Yuliya + Alex

Last Saturday was Yuliya and Alex's wedding in Carmichael, California. The ceremony and reception were both held at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, a gorgeous and quaint mission-style church. The image below is from the rear of the venue as guests arrived.

Carmichael Presbyterian is full of beautiful architectural details and (once the rain clouds cleared out) Yuliya and Alex had plenty of pretty places to take pictures.

These are just a few shots from the reception. When we get the professional photos from the photographer we will certainly share them. The image on the left is the guest view of the head table as they entered the reception hall. To the right were place cards hand written by the bride.

Yuliya's colors were bubble gum pink, chocolate brown and champagne so we used shimmery champagne linens throughout the room accented by chocolate brown napkins and chocolate brown ribbon on the centerpieces.

The bride and groom arranged for the caterer to have hor d'oeuvres placed on the tables before guests arrived so centerpieces needed to take up minimal space. Budding twigs combined with pink gerbera daisies in simple glass cylinders were perfect. A hint of winter combined with the promise of spring!

We took advantage of the high ceilings in the auditorium and secured giant, 36" balloons to the tables. Suspended at varying heights, the balloons provided visual interest, carried in the accent color and added a whimsical and fun feel to the reception.

While Yuliya was set on using pink gerbera daisies for boutonniers, corsages and centerpieces, she knew she wanted pink roses for her bouquet and her bridesmaids' bouquets.

We used delicate baby pink Peckoubo roses for Yuliya's bouquest, the three bridesmaid bouquets and Alex's boutonnier. Simple and stunning. As was Yuliya's dress, which we can't WAIT to show you when we get the professional photographs!

Thank you Yuliya and Alex, for allowing us to be a part of your beautiful celebration. Congratulations!

Mason's Birthday "On the Green": Decor

For Mason's 1st Birthday "On the Green" decor was minimal, partly because the venue didn't need a lot of embellishment and partly because we wanted to keep costs and materials down. We used 6' x 1.5' lengths of astro turf as table runners. They were sturdy, inexpensive (about 48 cents per square foot) and can be used after the party. Centerpieces were cylinder-shaped vases (which were re-used Pom juice glasses) filled with golf balls and wrapped with a strip of grass-patterned paper and an orange ribbon.

(The golf balls in the center pieces were actually more of a source of entertainment for the kids than anything else!)

We made a simple bunting using eco-felt and 1/4 yard of three different fabrics. The bunting now adorns Mason's bedroom walls!

Favors aren't necessarily "decor" but they were our favorite project from this party so we wanted to highlight them. We used this template from Shutter Sisters to create mini photo calendars for guests (using recycled paper.) Each month featured a picture of the birthday boy from the previous year during that month.

The calendars are made to rest in jewel cases. On the back were directions on how to assemble the jewel cases. Adorable and relatively inexpensive to make.

Activities during the party consisted of Wall-E (the movie) playing for the kids, a station to color golf-related clip art pictures, a "Guess How Many" jar full of golf tees and a "Mason Trivia" game for the adults.

When guests RSVP'd for the party, those who wished to golf were given a tee time and we incorporated a golf mini-tournament! There was plenty to do for all ages-- a must for any party.

Come back tomorrow to check out the awesome vendors we used for this event and Thursday for a sneak peek at our budget!

DIY Button "Bouquets"

Last weekend was Laura's baby shower! This time of year (close to Valentines Day) the price of flowers rises significantly so we opted for some non-flower alternatives. One of which were button bouquets pictured below. These are super simple to make, work with any color scheme, are cost effective and most importantly (we think) utilize less resources than fresh flower bouquets.

For this project you'll need:

- buttons

- floral wire

Start with lots of buttons in various shades of your color scheme. In our case it was pink, pink and more pink.

Now begin to make stacks of buttons for each "flower". Three or four buttons per stem is a good number. You want to vary the colors and shades-- or you can use three of one color and one small button on top for the center of the flower.

Bend the floral wire in half and thread the wire through two holes on each button. Push each button to the end of the loop on the floral wire.

Secure the buttons by twisting the floral wire all the way to the end. You're done!

Display groups of the button bouquets in small vases or tie them together with ribbon to decorate a place setting. When you're done with them you can untwist the wire and save the buttons for something else.

Easy, cute and environmentally responsible. We love it!

DIY Decorative Votives

The secret to the black damask votive holders we used for Christine's baby shower? Packing tape. Keep reading for the details...

Choose your votive (or vase, or table cloth, or glass-- the possibilities are endless) and cut a length of decorative packing tape to fit. For these we wrapped the packing tape from top to bottom on all four sides. Depending on the pattern you choose you could cut out certain sections and apply the design or just wrap the tape around the votive.

(Votive image from Wholesale Flowers and Supplies and packing tape from the Paper Source.)

I bet you didn't know packing tape came in so many varieties!Shop Kate's Paperie for the styles above or search "decorative packing tape" on Google. You will be amazed at how many there are to choose from! Using decorative packing tape to coordinate elements of your party is cost-effective and makes use of items you already have (read: environmentally friendly).

Feature Friday: Bake It Pretty

Meet Amanda, owner of

Bake It Pretty: Sweet Supplies for Inspired Bakers!

"I'm Amanda Krueger and this is Bake It Pretty, a magical wonderland of clever and nostalgic supplies for baking, crafting and decorating. This little cottage industry began in 2006 under the name A. Bel Emporium on the popular Etsy online marketplace. The success of that shop sparked the creation of the new, bigger and better website you see here. We are pleased to continue offering the same, charming miniatures and baking supplies as before...plus much more! Joined by my husband Mike, and my sister Kristina, this family business will continue to grow and evolve.
Everything you see here is hand-selected or designed by us, and wrapped-up just for you at our headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina."

These polka dot cupcake wrappers are adorable and would add a punch of color to any cupcake.

"Miniature-sized baking liners, also known as candy cups, have a variety of uses. Make small, snack-sized cupcakes and muffins, or use them to display homemade candies and sweets. Click on each style for individual color options and assortments."Cupcakes in polka dot wrappers, sitting pretty on top of decorative doileys? Yes please.Bake It Pretty also offers a wide range of miniatures and toppers to decorate your delicious desserts. Can't you just picture those edible carrots adorning a homemade carrot cake or carrot cupcakes?Or these vintage Christmas toppers?
Bake It Pretty has you covered for every detail,
from packaging......right down to the candles on the cake.

We are smitten kittens over Bake It Pretty's selection and are looking forward to using them to help us embellish our next event! Thank you Amanda, for sharing your business with us.

Also thank you to Heather at Cookie Mondays for telling us about Bake It Pretty! If you know anyone who owns a small business involved with event planning in any way, we'd love to get to know them. Email us at peartreeevents@gmail.com.