Tuesday Shoesday

Date: 2011.09.20 | Category: Tuesday Shoesday | Response: 7

After a year of Tuesday Shoesdays, it’s safe to say that I love shoes.  And I LOVE my brides that love shoes as much as I do.  And this wedding took the cake!  Lauren hand detailed every.single.crystal on these shoes. Not to mention they are stunning on her!  Thanks to White Klump Photography for the amazing photos for this Tuesday Shoesday {Real Wedding} Sneak Peek!

Hot Chocolate Bar

Date: 2011.09.09 | Category: Decor, Inspiration, Simply & Forever News | Response: 14

Fall is one of my favorite seasons as I love the turning of the leaves and the crisp cool air.  I can totally feel that the seasons have changed here in St. Louis and I want Fall to stick around as long as it can.  Since I haven’t yet had my first hot chocolate of the season (or pumpkin spice latte!), I definitely was feeling fall inspired this morning.  A hot chocolate dessert bar would be a fabulous addition to your fall or winter affair.  The heart marshmallows are such a tiny but amazing detail and the hot chocolate is just a comfort that warms you up from the inside out.  Try making your own spin by including other comfort desserts like brownies shaped with hearts and add a s’mores station for that gather around the campfire with friends feeling.

Image Credits from left to right

1. Martha Stewart  2. Camilla Photography via Green Wedding Shoes  3.  Wedding Wire  4. jolynne photography  5. Smitten Kitchen

Tuesday Shoesday

Date: 2011.08.30 | Category: Tuesday Shoesday, Uncategorized | Response: 8

I’m slightly in love with these shoes, both for personal and for wedding inspiration purposes.  Shoes with crossover straps such as this are definitely my style.  They just work with my body, and I love pretty much any pair I try on.

I love these two though because one is PERFECT for entering fall as it is suede.  And the second is perfect for a fall colored bridesmaid dress, as they are made out of Satin.  Both are ON SALE right now from J.Crew, so I suggest you go check them out!

Don’t worry hubby, you won’t find both of these in my closet…
oh wait, did I mention they have different colors?  Scratch that!  ;)

Out of Town Guest Bags

Date: 2011.08.24 | Category: Inspiration, Simply & Forever News | Response: 15

Can I tell you a secret?

I absolutely love creating out of town bags for wedding guests.  Why you ask?  Because I LOVE sharing the great talents that come out of St. Louis, even in the shape of food!  Your guests are traveling from all over to be a part of your special day, and it is an extremely nice touch to welcome each of them to our beautiful city with a bag that represents the best snack foods we have around!

I loved the above bag because they created a canvas tote bag that was imprinted with I heart STL, very much so like the famous NYC slogan.  It shared information about St. Louis including maps and things to do, which we have PLENTY OF around here!  I could spend an entire day at Forest Park if you let me.

Looking to create your own Out of Town Bags?  If you have under 50 guests, look to find reusable grocery totes to hold your treats for your guests.  They are reasonably priced for packages under 50, and your guests can carry them home with them as well.  Then think about all of the fun city bakeries and shops you have.  For example, most bakeries can do individual tins of a dessert (if you are here in St. Louis, think gooey butter cakes!) or can do smaller bags of their product (for example: mini popcorn bags, chocolates shaped like your skyline).

One last tip, don’t just stop at thinking about the food!  Ask yourself: do I live in a town known for a certain drink or does a company bottle their products here?  I promise that your out of town bags will be something that your guests will talk about as a reminder of your fabulous wedding weekend!

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Katie

Ombre Trend

Date: 2011.08.19 | Category: Cakes, Simply & Forever News | Response: 8

A Fashion Friday post will be coming later on for this weekend, but first a trend that I am absolutely LOVING right now!  St. Louis has a great Knot community and on Wednesday evening we had our fabulous Knot Cocktails and Connections night.  The vendors were amazing, and it was such a great night to see others in the industry and network with each other.  I love events where we as professionals can all come together and mingle and just share the love that we all have for this industry.

One of the vendors, Whipt Cream, is FABULOUS.  You have seen their cakes on quite a few of my Pizzazzerie posts, and my brides love them as well.  As I told Lee on Wednesday, my absolute favorite “treat” beyond their cake and cupcakes is their brownie bites, they are to die for!  Well for this event, Lee and his fabulous team worked on tasty treats for our Knot party that totally brought the ombre theme of the evening to life!  They made this fabulous cake that is fondant made to look like ruffles, and it is awesome!  Can you imagine cutting into this at your wedding?

Image taken by Landlocked Bride at the Event

And then these amazing mini desserts were arranged in ombre style all across a custom board made by Whipt Cream.  Yes, these are mini cakes, mini cheesecake bites, and they even had individual size cakes!  And you know how much I love individual cakes from my bridal show booth!  Needless to say, I brought one of those home for my husband to enjoy.

Image taken by Simply & Forever at event

And if you’re dying for a few more ombre cake pictures, check out fellow blogger Postcards and Pretties post with some ombre cake inspiration!

Happy Friday everyone!  Back with our fashion favorites later!