Cocktails + Ice Cream, Yes Please!

A definite fav find!!!

Signature drinks have become a pretty popular reception-accessory! They are a great way to add color-infused detail in a way that many guests will notice and appreciate, if you get my gist! Martha Stewart even had wedding-themed signature drinks at her 15th Anniversary: Party on the Plaza. So with that, you know you can take these stand-out drinks to the bank!!!


But to elevate this trend, what about cocktail flavored ice cream?! I think this could be a really fun alternative to a signature drink. This is a great twist on a trendy wedding element, plus it can be unique and sophisticated or fun and flirty - fitting many wedding themes and visions!

The San Jose, CA based business, Silver Moon, produced one of "the outstanding products" out of thousands shown at the Winter 2009 Fancy Food Show. From Mojito Ice to Praline Irish Creme, I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong! Silver Moon says they've taken two after dinner favorites, ice cream and liqueur, and combined them into something truly sensational.




So, treat your taste-buds and impress your guests!

A Little Country, A Little Chic

Barn weddings were definitely a fall trend last year, and I had been dying to plan a barn wedding for quite awhile! As you can imagine, I was ecstatic after learning that Stacey was planning to have just that!

Stacey is the catering manager at great local restaurant, Room 39. So, simply, she knows the ins and outs of the business; therefore, she knew exactly what she wanted...and exactly what she wanted in me as her day-of coordinator! Our personalities clicked right off the bat!

Stacey envisioned a chic barn wedding that was not only welcoming and warm, but also classic. By the details in this wedding, you'll be able to tell it was all of the above. Although my sole purpose was to coordinate the day of the wedding, I was able to help with a few of these details as well as the layout of the barn. This, in fact, was one of my favorite aspects of this wedding. I greatly enjoyed walking into the empty space and picturing the focal points, guests and decor. The barn consisted of one main room with a loft and a connected side barn. After walking the space, we were able to determine the best flow and layout for the evening.

Stacey and Andy were married at Pilgrim Chapel in Kansas City. I hope you enjoy this country chic wedding!


Barn at Alexander Majors Historic House and Museum.



Now for the details! Mason jars, mason jars, mason jars!




With a painted, rustic piece of wood, the guests were offered original popcorn, hot apple cider and beer in mason jars! The painted signs were displayed throughout the inside of the barn too!

Now for a few inside photos!

We hung a large cluster of lanterns from wall to wall over the dance floor in the main barn, and the attached side barn housed the bride's and groom's cakes, a perfectly framed bar, authentic wagons and three gorgeous chandeliers!



All the delicious food was catered by Room 39. And even burlap was draped from the ceiling!


The cakes were created by Natasha Goellner.



A little bit of Stacey!

Her hair piece was handcrafted by Janay A. and the bouquets were provided by Ornamental Petal.





Stacey and Andy, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your special day. Your wedding was completely unique, fit your style and catered to your guests. I was challenged as your coordinator and truly appreciate that. I was thrilled to work with you both! Many blessings!

'Tis the Season...

...for wreath making!

Since taking Eddie Ross' workshop a few weeks ago, I've been following his website updates and fell in love with one of his fun challenges! Ornament Wreaths! Now I didn't enter the actual challenge, but I thought I'd see what I could come up with...

First, I suggest having enough ornaments before you get started!

However, sometimes I just get too antsy...I didn't have enough ornaments...so I decided to incorporate some ribbon! It took up the empty space and added some great texture. And in the end, I'm glad I had to improvise! Because I didn't have enough ornaments, I did have to glue all of my pieces together. I believe Eddie suggests that you need about 80 ornaments total. If you have enough, you can arrange them perfectly where they should just rest and nestle together...in place...not needing any glue!

And here's this year's Christmas wreath...proudly hanging on my front door!



Click here to follow Eddie Ross' step-by-step ornament wreath making instructions! Enjoy your holiday crafts and spread some Christmas cheer!!!

Eddie Ross Workshop

Well it's not everyday you can say you did this..

Tonight I got to attend an Eddie Ross workshop right here in Kansas City! Eddie Ross is the former editor of Martha Stewart Living and also starred on Bravo's reality TV show, "Top Design." He recently completed a festive home makeover for Today Show's, Kathy Lee Gifford, which will air on HGTV's special “Celebrity Holiday Homes” on December 6th at 7pm.

This was a hands-on workshop where Eddie showed us how to make a sophisticated and simple holiday arrangement.

Here is the before photo along with tid-bits that together make this centerpiece fabulous!



I learned that the holly berries are poisonous, so you probably wouldn't be considered hostess-of-the-year if one of these little guys accidentally plopped into your guests' drink or rolled onto their salad plate...So instead, we removed the berries from the above holly and inserted the berries below!


To add a little snazz, a few of these gold ornaments were placed between the carnations.


They can also be incorporated into your other table decor as Eddie did below with the napkin holder!


And the after photo!


Sadly, I had a prior engagement this evening, which caused me to only catch the very tail end of this great workshop. However, being late sure paid off tonight because I got to take home the arrangement that Eddie made himself!!!


This is my friend, Kylie, and me with Eddie Ross.



Tonight's workshop was held at Creative Candles, a local Kansas City business owned by husband and wife, Ken Weiner and Pam Fleischer. Oprah blew out 50 of these Creative Candles on her 50th birthday. At a dinner party in San Fran, Prince Charles and Camilla dined by Creative Candles-light. Martha Stewart has used them, they've appeared on the Today Show and they've even been to the White House!

Although I wasn't there for all of Eddie's instruction, I greatly enjoy learning, seeing and doing new things. As well as meeting the fun people that go along with that!

Mr. & Mrs. Dilly Introduce Fall

Welcome back! I am thrilled to have more photos to post...

Jon and Jill were one of the first couples I met when we moved to Kansas City, so it was a blast being able to help plan their wedding. I was so excited when Jill asked me (just hours after being engaged) to be her wedding planner. One of my favorite things about planning is being able to see a full event from beginning to end. And that was this wedding - from the very beginning, to the very end and everything in between!

Already knowing the couple pretty well, I wasn't surprised in the least when Jill wanted a simple but tasteful wedding!



Jill's colors, introducing fall to all of her guests, were red and chocolate brown. Jill's bouquet of black magic roses, orange parrot tulips and orange mokara orchids were a perfect fit for what she had in mind. Jill's bridesmaids also carried orange parrot tulips along with naranga and marie claire roses, which gave a little something extra to her simple red and chocolate choice. Florals were arranged by Flowers by Emily.


Ah, the first-see...always a favorite ;)


Jon, Jill and the wedding party took a trolley ride from the ceremony to the reception site. I'm sure they were having too much fun to notice, but I loved the idea of a trolley in the fall. An old school trolley with a great view of leaves changing colors in Kansas City, perfect!


The reception was held at Lake Quivira Country Club. Picturesque. The bride and groom were able to snap a couple fun photos on an available dock just outside the ballroom before coming in to greet all their guests. Photos were all taken by Elements Studio Photography by Kelly Powell.






Although you can't fully view this large arrangement is was gorgeous! Curly willow, orange mokara orchids and red kangaroo paw. And let me tell you, if you've never used kangaroo paw before, experiment with it. It is so fun and so unique!

Jill also had small arrangements of black magic roses, as well as, medium sized centerpieces that were made of 16" hurricane vases filled with coffee beans and pillar candles, finished with red-wired ribbons (say that three times fast!). If you had time, I could tell you all kinds of fun stories about trying to find that many coffee beans for the most cost effective price!


This 4 tiered cake was made by Michelle of Iced Art, and all the chair ties and table runners were provided by Classy Covers.


Ah, and this was my baby of the wedding. As I'm sure many of you have seen the candy buffets by now, I thought that a popcorn buffet would not only be a great alternative but would also give a great fall kick to the reception! This popcorn buffet served as a focal point and favors to the guests, not to mention it went perfectly with Jill's colors. It was a huge hit! You would have thought some people had never had popcorn in their lives. I had one gentlemen tell me he loved it so much he was going to take an extra bag for his plane ride home the next day! And the guests reactions were completely worth it! It was quite the task drizzling chocolate covered popcorn for 300. But you know what, I'd do it again!


Jon and Jill, thank you. Thank you for your great friendship and for allowing me to help you with your wedding. I truly enjoyed. I'm looking forward to the memories from here!

What's Inspired You Lately?

Well for me, it's been vintage - vintage chic! I ran across this cute little favor from a Chicago wedding. The bride and groom gave little bags that were made of vintage-patterned fabric and held wildflower seeds - what a fun statement and practical too!

Shortly after this fab find, I ran across a website - Papier Valise - on a blog, Green Wedding Shoes. Papier Valise sells unique art provisions to stir up the creator in you! They have interesting fabric, textiles, glass, paper - you name it! But what I loved where these vintage labels.



Just think about personalizing these by adding them to your decor, favors or place cards! The possibilities are endless!

And as you know, when searching on the Internet - one thing leads to another! I ran across a really fun website - Farmhouse Wares - it has vintage chic with a little bit of comfortable rustic written all over it! Here are just a few items that I would love to incorporate into a wedding!

And there you go! Can't you see these brass place card holders with the labels from above and a little bit of you? Fun fun.

All Things Orchid

My fav find this week is fabulous. It is by far my favorite bouquet! Can I just say I love all things orchid? So, combine orchids with this rich color and style, and well, you have just discovered my favorite arrangement.



This bouquet, made of purple vanda orchids, orange mokara orchids and green dendrobium orchids, was created by Irvine Village Flowers and photographed by Travis Hoehne out of California. If you like this preview, see more of the wedding at love & splendor.

And since I'm sharing only my personal opinion in bouquets, I though I would share a little tid bit about mine! My wedding was classy and traditional with, oh, just a pop of my personality! And my bouquet followed suite.



It was pure white with simple style, while my bridesmaids bouquets stole all the rich color! However, my bouquet had a lot of meaning. My mom and grandmother shared something special in their bouquets - stephanotis - the tiny star like flowers with pearled centers. So I thought I would carry on the tradition by also having stephanotis in my bouquet - the perfect accent! Among the white roses and tulips I, of course, had to add the cymbidium orchids! I was thrilled, shocked, amazed (you pick) when the Thursday before my wedding I found an old newspaper clip from Mother Dear's, my dad's mom, wedding announcement. Her bouquet was made of all cascading orchids. Perfect! A little bit of everyone to walk down the aisle with me!

My bouquet was created by Luis Andrade of Dallas, TX and was photographed by Photogenic Images.