Inspiration Board | Lavender and Green

Spring is in the air and I am loving the fresh crisp greens paired with a sweet lavender. The combination is so romantic and whimsical. This tulip bouquet is just stunning, and I love the adorable here comes the bride sign! And how charming is this lavender chandelier? Love!

[ Credits ]

Top | Jose Villa via Martha Stewart WeddingsBridesTec Petaja via Southern Weddings | Modcloth

Bottom | Mi Belle Photography via Style Me PrettyAkimbo | Luisa Beccaria | KT Merry via Style Me Pretty

DIY | Meringue Escort Cards

The ever fabulous Sarah is back again sharing an awesome DIY that is favor, escort card, and tasty treat all in one! I hope you all enjoy!

Happy spring, lovely readers!

We have a sweet and tasty DIY for you today that also serves double duty as your favors and your escort cards! Crunchy, sugary meringue cookies in the shape of numbers will be a perfect treat for your guests to munch on as they find their seats for dinner! Edibles are always a great favor, and combining elements cuts down on your cost and time spent on each task.

This project will take a few hours to a couple of days depending on how many guests you have. Use extra care while handling the finished product, they are pretty fragile. Cost will vary.

Supplies:

-Meringue in a pastry/piping bag (or plastic bag with the tip cut off!)
-Parchment paper
-Cardstock in your color of choice, cut into 4×6 inch sheets and 4×2 inch lengths (one each per guest)
-Thread in your color of choice
-Plastic treat bags in 4×6 size
-Permanent marker in your color of choice
-A sewing machine

Step 1: Prepare your meringue according to the recipe. I used Martha Stewart’s recipe, but there are many versions and flavors out there. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon the freshly whipped meringue into the piping bag and start shaping the numbers. Make them a little thick so that they don’t break when you take them off of the baking sheet (I broke a few doing this!) I found it easiest to build up the thickness by making multiple thin lines of meringue.

Step 2: Once you have all your numbers finished, pop the baking sheet into a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven, and cook for an hour. Check to make sure they aren’t browning periodically. I ended up cooking mine for closer to an hour and a half, it really depends on your oven. If you lightly touch the cookies, you can check and see if they are starting to crisp up. Once they are set, take them out of the oven and let cool.

Step 3: While your cookies are baking, you can prep and cut your cardstock. Load your sewing machine with your thread, and sew a zigzag line across one end of the larger sheets of cardstock, about 3/4 of an inch from the edge.

Step 4: Once the cookies are cool, insert them into the plastic treat bags and layer them over the cardstock, folding over the bag if necessary. Then fold the 4×2 inch strip of cardstock in half lengthwise, and fold that over the top of both the bag and cardstock.

Step 5: Sew along the edge of the small strip of cardstock so that it seals the bag and attaches it to the backing cardstock.

Step 6: Use a permanent marker to write guest’s names along the bottom, under the zigzag stitching. I wrote the names of Downton Abbey characters for this example :)

Your delicious escort cards are ready to go! Make sure to taste-test a couple yourself!

Have fun and stay crafty! Until next time, my lovelies!

A Classic and Sweet Southern Wedding

This week we have a classic and sweet southern wedding from Daniel Taylor Photography. I am so charmed by this amazing venue, such a great location! And how fun is the bride’s retro getaway outfit? I love it!

The lovely bride Anne-Michelle shares all the details:

I grew up envisioning a December wedding with twinkle lights and Christmas trees decorating the church sanctuary. If fact I had kept many magazine articles depicting the perfect Christmas Wedding. However, when James asked me to marry him in late October I said “YES!” before he could even get the words out of his mouth. His next question was “How soon?” The answer was April 2nd and the rest is history.

Since it was going to be a spring time wedding in the deep south, we knew we wanted the wedding outside to take advantage of the comfortable weather and blooming trees. However, we also needed a backup plan in case bad weather (tornados and storms) decided to make an appearance. We also wanted the ceremony and reception to feel like they were in separate locations, but we didn’t want anybody to have to drive from one venue to the other. We chose the Sonnet House and it was the perfect fit for us. The Sonnet House is a beautifully restored farm house that sits on 18 acres. Also on the property is an old weathered barn and blue iron fence. Some of my favorite pictures were in front of these structures. Inside the house there are two original claw foot tubs that we used for a few photo opportunities.

James and I were going for classy, elegant, soft, and southern for our wedding. I wanted everything to be white and ivory with touches of blues and greens. My favorite part of the day was the ceremony, which was in front of a stone fireplace. It was so intimate and centered on our future relationship not just our wedding day. The reception was in the house, chapel and on the lawn. We wanted the whole day to “feel like home”. Meaning, we wanted people to feel like they were coming over to our house for dinner on a nice spring evening. I’m not sure what all my expectations were on that beautiful spring day, but I know they have been surpassed. Had I known then how sweet this first year of marriage would be, I would have run down the aisle!

Photography | Daniel Taylor Photography

Venue | The Sonnet House

Floral Designer | FlowerBuds

Caterer | Cafe Iz

Bakery | Dreamcakes Bakery

Invitations | Alan’s Invitations

Gown | Monique Lhullier from Ivory and White

Bridesmaids Dresses | Lula Kate from Bella Bridesmaid

Band | Casey Marshall Band

Ceremony | Will & Sara Mason with added strings

Make Up and Hair | Christina Laughlin at Sanctuary

Photo booth | Total Entertainment

Lighting | AG Lighting