Bethany Moritz is the designer for Bethany Lorelle, and they are the most beautiful pieces. I did not know about her until I found that one of my college friends is a model for her. Despite that connection, I absolutely LOVE her pieces. Here is just a taste:

All images came from www.BethanyLorelle.com

This is a great blog that has all sorts of wedding tips from a wedding insider. This is the way that Julie describes her blog on the site:

“Photographers and videographers occupy a unique niche among the professionals.We are often around from the time the bride and groom get ready to the last goodbyes at the reception. We are actually one of the very few who see the entire day. As a witness to over 1000 weddings and events, I have amassed many tips for the bride and groom to be on a variety of topics. And thanks to blogging, I now have a great way to be able to share these tips with you!”

Even after my wedding, I found it was very helpful to see her take on the wedding process. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 package Oreos

14 oz. can of condensed milk

1 bag of candy melts for dipping (or chocolate chips)

Instructions:

1. Crush Oreos in a food processor or in a ziploc bag.

2. Mix crushed oreos in a bowl with condensed milk.

3. Form little balls with the mixture and place in freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Melt candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments until melted. It won’t look like it’s all melted, but just mix it a little, and the rest will melt down. You do NOT want to overcook chocolate. Be careful to not get water in the bowl you melt the candy melts in.. it will mess up the chocolate!

5. Take balls out of freezer, dip in melted chocolate and place on a piece of parchment paper to allow to harden.

Enjoy your tasty treat! I think this is going to be my “cookie” for a co-worker’s cookie exchange.

And what girl wasn’t this as a child. I know I was:

Happy Halloween!

When planning my early-April wedding, my husband and I were wondering what the weather would be like. In Virginia, you never know. One of our ideas for a gift for our guests was to do this cute, cheap idea: DIY Hot Cocoa Cones. They are absolutely adorable and so easy to make! Enjoy these quick directions and inspiration pictures!

Ingredients:

12×6 cello cone bags (2 for each cone)

Clear hair elastics (the small size)

Twist ties or ribbon (depending on your desired finished look)

Sprinkles (3.2 ounces make 15 cones)

Hot cocoa mix (18.5 ounces make 15 cones)

Chocolate chips (3 bags make 30 cones)

Mini marshmallows (1 bag makes 30 cones)

Instructions:

1. Using a funnel, pour 4 tablespoons of the cocoa mix into cone bag.
2. Twist bag, cut off any extra, and tie shut with the clear elastic band.
3. Put the cocoa bag into another cone bag. Be sure to line up the seams.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of sprinkles, then 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Top off with 1/2 cup off marshmallows.
5. Twist shut and tie off with either twist tie or ribbon.
6. Attach a label or tag (your preference).

And I would like to start by announcing the winner of the Lego Couple: Amanda! Please email me at BrideSaverBlog@gmail.com with your mailing address, and I’ll get the couple to you ASAP! Congrats!

It was actually surprisingly easy (and free!) to get this adorable couple. Some brides use it as decoration. Some use it as a cake topper. Some just like to have it on display in their home (that was me). Well, I thought I would pass on the directions as to how to get this couple for yourself.

All you need to do is email Lego’s customer service and say that you are getting married. They will actually send you a couple (and an arch set and flowers) for free! Of course, the bride and groom may not match your hair colors, but it’s still quite cute!

As wonderful as this may be, I am going to give one lucky BrideSaver reader a set of their own. You won’t have to wait for shipping from Lego (which will take a while, I promise).

If you would like to win, just post a comment saying how you would like to use your Lego couple. The contest will be closed on September 7 at midnight. Good luck!

“Homespun white cupcakes are crowned with fondant hearts cut with a cookie cutter and imprinted with the bride and groom’s first initials using a new rubber stamp. Those bearing a B are paired with napkins marked with an H, and vice versa.”

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“Letters found in vintage books or print shops can inspire beautiful cakes. If you find a monogram you’d like to use as a cake decoration, you can transfer the design from paper to a rolled fondant-covered tier.”

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“To create these special cookies, monograms can be made by cutting dough into letters or twisting ropes of it into shapes. An initial could also be crafted in contrasting dough, or piped onto still-wet icing.”

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Prior to arriving, the guests at this shower came up with words to describe the bride. They were used to decorate these cookies.

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Mmmmmm… truffles!

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I love how the little candies are shown off in coffee cups. Also, notice that the little jelly candies have pictures sticking out of each of them. The “R” cookies are adorable!

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“Make an impression on guests by adding eye-catching detail to basic cookies with ordinary rubber stamps, which come in a wide range of designs, or ceramic cookie stamps. Since rubber stamps can be custom ordered, create your own, like our monogram. To yield the best results, use the stamps on cookie dough containing no leaveners, such as shortbread.

Tools for the Task: Rubber and Ceramic Stamps
Use inexpensive ready-made rubber stamps with graphic patterns (polka-dot stamp by Outline, stripe stamp by Hero Arts). Or order a custom rubber stamp; ours from Wax-Works has the monogram recessed, so the letters will be raised on the cookie. Ceramic cookie stamps, such as the bird cookie stamp by Rycraft, come in many pretty motifs.”

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“Powdered cocoa forms a monogram on these stenciled chocolate cakes.”

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“The monograms on these French patisserie-style charlottes, or molded sponge cakes, consist of piped chocolate batter baked into almond-flavored cake.”

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“Silk flowers spell out a couple’s initials on a silk faille banner. Start with a 30-by-40-inch piece of fabric. Hem sides; sew 1-inch casing at top and bottom; insert 1/2-inch dowels. Hot-glue silk blossom to banner; hang with ribbon.”

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“A chic pearl monogram tied with a satin bow hangs from a sconce. To make, string pearl beads onto 16-gauge wire; make loops at ends and shape into a letter 20 inches tall. Secure junctions with finer wire.”

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“Personalize the entrance to the shower in an instant with store-bought wooden initials.”

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One of my favorite gifts (which we didn’t register for) was a monogrammed kitchen towel.

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The typical shower ribbon bouquet has an added touch with hanging letters.

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“As everyone arrived at the party, they stacked their gifts marked with their assigned letter. As it grows, the present pile spells out the guest of honor’s name. “

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“Cards written by guests are bound into an accordion-fold book.”

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“The bride stands with a banner made of rosemary, which stands for remembrance.”

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“Name tags for the favors — ranunculuses in espresso cups — are tied to Italian nougats, which are traditional wedding candies.”

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“A clip-art letter can be scanned into your computer, or you can use a letter from its word-processing program. Make the letter or name a detail in the envelope of your shower invitation. A single repeated letter or the bride-to-be’s name is a treat for the invitees when they open the envelope.”

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“To fashion these monogrammed labels, print on adhesive or regular paper and cut out with a 3-inch circle punch.”

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“Give a glimpse of the favors inside with monogram-punched boxes. They make an impression and won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Boxes, B.T. Eelements. Alphabet punch set, Quilling Superstore. Cellophane bags, U.S. Box. Jelly beans, Jelly Belly. Ribbon, Tinsel Trading Company, 212-730-1030.”

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I think the most thoughtful gift I got from one of my students after my wedding was a set of notecards with my new last name. How wonderful would it be to give this to a bride at her shower?

Thanks, Martha, for your amazing ideas!

For Teacher Appreciation Week, the teachers get wonderful gifts from their students: gift certificates, flowers, yummy treats, etc. I wanted to do something for Amy because she was not only a great friend to me, but she acted as my mentor, helping me through the adjustment to 2nd grade and really taking me under her wing. I didn’t want to do the typical gifts, and I remembered she had mentioned that she didn’t have any white out pens (but she loved mine). Somehow, I thought of this idea, and I loved the result:

All you need is:

• a flower pot (or some type of holder)
• a round piece of styrofoam that fits securely into the flower pot
• assorted pens, pencils, colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc.

Once you have placed the styrofoam in the flower pot, just start placing the goodies all around. Some may fall out if you move it, so you might want to stick the goodies down deep into the styrofoam and not very close to each other.

Doesn’t it look so neat?