Cocktail Inspiration

I just read this wonderful post on Polka Dot Bride. She has just started a series called Cocktail Celebration and she's taking a signature drink and dreaming up a wedding around that drink. Check her first one...

Cocktail Celebration: Martini

Enjoy!

Open Houses Con't

Campbell's Catering had their Open House on Tuesday night at Paraiso Maravilla. Courtney Campbell is one of the sweetest caterers I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Here are some pictures from the Open House.

The furniture and centerpieces was provided by Darryl & Co.

Lounge areas allow you to personalize your cocktail reception. People like to be able to take a moment to sit down and catch up before the real party begins.

Comfort is always an A+!

Although this centerpiece is tall, it's still simple. It keeps the table feeling open and you can still see all the guest at the table.

You can do a bigger piece like this one you on your sign-in table.

These cakes and candy stations were created by Edible Designs by Jessie

Details of a Wedding Gown

Texans Fan

Unique and Eye catching

Once again Candy Stations make anyone feel like a kid in a candy store.

It's also a creative way to pull more of your wedding colors into your reception.

These beautiful invitations were done by Event House.
Vivian J. Adeniyi at Event House is a talent. This was my first chance to see her invitations and I was blown away.

Very Simple

Classy and Personalized

The Definition of Class and Sophistication
(I think this would be a wonderful way to ask your bridesmaids to be a part of your day.)

The Renaissance Room was set up as a ceremony to seat 80 guests. Darryl & Co. supplied the candle walls and chair sashes.

This was another wonderful event at Paraiso Maravilla and I'll have more blissful tales to come.

Blissfully Yours,
Crystal

Open Houses

So last week was a very crazy week at Paraiso Maravilla. We had a Open House Monday night and Tuesday night and then NACE graced Paraiso with their presence for their monthly meeting.


Monday night was hosted by Cafe Natalie. Chris at Cafe Natalie wanted his Open House to have a very elegant feel to it. I didn't get any pics of the food because I was too busy eating it but if you ever make it to Houston please make a stop by their restaurant and tell Chris I sent you!



He and his staff created this beautiful table to seat 22. I think this would be wonderful for a small wedding where everyone is very close. Six 6 foot rectangular tables were used to create set up.







The linens and centerpieces were done by Over The Top Linens. You have to check these guys out...I personally believe everything they touch is gold!




These cakes were created by Cakes by Gina in Houston, TX

The second Open House was Campbell's Catering but we'll talk about that in the next entry...I need some beauty sleep.

Blissfully yours,
Crystal

The Legend of the Nuernberg Bridal Cup

This post goes with the entry from the Friday the 13th Wedding...




Centuries ago, in old Nuernberg, the nobel mistress Kunigunde fell in love with a young and ambitious goldsmith. Although Kunigunde's wealthy father (a powerful nobleman) did not approve of this pair, it was clear that she only wanted the goldsmith to be her husband as she refused many titled and rich suitors who asked for her hand in marriage.

Her father became so enraged that he had the young goldsmith thrown into the darkest dungeon. Not even his daughter's bitter tears would change her father's mind.

To her father's dismay, imprisoning the young man did not end his daughter's love for the goldsmith. Instead, he could only watch as his daughter grew paler and paler as a result of the separation from her true love.

The wealthy nobleman reluctantly made the following proposal: He told his daughter, "If your goldsmith can make a chalice from which two people can drink at the same time without spilling one single drop, I will free him and you shall become his bride".

Of course he was certain nobody could perform such a task...

Inspired by love and with skillful hands, the young goldsmith created a masterpiece. He sculpted a girl with a smile as beautiful as his own true love's. Her skirt was hollowed to serve as a cup. Her raised arms held a bucket that swivels so that it could be filled and then swung towards a second drinker.

The challenge was met. The goldsmith and the nobleman's daughter joined hands in marriage and with the bridal cup set forth a romantic and memorable tradition as charming today as it was originally hundreds of years ago.

To this day and to many couples the chalice remains a symbol. Love, faithfulness and good luck await the couple who drink from this cup.

The German Wedding Toast

Toasting with the bridal cup is a great way to add some fun to your wedding ceremony toast.

Many people choose to read the story of the bridal cup to their guests as it is an inspiring story of love. Others prefer to use their own toasts and if you want to add some extra fun to your toast you can do the "Who Rules the Nest" toast explained below.

Traditionally, the wedding toast is initiated by the best man and performed during the reception dinner.

When toasting, the best man should stand up with his glass raised as he speaks. If you are offering champagne at your wedding, this would be done after eveyone's glass was filled.

Next, he would let everyone know that he has a special toast for the bride and groom. If you are of German heritage, you can mention that it is a German tradition that stemmed from centuries ago in Germany.

The bride and groom then stand up and the best man or groom himself holds the bridal cup upside down so that the large skirt becomes a cup. Pour champage or beverage of your choice into the hollow skirt end.

If you are going to read the story of the bridal cup to your guests, then you should have someone else fill the cup as you read. In these pictures, the groom was filling the bridal cup while the bestman read the story to the guests.

After the large skirt end of the bridal cup is filled, the smaller swiveling cup needs to be filled. Because the smaller top cup swivels, it will already be upright. Carefully fill the small cup. Now that you have both cups filled, you are ready to perform the bridal cup toast!

The bride and groom must stand closely together facing each other with just enough space for the cup between them. The bride takes the smaller cup in hand while the groom holds onto the larger cup.

At the same time and together, the wedding couple raises the cup up and to their lips to drink. You must be careful here to not spill a drop because if you can drink without spilling a drop, love, faithfulness and good luck will be yours forever!

If you want to really add some fun to your special wedding cup toast you can do a fun German toast called "Who Rules the Nest". It's a toast enjoyed by most women and you will see why!

"Who Rules the Nest" is a popular wedding toast performed with the bridal cup and it's the perfect opportunity for the maid of honor to step up!

Just before the bride and groom drink from the wedding cup the maid of honor stands and announces that whomever finishes first without spilling a drop will rule the nest!

Of course, we all know since the bride has the smaller cup, she will be the winner! As you can see in the picture to the right, the bride is already finished while the groom is still drinking. She looks happy, doesn't she?

As an added bonus, performing this toast will present a perfect opportunity to grab some entertaining pictures of the groom...

Thank you to German Toasting Glasses for the info


What a cool tradition


Blissfully yours,

Crystal

Friday the 13th Wedding

I had the wonderful pleasure of assisting with the wedding reception of Nick and Danielle on Friday, February 13th. They were such a sweet couple. The colors were black and white and it was simple and beautiful. The reception was at the Majestic Metro in downtown Houston.

They had their pictures placed in the movie poster frames outside and were the stars of the show!

And of course... the marquee sign!!

They took care of so many details on their own and it made everything very personal because everyone could see the love they put into their day. Here are some of the details from there day and then I'll tell you about their AWESOME toasting flute.

Centerpieces: Stems by Holly

Ring The Bell (Bells were ringing all night long!!)

The Bride's Beautiful Cake: Alphorn Bakery
The Groom's Herby Cake: Alphorn Bakery
Escort Cards...simple and very helpful at any wedding

Gift Card Box...very simple idea and you can make them as creative as you like

This was such a cute idea...bride and groom cutouts and then disposable cameras were left for all the guest to take pictures for the bride and groom!

Now let's talk about Candy Bars. No, I'm not talking about the wonderful chocolate bar that you pick up at the counter I'm talking about a Candy Buffet. This is a wonderful way to bring some life to the party. Use whatever candies you like and make it your own. Everyone wants to feel like a kid in a candy store!

AND NOW FOR THE COOLEST PART OF THE WEDDING!!! THE "Toasting Flutes"? When I first saw this and was told that it was toasting flute (German Wedding Cup) I couldn't even figure out how two people were supposed to drink from this thing...
We asked the bride how two people were supposed to drink from this and she flipped it over and we saw this.... still unsure how two people were supposed to drink from both the top and bottom and why anyone would create such a thing.

The Best Man read the story of the German Wedding Cup (Nuernberg Bridal Cup)
I'll post another entry with just the story....all in all this was a wonderful day with lots of cool surprises along the way!!

This was the picture for their Thank You cards!!

Stay tuned for more...



Blissfully Yours,

Crystal