Happy S'more Day!

Happy National S'more Day! Last year I did a s'more roundup and it was a hit, so I thought I'd give you  some more s'more love this year :) I've rounded up some cute ways to incorporate s'mores into your wedding.

A sweet wrapped favor from Houston's Event Solutions event planners

A DIY s'more bar from Eat Drink Pretty - love the s'more love banner!

The cutest s'more bar from The Knot magazine

A to-go s'mores kit via Martha Stewart 

S'more cakelettes (oh how I love that word!) from Desserts for Breakfast

No firepit at your venue? Keep the s'more love alive with cute s'more cookies. 

Check out this adorable DIY tutorial over on The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

Red Velvet Macarons

I spied these sweet DIY Valentine's treats over on the delectable deliciousness blog and think that they would make the perfect yummy favor at a Valentine's party or a fun/whimsical or love themed wedding.

Get the recipe HERE

photos via delectable deliciousness

Favors: Dough-a-Deer doughnuts

Want to see some adorable and delish favors? Trick question - of course you do! I was delighted as soon as I laid eyes on these adorable little doughnuts from Dough-a-Deer. Owner Nicole just started her custom mini-doughnut business this past year and her mini doughnut favors are quickly becoming a hit. I mean, who doesn't love doughnuts, and these are even more amazing since they are baked, not fried(!) With custom colors and many flavor options to choose from, these would make a sweet addition to a dessert buffet, as a midnight snack with milk for hungry guests, or as a sweet favor for guests to take home. 

Scrumdiddlyumptious aren't they? Of course, weddings aren't the only occasions for cute mini doughnuts - there's birthdays, showers, holiday parties... 

Check out Dough-a-Deer to order some mini doughnuts of your very own :)

Happy S'more Day!

Today is National S'more Day, and I wanted to honor the delish treat that has been creating its own buzz at weddings. Whether it's a DIY s'more bar, a firepit with sticks, or s'more favors, the graham cracker + marshmallow + chocolate confection has been super popular lately with brides, grooms and guests alike. (Random s'more related side note - In the early 90's there used to be these awesome pre-packaged s'mores that you simply microwaved. I wonder whatever happened to those? My little brother and I used to make them and then go pretend camping in our yard.) Here's "s'more" wedding s'more inspiration for you all:

Sweet Lydia's makes the yummiest s'mores - no assembly required! They would make a fab addition to a dessert bar or as a late night snack for dancing guests.

Sweet Lydia's s'mores also make adorably delish personalized favors (no work required by you!) and come in fun flavors like peanut butter and raspberry. 

A DIY s'more bar by Dandelion and Grey on Postcards & Pretties

A s'more cupcake recipe on Martha Stewart  

Super cute "S'more Love" personalized favor DIY on Elizabeth Anne Designs

A small fire pit provides the perfect marshmallow roasting station via La Petite Coquin

A 'make your own s'mores' boxed placesetting at a camping wedding on The Sweetest Occasion 

Hope you all have a sweet and happy s'more day!

Favor Idea: Free Jam Label Downloads from Eat Drink Chic

Who doesn't love homemade jam?? The post I did this spring on DIY homemade strawberry jam favors was one of my most viewed posts ever, so I knew I had to share these great (free!) jam label downloads from Eat Drink Chic. So cute - and great for those of us who are a little computer design challenged.

Images from Eat Drink Chic

Favor Idea: Homemade Strawberry Jam

My parent's next door neighbor is so sweet and brought my mom two huge cartons of fresh strawberries, and so my mom gave me one. They look and smell absolutely heavenly. I made my favorite (and so easy) recipe for strawberry jam last night so the husband and I could have some warm scones with fresh jam for breakfast today.

This inspired me to post about a favor any guest would love to get - homemade strawberry jam. It's a thoughtful, yummy favor that won't get left on the table or in the car after the wedding, and will be made with lots of love. Customize your label and cloth covering to your wedding - personalize your jars so everytime guests go to use the delicious jam, they'll remember your special day!
Here's the delish jam recipe I love from the November 2007 issue of Domino magazine:

* Recipe from Baker&Spice - a bakery in London. Use fresh berries in season, frozen berries out of season.
Ingredients:
4 cups strawberries
1 cup sugar
Directions:
Clean strawberries, cut off tops.
Put ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring and skimming off froth, until slightly thickened, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Let cool, then place in lidded canning jars.

Blog Love: DIY favor projects on Style Me Pretty

I am loving all of the great DIY favor projects being featured on Style Me Pretty today. Making your own favors can be cheaper (if done right), more meaningful (who doesn't love something handmade with lots of love?) and can fit in with your theme better than store bought favors. Here's two of my favorites - the tea tin favors and the chocolate covered pretzels!



I really love the tea tin favor. I am a big tea lover (have been since 5th grade!), so I had really wanted to do something like this using Harney & Sons' Wedding Tea - a delicious white tea with hints of lemon and vanilla and with little pink rosebuds in it. But, alas, we had several non-tea or caffeine drinkers at our wedding, and it would have been odd to do another set of favors for the non-tea drinkers. Harney & Sons has their tea come in lovely vintage silver tins of 20 silk tea sachets, but also have "tagalong" tins with 6 sachets that can be personalized with your names and wedding date. So perfect!

Groom's Cake Tradition

I love this picture of a "favor cake", and I just had to point out the charming tradition behind it. Very different from way that we currently think of a groom's cake today, the groom's cake is an old wedding tradition that began to fall out of favor in the late 1950's. The groom's cake was a favor for guests to take home with them and was "wrapped in foil and boxed in tiny, white, satin-tied boxes" according to Amy Vanderbilt in 1952. It did not need to be an elaborate cake - it was traditionally a heavy fruitcake soaked in liqueur. This is the cake, according to tradition, that unmarried female guests would take home and put under their pillows in order to dream of their one true love.

photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

For brides that are looking for something vintage and unique, who would like to have a groom's cake, and are planning on having favors - this accomplishes all of that! Slip a note in the boxes explaining the tradition to your guests, and to save on the cake cutting fee that many venues have, simply cut the cake prior to the wedding and put into the boxes. From Martha Stewart Weddings: "Assembled in the shape of a three-tier layer cake, store-bought boxes hold individual slices of the groom's cake, ready for the guests to take home; tucked between the white boxes are ranunculuses, sweet peas, hyancinths, and lilies of the valley."

Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: White Favors: Boxed Groom's Cake

Here's some good resources for cake slice boxes: Assorted colors/finishes - Bayley's Boxes (wholesale and bulk pricing), and white quilted - WeddingFavors.com.

And some great resources for vintage wedding traditions: Your Vintage Wedding by Nancy Eaton and Vintage Weddings by Daniela Turudich