Sunday, January 12, 2014

Alabama

"Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th most extensive and the 23rd most populous of the 50 United States. At 1,300 miles (2,100 Km), Alabama has one of the longest navigable inland waterways in the nation" (Alabama).



Alabama is known as the Yellowhammer State, the Cotton State, and nicknamed the Heart of Dixie. I will write two weddings for Alabama, one highlighting the state itself using the Yellowhammer bird as inspiration and the colour theme, and the other surrounding Cotton the second year of marriage anniversary gift. 

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The United States of America

"The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (US), America, or simply the States, is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, 16 territories, and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and the federal district of Washington, D.C, are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is the northwestern part of North America and the State of Hawaii is an archipelagoin the mid-Pacific. The country also has five populated and nine unpopulated territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean. The largest of these territories are Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands" (United States).

This blog is dedicated to the United States and all the States, Districts and populated Territories it has. I will plan at least one wedding for each state and explore why each theme is appropriate for that state.

Map of the United States


In alphabetical order the states are:
 Alabama
 Alaska
Arkansas
 Arizona
    California
  Colorado
Connecticut
Delware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Than I will write about the District of Columbia (D.C), Guam, The U.S Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New York Wedding #2 - The Big Apple (Red and Black) Wedding

New York City, The Big Apple, is the heart of New York state. Though it may be a little cheesy a perfect theme for this second New York wedding has to be Apples.

Big Apple
Flowers:
The perfect flowers are right red roses, but any bright red flower will do. Another option would be to go with a green theme since apples can be green also or yellow. Making all three colours the colour theme for an apple wedding would be fine also too.

Red Roses
The Dress:
As with any wedding, the dress doesn't have to match the theme or colour scheme, white goes with everything and any dress is perfectly fine. The wedding dress is something special just for the bride to make her day just that much more magical, so whatever dress speaks to her should be the one she chooses. For this wedding a nice dress that would match the theme would be anything with red accents in it.

Vintage Sweetheart Wedding Dress
The Shoes:
With a long dress, shoes don't play a big part in the bride's look. Every bride has their preference in shoes, if the bride is comfortable in flip-flops and doesn't think anyone will see them or doesn't care if they do than flip-flops would be perfectly fine. For the bride that likes sandals but wants a heel a Red Santino Wedge shoe would be a nice option.





The Bridal Party:
If the couple chooses to have a wedding party, big or small a great option would be the Alfred Angelo Bridal Style 7166 for Bridesmaids. It is a beautiful dress and it matches the shades of red in this wedding. For the groom and his groom's men a regular tuxedo is fine with a nice Red and Black tie.



The Invitations:
Candy Apple Red and Black go well together, that is why they are the colour scheme for this wedding, any invitation that uses them together would be perfectly fine. The invitations below are great examples of how they can accompany each other without over powering each other. 





Photographer and Videographer:
An amazing wedding photographer would be Ryan Brenizer. His portfolio speaks for itself and though his price is high he knows what he is doing and guarantees amazing pictures. Depending on the couple, if they are from New York they may know of other photographers and may want to go with them.


Sample of Ryan Brenizer's work
The Rings:
Rubies are a beautiful bright red and would match the theme perfectly in this wedding. But of course wedding rings don't have to match any thing. Rings are about the perfect fit, the perfect match and falling in love.

Miadora Sterling Silver Created Ruby

The Food:
A great finger food to start off the reception with would be Caramel Apple Shots (made by simply cutting an apple in half, coring it and pouring caramel into the hole, than cut into apple slices) and Apple Pie Bites (recipe below).
Apple Pie Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pkg (14.1 oz) refrigerated pie pastry (or make your own)
3 Tbsp butter, melted, divided
2-3 medium tart apples, peeled and cut into medium sized wedges (about 10 wedges per apple)


Directions:

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside 1 Tbsp. On a lightly floured surface, unroll the pastry. Brush with 2 Tbsp of melted butter, and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Cut the pastry into thin strips. Wrap each strip around one apple wedge, placing the sugared side of the pastry against the apple. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with the reserved cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm.

To start the meal a nice Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette. It is a quick and easy salad to make and it highlights apples well. A nice follow up to the salad would be Pork Chops with Apple Sauce on the side. For dessert the traditional apple pie would be a good choice and to make it even better using a Cinnamon Bun Crust would be amazing, or if the couples wants to get creative Apple Nachos is a good choice also.


The Cake:
A smart idea for this wedding would be a cupcake tower cake with Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes, and Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting.

Great ideas for a cake topper instead of having the traditional bride and groom couple would be Chocolate Apple Bride and Groom. They are made in California so shipping may be costly but shipping to anywhere in the USA should be doable by the company. Asking them to make the apple match the bride's dress is always a good idea and is usually an option.



The Guest Favours:
The perfect guest favour for this wedding would hands down be Caramel Apples. The couple can choose to try and make them themselves or they can buy them from certain online websites. Also a great option if the couple chooses to buy the apples their is also Chocolate Covered Apples.


The Centerpieces:
A beautiful idea that is not often done is using fruit as the centerpieces. Getting any hurricane from the dollar store and simply adding red apples to it would be a nice centerpiece. Many fruits make great centerpieces like apples, oranges, lemons, limes, and even cherries.

Replacing Flowers

Thank You Cards:
Thank you cards don't always have to match, some couples choose to send photos of their wedding with a thank you note on the back or just a plain simple card. Anything is fine really, it's the gesture that counts.

Black and Red Thank You Card
Places to See:
There are a lot of beautiful places and things to see in New York. The most common tourist attractions would be the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Empire State Building, and Time Square. Other great things to see are the Brooklyn Bridge, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grand Central Terminal, Madison Square Garden, Bronx Zoo, and the New York Harbor. There are many museums including Whitney Museum of American Art, for music lovers Metropolitan Opera House, also Radio City Music Hall and for sports fans Yankee Stadium.