The Ultimate DIY Project

Hi all, Katie here!


Yesterday I was on the phone with my friend (who was recently engaged) and we were chatting about getting together next weekend, and about how the wedding planning was going. She seemed a little overwhelmed by the process, and I told her I really wanted her to have fun with it and not get too stressed out. I asked if there was anything I could perhaps help out with while she was in town visiting me for a few days and got excited when I thought of taking her dress shopping! “We could go dress shopping”, I offered. She paused for a second and said, “Well I was actually thinking about making my own dress…”

I have to admit I was a bit surprised. I have heard of making your own invitations, decorations, food, etc. to cut down on costs of a wedding, but making your own dress?? Isn’t that, like, hard? My friend readily admitted that making her own gown would be very dependent on how much time she had (considering she will be a first year medical resident next year), and on what kind of dress she was considering making. She is a sewer, and likes to make her own clothes, but to make her own wedding dress will certainly be the ultimate do-it-yourself project!

Intrigued by this novel idea, I turned to the internet to investigate. A Google search of “making your own wedding dress” returned more hits about designing your own wedding dress for a professional to make, than actually providing information on how to make your own dress. I did find a few websites, though, on actually sewing your own gown. These websites generally recommended the following course of action:

1) Pick a pattern – Generally a good idea to pick patterns that are within your skill level

2) Pick a fabric

3) Decide if you want to do any modifications to your design

4) Cut the fabric from the patterns you decide on

5) Sew the dress and alter, alter, alter!

Here are a few examples of homemade wedding dresses:

Love, love, love this one.

This one too, I'd totally wear this!

More traditional example.

I can’t wait to see how her dress looks of her special day. My friend has a very unique and creative eye, and both she and her mother are expert sewers. I am sure it will be both one-of-a-kind and beautiful!

Is there anyone out there that has considered making, or has made, their own wedding gown? I would love to hear more about the process (ie how long it took, is it really cheaper, etc), so feel free to leave your story in the comments section!

Chalkboards and Weddings

Apparently, chalkboards are not just for teachers anymore!  They are all the rage in upcoming weddings! The chalkboard has not only become a very eco-friendly  part of a reception, but it's vintage vibe and adaptable personality is what makes the chalkboard so much fun!

I never knew all the fun things you could do with a chalkboard until I started doing some research. They can seriously be used in just about any part of a wedding. For example:

• Seating chart and table numbers or names
• Table Chalkboards for name or table numbers
• Entree, appetizer, dessert chalkboards
• Framed chalkboards
• Entrance to hall or ceremony freestanding chalkboards
• Signs for tables and guest names  
• Boards with Table names and guest names  
• Decorative signs welcoming guests
• Menu signs
• Props for a photo booth
• Kid's project

With all of the above options, I'm not sure why you WOULDN'T have a chalkboard  somewhere in your reception:-) It's is also a  really neat DIY project. You can make your own unique chalkboard by purchasing a frame and putting the chalkboard in the frame. This helps show off some of the amazing personality the bride and groom have. There is also chalkboard wallpaper that you can apply to vases, candle holders and many other objects found at a wedding. Instead of paying a ton of money to have these items inscribed...chalk it on there!

Any other ideas out there on what to do with the chalkboard?

 

These Shoes are Made for Eating

Sigh...how could I have passed up this picture of a SHOE cake from the September edition of Catersource....
As most females, I love all things shoes! Check out this cake (it's actually  made from chocolate) made by Simone Flemming  at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis!
Enjoy!

Original Photograph by Ashley Gieseking

Move Over Chair Covers!

I could hardly wait to get into the office this morning so I could blog about chairs! Last night I went to an absolutely fabulous NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) meeting at the Marcus Center for Performing Arts. Before a delicious meal from Sazama's catering, we were able to see the new line and trends of linens for 2011. BBJ Linens presented their amazing creativity as they showed off the colors of the season runway style...yes they had models draped and accentuated in linens! It was amazing!
The room was decorated to the nines and BBJ put chivari chairs around the room to show how their linens can spice up the decor of a chair! Slip covers and chair covers are great, but these ideas are wonderful!
I took so many pictures of their example! Enjoy!

This was one of my favorites

Linen does so much for an event! It can really spice it up or change it from drab to fab (yes...I did just use that phrase). 
Thank you to BBJ Linen for an amazing show last night and letting us share your fantastic creations!

Here is a video of the fashion show and the NACE event. Thank you Amy Johnson from One Fine Day Productions for this!!!!!


NACE EVENT - BBJ LINEN COLOR COUTURE 2011 from Amy Johnson on Vimeo.

NYE Engagements!

Hi all, Katie here! Sorry it's been a while....

Amanda very recently wrote about the holidays being engagement season. I noticed shortly after Christmas the entertainment news sources were reporting that a lot of celebrity couples were getting engaged, and I thought that would probably be the extent of my association with the holiday engagement season. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was mistaken!! My best friend called me a few hours shy of midnight on New Year’s Eve to tell me that her longtime boyfriend had popped the question!! While it is not my story to tell, their engagement story is very sweet. Even more unique is the ring! As the story goes, my friend was touring a local jewelry store in North Carolina when she had a bit of free time. She has a very eclectic style and likes to make her own jewelry, so her eye is drawn to pieces that are not typical wedding jewelry. Upon admiring a few rings at this particular store (not necessarily as engagement rings), she ventured home where she met up with her boyfriend. He asked her how her day was and she explained that after work she had casually meandered into this particular store and liked what she had seen. Moments later, her boyfriend suggested picking up some food for dinner, and he headed out the door. Almost a week later, he was down on one knee at a park bench asking her to marry him with one of the very same rings she had admired at the store that afternoon. On the guise of picking up dinner, he bee-lined back to the jewelry store to investigate what she had found, and picked up one of the rings the jeweler had mentioned she was eyeing. Very clever and thoughtful if you ask me!!


Perhaps even more unique than the engagement, is the style of ring that he chose. In North Carolina, there is a jewelry store called Creative Metalsmiths, and the design focuses on intertwining metal wire and gems to create the rings. I investigated their website and discovered that their selection is quite beautiful, albeit a bit untraditional!



My friends’ brother was also recently engaged, and both he and his fiancé chose to wear engagement rings made of wood. At first I was skeptical, but learned upon further investigation that they are very beautiful! Wooden rings are making an impact on the engagement and wedding ring market as an eco-friendly alternative to diamonds and precious metals. They come in a variety of colors, shapes and designs and can even have gems fused into them. Wearers must be aware, however, that they must treat these rings with care. They are prone to scratches and dents, and while they are coated in a seal that makes them water resistant, they are not water proof and should not be worn in the shower, while doing the dishes, washing your hands, swimming, etc.



The holiday season was a very busy one full of celebration for my friend and her family. Both she and her brother have made me aware of two very unique engagement ring ideas that I hope you find just as interesting as I did!

Food Trucks!!



2011 is here and I am so excited for the weddings this year! We have our first wedding today, 1/11/11!

One of the upcoming trends to have at weddings in 2011 is a Food Truck. This is one of those things that I can't believe that I hadn't thought of. It's great. Basically the food truck is a mobile kitchen that sets up oustide your venue for your guest to nosh on during the reception. This is an alternative to having a midnight snack bar or buffet.
The great thing about this is that you are able to help out local vendors, and there won't be any waste or left overs that have to get cleaned up. In fact, you can lable this as "going green." :-)

One might think there are not a lot of Food Trucks here in Milwaukee...but if you start to look around you will notice them everywhere (espeically at 2a.m. outside of any street with bars on it).
Here are two popular ones in Milwaukee (click on picture to go to their weibsite)

Street-Za Pizza

Pita Brothers

 I have eaten from both of these places...and I can testify that they are fantastic!

Enjoy!