bridal shower

Inspiration: National Strawberry Day!

Its National Strawberry Day! Here's some inspiration for strawberry themed weddings, bridal showers, brunches and more!

s1Keep your bridal shower menu fresh and fruity with strawberries!

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 A strawberry theme is perfect for a summer outdoor wedding.

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Strawberries themes also work well for formal indoor weddings. Place jars of fresh jam on each table setting for charming (and delicious!) wedding favors.

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And who doesn't love brunch? Start your day off an a sweet note with strawberry smoothies and parfaits.

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Sweets tables are a growing trend and guest favorite. Whether you're hosting a birthday party, wedding or brunch a sweets table is a must!

Here are some fun and easy recipes to get the party started!

Strawberry Mimosas:

Ingredients: strawberries , champagne.

Directions: puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Pout puree into a glass and top with champagne.

Strawberry shortcake parfait:

Ingredients: 1 large angel food cake (plain), 2 pkg fresh strawberries( frozen is fine), 1 tub of cool whipped topping, strawberry mousse.

Directions: Make strawberry mousse according to recipe, Blend one pkg of strawberries to make puree (I used pulse for this), and the other pkg cut strawberries in half, put aside. Cut angel food cake into three sections. Layer bowl first with one section of angel food cake, (w) topping, strawberry puree, mousse, and a layer of cut strawberries

Strawberry Tart:

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • around 1 pound of fresh strawberries, rinsed and dried
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 8 ounces cream cheese (room temp is easiest to work with but mine was chilled)
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Remove hulls from strawberries and slice them in half. Put them in a bowl, sprinkle them with sugar, gently mix them and then set them aside. Meanwhile, prepare the crust:

For the crust (adapted from David Lebovitz)

  • 6 tablespoons (3 oz) butter
  • 1 tablespoon oil (I usually use canola but this time I used coconut oil)
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup flour
  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. In an ovenproof bowl (such as a Pyrex) mix first five ingredients. Put the bowl in the oven for around 15 minutes (the edges will be brown and the butter will be bubbling).
  3. Carefully remove the bowl (it will be very hot) and quickly mix in the flour until it forms a ball of dough.
  4. Place the dough into a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom and spread it around with a spatula. When it is cool enough to handle, press it into bottom and sides of the pan with your fingers. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork around ten times and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While the crust is baking, place the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl.  After around 30 minutes, there should be some liquid in bowl of strawberries. Drain it into the cream cheese and mix everything together. You can do this by hand, but a mixer or hand blender will be faster and make it smoother.

When the crust is cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture onto the bottom of the tart. Arrange the strawberry slices over the cream cheese and chill. Slice and serve.

That’s it! Enjoy!

Our October #FavoredBrides #DIY Bridal Shower

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Recently, our October Bride Clarissa had her bridal shower. Her bridesmaids hosted a beautiful DIY tea party and got most of the ideas from Pinterest! If you have been living under a rock and don't know what Pinterest is (lol), it is a social media space where you can share everything from DIY decor ideas, receipes, quotes, fashion, and event inspiration. It is a great medium for ideas if you want your event to stand out but just need a little help. Check out how Clarissa's bridesmaids used Pinterest to make her bridal shower a day she will never forget.

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Nothing says vintage like mason jars. The favors were mason jars filled with cookie ingredients and placed on an old wooden ladder and crate that guests could take as they left.

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Some ribbon, dollies, and colorful straws can dress up any drinking station. Very cost effective and easy to do.

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Staying with the Vintage theme, the hosts used an old briefcase and lace to gather the gifts and cards.

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How cute is this welcome sign? All of these unique pieces add such a nice touch, and can be found anywhere. Start with a Parent's house!

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Instead of using a folding table for the desserts, substitute it for an dresser! Mismatched platters and lace runners add a nice subtle touch.

Spring 2013’s Trend: Long Live The Party Dress! @RenttheRunway

Dream Spring 2013 Closet  

Being a self proclaimed "Party Girl turned Party Planner" means I wear  lots of dresses. Since I don't have a closet the size of Oprah's yet, I try to save money & space by finding new ways to look the part. Now that wedding season & summer parties are quickly approaching I thought it would be good to share  one of my favorite go-to spots to find inspirations & trends for my style, Rent the Runway!

Rent the Runway is a company with a mission – to democratize fashion and empower women to feel beautiful every day. And every time I have worn a dress from this online closet on the go I have received tons of compliments.

The online retailer just released a some great Spring 2013 Trends for dresses and accessories for any guest of a wedding or special event leading to the big day such as the Engagement Party, Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Party, Rehearsal Dinner & Honeymoon Looks To Love!

Read RTR's Here Comes the Guest

Breakfast at Tiffany's Themed Bridal Shower

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A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog about the Breakfast at Tiffany's decor I (I = myself and 3 other girls lol) made for a Bridal Shower I co-hosted. We finally had the shower last week and it turned out AMAZING! The Bride loved the decor and had a lot of fun. Below are a few pictures from the event.

 

table decor

The Shower was a brunch, so we served bagels, muffins, danishes, cheese and crackers, cake pops, cookies, cupcakes, etc...

cake pops

The Cake pops were made by Save Room Desserts. They looked and tasted amazing!

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Along with the Tiffany's boxes we printed out Audrey Hepburn quotes, framed them and placed them all on the tables.

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The Keepsake box was handcrafted for the bride.

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All the decor was handmade. Although it took awhile we had a great time making everything and everything looked great!

Life as a Bridesmaid: Bridal Shower Addition

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When I was a little girl planning my dream wedding and helping my friends plan theirs. Making sure everything was perfect and that all we needed to do was to *insert groom here*, I had no idea I would be doing arts and crafts lol. However, here I am painting boxes for my sister’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s inspired Bridal Shower.

I found the idea for some really cute centerpieces on Pinterest aka God’s gift to planners and thought this would be so easy to do myself! Of course when I say myself I mean me and my artsy friends. So I rounded up the troops and we went to work! The plan was to make Tiffany’s boxes to place on the dessert table and to collect the bride’s gift cards. We purchased everything from Michael’s and it took us about five hours to finish. Below you will find a list of everything we purchased as well as a few pictures. After the shower I will be sure to post follow up pictures so you can see how the décor turned out.

We at Favored love DIY projects. What did you make for a bridal shower? What was the theme or inspiration? Send us your pictures we would love to see them!

Materials:

  • Paper Mache Boxes set of 5
  • Celebrate it Ribbon 2 ½ in X 10 yards
  • Celebrate ir Ribbon 1 ½ in X 4 yards
  • Americana Acrylic Paint: Bahama Blue
  • Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  • Brushes
  • Plastic or Trash Bags
  • Paper plates (to put the paint on)

 

supplies