I have been eating a lot of peaches lately, which makes me love this centerpiece/favor idea.

(via)

Dude. I made bread, people. Bread! It didn’t come out as perfect in shape and texture as the pictures from the recipe, but Bryan finished off one loaf with dinner and almost snuck the other one in bed with him. I am going to say it was a success. The recipe was pretty easy to follow, all you need is time (I stayed home sick today which meant I got to watch Friends while the dough rested.)

(At Bouchon Bakery, via)

Congrats Hugh and Sara!

My mom bought me this vintage cookbook a while back. I figured their sugar cookie recipe would be perfect, and it was.

I love how the sugar created the letters after a while.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did (and if you are in Southern California, I hope you enjoyed the weather as much as I did!  Today I busted out my rainbows with a new sundress…  it was heaven!).

I am going to start with something totally off topic: it is WAY too hot for the end of September. Seriously.

Ok, so our reception! It was fun, went by way too fast, and even though I did everything I could to eat I still left hungry! We had a lunch time cocktail and appetizer reception at Cannons Seafood and Grill in Dana Point, California.

Our reception turned out just how I had hoped it would. It was relaxed, there was great food, flowing alcohol, a fun place for the kids (to come in a later post), and an amazing view!  Suzy was amazing to work with as their event coordinator. She took care of everything, was super laid back and was just good at what she does. I really can’t recommend Cannons enough. Although having an evening event there can be a little pricy (renting out the restaurant), they are closed at lunch so the prices are very reasonable. I will do a post on food and cakes later The view is what sold us, and lucky for us July 18th was a clear and gorgeous day! And didn’t the balls turn out great!?  I was so happy that Christa agreed to set everything up for us, she really pulled the whole look off! I of course supplied her with pictures and lists and diagrams… but she followed them excellently!

Tips: Think outside of the box when it comes to reception venues.  I actually found Cannons on The Knot. I had never eaten there and really hadn’t thought of it as an option.  Of course, once I realized that was an option I started thinking outside of the box a little bit more. “well if Cannons is a venue, maybe the Ocean Institute is too?!” (It is, it is just more expensive)  Really think outside of your ‘wedding venue’ box. You would be surprised where you can throw a party! (and remember, that is all you are doing. Throwing a party.)

If you are on a budget, seriously consider doing a lunch time reception. You save so much money, it is ridiculous.

Remember, your guests are there to see you get married. Everything after the ceremony is a bonus. Back in the day, cake and punch receptions were the norm.  I feel like weddings have gotten so huge, and yes, it is ok to want the big party, to want to dance the night away and have your names projected on the dance floor and an ice sculpture replica of your dress (ok… that was taking it too far. sorry). If that is what you want, then by all means, it is your wedding. But if you don’t want all of that, if you just want to get married to the one you love and have a little celebration afterwards, then do it!  I know that we were extremely blessed to have my parents pay for the wedding and only pull the “I am paying so I get my way” card once or twice, and that not everyone can just do whatever they want while having someone else pay…  but… um… (sometimes I wish I was better at putting my thoughts into written words)

All I want  you to know is that you shouldn’t worry about what your guests will think, want, desire… They are just happy to see you tie the knot. And if you feed them something and hang out for a bit, then that is cool too. Just… just do what you want to do!  It is your day! You are getting married to the one you love! Yay!

I’ll get off my soap box now!

Oh and for those who asked, I got the H & B letters at Michael’s… I think!  They were white and Bryan painted them!

All images thanks to Miah and Mike from Studio 7.

And then Kristina pointed me to Bake it Pretty and oh.my.Lord.  I need to have a baking party. Like, now.  This very small sample of what you can get does not even do the site justice. You have to go and see it all.

I think the twisties are my favorite…  or the ballerina toppers… or the peanut bags…  

Such a delicious looking love child Amazing photos by Hugh Forte. Who also just posted a new wedding. Go check it out!