Eco-Friendly Candles for Tables

The other night I went to dinner with my family and found a great lighting alternative for weddings! In the center of the tables were miniature lamps, or so it appeared...They were actually wine glasses with the battery operated flickering candle lights in the glass with a paper shade placed on top! The battery operated candle lights are great for outdoor weddings, ensuring you will not have to worry about starting a fire!

These are cost effective and easy to create yourself. I recommend purchasing a heavier set wine glasses so they will not break or tip as easily. You can find the heavier glasses at craft stores or at the dollar store. The battery operated lights can also be found at the dollar store, a local pharmacy or department store.

To create your shade, you can either purchase them online or create them yourself. What you will need is  8 1/2" x 11" sheets of vellum paper (one sheet per shade), glue pen, decorative scissors and any other accessories you want to add to your shade such as glitter, ribbon, photos, rhinestones, pearls, etc. You can find a wide variety of printed vellum paper and accessories at your local craft store or online.
Once you have all of the materials, I recommend using a shade template online to trace onto the vellum paper. Cut out the vellum paper shade, place glue on one edge and overlap with the other edge to form the shade. Once the glue has dried, add any other designs and accessories to the shade.

                 

Once the night is over, either hand out the wine glasses as favors or keep them for yourself to enjoy your favorite glass of wine with your new husband or wife!! :)

Add Sparkle to your Winter Wedding!!!

By planning your wedding in the North West, you will have a good chance of having snow on your winter wedding day. Since majority of winter weddings are placed indoors, you are limited on using nature as decorations and backdrops. Although, this is your opportunity to bring the fun, fresh and beautiful aspects of the snow indoors.

While playing and enjoying the fun winter weather, one is able to see the beautiful shimmer found within the snow. A way to bring this shimmer and shine to the indoors is to add glitter to almost any and all aspects of your wedding.


Escort Cards & Menus:
Print names in a fancy, elegant font in a silver, blue, or gold glitter ink. You can also use card-stock paper with shimmer already made within the paper. Also try using ivory or white colored feathers to add a softer feel to your paper items.

Or even make your escort cards in the shape of a snowflake! 

Cocktail Hour:
Find shimmery ivory or white cocktail napkins to give to your caterers to disperse while handing out your favorite hor d'oueves. Think of fun and creative drinks to where you use sugar; it tastes amazing and looks similar to snow...try this Blue Sky Martini!!

Flowers:
Request for your florist to use spray glitter that is friendly to plants and flowers. The light will pick up the light shimmer and add a sprinkle of glam to your photos.

Just like with your paper items, add ivory feathers to add the softness to your day.

Decoration to Tables:
Place glitter snowflakes and ornaments s to your guests tables, favor table and bar.

Another popular and cute idea in bringing the outdoors in, spray pine cones with fake snow and glitter. The pine cones add a true North West feeling to your wedding!! :)

You can choose to either just paint the pine cones with glitter....

Or spray the tips of the pine cones with the fake snow.....

To add height and drama to your tables, use branches and twigs painted with snow! This is another great way to add a North West touch to your wedding!!

Lighting:
With winter days, comes early dark nights... although, use it to your advantage by using plenty of candles all over your venue. The more candles, the better!!! The candle light will give a very romantic and warm feeling to your event. It will also add shimmer and sparkle to all of your photos!

Below is a photo of a table from a wedding where the bride requested for all the lights to be off so the only light was put off from all the candles within the ballroom! This wedding definitely had the romantic, soft and elegant feel.

Cute and Tasty Winter Wedding Idea: Hot Chocolate Station!!

So the winter wedding season is coming and there are so many wintery ideas to add a fun and seasonal touch to your wedding. I found of a very cute and tasty favor to present to your guests at your wedding; hot chocolate station! Hot chocolate is a great warm beverage to serve to your wedding that guests of all ages can enjoy!

You can use a wide variety of toppings and flavors for guests to add to their hot chocolate, such as:

Favorite Hot Chocolate Toppings:

• Marshmallows- you offer a wide variety of colors, sizes and flavors
• Cinnamon Sticks
• Chocolate Sprinkles
• Peppermint Sticks- Candy Canes for a more seasonal touch
• Chocolate truffles
• Caramel Squares
• Cookie Pieces
• Orange Peels
• White and Dark Chocolate Hunks
• Candy pieces such as M&M's, Hershey Kisses, Reese's Pieces candies
• Instant Coffee for those who want an extra kick to mix in ;)
• Whipped Cream
• Cherries

I love this idea of chocolate on sticks, then you and your guests and stir and melt the chocolate at the same time! Maybe enjoy a bite or two before it's all gone!

 

Favorite Hot Chocolate Syrups and Sauces:

• Caramel Sauce
• Peppermint Syrup
• Coffee Flavor Syrups
• Almond Flavor Syrup
• Vanilla Syrup
• Maple Syrup
• Blackberry Syrup
• Hazlenut Syrup



I absoultely love the holiday and winter season and was so excited to offer this idea for future winter wedding brides! :)  You can use decorative bowls, mugs, spoons and containers that match your wedding style. You can also personalize the hot chocolate mugs to give out as a favor by printing you and your spouse's name and the wedding date. Here are a few sites to look at for personalizing some mugs:

Based out of Hood River, we love this local company: The Fruit Company
http://www.thefruitcompany.com/

Discount Mugs offers a wide variety, nearly 100 ceramic coffee mugs to choose from!!
http://www.discountmugs.com/



Have fun with this idea and be creative, but I would make sure to have adult supervision with the little ones making their beverages ;)