The Reception
Our wedding will take place at Nicotra's Ballroom in Staten Island. The venue is absolutely beautiful. Their main ballroom has a wall of windows overlooking the surrounding nature preserve. The grounds are equally beautiful with gardens and gazebos.
Cocktail Hour
Since our cocktail hour is being held in the garden room, I thought this would be really cute. I had wanted to incorporate books somehow as I associate books with warmth during winter - I like to cozy up under the covers with a book and coffee when it's cold out. I think these literary table runners are perfect.
We chose to use some of our favorite books for this project: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Room With a View by E. M. Forster, and Little Big Man by Thomas Berger.
Below is our trial run of the runners
We chose to use some of our favorite books for this project: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Room With a View by E. M. Forster, and Little Big Man by Thomas Berger.
Below is our trial run of the runners
We cut the contact paper into 12" x 36" strips and covered them with a mix of pages from our three favorite books. We're going to use lanterns we bought in Christmas Tree Shops and scatter silver pine cones around them. We're thinking of adding photos in them as well. We're going to do a trial soon to see how they'll look!
Another trial of the cocktail hour decor after I glued the edges of the pages down.
Photo Lanterns
I'd love to make these photo lanterns and use them on top of the table runners.
Table Cards
We were originally going to use this pinecone placecard idea, but the placecards that were provided were too big and looked awkward.
Instead, we're going to use this branch idea, cutting notches in birch branches and placing the placecards in them.
My Grandfather and I collected grey colored branches from the forest floor for this project and cut them into sections. I'll update when the project is complete!
The silver pinecones we originally purchased look like this (without the wires) and will be strewn throughout the display and around the lanterns in the cocktail hour room.
When we first started planning, we considered using these as placecards. I still love the idea and think it would add some extra warm and coziness to our winter reception. I'll have to see if I can find a way to incorporate them.
Table Numbers
We used these photo centerpieces for our first wedding, with photos of us at the age corresponding to the table number. We're considering making these again with photos from the wedding. I'm still trying to find reasonably priced frames.
This is our table number inspiration. I scrapbook digitally so this worked very well since we were able to print the photos in color and decorate them with digital winter embellishments.
Our DIY Table Numbers
My Mom and I designed the table numbers using photos from our 1st wedding. We used Creative Memories Storybook Creator to a frost scrapbooking frame. In addition to adding table numbers, my Mom added love themed quotes as well. We ordered 8x10 prints on sale from Kodak Gallery. I love how this project turned out!
This would be a great way to display the photos, since it would match the placecard display and is free since we own a saw and live in the woods :-)
Menu Ideas
Passed Hors d' oeuvres
Terriyaki Glazed Sesame Chicken * Miniature Beef Wellington, Peppercorn Port Wine Sauce * Baby Lamb Chops, Mint Jelly * Coconut Encrusted Shrimp, Passion Fruit Sauce * Baked Clams, Tomato and Basil * Asian Mushroom Spring Stick, Sweet Chili Lime Aioli * Mini Risotto Cake, Marinara Sauce * Mini Crab Cakes, Remoulade
Ice Carving Display
Tuscany Display
Grilled Seasonal Vegetables, Marinated Cremini Mushroom Salad, Lemon Scented Artichokes * Fire Roasted Tricolor Peppers, Tomato and Basil Brushetta * Freshly Baked Herb Infused Foccacia, Black and Green Regional Olives and Insalata di Mare
Salumeria
Proscuitto di Parma, Mortadella, Hot and Sweet Capicola and Genoa Salami
International Cheeses
Parmigiano Reggiano, Fontina, Bocconcini, Port Wine Cheese * Assorted Crackers and Flatbreads
Classic Smoked Salmon Display
Trio of Smoked Salmon, Pastrami Salmon, and Grav Lov * Grated Egg, Capers, Lemons, Pumpernickel Bread, Cream Cheese, and Honey Mustard
Carving Station
Roasted Turkey Breast, Sage Pan Gravy, Cranberry Chutney * Rosemary and Thyme Roasted Tenderloin of Pork, Sweet and Sour tarragon Sauce
Pasta Station
Tri Color Cheese Tortellini, Fresh Arugula, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano * Penne, Calamata Olives, Capers, Fresh Tomato
French Regional Station
Steak au Poivre, Black Peppercorn and Merlot * Duck Leg and Breast, Seasonal Berries and Black Currant Sauce * Pan Seared Medallions of Salmon, Dijon Mustard Glaze * Chicken Chasseur, Chicken, Pearl Onions, Fresh Tomato, Tarragon Demi
Hot Seafood Station
Corn Meal Crusted Calamari, Marinara Sauce * Steamed Little Neck Clams, Garlic Wine Sauce * New Zealand Mussels, Tomato Basil Broth * Lobster Ravioli, Blush Sauce
Dinner
Soup:Lobster Bisque, Tarragon
Salad: Baby Field Greens, Caramelized Walnuts, Sliced Apples and Cranberries, Lemon and Thyme Vinaigrette
Entrees:
Herb Marinated Filet Mignon, Cabernet Wine Sauce * Breast of Chicken Chardonnay, Julienne Yellow and Green Zucchini, Lemon Wine Sauce * Herb Crusted Atlantic Salmon Filet, Champagne Sauce
Dessert:
Chocolate Pyramid: Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Coulis, paired with a Petite Fruit Tart
Pedestals of Italian Cookies for each Table
Terriyaki Glazed Sesame Chicken * Miniature Beef Wellington, Peppercorn Port Wine Sauce * Baby Lamb Chops, Mint Jelly * Coconut Encrusted Shrimp, Passion Fruit Sauce * Baked Clams, Tomato and Basil * Asian Mushroom Spring Stick, Sweet Chili Lime Aioli * Mini Risotto Cake, Marinara Sauce * Mini Crab Cakes, Remoulade
Ice Carving Display
Tuscany Display
Grilled Seasonal Vegetables, Marinated Cremini Mushroom Salad, Lemon Scented Artichokes * Fire Roasted Tricolor Peppers, Tomato and Basil Brushetta * Freshly Baked Herb Infused Foccacia, Black and Green Regional Olives and Insalata di Mare
Salumeria
Proscuitto di Parma, Mortadella, Hot and Sweet Capicola and Genoa Salami
International Cheeses
Parmigiano Reggiano, Fontina, Bocconcini, Port Wine Cheese * Assorted Crackers and Flatbreads
Classic Smoked Salmon Display
Trio of Smoked Salmon, Pastrami Salmon, and Grav Lov * Grated Egg, Capers, Lemons, Pumpernickel Bread, Cream Cheese, and Honey Mustard
Carving Station
Roasted Turkey Breast, Sage Pan Gravy, Cranberry Chutney * Rosemary and Thyme Roasted Tenderloin of Pork, Sweet and Sour tarragon Sauce
Pasta Station
Tri Color Cheese Tortellini, Fresh Arugula, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano * Penne, Calamata Olives, Capers, Fresh Tomato
French Regional Station
Steak au Poivre, Black Peppercorn and Merlot * Duck Leg and Breast, Seasonal Berries and Black Currant Sauce * Pan Seared Medallions of Salmon, Dijon Mustard Glaze * Chicken Chasseur, Chicken, Pearl Onions, Fresh Tomato, Tarragon Demi
Hot Seafood Station
Corn Meal Crusted Calamari, Marinara Sauce * Steamed Little Neck Clams, Garlic Wine Sauce * New Zealand Mussels, Tomato Basil Broth * Lobster Ravioli, Blush Sauce
Dinner
Soup:Lobster Bisque, Tarragon
Salad: Baby Field Greens, Caramelized Walnuts, Sliced Apples and Cranberries, Lemon and Thyme Vinaigrette
Entrees:
Herb Marinated Filet Mignon, Cabernet Wine Sauce * Breast of Chicken Chardonnay, Julienne Yellow and Green Zucchini, Lemon Wine Sauce * Herb Crusted Atlantic Salmon Filet, Champagne Sauce
Dessert:
Chocolate Pyramid: Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Coulis, paired with a Petite Fruit Tart
Pedestals of Italian Cookies for each Table
The Cake
We're lucky to be working with the uber talented Jackie of Jackie's Cake Boutique again for our cake. We're so excited!
Our goal is to do a winter version of this cake. We would like it to be white with some drips of silver to look like ice/snow. We'd like it to be adorned with white and blue sugar roses, with frozen-looking white and silver branches sticking out of them. We also think it would be cool to have snowflakes at the top.
Red velvet is DH and my favorite cake flavor so we're think it's a no-brainer for the cake! Our last cake had a cookies n' cream filling and we're considering sticking with that filling.
I love the way the roses and branches are scattered on these cakes.
If Jackie's willing to make them, we'd love these snowflakes on the top of the cake!
I love the coloring of this cake and think it would be cool to mimic the metallic coloring with our colors.
Menus
Though not essential, I think menus are a nice touch to help the guests plan their meal without asking the waiter to repeat himself and strain to hear the entree options over the music/talking. We wanted to recreate our menus in our winter wedding colors.
Finished Menus
This is our finished menu. We printed it on crystal metallic text weight paper using an ink jet printed and mounted them to blue cardstock. We added a 3mm rhinestone in the monogram with a hotfix gun.
Fortune Teller Menus?
We fell in love with these fortune tellers and are trying to figure out a way to incorporate them.
This is the digital copy of our fortune teller. We considered using it as a program, but needed more space than that, so we did it as a little cutesy trivia game. There are 3 different versions, each with different questions. They're cheesy, but I think it came out really cute!
We originally used GailLovely's template, but it was too small, so I made one in Paint and fit it to be as large as possible on 8.5x11" paper. Below, I've included the template I remade for anyone who wants to recreate this project:
We originally used GailLovely's template, but it was too small, so I made one in Paint and fit it to be as large as possible on 8.5x11" paper. Below, I've included the template I remade for anyone who wants to recreate this project:
largefortunetellertemplate.ppt | |
File Size: | 221 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
Two of our finished fortune tellers... We printed them on crystal metallic paper. I love how they look, but this was a frustrating project. The ink takes days to dry on the metallic paper, and even then, smudges when folding. Folding itself has been pretty difficult too. It's not easy to fold them neatly and evenly. I didn't think much about that prior to starting this project, but I guess we weren't such perfectionists back when we made them in elementary school.
Decor
Since our centerpieces for our first wedding were branches with fall colored flowers and leaves mixed throughout them, we thought it would be great to create a "winter version" of it. We'd love to recreate this centerpiece with its frozen looking branches and white and blue flowers at the base. It's the perfect winter take on our centerpieces, almost as if the flowers fell from the branches of the tree and froze. Corny, I know, but it's a detail I think about.
The centerpiece above provides a better look at what we want, except we're going to leave out the crystals. I also love the coloring of the centerpiece below.
"First Dance"
For some reason, I seem to be obsessed with signs this time around. It may be because we actually have a kid in the wedding. Either way, I think this is adorable.
Reception Music
We were provided a DJ as part of the contest, so he will be providing our reception music. Our music choices thus far are:
Reception Entrance:
Wedding Party: "Paradise City" by Guns N Roses
Us: "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by Scorpions
First Dance: "Forever" by KISS
Cake Cutting: "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles
Last Dance: "Closing Time" by Semisonic
Reception Entrance:
Wedding Party: "Paradise City" by Guns N Roses
Us: "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by Scorpions
First Dance: "Forever" by KISS
Cake Cutting: "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles
Last Dance: "Closing Time" by Semisonic
"Guest Book"
DH and I love Christmas and turn our apartment into a winter wonderland every holiday season. In lieu of a guest book, we are going to ask guests to sign winter-colored ornaments which we will keep and use on a keepsake winter-themed Christmas tree. Though the wedding is in February, we figure the idea could still work and will add a really special decoration to our collection every year!
Guest Book Sign
I thought this sign was really cute and it may be something we'll use for our "guest book" ornaments
Favor Idea
These hot chocolate cone favors were perfect for our winter themed wedding.
We definitely wanted an edible favor, similar to the caramel apples of our last wedding.
Our Finished Favors
We DIYed these hot chocolate cone favors. We used Starbucks Hot Chocolate, which we bought in bulk from Costco. It happens to be our favorite hot chocolate and is trans-fat free, which is really important to DH and I. We filled cone-shaped cello bags from creativegiftwrapping.com with about 3 servings of hot chocolate, then sealed them with silver twist ties we bought in AC Moore. We trimmed the top, then slid the sealed bag into a second cello bag, making sure to align the seams. We added 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows on top, and a handful of chocolate chips. We sealed the bags with blue ribbon and attached our DIY favor tags. We also affixed monogram stickers we bought from Zazzle.
Other Ideas
We thought it would be a fun detail to add these white rock candy stirrers to the tables. They are reminiscent of ice and will be a fun way for guests to add sugar to their coffee!
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We're going to order slipper socks as "dancing shoes," similar to what we did at our last wedding
Contest Story
Because the contest we won was based on a story submission, we created a 16x20 print of our story, surrounded by photos from our first wedding. It will be displayed on an easel at the reception.