Bar Flare

This elaborate and ecological bar display was the brain child of Island View Catering. A full bar with several hand crafted local beers on tap. Not only were the beers handcrafted, but the father of the groom built the tap stand. Their signature cocktail the colorful habinero, basil gin conncoction they titled "Buddah's Delight". This wedding had almost 250 guests and to save on costs and be more eco friendly they posted a sign that said, "Save your glass and save the planet".

Tweet Tweet

Who doesn't love bird houses? A different little spin on packaging bridesmaids jewelry. Instead of a typical jewelry box why not personalize each gift. After all the ladies standing up for you are the most important in your life. Each house was painted to match the personality of the bridesmaid and then the jewelry was placed in a silk bag inside the opening. The bride shared a story about each bridesmaid when she handed out the gifts. To top it of the gift tag read, "Tweet tweet thanks for being so sweet".

Fried Green Tomatoes

This year my tomato plant went absolutely nuts. I am so happy to have a piece of earth to call my own in Los Angeles. My urban garden is 6X12' raised bed that my husband built for me. My tomato plants took over the garden then the eight foot wall and then the 12 foot lattice only to attempt to conquer my neighbors tree. So what to do with all the tomatoes? I have made sauces galore, bruschetta is a nightly occurrence and of course fried green tomatoes.

The most important aspect of making fried green tomatoes is after slicing them place them on a cooling rack with a paper towel to dry before frying.

Did I mention my 3 year old chocolate lab, Troubles, likes to pick tomatoes. She doesn't eat them, but instead very gingerly places them on the doorstep. My label for this years sauce is called "The Troubled Tomato" with her picture on it.

Did you know the average American eats 22lbs of tomatoes a year? To find out more tomato facts and how to prepare and buy the freshest tomato check out:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/tomato.htm

Rock Solid Marriage

Does the idea of adding your guestbook to your book shelf just so it can collect dust drive you bonkers? I can't even stand the idea of keeping books, other than reference books, so there was no way I was adding my memories to my shelf. There are many ways to get creative and do something different for your guestbook. Tired of the framed picture with all the signatures? Are you really going to hang that in your home? If you want something that will last, but with a little different spin consider turning to different materials. Wine glasses, corks, rocks, votive candle holders, plates could all work and be a very creative element in your wedding. I like the idea of having daily reminders of not only my wedding day, but all the people who shared in our day and our lives.

I am an avid gardener, spending most of my sunny days cultivating my Los Angeles urban garden so rocks seemed the obvious choice for my guestbook. I bought a 50lb bag of decorative river rocks from my local hardware store (about $40). Note: the river rocks need to be washed before guests sign them because they are very dusty. I also bought some smaller river rocks for those guests who weren't ready to commit to the big rocks. I purchased fine point gold paint pens for guests to add there notes to the rocks. I displayed the rocks in different glass containers with a frame that read, "Please sign our "guestbook" because our friendships like these stones will last a lifetime".

Downside, for my husband only, we will be toting around 50+ pounds of rocks for the rest of our lives.

Pan Fried

My husband and I, like many newlyweds, received a beautiful high-end set of pots and pans as a wedding gift. We received a set a of Calphalon stainless steel pots and pans. Excited about all the culinary masterpieces I would create I jumped in and found out stainless steel requires different cooking techniques than non-stick. All these new shiny pans and my husband was actually upset I gave away his old non-stick fry pan because he was burning his morning egg whites. No matter what he did they would stick to the pan. Thank goodness for the internet! I found my new online cooking best friend. Rouxbe cooking school has amazing step by step tutorials. The trick is to determine the heat of a pan by performing a simple water test, making sure your oil has legs and then you let the sizzle lead you to success.

Learn how to pan fry like a pro:

http://rouxbe.com/cooking-school/lessons/170-pan-frying

Kind Words from Michelle

"My wedding planning process was whirlwind, as we planned the event in 5 months while I was simultaneously working full-time, taking classes at city college, and applying for grad school. It was a crazy time! I am not what you would call a "planner", instead I put in the minimum amount of work in the hopes that everything will work itself out in the end. While most things turned out as planned, there are still nagging details that have to be taken care of such as oh, the actual day of the wedding. While everything may look perfectly planned in spreadsheet form, that does not automatically translate to real life. The thing that really stressed me out the most was sticking to the timeline. Thank goodness for Stacie! From the moment the bridal party started getting ready, Stacie took charge and made sure the photographer stuck to the timeline. She coordinated with the groomsmen to ensure that me and my future husband did not see each other before the ceremony. She got me through the pictures, into the limo, and off to the ceremony right on time! This was great because I'm not a very detail-oriented person, so having Stacie there to efficiently manage the photographer and the other bridesmaids was awesome. There were so many little details I had not thought of, such as grass stains on my white shoes (and the bridesmaids' shoes). Upon arriving to the reception, Stacie whipped out a "bridal kit" including grass stain remover and went to work on my heels. Thanks to her, my shoes were gleaming white for all my reception pictures. However, Stacie's real shining moment came when someone stepped on my dress and broke the bustle! I ran to Stacie in a panic, and she calmly pulled out her sewing kit and sewed my bustle back on in a matter of minutes. Amazing! I didn't miss a beat and continued to groove on the dance floor the rest of the night. Stacie also organized an after-party and made sure everyone got taxis to the location."

"Overall, I can't thank Stacie enough for helping plan my special day. I literally couldn't have done it without her. A word to all the future brides out there: hire a day-of planner to worry about all the details so you can enjoy your special day."

-Michelle

Married: June 5, 2010

Photos taken by Adam of Embrace Life Photography http://www.embracelifephoto.com/

Kind Words from Amanda

"I don't really do details. While wedding planning, I used this mantra to be 'the laid-back bride", and, for the most part, it worked out well for me. Until my wedding day. At 8am on the day of, my sister comes knocking to whisk me off to go do pre-wedding beauty regimen, and I'm frantically listing all of the things... we'll call them 'details'... that hadn't yet been done. Or, in some cases, thought about. The list easily took up a whole page, and I had less than a minute to myself. I'm talking about centerpieces (very simple, one type of flower in a mason jar), stringing lights (who knew it'd be such an issue to hang paper lanterns) and finding something so that my heels wouldn't sink into the ground (extra damp from the rain the previous night). Panic was in the neighborhood.
Enter Stacie Smith. She took one look at me, and my list and went to work. She started by looking at the list and telling me not to worry. She made me hand over my telephone, took down my sisters number to get a hold of me if she needed and sent us off for the pampering that, at that point, I desperately needed. And then she went to work. When I returned a few hours later, the centerpieces were done and set out-- and she used extra flowers to decorate other places in the venue. The paper lanterns were hung, complete with beautiful colored fabrics to hide the lines and extension cords. There was a small platform for me to stand on, also decorated with flowers. Furthermore, she'd been answering my phone all morning, giving directions to guests, talking with caterer and photographer, even making sure the groom was staying with the timeline. By the time I returned, the place looked far more amazing than I could have imagined. Stacie, looking fabulous herself, handed me a glass of champagne and sent me on to the man of my dreams and the rest of my life.
I can't imagine stress I would have been fending off had Stacie not been there to step in save me from myself and allow me to enjoy one of the most wonderful days of my life."

- Amanda

Married August 27, 2010