Looking for drink dispensers? I love this super helpful inspiration board by Bonafide Bride! She even added links to all the places that you can purchase these drink dispensers and included how much they cost! And don’t forget to check out the watermelon drink dispenser!

1 – White Ceramic Drink Dispenser with Metal Stand, Classic Hostess, $108
2 – Green Glass Beverage Dispenser, Classic Hostess, $50
3 – Apothecary Beverage Dispensers, Horchow, $249
4 – Remembrance Jug, Classic Hostess, $64
5 – Handblown Beverage Dispenser, Gumps, $79
6 – Beverage Servers, Horchow, $350
7 – Beverage Lemonade Dispenser, Classic Hostess, $40
8 – Vista Pedestal Lemonade Dispenser, Classic Hostess (& Touch of Class), $50
9 – Clear Glass Beverage Servers, Horchow, $100
10 – Global Amici Lemonade Jar with Spigot, Kitchen Clique, $65
11 – Paris Hammered Glass Beverage Dispenser, Classic Hostess, $96
12 – Savannah Drink Dispenser, Classic Hostess (& Horchow), $70
13 – Charlestown Dispenser, Jaf Gifts, $88
14 – Glass Beverage Dispenser, Fresh Finds, $60
15 – Cairo Beverage Dispenser, Modern Dose, $242
16 – Spigot Jug, Brylane Home, $30
17 – Glass Spigot Decanter, Brylane Home, $70
18 – Three-Tier Spigot Jug, Brylane Home, $50
19 – Green Bell-Shaped Drink Dispenser with Stand, Classic Hostess, $110
20 – Gallon ‘Ball’ Jar with Spigot, Lehmans, $30
21 – Beverage Dispenser with Rack, Classic Hostess, $40

Move over candy buffet, there’s a new reception idea in town and it’s just as sweet: the cookie table.

Actually, the cookie table has been a wedding tradition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for quite some time, but it seems to be catching on in other parts of the U.S and Canada.

The NY Times wrote an article about it in December, and I’ve been seeing cookie tables pop up on other blogs.

According to the NY times, the cookie table is a longstanding tradition in PA. that possibly had it’s origins during the Depression, when elaborate cakes were not as common. Cookies filled the need because everyone could chip in, instead of one family sharing all of the expense. At least that’s one of the the theories.

“For as long as anyone here can remember, wedding receptions in Pittsburgh have featured cookie tables, laden with dozens of homemade old-fashioned offerings like lady locks, pizzelles and buckeyes. For weeks ahead — sometimes months — mothers and aunts and grandmas and in-laws hunker down in the kitchen baking and freezing. Then, on the big day, hungry guests ravage the buffet, piling plates high and packing more in takeout containers so they can have them for breakfast the next day,” says the NY times article.

The cookie is so important to some that it would be bordering on sacrilege to do without it.

Cookie tables are also big in Ohio, and some claim that is where they originated.

What surprises me is that this idea didn’t catch on sooner in other parts of  the continent. I mean, who doesn’t love homemade cookies?

Here are a few photos of cookie tables that just might inspire you to have your own cookie table!

Photo One: Mr. and Mrs. Happily Ever After; Photo Two: Adam Lowes Photography; Photo Three: Christina Montemurro Photography; Photo Four: Project Wedding; Photo Five: The McWoods

So you went out and bought (or DIYed) your gorgeous centerpieces for the wedding. Have you given any thought to what you are going to do with them with the wedding is over?

I have got a great idea for you!

Mithi over at Planet Mithi gave her DIY centerpieces to her guests as wedding favors. She bought a stack of florists’ cellophane flower bags and printed out ‘Thank-You’ on translucent sticky labels, which she stuck to the cellophane bags. Near the end of the reception, her sister and some willing helpers packed up the centerpieces in the cello bags and gave them out as wedding favors to whoever wanted them.

Neat idea!

Thinking of a DIY photo booth? Beware: bum photos are quite possible. Check out this National Post story on DIY photo booths. (Don’t forget to check out my article on the classic photo booth too.)

Photo: Critsey Rowe

I wrote about long tables a while back. They are perfect for intimate weddings! Well, it seems they are one hot trend. Lately I’ve come across some pretty stunning photos of long tables that I thought I would share with you.

Photo: Carla Ten Eyck via Belle The Magazine

Photo: Brea McDonald via Belle The Magazine

Photo: Look and Taste

Photo: Uncommon Events

Photo: Jose Villa, via Belle The Magazine

Photo: Amity Mason via Project Wedding

This Easy Oatmeal Apple Crisp is worth making just for the way it makes your house smell! It also happens to be insanely delicious! A perfect dessert for an autumn wedding shower. Or as a Thanksgiving dessert. Or as tonight’s dessert!

My four-year old actually came home from school with this recipe. One of the moms had printed one for every kid in the class. Apparently, it’s one of her son’s all time faves and she wanted others to share in the joy. We made this last night – and I’m sure we will be making it again soon.

Easy Oatmeal Apple Crisp Recipe

Ingredients:

6 medium apples, pared and sliced

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 cup softened butter or margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oatmeal flakes

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease baking dish with additional butter.

Core and slice apples and arrange apple slices in the dish.

Cut the flour into the softened butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Then add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle the mixture over top of the apples.

Bake 30 minitues or until apples are cooked and topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Heaven.

I am a writer, so naturally I love typewriters. Yes, I am grateful for word processing (I rely heavily on ‘delete’), but I can’t help but be nostalgic for the past.

I like the idea of using the typewriter as a guest book for weddings. Typewriters are so photogenic – plus it’s a walk down memory lane for some of your older guests. The wedding + typewriter trend seems to be still alive and well.

BTW, Craigslist and Kijiji are both great sources for vintage typewriters.

Here are some of my fave shots:

Photo: Stephanie Williams Photography

Photo: Sakura Photography

Photo: Q Weddings via Wedspace

Photo: Martha Stewart  via Bridal Survival.com

Wheat isn’t just for eatin’. It makes for lovely wedding decorations. Here are some wheat wedding ideas that are perfect for an autumn wedding:

Photo: Project Wedding

Photo: Project Wedding

Photo: The Knot

Photo: Project Wedding

Photo: In Style Weddings

Photo: Holly Ann Ricker

Photo: Wish Special Events

Photo: The Knot

Photo: Designer PI

Looking for easy, inexpensive and fun wedding DIY wedding favors that will put a big, happy smile on your guests’ faces? Make your own sea glass candy! You can make any flavor you want. Place them inside a pretty tin, tie with a ribbon – and you have a wonderful thank-you treat for your wedding guests.

To be honest, this was my first attempt EVER at making candy – and it was a breeze!

These candies aren’t only easy – they’re super tasty too. My husband and kids gobbled down the rootbeer candies so fast I didn’t even have time place them inside a favor tin to snap a photo!

These would be perfect for a beach wedding – or any wedding near the water.

(Sidenote: I have a serious, ever-deepening obsession with sea glass … the kind you collect from the beach, not the kind you eat - although that could become a habit. Come on over and check out my sea glass collecting blog.)

DIY Wedding Favors: Sea Glass Candy Recipe

Ingredients

Step One

Grease a cookie sheet or cake pan with butter.

Step Two

Measure ingredients.

Step Three

Pour granulated sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

Step Four

Without stirring, boil the mixture until a candy thermometer reads between 300 and 310 degrees. (This will take about 30 minutes.) Drop a small amount into ice water. If it separates into brittle strands its ready.

Step Five

Remove from heat and let boiling subside.

Step Six

Measure flavoring oil and pour into candy mixture. Also add food coloring if desired. Blend with a wooden spoon. (You’ll notice that it will get really steamy for a few seconds.)

Step Seven

Pour onto greased cookie sheet or cake pan. Let cool. (I put mine in the fridge)

Step Eight

Cover hardened candy with parchment paper and tap with a mallet to shatter candy into small pieces.

Step Nine

Use a basting brush and coat candy pieces with icing sugar.

Step Ten

Place into favor tins. (I lined the inside with a cupcake liner.) Tie with ribbon and adhere labels.

A while back I blogged about having an ice cream truck at your wedding. Well, for those of you who love the idea of ice cream, but want to take a more sophisticated approach, why not create a DIY ice cream parlor?

Amy, over at Eat Drink Chic, has created a stunning, and I MEAN stunning, ice cream parlor display – complete with free wedding printables so that you can re-create the DIY ice cream parlor at your own wedding. Check it out. It really is a feast for the eyes.