By Jennifer Cox

Should we host a simple cocktail party or an inevitably more complicated sit-down dinner?

I battled with this decision when planning my own wedding.  They each have their pros and cons, and I love the feeling that each type of event creates. A cocktail party is more relaxed, the food is less costly (which means more wiggle room to splurge on certain items), and the laid-back atmosphere really reflects who we are as a couple. And yet a sit-down dinner is more formal and traditional, something we also considered ourselves to be.

So, which is best?

Cocktail party receptions are much easier to coordinate – there’s less food, meaning less logistical nightmares such as rentals (dinnerware, flatware, serving dishes); there’s often more menu choices (so there’s something for everyone to eat, including vegetarians and guests with allergies); and they’re very intimate. These types of parties are more appropriate for smaller weddings.

A sit-down dinner may take more time to plan, however there’s something to be said about the formality and elegance of hosting a three-, five-, or seven-course meal for your closest family and friends. It’s definitely the more traditional route and creates a classic setting for a reception. But don’t forget: a more formal meal calls for things like seating charts, escort cards, table numbers, complete place settings, and in general a lot more organizing.

It’s really about what works best for your party. We had a lot of out-of-towners that we were hoping would come into Montreal to be at the wedding, so in the end we decided we wanted to have a full meal for them. But I definitely think the next time I get married (to the same man, of course, maybe for our vow renewal down the road) I would love an elegant, intimate cocktail party. I even have my centerpieces picked out (but don’t tell my husband – he’ll have visions of the bridezilla I’d become last year!)

First Photo: Lilian Haidar Photography; Second Photo: Inspirador; Third Photo: The Plantation House; Fourth Photo: Project Wedding; Fifth Photo: My Dream Wedding Venue; Sixth Photo: Bridal Guide

Jennifer Cox is a Montreal based freelance journalist who loves everything from weddings to foodie news, photography & candy!

By Jennifer Cox

Centerpieces are the focal point of a table setting, and some scrumptious new edible centerpieces have been taking over wedding tables. And for good reason: First off they’re a very eco-friendly option – whatever is not eaten by guests can be composted, donated to charity (such as whole-fruit centrepieces, like bowls of apples or lemons), or planted (like potted herb plants).

Most basic edible centerpieces are similar in price to basic floral arrangements. Unlike flowers however, gourmet edible centrepieces can be devoured by your guests! Who wouldn’t love some fresh strawberries enveloped in gourmet chocolate? Or lucious pineapple to cleanse their palate?

Many edible centrepieces can also be relatively simple do-it-yourself projects. Tall vases or pedestal bowls full of apples, oranges, lemons or pears make for an elegant understated focal point. So does a particular “course,” such as a beautiful antipasto platter, a rustic bread basket, or individual wedding cakes for each table.

Looking to make your own DIY edible arrangements? Check out these fruit centerpieces from wikihow, and herb centerpieces from Martha Stewart and Soiree.

First Photo: Woman’s Day; Second Photo: Brilliant Event Planning; Third Photo: Let’s Entertain; Fourth Photo: Edible Arrangements; Fifth Photo: The-Glass-Co; Sixth Photo: Edible Arrangements; Seventh Photo: hello moyle

Jennifer Cox is a Montreal based freelance journalist who loves everything from weddings to foodie news, photography & candy!

By Jennifer Cox

Smaller weddings make ambitious projects more doable since there are less people to accommodate. One way to really wow your guests is to offer one or more beverage bars. You can set something up for just about any type of drink – coffee and/or tea, sweet treats like floats or milkshakes, juice bars, and even grown-up concoctions including martini bars.

The most important thing to remember when setting up a beverage bar is to include enough different options so that it’s fun - but not so many that it’s overwhelming. More simple set-ups can be self-serve, like coffee and tea bars. Display drink-appropriate glasses at the head of the table and then spread out ingredients in order.

Coffee urns for differently-flavoured cafes and boiling water with bowls of tea bags should be first as well as fancier coffees, like espresso and lattes. Put out cream(s), sugar(s) (fancy sugar cubes are always fun), fancy liqueurs and even flavoured syrups, and then toppers like freshly-whipped cream and fancy shakers filled with cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Small bowls of garnishes that include cinnamon sticks and shaved chocolate add a nice touch.

More complicated beverage bars for indulgences like floats and milkshakes are manned better by a professional. Different flavours of soda and ice cream can be dolled out by a hired bartender to alleviate messes and confusion. Also be sure to offer seltzer water, whipped cream, sprinkles, syrups, cherries, and vintage striped bendy straws.

Cocktail bars are a whole other project and something that would also be better handled by an actual bartender. If you’re putting out a martini bar, offer up a variety of garnishes like olives, pearl onions, orange and lemon slices, lychees, carved radishes, and even edible flowers. Have your bartender create a signature martini for extra pizazz. Get personalized cocktail napkins too.

Cheers!

First Photo: Drink Eat Love; Second Photo: Eat Drink Chic; Third Photo: Love, Honor and Cherish; Forth Photo: Cafe Party; Fifth Photo: Sculpted Iceworks; Sixth Photo: The Vegas Wedding Planner

Jennifer Cox is a Montreal based freelance journalist who loves everything from weddings to foodie news, photography & candy!

I recently read an article in MacLean’s Magazine about designer donuts. They’re one of the hottest trends in desserts, and they’re starting to show up on wedding dessert tables instead of cupcakes and macarons.

Who doesn’t love a good donut? And if you’ve ever experienced a homemade donut made to perfection, then you wouldn’t scoff at the idea of having them at your wedding.

I still remember (with great fondness!) the homemade glazed donuts I got at a little hotel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee when I was a kid. Every morning for the entire week that we vacationed there, there would be a knock at the door and a kind soul bearing freshly squeezed orange juice, hot chocolate and warm, melt-in-your-mouth homemade donuts would magically appear. It’s one of my fondest memories of Tennessee!

If you dared to serve donuts at your wedding, what kind would you serve?

Photo One: The Village Voice; Photo Two: Lunch.com (Maple Glazed Bacon Apple Donut)

It’s Friday. Why not ring in the weekend with a mason jar of herb citrus cordial? Learn how to make it here. If you love it, why not serve it at your wedding in one of these?

Photo: innBroklyn via Foodgawker

Felt peonies are a lovely way to jazz up earthy DIY favor bags!

Put whatever you want inside the bags: flower bulbs, coffee, handmade soap, candy. Eco-friendly and economical!

Today I’m going to show you how to make the cute burlap bags from scratch, and tomorrow I’ll show you how to create the adorable felt peonies to adorn your DIY favor bags.

My talented and super-helpful mother-in-law came up with the pattern for the burlap bags for you to download. (It makes a 4″ x 6″ favor bag.)

Burlap Favor Bag Tutorial (Makes a 4″ x 5″ bag)

This project is fairly simple, even for the novice sewer.

Materials

Burlap (purchased from a fabric store)

Matching thread

Jute twine (purchased from a hardware store)

scissors

ruler

straight pins and one safety pin

wooden skewer

sewing machine

pattern

Continue reading DIY Favor Bags: Peony Pockets (Part One)

I love the look of mismatched vintage plates and other tableware at weddings. It’s charming, whimsical – and fun.

You can get a sweet deal on an assortment of vintage crockery at yard sales, rummage sales and second hand stores (I purchase several vintage plates at Value Village for $1 each.) Because you are having a small wedding, it won’t be as costly or difficult to outfit your wedding. (Don’t forget to check out these vintage napkins made from bedsheets!)

Keep the plates to use after the wedding, or sell them to other vintage brides. Another option, let your guests take their plates home!

Here are some images to inspire to get out there and start junkin’:

First Photo: Onada Photography; Second Photo: Country Living; Third Photo: Foxielicious; Fourth Photo: Samantha Luck; Fifth Photo: Martha Stewart; Sixth Photo: Ruffled Blog;  Seventh Photo: Once Wed: Eighth Photo: We Met at Tumbler: Ninth Photo: The Crockery Cupboard

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!