Our Wedding: Old Hollywood Meets Southern Opulence

 In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would share our wedding day with you all!

Garrett and I had been dating for four years when he proposed. He got down on one knee at Canoe in Atlanta, a beautiful river-front restaurant on the Chattahoochie. Once we were engaged, I started planning the very next day.

 I desperately wanted to get married that summer, and with it being only 9 months away, I felt behind just getting started. My mother came into town that week and we started shopping venues. Originally I wanted an outdoor wedding (thank goodness we didn't because it rained on our wedding day).
I found a gorgeous spot an hour north of the city that was perfect. I kept my mind open, however to other options. One day, I had a venue in Buckhead cancel my appointment a few minutes before I was to arrive. I pulled into a parking lot and started making calls to visit another venue that could meet on such short notice. That's when "the one" fell into my lap. The gorgeous, 4-story, castle-esque Women's Club of Atlanta in Midtown welcomed me with open arms and gave me a tour within the hour. Walking through the space, I realized that everything I had desired in a location was met. It had a gorgeous bridal suite, a room for kids to stay in during the wedding, charming grooms suite, grand pianos on two floors, and arched windows in the ballroom. I was in love. So much so, I wrote a check for my deposit right then and there.

I planned my entire wedding without the help of family or a planner and it was exhausting.  We invited 250 guests and had 200 at our wedding. Planning a wedding this size takes a lot of work and a decent chunk of change. My budget was relatively small compared to the industry standard, but I stretched every dollar I could to pull off a glamorous wedding.

In order to save money:

•  I created my own centerpieces and purchased my flowers from a wholesaler (savings of $5,000)
• I purchased inexpensive wine from Trader Joe's and relabeled them with our custom label (savings of $2,000)
• We purchased a keg instead of individual bottles and served the beer in glassware provided by the caterer (savings of $400)
• Instead of getting carried away with our invitations, I ordered them through Vistaprint and received free envelopes with my order (savings of $1,500)
• I DIYed several elements of our details including signage around the room, our bar menu, rehearsal dinner invitations, groomsmen and bridesmaid gifts, and so much more. (savings of around $1,000)
• Instead of a band, I hired a piano player and saxophone player (savings of $7,000)
• Instead of a DJ for the after-party, I hired a DJ ahead of time to make a mix for me which only cost me $150! (savings of $1,300)

One of my favorite elements of our wedding was our cake! I wanted it to be a statement piece, and that is was! Sitting at 5 feet tall, it was extremely intricate and carefully planned between my cake baker and myself. I created the poetry for the bottom of the cake in photoshop and using her edible printer, we were able to have delicate script on the cake which was absolutely gorgeous and such a sweet detail that I still get teary-eyed reading. We incorporated our flowers into the design as well as our initials, and to keep things looking polished, I asked for gold jewelry-looking "drips" throughout.

Another element that wasn't photographed that I loved from our wedding was our champagne cocktails. We named them the "East Cobb Snob" and the "Buckhead Betty" (it's an Atlanta thing). The Snob was a champagne cocktail with a splash of St. Germaine and the Betty was a champagne cocktail topped with cotton candy on a pearl-ended cocktail stirrer. In the bar area, I played classic old Hollywood movies on the back wall to keep the theme alive. Scattered throughout the house were quotes from Fitzgerald (one of my favorite authors), sitting in pretty gold frames.

A special moment happened while we cut our cake. One of Garrett's groomsmen sat down at the piano and started playing the prettiest music while we tried to cut the cake without toppling it over! It was so unexpected and beautiful, it will always stay as a special moment in my mind.

You can see all of the details of our wedding below:

We started off our morning getting out hair done at DryBar

I used a cartoon artist on Etsy to create this cute caracture of us for our sign

I DIYed this bar cart by purchasing old cigar boxes from a local shop and ordered custom matches

I had a florist construct these precious kissing balls for our flowers girls using mums and a champagne ribbon.

Orchids are my favorite flower! I wanted to keep things simple and elegant by only using white orchids. I loved the way the gold chivari chairs made all of our decor pop!

The flower girls wore blush pink dresses with crystal accents...isn't she adorable?!

For the groomsmen, I purchased cut crystal lowball glasses from HomeGoods, and placed an airplane bottle of nice bourbon and a cigar in each. This way the boys get to have a drink without going overboard!

Tip: if you buy them in a pack instead of individually, they are much less expensive!

My nephew came to see me before I walked down the aisle!!

The bridesmaid dresses were blush pink with beautiful open backs. I wanted their dresses to look like a gown they could actually wear again!

For the guys, I selected ivory suit jackets with black slacks, bow ties, and vests. It just screamed old Hollywood to me!

For my bouquet, I attached small frames with pictures of loved ones we lost so they could be there in spirit. When I showed my Grandmother the image of my grandpa she started crying because she was so touched I included him. I loved being able to honor them without drawing a lot of attention.

My "something borrowed" was my sister's veil. It matched my dress perfectly.

For our first dance as husband and wife, we played You Are the Best Thing by Ray Lamontagne.

Three generations

I loved the saxophone player! He was such a hit!

Carlton's Cakes in Atlanta made this gorgeous masterpiece!

Some of the poetry I selected for my cake. I did a montage of different pieces from Fitzgerald.

Scariest moment of my life right here, folks. My husband wouldn't touch it because he thought he would tip it over!

Garrett's groomsmen playing for us while we cut the cake and did our toast!

Because we used a historic venue, several send-offs were off limits to use, including sparklers. Instead, I purchased dried rose petals on Etsy and used old sheet music wrapped into a cone to hold them. I love how the images turned out using the petals!

It's so fun to go down memory lane and look at images from the day I said yes to my soulmate. If you have any questions about where I purchased items, how to save money for your own wedding, or simply want to tell me what you think, please let me know in the comments!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Easy French Toast

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and it has me thinking about food! My husband's favorite meal of the day is breakfast, and while I don't make an extravagant breakfast for him on the daily, I do like to spoil him from time-to-time with my homemade french toast. 

The key to making good french toast is all about the bread. While you can use several types of bread to make french toast, the best is soft, brioche bread. It is spongy, thick, and makes for a great texture. It also has a little natural sweetness which compliments this sugary breakfast. Another key to making perfect french toast is the amount of egg wash you use. I've made the mistake in the past of allowing the bread to sop up a ton of liquid which results in a less than desirable result. To achieve the perfect amount of egg wash to bread ratio, coat your bread on each side with the egg wash and then transfer it to your skillet. Adding too much will make the bread soggy even after toasting. I like to use half & half instead of milk in my mixture for a richer flavor. 

For garnish, I usually use fresh berries, chocolate, and powdered sugar. I recently discovered an amazing addition to this decadent breakfast - chocolate covered pretzels. Yep, you heard me right. It is amazing. I crush up the chocolate covered pretzels and sprinkle a little on each piece of toast. It gives the perfect amount of crunch and adds a little saltiness to balance out the sweet! Let me know if you try it out. ;)

French Toast

Preparation:  5 min  Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 15 min

Ingredients

        

          6 slices of thick bread

          3 eggs

          1 cup milk or half & half

          1 tsp vanilla extract

          1 tsp cinnamon
          Butter for frying pan
          Maple syrup
          For garnish: walnuts or pecans, raspberries, shredded chocolate, powdered sugar

Instructions

          1) In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk until well combined. Add the cinnamon and vanilla.

          

          2) Dunk your bread into the mixture and turn until the bread is coated, but not soaked.

          3) In a frying pan, melt butter to coat the pan on medium heat, about 1 tbsp per 2 bread slices. 

          4) Cook each side for 3-6 minutes, or until golden and toasted.

           5) Transfer each piece to a plate and layer them down the plate so that each piece is exposed.

           6) Using a strainer, pour your desired amount of powdered sugar into the strainer and dust over 

                 the bread.

           7) Garnish as you like and top with syrup.

Enjoy!

DIY Abstract Artwork

Now that our home is finally coming together, I have been hunting for artwork. Our walls feel so bare. I think for a lot of people, myself included, choosing artwork feels very intimidating. You may fall in love with a piece and find it doesn't go well in the room at all....or it makes the room feel dark, or it's too colorful, or it doesn't have enough color. Then you're out a hundred bucks because you can very seldom return original artwork. I've searched several online retailers for artwork but never seem to find anything I like. I'm a fan of abstract art, but most of the pieces I am attracted to are several hundreds of dollars. Bummer.

I kept buying mirrors to fill up wall space, but too many mirrors in your house will make you look a little self-obsessed, am I right? I started hunting for pieces I liked and noticed a trend in my selections. I clearly was in love with black and white simple abstract pieces like the one below. They go everywhere, even in a room filled with brown, and they add understated elegance to any room. Mixed with black and white photo pieces as a gallery wall, they match effortlessly. 

(Source: unknown)

I decided to paint some of my own. I wanted to use watercolors instead of oil or acrylic paint because abstract watercolor paintings tend to have a messy look, which would result in my own rookie painting looking "professional." I grabbed gold frames with a matte included from Target. Using 6x8 inch watercolor paper, I grabbed some black watercolor paint and started painting imperfect circles.

I decided to paint a few pieces with different ideas in mind, and picked my two favorite to hang in the frames. The paint takes about 1-2 hours to dry, but I waited a full day to allow the paint to dry before putting them in my frames.

My recommendation is to make each painting different, but stick with a theme. My theme was circles, so I painted some with large circles, some with little circles, some where they fit to the size of the media and some where the circles went off the page. Don't feel like there should be an exact way you make your own. The beauty is, you can make several attempts and you only have to pick a few to go in the frames! I think this project could be fun as a girl's night with a glass of wine. Who knows, maybe the more you sip the better your abstract will look! However you artwork turns out, it will be your own one-of-a-kind masterpiece!

Pretzel Bites

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend, and while I am not a huge football fan, I can appreciate the commercials and food that come with watching the game! I absolutely love sports bar food! Wings, nachos, potato skins...anything bite size, I'll order it! So, this year, I decided to make some yummy bite-size pretzels for our celebration. I have been in love with pretzel bread recently. One of my New Year's Resolutions for this year is to make more bread. I know this seems contrary to what most resolutions consist of (i.e. dieting) but I love bread and if I can make it with less salt, additives, and healthy flour options, then I have no problem keeping it in my diet. Making pretzel bread was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be! One loaf of dough yields dozens of these bites, so don't worry - this recipe makes plenty of bites for your friends. In fact, I had so much leftover dough, I made pretzel buns with them for burgers. They didn't turn out as photogenic as the bites, but nonetheless, they were tasty! Below you can follow my steps on how to make your own pretzel bites. This recipe makes about 6 dozen bites.

Once your dough is ready to go, pinch a ball and roll it into a rope.

Cut the dough into one inch pieces.

Add baking soda to a large stockpot, and bring it to a boil.

Drop your bites into the water. I boiled about 15 at a time.

Boil for about 30 seconds, then using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 425F. Brush the bites with egg wash, top with sea salt, and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Pretzel Bites

Preparation:  1.5 hr Cook Time: 18 min Total Time: A little less than 2 hours

Ingredients

        

          1  1/2 cups warm water

          1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)

          6 tbsp butter, melted

          2 tbsp light brown sugar

          4  1/2 cups flour
          2  1/2 tsp salt
          1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp cold water
          1/2 cup baking soda
          Vegetable oil
          Coarse sea salt

Instructions

          1) In the bowl of a stand mixer, using your dough hook, combine water, sugar, yeast and butter. 

               Make sure the butter is warm, not hot. Blend until combined. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

          

          2) Add salt and flour and mix until combined. Once the flour is blended in, increase your speed 

               to medium and blend for 4-5 minutes, or until the dough begins forming into a ball. 

               If the dough appears wet, add more flour, 1 tsp at a time.

          3) Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, and form it into a ball. Turn to coat the dough with the oil.

          4) Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for an hour.

           5) Preheat the oven to 425F. Then bring your water to a rolling boil with the baking soda.

           6) Pinch a ball of the dough, and roll it into a rope. Cut one inch pieces and drop them into the water.

           7) Boil the bites for 30 seconds, boiling about 15 at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon and 

                 transfer to a cookie sheet.

           8) Brush the bites with egg wash, and follow with a few pinches of coarse sea salt so that the 

                 salt adheres to the egg wash.

            9) Bake the bites for 15-18 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Serve with honey mustard.

Enjoy!

Galentine's Day Party

When Galentine's Day first became a "thing", I fell in love with the idea! I am all about empowering women and spreading girl power, so what better way to celebrate the holiday of love and friendship than with your best gal pals? 

To celebrate the holiday, I wanted to use as much pink in my design as possible! I am such a girly-girl, and I love the color pink, but rarely get to use it in my home because I am married to the world's most masculine guy. I can at least get away with pink flowers and small details, but if I ever got one of those trendy pink turkish rugs, he would ask where the receipt was, because it wouldn't be staying long.

I couldn't wait to create a girly-themed party! 

While I love keeping things bubbly and cute for this girly holiday, I wanted the theme to feel elegant rather than look childish or cheesy. Below are my tips on how to accomplish your own feminine-themed party! 

To accomplish the look:

Ditch the idea of pink garlands, and swap it with a boxwood wreath or other greenery for balance. For added flavor and garnish, grab some fresh raspberries and toss them into glasses of rose' for a feminine touch. 

I love the look of small flowers frozen into ice cubes for the champagne bucket, but in an effort to keep costs down, swap the entire flower for petal cubes! They give you the pop of color you need without using tons of flowers.

Keep the heart shapes to a minimum. To accomplish a polished look, create a color scheme that creates a feminine and festive look rather than Valentine's Day themed decor. This will make your party more unique and less cheesy.

Less is more. By concentrating on quality over quantity, guests will be able to appreciate the individual pieces. Cluttered carts will look tacky and awkward, so ditch the excess and keep things simple.

Dress code? Encourage your friends to wear hues that compliment the theme!

Did you know Veueve has a brut rose'? It's absolutely delicious!

I always offer non-alcoholic beverages for guests who don't drink. Pink-colored carbonated beverages add the perfect feminine touch!

You can also layer additional petals over the top of the ice cubes for a pretty pink touch.

Placing a petal on the sides of each glass helps to tie in your flower arrangement and acts as a unique garnish for the drinks.

What would a Galentine's Day be without something covered in chocolate? Grab mini heart chocolate boxes to give out as party favors!

Let your guests build their own beverage. Offer berries and mint as options to add to their drinks.

I hope you enjoy this holiday with your best girl friends!