Invite: I designed a simple invitation on Photo Shop. While our dinners are often silly and fun themed, I wanted this one to be special, so I went with a very classic and simple design. I asked all the girls to wear some sort of blue shirt/dress, and I asked Kelli to wear white.
Entry Decor: I used Sharpie and foam board to create a sign for the entry door counting down the days until Kelli's wedding. Hanging on the door, I pulled out my own wedding veil to drape. My veil was super long, so I had to fold it a ton at the top so it wouldn't drag on the ground. To hide the bulge, I bought some flowers to fashion into a bouquet to cover it.
Interior Decor: I wanted all the decorations to be very elegant, but also have a little rustic flare as that is Kelli's personality. I set the table with a blue tablecloth for Something Blue, a little white rustic looking box I bought at Michaels, and a vase with white roses in the center. I also bought these cute iron-like letters from Michaels to spell out the couples initials.
I also decorated the table with upside down wine glasses with roses inside and candles on top. The roses inside I just bought at the Dollar Tree and pulled off the stems. I used my wedding china (don't you just love it!) for our plates.
For napkin rings, I tied a blue ribbon around a white napkin and added a diamond ring sticker to the center.
I made simple place cards out of card stock and the same diamond ring stickers I used for the napkins. To make them stand up, I cut off a little bit of the bottom of a cork and then sliced a slit in the top. My friend and her fiance love wine, and they are getting married in Temecula, so I wanted to incorporate wine a little bit in the decor -- this is how I did it.
I designed two wine bottle labels that went with the theme. Here Comes the Bride All Dressed in WHITE for the the white wine, and for the red blend, I found a romantic silhouette on Google and added The Perfect Blend with the couples names.
For wine charms I tied a simple blue bow around the stem of each wine glass, and put various wedding themed scrapbook stickers on the base.
Menu: Again, I wanted the food I served to be elegant, but I also wanted to stick with the Something Blue theme. I served steak with a blue cheese mixture on top (super yummy), vegetables, and mashed potatoes. I died butter blue and used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a heart.
I also served a Blue Pear Salad jello that I cut into hearts, and a spinach salad with blue berries and a light dressing I made mixing raspberry lemon concentrate with dijon, vinegar, and sugar.
For dessert, I served cheesecake pudding and blueberries in little shot glasses. I made a crumb mixture with vanilla wafers for the bottom, and then alternated between the pudding and the blueberries before topping it off with whipped cream. I forgot to take a photo of this, but this image is similar to what I made.
I also made these bridal dress sugar cookies for dessert.
Favors: I bought little champagne bottles as both a favor and to do a toast to the bride. I created the label on Photoshop.
I also designed these mini white boxes on Photoshop to give to each guest. The top of the box read: Thanks for celebrating Kelli's future "I Do" Here's a little Something Blue for you! Inside I put a bottle of light blue nail polish for each guest. Isn't the chalkboard sign a TOE-tally cool addition to this favor?
A Gift for the Bride: To cap off the evening, I put together a little gift basket of wine for my friend and her future husband to drink at special moments during their first year of marriage. The girls all pitched in, so it was from all of us. I designed the tags stealing some sayings from the Internet and creating some of my own.
I went to the grocery store with these "firsts" in mind, so I tried to pick out wines that matched. For the Honeymoon, I chose a bottle of Flip Flop Cabernet Sauvignon. They are traveling to Hawaii on their honeymoon, so this was a perfect match. For First Home, I chose a bottle of Chateau (which means home in French) St. Jean. For First Date Night as Mr. and Mrs., I chose a Little Black Dress Pinot Noir. For First Fight, I chose a Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon. For First Dinner Party, I chose a bottle of Cabernet called Spin the Bottle! Last, but not least, for their First Anniversary, I chose a Layered Cake wine since it is tradition to "save" part of your wedding cake to eat on your first anniversary.
I am so grateful for my friendships with these ladies, and I cannot wait to celebrate my good friend Kelli's wedding. I wish her all the happiness in the world!
Congratulations Kelli!
