Pineapple Floral Arrangement

The ending of event season for me also marks the close of summer. It is a bittersweet time. I love the rush of cranking out corporate events and weddings. But each year, summer seems to disappear quicker than the last.

This summer was the busiest to date. Which is really saying something considering we were at the height of wedding planning last summer. It has been a blast but also crazy exhausting. I have been looking forward to this week because it is the first week since the beginning of May that I have had a night without plans! It was filled with cleaning, cooking and of course, crafting.

I just love putting my hands to work, trying my skills on projects and crafts that have been on the wish list for entirely too long. It is rejuvenating and even therapeutical to put on some music and get creative again. It is something that I have really missed throughout all the running around this summer. One of the first ideas that I tackled off the list is simple and beautiful: A pineapple flower arrangement.

This year, I have had an obsession with fresh flowers. Before this year, like most women, I enjoyed getting flowers every once in awhile. I am not sure what changed but I have wanted a fresh bouquet weekly in our house. As a result, I have also been absolutely crazy about the Farmer's Market. There is one Downtown that I walk to from work on Thursdays. On Saturdays, there is one down the street from our house. And if I haven't been to either of those two, I recently visited the Minneapolis Farmers Market which is open seven days a week in the summer. HELP!

Bouquets are so inexpensive at the Farmer's Market, I have had at least one a week. How can you say no to perfectly fresh flowers for $6?! My latest Farmer's Market bouquet was quite unique so I thought it was perfect for the pineapple arrangement. 

The other positive of this project is that you are not wasting the pineapple at all since you are still able to eat the fruit. With pineapples being so trendy lately, this project would be prefect for a shower, birthday or girls' brunch!!

DIY Pineapple Floral Arrangement

Supplies:
- Pineapple
- Sharp knife
- Spoon
- Container for pineapple
- One bouquet of fresh flowers

Directions:
1. Start by cutting off the top of the pineapple. Be careful to cut near the top so that your vase is not too short.

2. Take your knife and cut around the inside edges. Again, be careful to not puncture or cut to the outside edge.

3. Use your spoon to scoop out the fruit. I found it easiest to scrape the fruit and juice out in a circular motion. Then, I would use the knife to cut out the core.

4. Once the fruit is scooped out and placed into a container, rise out the inside of the pineapple. Fill with water and make sure there are no leaks or punctures.

5. Cut the flower stems, add them to the pineapple and display!

DIY Floral Monogram

This weekend we celebrated our one year anniversary at a family wedding. One of my dearest childhood friends, my cousin Philip, was married to his beautiful bride. It was quite funny considering that the whole family met her for the first time at our wedding. Here we were exactly one year later, celebrating the two of them!!

For their wedding gift, I decided to skip the registry (sorry guys!) and do a project that was a bit more personal. I decided on a floral monogram for their new home. I found an awesome wooden plaque for the background and then set out to look at flowers. Thankfully, my sister came to the craft store with me or I might have been lost in the flower isles for hours. We decided on a romantic and pretty pink and cream theme. We were careful to chose more natural looking flowers. They were a bit more expensive but worth it in the long run. To my delight, the pink roses perfectly matched the bridesmaids dresses!

Supplies:
- Wooden plaque
(Note: You could also use a canvas or empty picture frame)
- Hot glue gun
- Four large stems of silk flowers
(Note: You will need more if your plaque is larger than a foot)
- Pencil

Directions:
1. Using the pencil, trace the letter or shape that you want onto your wood.
2. Carefully cut all the flowers and leaves off of their stems. Be careful to not cut too close, you do not want your flowers falling apart.
3. Begin gluing the flowers into place. I preferred to have my monogram more full with flowers so I chose to make it more dense.
4. Once finished, let glue dry fully and remove any glue strings. We then added a little note on the back of the wood for the bride and groom.

Cookie Bar

Wedding reminiscing is in full swing this week. This time last year, I was picking up my wedding desserts, making sure all of our flowers had arrived, staying up until 2:00 a.m. putting on the final little detailed touches together that no one probably noticed but me. Wedding week was crazy and such a blast.

For our wedding, we decided to forgo traditional sheet cake dessert and go with a cookie bar instead. I like pretty much any kind of sweet but my husband isn’t a huge fan of cake. We also knew that his favorite, ice cream, would never survive the August heat. We decided to get something everyone would love: cookies.

There is an amazing mom and pop cookie store in the skyway by my work in Downtown Minneapolis called Classic Cookie Co. We decided to order several different dozens of cookies for the wedding and knew this was the place to get them from. The owner is sweet older gentleman who my coworkers refer to as, “The Cookie Man”.  

After picking out our favorite cookie flavors and putting in our order, I set to work on getting jars and vases for our dessert table. I found some great options at Marshalls, Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx and from our local thrift store.  I also found some cake stands at wedding consignment shop and repainted them in our wedding colors. I sanitized the jars and stands and then began to build out our display. I used gold ribbon, doilies and paper from our invites to match our escort cards.

For color, I added some candy in our wedding colors. I used rolos for the gold and suckers to bring in the purple. It was nice to have a few treats that the kids could grab freely.

For the last little touches, I made small signs that read, “Love is sweet. So enjoy a treat. Thanks for making our day complete.” I also had some doilies scattered on the table for decoration and "M" monogram cocktail napkins.

Also in lieu of a wedding cake, we had some special bride and groom cupcakes made from Sweet Retreat that we used. Miraculously, they lasted most of the night before we snagged the heart cupcake to share and our nephew snuck off with the groom cupcake.  But we were able to save the bride and will be eating it in celebration for our one year.

I was shocked at how much of a hit the cookie bar was. We had hardly any cookies left when the dancing was underway! We were happy with our choice and I love visiting The Cookie Man and remembering our sweet wedding day!

Personalize Your Wedding: Drinks & Desserts

Adding that touch of "you" into your wedding is what makes it special.  Everyone has their favorites when it comes to desserts and drinks, and your wedding is the perfect opportunity to showcase that! Get fun and creative, it's hard to go wrong in the dessert department!

Drinks
My in-laws had chosen, Blushing Bride and Mint to Be, as their signature drinks. Awww is right.

The following were some drink names I had made when considering a signature drink element.
Marry Me Mojito
The Best Man - groom's favorite drink
Something Blue - blue colored drink like a blue thai mojito
"You're a Peach" Peach Mint Julep

Others I've seen:
Golden Groom
French Kiss
The Manly Man
The Girly Girl
The Holy Matrimony



















Dessert Shooters / Mini Martinis

Bailey's Irish Cream
Carmel Pecan
Berries and Cream
Dreamsicle
Strawberry Shortcake
Mojito
Cosmopolitan
Banana Split
Peanut Butter Cup
Pumpkin Pie
Salted Nut Roll
South of the Border
Triple Chocolate
Toffee Crunch
Tropical

Desserts

 

Dessert Trays

Featured at a lot of weddings as part of the dessert options offered by the venue, these finger desserts are always a hit. Everyone gets a small taste of a variety of delectable desserts, and can go back for seconds too!

Some favorite options:
*chocolate dipped strawberries
*mini eclairs
*mini cannolis
*cream puffs
*mini cheesecakes
*mini pies
*truffles
*mousse cups
*macaroons
*brownies
*berry trifle
*chocolate dipped pretzel rods
*apple crisp
*petit fours

Candy Bar 

I love candy and thought a candy bar was a fun snackable treat option for guests at our reception. Our cousin Apryl also had a candy bar at her wedding, which I visited frequently I might add.

And Lisa's brother Matt and sister-in-law/best friend Mary had a candy bar featured at their wedding. Super adorable check out Lisa's M&M blog post

 

MAIN Dessert
Ideas to have at your wedding and put a personalized unique spin, keep an eye out for our Cake_Cupcakes_Candy_Cake pops_ice Cream_Cookies blog post (coming soon!)

More Ways to Personalize
Little Wedding Details  
Little Wedding Details: Part 2
Sand Unity Ceremony
Our Bride and Bridesmaid Bouquets
 Personalize Your Wedding: with Photos
Personalize Your Wedding: Guest Favors