Flower Preservation

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers.  Today, regardless if flowers are used as centerpieces or not, personal flowers are still just important as ever.  From the elaborate bridal bouquet to a mom's corsage or groom's boutonnière, they are representations of you and your day.  So why not turn them into everlasting memories. 

You can preserve your flowers in many different way.  Some companies, like www.fibinc.com, use preservation techniques to make them into picture frame works of art.  

 

Other companies, like www.timelessmoments.com can even turn them into jewelry and timeless keepsakes.

 

 

Candy Time!

Who says a wedding cake has to be made of cake?  Check out this unique spin on cake design - Candy Cakes! Use it as a second cake on your sweet table, or better yet, us it as your wedding cake unwrap a candy bar together.  For more ideas check out this website:  www.pamcake.com

 

 

 

Sweethearts Candies - HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Have you ever wondered how the very popular Sweethearts Conversation Hearts started out?  Well here's a little history from www.necco.com

Today's best-selling Valentine candy -- Sweethearts Conversation Hearts--the pastel sugar hearts with the quirky sayings, were as much a part of your childhood as they are for today's kids. New England Confectionery Company manufactures over 8 billion hearts each year to keep up with demand for this American icon.

Still it's hard to believe that the concept behind today's Conversation Hearts got its start when Abraham Lincoln was still President. Mottoes seemed to have come into prominence with cockles, a small crisp candy made of sugar and flour formed in the shape of a cockle or scallop shell. The early cockles contained mottoes, which were printed on thin colored paper and rolled up inside.

In the 1860's, when Daniel Chase, the brother of New England Confectionery Company's founder, Oliver Chase, began printing sayings on the candy. He experimented first with hand tools, and then devised a machine in which the cloth was replaced with a felt roller pad, moistened with vegetable coloring, usually red, which pressed against the die. The die printed the words on the lozenge paste and the double purpose machine cut the lozenges.

Grown-ups were entertained and passed the hearts around at parties. For weddings, there were wedding-day lozenges with humorously foreboding prophecies such as: "Married in satin, Love will not be lasting" "Married in Pink, He will take to drink" and "Married in white, You have chosen right."

The present day Sweethearts® Conversation Heart dates back to 1902. Back then, besides hearts, they also produced various shapes such as postcards, baseballs, horseshoes and watches.

In the early 1990's, New England Confectionery Company's Vice President Walter Marshall decided to update the sayings each year and retire some. His first --Fax Me--created a lot of attention from Sweetheart fans. As a result, each year we receive hundreds of suggestions from romantics, candy lovers and school kids for new sayings. From old tech, "Call Me" to new tech, "E-mail Me," Sweethearts® keep the pulse on the heartbeat of the nation.

Conversation Hearts have been used in various ingenious ways over the years-- to propose marriage, to teach children statistics and reading, to decorate cakes, and as borders for frames.

Today, not only are people proposing in them, but they are using them on their wedding day as well.   Hearts can be purchased online with multiple phrases specifically for your wedding day.

Check out these from the Knot.com

Candy Wedding Conversation Hearts - White

 

The tasty wintergreen flavor of these wedding conversation hearts will definitely have your guests talking. These Valentine's-inspired candy hearts feature 30 different sentiments specific to weddings. Each 16-oz bag contains approx. 140 white candy heart favors. 

$6.75/16 oz. bag

Funny Wedding Videos

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was soo funny.  Check this out!
http://www.video.ru/video/item/privetru/51142

ZED451

Last week I had the opportunity of experiencing ZED451 in Chicago.  ZED451 is a unique dinning experience which gives you and your guests the chance to experience food in a whole new way.  From Harvest Tables to Liqued Market specialty drinks, ZED451 is a great location for a Chicago wedding.  Check out some pictures below.

 

  

  

  

For more information and to book your next event at ZED541 contact Jane Allen Events!  www.ZED451.com

ABC Mini Conference in Columbus, IN

I just got back from an Association of Bridal Consultants Mini Conference in Columbus, IN and it was two days of learning and fun.

The first day was at the Hotel Indigo in Columbus, IN.  Sandra Monahan, Weddings Without Worries, spoke about Etiquette within the wedding industry and everyday life.

Her presentation was then followed by short topics from other Bridal Consultants on industry trends.

The second day was at the Chateau De Pique Winery in Seymour, IN. 

One highlight of the day was Tonya Shadoan who spoke about goal setting and achieving. 

We then got to experience a tour and gain information about the Chateau De Pique Winery.  If you are close or around the Seymour, IN area, check them out.  www.chateaudepique.com This is a great wedding venue!

2010 Wedding Trends

To highlight our newest advertisement on The Knot.com and bring in the New Year, here are some of the Knot's top 2010 Wedding trends.

Trend 1: Retro-Chic Weddings
Retro-style weddings -- at a hotel, in your parents’ backyard, or even at a restaurant -- are huge right now, and we’ll continue to see a lot of the style in 2010. It’s really no wonder: A wedding filled with vintage details, whether from the 1950s, ’60s, or even ’70s, can make for a meaningful heirloom-filled, back-in-the-day vibe, and the decor options are limitless. Use a turquoise-and-raspberry color combo, get milk-glass cake stands for your dessert table, dress the tables with pretty eyelet runners, and ask your florist to arrange your centerpieces in small porcelain vases or silver pitchers. Even your menu options can get in on the action with pigs in blankets and punch (served up in glass punch glasses, of course) at the cocktail hour.

Trend 2: Dinner-Focused Receptions
Say good-bye to informal buffet lines and light hors d’oeuvres stations and welcome back the sit-down reception dinner. Think of it as a re-creation of a dinner party in your own home: lots of food and a comfortable setting are both key. To achieve this level of comfort, order starter plates to get guests munching and chatting from the get-go and choose a dinner menu of the meat-and-potatoes variety. Have the meal served family-style so that all the food, wine, and iced tea or lemonade is set in the middle of the table for guests to help themselves, just like they’d do at their own homes. Do it this way and you’ll encourage conversation and create a more intimate atmosphere.

Trend 3: Innovative Ceremony Setups
This year, it's really all about comfort, so whether your ceremony takes place in a church, at a farm, or in a ballroom, consider adding elements that make your guests feel right at home. Skip the common aisle-down-the-middle arrangement and create a living-room vibe using a mix of couches and chairs, replace all those chairs with hay bales covered with quilts, or even spread blankets on the ground right in front of the altar for the kids. The best part is that anything goes just so long as the details create an intimate feeling. 

 

Trend 4: Shorter, Tea-Length Dresses
From ball gowns to slim, structured sheaths, a shorter-than-floor-length style will make a huge resurgence on ceremony aisles this year. And you don’t have to have a casual wedding to pull it off, either -- the key is in the fabric. Find one made with cotton or layers of airy tulle for an outdoor spring or summer wedding, get a silk-satin gown for a more formal wedding, or go for heavy silk with a soft bolero or even an overcoat for a wintertime wedding.

Trend 5: Classic White Wedding Cakes
While dessert tables and candy bars have been popular for the past few years, wedding cakes have made a comeback. But instead of the colorful two-tiered styles we saw in 2009, this year it’s all about the classic white wedding cake. Order a simple, round, three-tiered cake frosted with white buttercream or covered in white fondant and finish it with an antique cake topper (from your parents’ or grandparents’ wedding), a few fresh flowers that match your bouquet, or leave it clear of add-ons for an even simpler look.

CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE 2010 WEDDING TRENDS ON THE KNOT.COM!