Inspiration from Japan - A Cherry Blossom Card

Cherry blossom season in Japan only lasts for 10 days, so to plan a trip to Japan and get the timing right is nearly impossible. Luckily for me, my trip to Japan last month was at the start of an early cherry blossom season, and I was able to see a few beautiful trees here and there that were starting to flower.

So one of the few things that I brought back with me from Japan was some custom card inspiration. My friend, Elizabeth, celebrated her birthday last week, and I spent some time trying to recreate the beauty of those cherry blossoms in a birthday card for her. She loved the end result, and even though the card only has one single line of words and a cherry blossom tree, I think it makes quite a statement. The chocolate metallic envelope was addressed in white ink, and the pearlescent white card was covered with hundreds of dots of pink glitter to give each flower blossom a bit of sparkle and texture.

I love how the second photo captures how the glitter changes to different color tones in the sunlight. If you have an idea for a custom card, email me at info@pinkorchiddesigns.com!

~Emilie

Cheap Orchids and Rainbows of Ribbon.. What?!?

Yes, exactly. What?!? Where?!? Well, unfortunately, this post isn't talking about Boston.

I had the privilege of recently traveling to Hong Kong and Japan for two weeks, and enjoyed everything from shopping to sight seeing, with tons of eating in between. But, the two things that I wanted to share were actually both in Hong Kong.

There was a flower district in HK that contained more orchids than I have ever seen in my entire life. The kicker of it all was that all of these gorgeous orchid plants in an array of colors were only $5 each, and I couldn't take any home with me! There were some varieties that I had never seen before in my life, and others like the phalaenopsis orchid that I absolutely love (especially the pink ones!). I think that if Boston had orchids priced at $5 each, everyone would have orchids in their homes, at their weddings, and anywhere else you can think of!

In another section of HK, there is an area that is meant for craft lovers. There are literally whole city blocks and blocks just dedicated to selling beads, ribbon, and rhinestones. Then after going though multiple blocks of every variation of ribbon you could ever think of, I started to see buttons! I didn't go much further past the first few stores of buttons, but I could only imagine how many blocks of buttons there were! I heard about this area from a Boston bride, Jen (we're the DOCs for her August 2009 wedding), and she said that when she was browsing through the ribbon in HK, she thought of me! Thanks for giving me directions, Jen! So basically, if Boston had ribbon resources like they do in Hong Kong, I would be in ribbon heaven. *sigh*

As much as I wanted to buy tons of ribbon that day, I actually only ended up purchasing some rhinestones and feathers. It's hard to purchase ribbon to use on projects, because when I run out, I would never be able to get it again unless I fly across the world. But, overall, it was great to get to see and feel everything!

~Emilie

Wedding Day of Coordinator in Boston

Wedding season is about to come into full swing, and we thought it would be nice to give a quick highlight on our Blush package. This package is all about wedding Day of Coordination. Many times, an engaged couple spends months or even years planning their big day, and with so many different components to a wedding like eight different vendors, the menu cards, the chair sashes, the caterer, the guestbook, the champagne flutes, or even those handy bathroom baskets, who makes sure that all of these details are in the right place at the right time?

The couple could ask their mothers to help, or their bridal party, or their friends, or their relatives, but a couple of things could happen. One, is that everything falls into place, but whoever is doing a great job organizing everything, is probably not able to really enjoy the wedding. Or two, everything doesn't fall into place and the couple is upset because all of those hours laboring over the handmade favors are gone to waste because they were misplaced by the very distant relative. Well, that may be a bit of an extreme case, but definitely a possible one.

The solution for all of this would be to hire a Day of Coordinator (DOC). A DOC usually comes into the picture about a month or two before the wedding to help put together timelines, to gather all of the details, and to confirm all of the vendors. Then on the day of the wedding, the DOC will be there to manage the entire wedding day, make sure that vendors are where they are supposed to be, set up all of the place cards, table cards, and guestbook, direct the processional, and take care of any other issues that may arise so that the couple does not have to worry about a single thing.

We absolutely love weddings, and really enjoy what we do. Plus, if we're both available on a wedding day, we love working together so you would actually get two DOCs!

So, if you think you might need a DOC for your Boston area wedding, or know a couple who might need one, please take a look at the full list of services under our Blush package on our website and contact us at info@pinkorchidweddings.com.

~Emilie

A custom birdcage design for a wedding!

A few weeks ago, I worked on a custom birdcage design for Michelle, a bride getting married in Colorado this July. She definitely knew exactly what she wanted, but just needed someone to put it all together. It involved detailed scrollwork, two birds hanging on a stand, with a monogram of initials and a wedding date that looked like it was part of the cage. I had a lot of fun designing all of the elements, including the birds that formed a subtle heart shape when placed side by side.


Michelle is going to use this design in her wedding stationery items like program, menus, etc. If you are looking for a custom design, email me at info@pinkorchiddesigns.com!

~Emilie

The Tangled Web – Stunning Floral Designs

The extremely talented, Jennifer Cahill, is the woman behind The Tangled Web, and she is amazing! She was the florist for both of our weddings, and we cannot stop recommending her fanstastic work to all of our clients and friends. From the bouquets to the centerpieces, all of the flowers were just stunning!

The Tangled Web is modern, elegant, and fresh. Jen will work with you from the very beginning to create a style that is unique and beautiful for your wedding. Not only will she give you the highest level of personal attention and service, she specializes in designing with flowers that are certified to be grown organically or by socially and environmentally responsible methods. So, for any couples planning a "green" and eco-friendly wedding, there are many options available for you with The Tangled Web.

Jen also provides complimentary consultations, so definitely check her calendar on her website (she books up quickly!) to see if your wedding date is available, and contact her!

Below are some photos of her beautiful work from past weddings.

All photos from The Tangled Web, except for the yellow ceremony decor and bouquet photos. Those photos are from BKB Photography.

I think these flowers are just so gorgeous and modern. The Tangled Web is really a hidden gem for wedding flowers.

~Emilie

A color-coordinated and delicious candy buffet!

Like Emilie, I decided to have edible favors for our reception since those are what I personally love receiving at weddings. My ideas ranged from homemade cookies, to chocolate mice, to cupcakes. During my research, I kept coming upon beautiful pictures of candies in different glass jars. The candy buffet was a trend I definitely wanted to jump on – my now-husband and I love candy!

There was almost too much candy to choose from, but since I wanted the spread to match our wedding colors, the field of choices narrowed down a bit. I wanted white, pink, and burgundy (ok, red will do too) candies. After some price comparison, I ordered bulk candy from online supplier metrocandy and estimated 1/3 pound per person. The choices included: white Jordan almonds, sour watermelon belts, raspberry fruit slices, pink rock candy, red and pink jelly beans, malt balls (with a white candy coating), and sour cherries. I bought vases of all different sizes from the local arts and crafts store, Michaels. My friend who works in the restaurant business bought small silver candy scoops from a wholesale supplier for me.

Here's one scoop in action:

How were the guests going to take the candy home? I toyed with the idea of Chinese takeout boxes, but they weren't quite the look as I was looking for. One day, I was browsing a food packaging website, nashvillewraps, and found small frosted tin tie bags. They were the perfect size and less bulky than the takeout boxes. I quickly ordered these, plus customized labels from myweddinglabels to put on the bags. Emilie also whipped up some labels to put on the candy jars to complete the look.

See how cute the bags are:

We found out after the reception that a lot of our guests have not seen a candy buffet before and were very happy to see the display at the reception. It was fun to see which candy was the most popular (watermelon belts were gone by the time I got a chance to check the spread out!). The hotel packed up the leftover candies for us at the end of the night. My husband took everything to work with him when we came back from our honeymoon two weeks later, along with the extra customized candy bags. This mini-candy buffet was a huge hit at his workplace and it was a great way to make sure nothing got wasted!

Here are pictures of the candy buffet at our wedding reception:

All pictures courtesy of Sun Photographics.

If you want help with creating your own candy buffet, please contact us at info@pinkorchidweddings.com! We would love to help you out!

~Fiona

A simple wedding favor - french truffles!

Wedding favors are always something where you will see a wide variety of items. Some couples will give you seeds to plant, or a cute candle, or a heart shaped cookie cutter, or homemade rosemary infused oil, or personalized coasters, or a mini frame, or will donate to a charity on your behalf, or decide not to give out favors at all. The candy buffet has become very popular nowadays as well, where people can bag their own favorites and take home a little treat.

For my own wedding, I probably thought of everything imaginable, and in the end, decided to do truffles! Usually, edible wedding favors are always a hit with guests!

I knew that truffles were actually quite simple to make, but back when I was planning my own wedding, I had never made truffles before, and didn't want to have to make and store 600 truffles in the few days before the wedding for the first time! So, I ended up buying french truffles in bulk! I wanted each favor to look like a little present at each guest's placesetting, so I packaged four truffles in brown candy cups, in a chocolate box, all wrapped together in fuschia satin ribbon. I also added a little brown tag with "love is sweet! thank you for coming!" handwritten in white ink. There were also hand punched bite marks at the end of each tag.


The last photo is the final result: the favor at my wedding, taken by BKB Photography. I was really happy with how everything coordinated, with the napkins, the menus, and the chocolate colored linens. The truffles may not have looked very fancy, but they tasted great!

Recently, I made truffles for the first time, and they were delicious! I got the recipe from Miss Spring Roll on weddingbee.com, and they were very easy to make.

Chocolate Oreo Truffles

36 Oreo cookies (almost a whole box)

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

1 large bag (24 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sprinkles (optional)

Finely crush Oreo cookies (I place them in a large Ziploc bag and crush using a rolling pin). In a large bowl, mix Oreo cookies and cream cheese until well blended (I use my hands for this). Shape mixture into 1 inch balls. According to package directions, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips. Dip balls into chocolate (I use a fork for this) and place onto wax paper. If desired, top with sprinkles for color. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Place truffles into small muffin cups; serve on a platter or in individual truffle boxes. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

** TIP! before dipping into chocolate, I put the shaped balls into the refrigerator for a couple of hours to make the dipping process easier!

Doesn't that end result look like a store bought truffle? If I were to do it all over again, I might be tempted to have boxed homemade truffles as favors!

If you need help with brainstorming ideas for favors to fit your wedding style, or want help with picking out the perfect packaging, email me at info@pinkorchidweddings.com.

~Emilie