtown Chicago and you can see a great view of the city from here. It is a little smaller so no huge parties and you do have to adhere to the Chicago Park District's somewhat strict guidelines. But perfect for that lakefront wedding with and indoor space in case of rain.

Plated Dinner vs. Heavy Apps?

So my current dilemma is debating between a formal plated dinner or a more relaxed cocktail style reception with heavy appetizers served throughout the event. It really isn't a budget issue it is just that I hate the whole seated dinner thing. It seems you spend almost half the reception waiting for the food and then eating it uncomfortably with strangers. Plus, half the time the food isn't even that great! I would much rather give my guests more food options, the freedom of eating when they want to eat and sitting where they want to sit. But I don't want to run the risk of them feeling hungry. I have done extensive research and this is quite the debate.
What do you think?

A New Leaf

Located at 1820 N Wells, this has become a very popular spot for Chicago weddings and you have to plan well in advance to snag this location. Located next door to A New Leaf floral studio this space has great character, exposed brick, open "loft style" floorplan and an outdoor courtyard. Modern and unique, you can use your creativity a lot in this space. To see more photos, pricing and other such info click here. To see the beautiful floral arrangements created by A New Leaf click here.