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CUSTOM FAVORS: Flour Seeds Gourmet Baking Mixes
You all know how obsessed I am with cupcakes… well this is the perfect favor for your cupcake themed bridal shower, or wedding reception. I’m a big fan of giving away favors that people can actually enjoy instead of trinkety nonsense they’re going to throw away. So what better favor than food. Seriously.
These adorably packaged favors from the Gourmet Gift Co., are gourmet baking mixes in beautiful customized boxes for your guests to enjoy! The cupcake mixes come in four tasty flavors including vanilla, chocolate, champagne and red velvet. YUM! Each mix is made with Nielsen-Massey Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla and NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS OR PRESERVATIVES! Wooo! Plus their amazing frosting recipes are available right on their website so your guests can replicate Flour Seeds incredible frosting right at home!
All you have to do is combine the ingredients from your own kitchen, bake and enjoy! Easy! You can personalize the label with a variety of colors to match your theme and add your own custom text. I so love this. Plus, the Gourmet Gift Co. is a Style Me Pretty Little Black Book member, so you know they’re good people. She doesn’t let just anyone in there you know.
Now here’s the best part… The Gourmet Gift Co. is giving away a $50 gift certificate toward a custom order.
This is the perfect addition to your champagne and cupcakes shower!
All you have to do is tell us why you love cupcakes, and you can do it in THREE PLACES!
Comment here, send us a message on Twitter or post on our Facebook wall
We’ll pick a winner at random and announce a winner next Wednesday April 29th.
Be sure to check out The Gourmet Gift Co.’s founder, Tawnya Zebrowski’s blog Stylish Giving for more stylishly fun and easy DIY favor ideas!
HOORAY for Cupcakes and THANK YOU to The Gourmet Gift Co. for this incredible offer!
So as much as I love and find it necessary to be surrounded in flowers… sometimes they are the first to go in the great wedding budget cut. It’s true. Flowers can be one of the more expensive things in your plan, and people have different feelings about this. You know my feelings. I worked in a flower shop for two years when I was 16 and can’t seem to shake the petals from my hair. I love them. And for me, they’re up there with food, and music as VIP wedding “big bucks” items. BUT, it’s different for everyone, AND it’s absolutely possible to maintain a beautiful wedding sans enormous blooms with simple elegant elements. Here’s how…
CHEAP FLOWERS IN BULK
Photo Courtesy of Brides.com
This is one of my favorite rules, and if you are a regular Wedding Belles reader, you know that I talk about this often. You can maintain a really beautiful look at your wedding by using uniform flowers… lots and lots of them. Daisy’s, mums, carnations and tulips look AMAZING in large bunches. Simple and sophisticated.
BRANCHING OUT
Photo Courtesy of Brides.com
Especially if you’re planning a wedding that incorporates natural elements, using branches instead of flowers can be a very sleek and modern centerpiece substitute for mounds of fluffy petals. Incorporating other details like ribbon, hang tags, and even food can give your centerpieces a modern look for less. Just don’t go overboard.
MOOD LIGHTING
Photo Courtesy of Brides.com
Candles are a great way to light your party, and your guests faces for photographs. Ambiance is very important, and creating different lighting schemes can changes the theme and style of your event. Substituting high candlesticks with lower votives along with small floral elements can add a unique style to your table. I have something similar to this on my dining room table now. Crate & Barrel, CB2, and Anthropologie have beautiful and really inexpensive faux glass candlesticks with beautiful embellishment. Add bright candlesticks, a dash of floral color and you’re done!
GIFT GIVER
Photo Courtesy of Brides.com
Showcase your favors in beautifully packaged boxes as table centerpieces. Fill them with assorted candies, handmade soaps and stacked elegantly on white cake stands.
FOUND OBJECTS
Photo Courtesy of Brides.com
Nix the typical centerpice vases and head to your local flea market in search of found objects to incorporate into your wedding style. Use mismatched shapes and style to create a whimsical look on each table with simple florals.
WRAP IT UP
Etsy Seller Two Inspire You $55
Turning a wreath on it’s back and filling the inside with high candlesticks or hurricane lamps with lighting is another way to make a smaller affair seem more intimate. Choose the wreathe carefully, and make sure your elements go together.
I killed my lavender tree this weekend. I know… what kind of mother am I? Neglectful apparently. It was so pretty too. And with the sunshine trying to show up and spring peeking around the corner, and me killing my plant and all… all I can think about is gardening. (Even though it’s been proven that I’m not so great at it)
I want to be great at it.
Since I live in a city that is not exactly conducive to gardening… I think about all the things I will try not to kill someday, someplace else. I dream about tulips and hydrangea and overflowing pots of mint perfect for a an afternoon mojito. Yes. Dreams. At least until I move out of the concrete playground. Here’s some inspiration for Spring in today’s WED Favorites, and by the way lovely favors for spring time weddings.
Butter Cream Birdhouses- Greenware Design by Etsy $40
This is so cute. And small enough that I might not kill it immediately. They’re hanging planters for our tillandsias (aka. airplants)… just keep in a warm spot and mist with a water bottle (perfect for bathrooms…the plants love the humidity and moisture left in the air post-showering). Care instructions included. (THANK GOD)
Plantable Favors from Greetings That Grow (Etsy) $5 for 10 tags
The tulip tags were made using sheets of strawberry colored forget me not seed embedded paper, which Anna at Greetings That Grow hand made and cut herself using all recycled materials. Each tag is packaged separately and comes with clear instructions as to how to plant the seed embedded paper once you are done with the card. Really cute idea for a springtime bridal shower.
Japanese Bird Bells- Red Envelope $39.95
I kind of love wind chimes. They can have the creepy factor at times, but then I think about them on porches that overlook oceans and lakes and it seems like it should be ok to hang bells shaped like birds over your window. I like these. They’re a little different, but still pretty fun.
Umbrella Rain Chain- Smith & Hawken $119
Ok. This is not a shower or wedding favor. But it’s very cool, and worth throwing on a registry somewhere. Copper turns green when it weathers, (officially- it develops a mellow patina over time) which is pretty beautiful. So this copper umbrella chain is perfect for a side yard. Hang above a basin or rain barrel to conserve rain water, or use in place of a downspout to direct the flow of water. Plus it sounds pretty.
While monogramming is often left to the popped collar, prepster brigade I have to say, for bridesmaid gifts, and for wedding gifts, it’s kind of a nice thing to do. Not that the person you’re gifting is going to forget their own initials, but it’s just a little bit more fun than boring old registry gifts. You can still buy them what they want on their registry, just add something personalized to make it more personal.
Plus, monogrammed “stuff” turns into a great “possession to pass down”. Didn’t you know your unborn children are actually interested in crystal goblets with scripted initials on them. They are.
Here are some of my favorite monogrammed swag for bridesmaids, guests and the bride-and groom-to- be.
I LOVE these coozies. First of all, you can monogram them and second of all you can pick your fabric. How great is that!? They’re so cute! Include them in welcome baskets, bridesmaid bags or hand them out at a casual BBQ style rehearsal dinner for guests to use. They also make great shower and bachelorette party favors! These are $14.00 from Palm Gifts.
So I don’t know how many people still use sleep masks. It’s kind of an indulgence that disappeared in the 80′s, but something tells me there’s a market… particularly on the Upper East side, but maybe… just maybe… it’s one of those things you would never be caught dead buying for yourself… but wouldn’t mind getting from someone else. These are adorable, and again you can personalize the fabric and the script. They would go perfectly in a bridesmaid swag bag for a bachelorette getaway, or in welcome baskets for guests for a small intimate wedding. They are $18 from Palm Gifts.
$10-$15 at Williams SonomaThese are super cute and very practical. Not that bottles of wine should be left unfinished, but in case they ever are, these wooden wine-stoppers from The Palm Gifts, and sterling silver ones from Williams Sonom, with personalized initials are the perfect way to save some for later. pair them with stemless wine glasses and a corkscrew as a shower gift. They also make great bridesmaid gifts with a nice bottle of wine and a pair of monogrammed glasses. (See below)
$16 for a Box of 10 Cards at The Palm Gifts
These are perfect to give as a bridesmaid gift with a beautiful pen, or stationary set. They are also a really great shower gift for the bride-to-be. Have her new initials monogrammed on the note cards and give them with a beautiful photo album, or desk set.
Perfect for the culinary loves in your life. Monogrammed cutting board would make a great shower gift for a bride-to-be along with a nice set of monogrammed knives from Williams- Sonoma, an adorable monogrammed apron and a fabulous cook book.
$54 for a Set of 4 at Williams-Sonoma
$38 for a set of 2 from Williams-Sonoma
$30- $85 Silver Plated Jewelry Box from Pottery Barn
This is a great bridesmaid gift. Put matching necklaces or earrings to be worn the day of the wedding inside and hand these beautiful silver boxes out at the rehearsal dinner. Your bridesmaids will thank you.
For the Guys:
$34.00 Monogrammed Golf Balls at Red Envelope
For the groomsman who loves to golf, these monogrammed golf balls from Red Envelope are a great gift, especially when they’re paired with silver or brass finished golf club links, also from Red Envelope.
$40 – $60 at Red Envelope 
$40-$60 at Red Envelope
Special- $48- $58 at Red Envelope
This nickel-plated, monogrammed humidor is perfect for groomsmen who like to light up from time to time. Cedar lined, this stogie home is perfect storage for a couple of cubans… Make it a really nice gift and add the cigars before you give them the box.
I’m really not a cynic. In fact most of my friends would probably describe me as a romantic in denial, since anytime anyone tells me that I’m romantic I look at them sideways roll my eyes and smirk, spitting “Oh please,” through my teeth. Ok, so I really liked Sleepless in Seattle and when Rosie O’Donnell tells Meg Ryan her problem is that she wants her life to be a movie, yes, that’s me. HOWEVER… the universal symbol for romance I can certainly do without. In fact I’m launching an anti-heart campaign right here… right now.
Hearts are so gross. Unless you are 7 years-old, or it’s a cold day in February, hearts are not ok. Really they should not ever enter into any decorating or end up as centerpieces or favors or anything else you attempt to bestow on someone else. Really, I’m not kidding.
I had a friend in high school who was dating this terrible girl. He actually told me that he thought we could be friends if only we’d go shopping together. I declined and offered to settle for making fun of her behind her back. That’s what you do in high school right?
Anyway, he made me go shopping with him to help him pick out a birthday gift for her. We ended up at JCPenney’s or the BonTon, someplace in a mall with a limited jewlery selection and a price range 16 year-old boys could afford. Fine. I picked out pretty little turquoise dangles…. we left with a terrible silver pair of heart shaped studs that needed a nice polish before they went into the blue velvet box. Gross. She wore them every freakin’ day until she cheated on him and they broke up. Slut. Again, hearts are ugly.
I was shoping for bags online today and came across what I thought was a very cute little bag at L.L. Bean. Then I zoomed in on this cute little bag and realized it looked like this.
Ruined. I’m sorry, I just don’t like them. Most heart shaped jewelery, as I discovered in high school and maintain today, is ugly. It doesn’t matter if it’s from Tiffany’s either. Also, gross on bags, clothes, shoes or anything else you’re planning on wearing out in public. Boyfriends, husbands, brothers just don’t do it. Even heart shaped diamonds… not my favorite, and who doesn’t love a diamond. Don’t ruin that beautiful symbol of your love by lopping off the top and making it look like a cherry ring pop.
I’m willing to make exceptions in one area…food. As a cookie, lollipop or cupcake shape, hearts are fine. The decorations are what matter. Like these are cute.
These are from Beau-Coup, but there are really great bakeries all over the country that do this kind of thing.
But, things like this: Not O.K.
“Oh why thank you for coming to my shower…here’s a bag of hearts to take with you.” What the hell are you supposed to do with a bag of hearts seriously. Come on. I give you a blender and I get a bag of hearts… no, no.
Ick. I’m all for personalized coasters, but why do they have to be hearts? I get it. You’re in love. I know. I just shelled got all dressed up and sat through a full Catholic mass… and had to pay a dollar to dance with the groom, and I get coasters? I’d rather have white chocolate almonds in netting.
And what the hell? Hearts aren’t even shaped that way! I did a science project on it… again… in 5th grade, and the heart is not shaped like a box of Russell Stover Chocolates. Though you can often get to a woman’s heart using Russel Stover Chocolates… well you’re actually probably better off with extra dark Godiva, but I digress.
Hearts remind me of cheap best friend key chains (You know the ones that looked like lightening had struck straight down the center), Runts (yes, the candy) and The Babysitters Club, (Dawn or Stacy…one of the blond ones… she used to dot her “i’s” with a heart. Every single one).
Hearts are really truly reserved for little girls, chocolate boxes and valentines. Abandon them 11 months out of the year. February… go nuts.
