Newport Wedding: Sweet Berry Farm

Last fall a very good friend approached me about planning her wedding for her. She is the type who cares about the details but never bought a wedding magazine. She and her fiance gave me these simple guidelines: it had to be a clambake with lawn games and there must be dark and stormies and Narragansett beer. The rest was up to me which couldn't have been more fun. After taking photos at her family's summer home on Easton's Point, everyone headed over to Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, RI for a beautiful ceremony against the backdrop of the orchards followed by lots of merriment. It is nearly impossible for me to pick my favorite photos (all taken by the amazing Maaike Bernstrom Photography) from the day so here is a series from the day that was described by guests and the couple as "epic". Throughout the week, I'll post many more pictures and discuss the details in more depth. Enjoy!

Flowers by Sarah Rodgers Florals.

Food by McGrath Clambakes.

Cake by It's My Party with fresh picked strawberries from Sweet Berry Farm.

*all photos by Maaike Bernstrom Photography*

Book Club Entertaining: The Help

Last night I hosted my monthly book club. This month's book was The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Everyone knows I love a party-no matter what the size- so I planned this little soiree for nine around the some of the little details in the book. It seemed impossible not to serve the food on silver platters as polishing the silver (and whether the maid had stolen any of fit) is regularly mentioned in the book. And if you've got it, you might as well use it. This of course meant that I was actually going to have to polish my silver-something I dread with a passion and one of the only reasons I don't have one of those fabulous displays of a silver collection in my house even though I really want to. I was really wishing I had some help myself. But it turns out that all along I'd always been using crappy silver polish. I called one of my friends who is skilled in these things and she told me to use Wright's Silver Cream. It works! And it was easy! I am now committed to polishing my silver and putting it on display. Grandma's tea set here I come! But I digress.

Next up was the food. I wanted to do something with Southern hints since the book takes place in Jackson, Mississippi. I decided to go with a bowl of fresh peaches, watermelon and feta skewers, bruschetta with a Bella Cucina spinach and artichoke spread, cucumbers topped with the world's best ricotta and dill, and Mixed Berry and Whipped Cream Biscuit Sandwiches.

I posted the recipe for the biscuit sandwiches over at Parentables if you want to check it out. They were a huge hit. And of course there was plenty of wine, lemonade, and co-cola flowing throughout the evening.

We certainly don't usually offer favors at our monthly meetings, but there was a passage in the book about how one of the woman had a neighbor who shared the fruits of her garden with her and that was the only way she could really eat a lot of the time. Since I happened to have a bunch of basil that had reseeded itself and was springing up in my garden I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share it, and so I potted it up into these little pots for each of my book club friends.

You don't have to have a big event to think about the little details that make a big impression.

Oh, and if you haven't read The Help yet, I highly recommend it. The group rated it a 9 out of 10, and I was so sad that it ended. I'll definitely be checking out the movie when it opens on August 10th.

Party with BHLDN

I have to admit that when Anthropologie launched their wedding site BHLDN a few months ago, it made me kind if sad that I'd already gotten married because there were so many things that I loved but had no use for. BUT, I can now rest assured that I too can use their amazing offerings as they've expanded their line into general party decorations and they are adorable! From pom poms and pinwheels to straws and cake boxes to garland and signage, there's a little something for everyone no matter what your budget. Party on!

Green Apple & Pink Flower Arrangements

I happened to come across the May issue of Woman's Day magazine at the hairdresser on Friday and was just so drawn to the cover. It's not a magazine I usually read, but the combination of the granny smith apples and pink ranunculus was just so charming and pretty. I also have an affinity for pink and green. And it would be super easy to do yourself. With Easter just days away, I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

Photo: Occasional World
I also love this version of it with peonies (my all time favorite flower!). Look at how grand of a statement you can make with a dozen flowers and two dozen apples. These would be a very affordable DIY wedding flower arrangement.

Photo: Red Pearl Designs
And for a simpler version, just add some tea roses.
There are few things that make me happier than a beautiful, fresh flower arrangement.

Kids Birthday Party

On Saturday, my daughter Carolina had a joint birthday party with her best friend for their 2nd birthday. They are nine days apart so it was perfect. It was also perfect that her friend's mother shares my neurosis for details which I knew in advance, but which really came to light when the two of us were testing every pen in Michael's Craft Store trying to get just the right color ink to match the invitations I had designed (using a free graphic design program called Inkscape). I knew I had found someone I could really work with! We went with a simple theme of pink and purple as my daughter is always in pink and her's is in purple, and we threw in a little green to tie things together where we needed to.

Of course, I had to make tissue paper pom poms (well actually, the pink and green ones were the same as the ones I used last year that now hang in my daughter's room when party time is over) to hide my hideous ceiling fans and add a little ambiance. This was the first time I made them with a patterned paper and I think the floral ones actually came out really cute.

The table screamed spring! I love having my daughter's birthday in the spring. There is so much appropriate decor out there to incorporate into a little girl's party this time of year. And at the last minute we decided to use some cute mini cupcake wrappers as individual ketchup servings for the kids which really added a great visual element to our serving platters too.

There are few things I love more than a good monogram! I came up with this one using the first initial of each of the girls' names, and had originally planned to use it on the invite, but at the last minute before going to print realized that we were doing it for us and it didn't really scream 2 year old so I did a quick change with a cupcake. But we had to get it in somewhere so we made it into cupcake picks...

and put a 2 on the opposite side. Of course we had to have pink and purple cupcake wrappers and pink and purple sprinkles to match. And I am now obsessed with having the proper tools to frost and decorate cakes and cupcakes. The Wilton Cupcake Decorating Set provides four tips, icing bags, and directions (if you are so inclined to read such things) on how to do different styles so you can create more professional looking sweets on your own. Go get one if you ever frost your own baked goods.

Displaying the 5 dozen cupcakes on different serving pieces of various shapes and heights made for a more interesting visual display.

A little garden of Peep pops (lollipop stick inserted into Peep-couldn't be easier) just for fun.

And for the favors, we found pink and purple tins that we filled with giblets, wrapped in green grosgrain, and sealed with our monogram label. None of these things were particularly difficult to do. In fact on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest, I'd put them at about a 4. With a little creativity and a few extra dollars (but not many), you can create a truly customized kids birthday party with a big impact without blowing the budget.