Drinks, Dancing & Dessert Part 2

Some time ago, I mentioned that Marc & I were considered having an after-dinner party for our wedding. As for the menu? We're thinking a variety of unique, delectable treats & plenty to sip on as well. While surfing around the blogosphere I came across a few ideas which were out of the box and simply adorable. I wouldn't do all of these at once, but one or two may make for a delightful surprise.

S'Mores- Courtesy Love & Lavender

Cake Pops- Courtesy The Bride Suite

And just for fun..... 

Oreo Cake- Courtesy Bride & Beyond

Cake Boss

I am so excited to share that this last week, a dear friend/ knower of all things wedding/ and owner of Belle: The Magazine, Alex, asked me to take part her upcoming event: The Wedding Show: El Paso's Only Luxury Bridal Show. 

My task? To serve as a judge for the city's upcoming "Cake Design" competition.

Umm... yes please!

Now, not only do I have a major sweet tooth, but I also have serious wedding fever. I can't wait to see what El Paso's cake artists and master bakers have in store for us. I am so thrilled to be involved in selecting El Paso's "Ultimate Cake Designer."

The Wedding Show: The Ultimate in Bridal takes place in El Paso on Sunday May 22, 2011 at Butterfield Trail Golf Club. If you are interested in attending, the show will also feature competitions in Bridal Tablescape and Photography which I can guarantee will be OMG-inducing.

A Love Note

As a writer, I'm falling in love with this cake. My mind is wandering as I imagine all of the beautiful words that could come together on these tiers of sweetness. Scripture, lasting love quotes, or our own personal notes could wrap around these layers forever. This one is definitely in the running to be our cake of choice.

Drinks, Dancing & Dessert

As we all know, wedding cuisine has a reputation for being particularly uninteresting while at the same time being extremely expensive. It hasn't taken us long to decide to opt out serving a boring dinner and instead offer our guests something a little different- a cocktail reception.

There will be plenty of room for champagne & chocolate but thankfully we'll be omitting concerns over minute  details like 'the texture of the rice'. In order to accommodate everyone's need-to-eat, we'll be pushing our start time back so as not to conflict with dinner time while also providing a fix for that sweet tooth with plenty of desserts and sweet bubbly options.

Let Them Eat Cake

So far, deciding on a cake hasn't been the biggest of deals for me. Flowers- yes, Dresses- yes!, but cake... not so much. That is, until now.

Lately, these delicately-designed desserts have been catching my eye. While I don't think I've found "the one" just yet, I can't deny how pretty some of these early favorites are.

Obsession: Cupcakes

One dessert that we'll definitely be serving up at our reception is cupcakes. Marc has asked for red velvet flavor and I'm hoping to accent each one of these with a little sugar diamond on top. Apart from the fact that cupcakes are 'in' right now, I also think that they add a personal touch to the occasion. Don't worry we'll still have other surprises in store for our bride & groom's cakes....

Bridal Show

On Sunday, January 16th I went to the Days of Remembrance 21st Annual Bridal Fair at the Convention Center. My mom, Marc's mom and my friend Christian tagged along to help me hold all the fliers. Overall, I'm glad I went. It was a great opportunity to see (almost) everything that El Paso has to offer in the way of wedding vendors. At the same time though, the way that most of these vendors present themselves was somewhat disappointing to me. I don't think that I've ever seen more poorly designed fliers and handouts until this event. I'll admit that ever since I started dating Marc, co-owner of Ghostlight Creative, I've become somewhat of a "graphic design snob" (haha thanks Marc!) but to me, I think the impression that your printed materials give off is HUGE.  If you aren't willing to spend the extra dollar to present yourself & your business well, then why would I expect you to put in the extra effort to present our wedding day as nicely as possible?

But despite those minor letdowns there were still a few local companies that presented themselves to be really high quality.Here are the links to a few my favorites vendors from the show:

Fiori the Flower Studio- The guy at their booth he was so full of energy & nice plus he loved my idea of using manzanita branches in the centerpieces.Their blog showcases a little bit of their work and I can't wait to see what they can suggest for me.

Mod Creative Events- Super cute lounge furniture and sugar bars. Plus, they're blog is one of the cutest local wedding blogs I've seen yet.

Kara's Bridal- I absolutely loved all the dresses they had on display. Just one caveat- the model/ representative was flirting it up with some guy the whole time that Christian and I were waiting to talk to her. I ended up walking away with no info. Womp, womp...

Elite Events- They had some really stunning cakes and table setups on display but the guy wouldn't give me any information or ranges on prices. To make matters worse I came home to find that they don't have a blog, website, or Facebook. Looks like I'll have to book an appointment to get even the slightest bit of info...

Inspiration Board

Today, I visited TheKnot.com and made this cute little inspiration board. It was a fun project & the layout turned out pretty nicely. I would say however, that the site didn't give me much flexibility in choosing my "inspirational categories." For example- the fake groom was a necessity, mine is much better looking haha.

I'm loving the color combinations though. I'm thinking lots of crystals, accompanied by light shades of blue, cream, and lavender would look fresh and elegant- especially if we decide to go with an outdoor wedding...