Ahhh..... I do love it

What can I say?   I just do!

These cool pics make me happy!

 

 Cute, tiny salt & pepper shakers!  I must get them!

 

I love the new aluminum bottles.  Very chic.

The new dc can design... oh hello, gorgeous!

Moab Wedding Photos...at last

I was able to take some really great photos in Moab when I was down there planning a wedding in May.

It was gorgeous!

The ceremony took place on top of Dead Horse Point... a fitting venue for a bride and groom that spend their free time rock climbing.  They are amazing climbers!  As the guests walked along the path to the 'point' - something magical was happening:

It was stunning!

The ceremony was perfect.  It was incredibly spiritual.  

Since the park doesn't allow any live plants brought in - we opted for a bouquet of Iron Roses found on Etsy.  The only other prop was the book that held the officiant's notes, the two dad's thoughts and the bride's and groom's vows.  I simply tied some ribbon and attached some dried flowers.
Simple.  Elegant.

 

 It was amazing!

I could have posted sooner with just the photos that I took (above) but I decided to wait until I had some from the wedding photographer.   So that's why the delay. 

The dinner and reception were held at the Red Cliffs Lodge.  I traveled from Kaysville with my SUV packed full of decor items, candy, containers, dried branches and grapevine, vases, photos, easels and anything else I thought I might need...   The bride didn't want the decor to take away from the natural beauty of the surrounding red rock so it was minimal and natural with iron accents.  Dinner was hand-carved Prime Rib.  We set out a big tub of 'bubble' solution and bubble wands to keep the kiddos occupied.  The deck was lit with strings of white globe lights. On the tables were wire photo holders with Engagements and Bridal Photos displayed.  Moss, grapevine bundles, moss-wrapped wire, tulle, and crystal drops made up the centerpieces.  At each place setting was a hand-drawn card for guests to doodle thoughts, drawings, captions, and their autograph.  The bride and groom LOVE s'mores. So in lieu of a cake, dessert was a S'mores Bar-complete with illustrated s'more building suggestions and every topping imaginable.  Music, dancing and a big bonfire kept the party going until almost midnight.  The self-serve Candy Bar allowed guests to fill a bag(s) to take home as a 'thank you'. 

Thanks for enduring the long post - it was really fun for me to review the celebration months later.

Coming soon: yet another wedding post...an Asian themed Rehearsal Dinner in Idaho Falls.

Wedding Wire

I found the Wedding Wire Blog months ago.  It is filled with great information! There are dozens of blog post contributors and two additional blog sites, all with beautiful photos, excellent resources, and some really great tips and advice.  I highly recommend browsing these blogs. Especially if you are even tossing around the idea of getting married.  You will be inspired!

Pom Balls

So ~ I occasionally dabble in event planning.  Parties, weddings, dinners, etc.  I have often been heard telling someone that "when I grow up, I want to be a wedding planner".  I'm 46.
The other day, my daughter from another mother, Carly asked me if I would show her how to make pom balls.  For as long as I live I will associate pom balls with the Burkholz/Stringham wedding.  I was lucky enough to plan the celebration for my dear friend Katie Burkholz with the help of her sweet mom, Lizzy, last summer.  Katie married the wonderful (and lucky) Jeremy Stringham.  It was one of the most magical nights of the year!   To a large degree the magic came in a van from Culinary Crafts.  They were amazing and fabulous, as usual.  But I would like to take a little credit for part of it.  Enjoy the photos.  Please link to the vendors sites if any of you are in the wedding planning stages.  You will not be disappointed.  And yes - we did MAKE all the pom balls ourselves.  I know.

The weather was PERFECT!  The setting was SPECTACULAR!  The occasion was JOYFUL!  The night was MAGICAL!

This cake was pictured in "The Knot" last spring.  We took it to Granite Bakery in Salt Lake and they customized it just for Katie.  I can't believe how many compliments it got!  The bakery said it was one of the most beautiful they had ever done!

Gorgeous copper roses and ivory hydrangea. Jen Bennett, floral designer, is an artist!  ...and here are the poms - awesome, right?

Copper and Ivory Linens...Tents with lights and chandeliers...twinkle lights and pom balls...sunshine and summertime!

I'm so glad that Jeremy and Katie got a moment to walk around and look at all the beautiful details before the guests arrived.  I try to suggest that to couples so that they actually have some memory of what their wedding looked like.  Once the night gets going - they will not have a second to themselves!

My sister's gorgeous backyard in Farmington, Utah was transformed into a fairy tale setting by Culinary Crafts.  Pure MAGIC.

We hired a huge 15-person photo booth - stocked with props!!  It was hiiii-larious!  The take home favors were these hand-stamped library pockets made to fit a copy of the photos taken in the booth.  A duplicate copy was signed and hung on a clothesline fashioned from copper wire and painted wooden stakes for the couple to keep as the 'sign in book'.  These were my original idea and I had my cute daughters help me stamp them - I thought they turned out super cute! ;)  Utah Jive arrived an hour before the event and set up the booth.  They were fantastic people-people - helping the guests sign their photos for Katie and Jeremy and making sure they took a copy for themselves.  It was extra super fun!

Katie and Jeremy spray painted these frames for the tables.  Together with the ivory vases, the votives and the beautiful flowers they looked perfect on the copper linens!

Crepe Station...complete with creme' fraiche and a 'to-die-for' orange rum butter sauce...mmmmmm!

Again - gorgeous set up from the Culinary Crafts crew.  I have hired them many times and they have never failed to WOW me!
Just in case you're wondering how I had time to take all these fabulous photos...well, I didn't!!  CC hired out knowing that they'd want to feature the event.  All of these pro photos were taken by Zuma Photo.

How great is this mosaic??  We had it blown up and then placed it on an easel along with a couple of magnifying glasses.  It was set up in between the entrance and the bride and groom - so people could have something to look at while they were waiting to congratulate the couple.

Here are a few images of the stationery that I designed for the wedding...invites, program, guest book, etc.  

 

Update:  Check out Pom Love for some ready made pom balls.  Really cool stuff!