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I just love this creative idea for having a moveable candy station at your wedding for your sweet wedding favor; it totally takes me back in time to the old-school cigarette girls (ie the vintage pictures shown below)! There are so many ways to bring this idea to life on your wedding day, only in a much more exciting DIY kinda way~ You can purchase actual concession trays at the following shops: PartyMerchant or PopcornSupplyCo; you can then revamp the existing trays by painting them a fun color to match your color schemes, replace the straps to have a fun pattern to match your decor (ie red and white striped ribbon + red tray if you want vintage glam, silver glitter ribbon strap + black tray for vegas casino style, or ivory lace ribbon strap + ivory tray for classic elegance or clean vintage)! Another option is to use a separate serving tray with handles, use the same idea by adding a strap... Or you can use a cute and unique basket like the green one shown below from UnicaHome (which already comes with a strap), transform it to fit your decor, and then reuse it after the wedding by adding it to the front of your bicycle for a cute bike basket - so creative and recyclable!

The Concession Trays from PopcornSupplyCo come with precut holes in the bottom of the trays, which is ideal for those of you who want to use this cute idea for an Ice Cream Station or Snow Cones.... Simply set the cone in the hole of the tray and your good to go (it has a bottom tray attached to prevent leaking). Love this idea and would love to hear feedback or see pictures from any of you out there who decide to take on this DIY Project~

I stumbled upon these adorable Jam Labels over at Intimate Weddings (labels made by Brittany of Pink Peackock Paperie) and had to share with you Summer Brides... These Jam Labels would be so fabulous for a summer backyard Wedding Favor for your gifts to take home with them on your Big Day!

Click to DOWNLOAD

Photo Inspiration:
photo credit: Laura Moss

Sweet Recipe Inspirations:

Strawberry Cream-Filled Sandwich Cookies
Source: Curtosy of Country Living
Photo By: Alexandra Grablewski
Yields: 18 Cookies
Total Time: 1hr 20min (20min prep time)

Ingredients:
•    1 cup(s) thawed frozen strawberries
•    2 cup(s) confectioners' sugar, divided
•    1 teaspoon(s) lemon juice
•    2 ounce(s) cream cheese, softened
•    1 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, softened
•    36  shortbread rounds

Directions:
1.) Puree strawberries in blender. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk pureed strawberries, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice until thickened and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2.) In medium bowl, combine cream cheese & butter. Stir in remaining confectioners sugar. Stir in strawberry mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hr.
3.) Place 1 scant tablespoon strawberry cream each on 18 shortbread rounds. Top each with another round. Chill until ready to serve.

Pretty In Pink Strawberry Cupcakes
Recipe By: Quick and Simple
Photo By: Erik Rank
Yields: 22 to 24 cupcakes
Total Time: 2hr (prep time: 15min, cook time: 25min)
Oven Temp: 350

Ingredients:
•    1 package(s) (18 1/4-oz.) cake mix, plain white or yellow
•    1 package(s) (3-oz.) strawberry gelatin
•    1 cup(s) (finely chopped fresh) strawberries, with juice (from 1 1/2 cups whole berries)
•    3/4 cup(s) milk
•    3/4 cup(s) vegetable oil
•    4 large eggs

Frosting Recipe:
•    1 package(s) (8-oz.) cream cheese, reduced-fat, at room temperature
•    4 tablespoon(s) (1/2 stick) butter, unsalted, at room temperature
•    3 cup(s) (up to 3 1/2 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
•    1/2 cup(s) (fresh ) strawberries, mashed and drained (3/4 cup hulled berries)
•    sprinkles, pink and white, for garnish (optional)
•    24 slice(s) strawberry, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.
2. Combine the cake mix, gelatin, strawberries and juice, milk, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down sides again if needed. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it 3/4 full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove empty liners, if any.) Place pans side by side in the oven.
3. Bake until cupcakes are lightly golden and spring back when pressed gently with a finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, place pans on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to wire racks to cool for another 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare frosting: Blend cream cheese and butter in large mixing bowl with electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar and the mashed strawberries. Mix on low speed until incorporated, 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and blend until frosting is fluffy, 30 to 45 seconds longer, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar if needed to get a spreadable consistency.
5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with back of spoon. Refrigerate, uncovered, until frosting sets, 20 minutes. Decorate with sprinkles and strawberry slices, if desired.

Style Inspiration:

So® floral hair clip/pin $10.00$6.00 at Kohl's
Add instant glamour to your ensemble with this hair clip/pin.

Eliza J Beaded Sheath Dress
$118.00 by Eliza J at Nordstrom

Hello to my dedicated Brides... I have a sweet treat for you today :)
As I know many of you get so excited over free DIY Template Downloads, here is one for you to enjoy! I have made a few different versions of Custom Wedding Favor Bags for you to Download and print. Hope you enjoy them~

Click to DOWNLOAD BAG TEMPLATE

What you will need:
- A Printer that feeds from the top
- Thin Paper Bags (for mine I used size: 4 5/8w x 8 5/8h in. bags from Michael's that are by "Celebrate It")

Instructions:
- Place the paper bag in the printer with the bottom of the bag facing upward
- The bags frontside should be facing you
- Make sure you create a custom paper size (should match same size as bag listed above) before you press print

Image & Recipe Credit: Delish + Martha Stewart

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookie Ingredients
Recipe Yields: abt 2 1/2 dozen cookies    Oven Temp: 350 degrees
*  4 tablespoon(s)  unsalted butter, melted
* 1 cup(s) (packed) light-brown sugar
* 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 cup(s) chunky-style applesauce
* 1 1/2 cup(s) old-fashioned rolled oats
* 1 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon(s) coarse salt
* 1 cup(s) golden raisins

Icing Ingredients
* 1 3/4 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoon(s) pure maple syrup
* 3 tablespoon(s) water

Directions
1. Make cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined. Add egg and applesauce, mix until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix in raisins.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack set over parchment paper; let cool completely.

3. Make icing: Whisk confectioners' sugar, syrup, and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Drizzle over cookies, let set.

Recipe Credit: By Jacques Torres + Food & Wine + Delish
Image Credit: Quentin Bacon

Cherry Nut Mudslide Cookie Ingredients
Yields: 5 dozen cookies Total Time: 1 hr 45 min
* 1/2 cup(s)  hazelnuts
* 2 pound(s) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
* 6 ounce(s) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup(s) flour
* 2 tablespoon(s) flour
* 2 3/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
* 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
* 6 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 2 1/4 cup(s) sugar
* 5 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup(s) salted pistachios, chopped
* 1/2 cup(s) chopped dried cherries

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toast the hazelnuts in a pie plate for 12 minutes, until the skins blister. Transfer to a towel and rub to remove the skins. Coarsely chop the nuts.

2. In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt 1 pound of the bittersweet chocolate with all of the unsweetened chocolate. Let cool completely.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the sugar until sandy. Beat in the eggs, then beat in the melted chocolate. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in the pistachios, cherries, hazelnuts, and the remaining bittersweet chocolate.

4. For each cookie, scoop 2 tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and roll into a ball; space them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake in batches for 15 minutes, just until the tops are lightly cracked; shift the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking. Transfer the sheets to racks to cool slightly, then transfer the cookies to a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm a huge fan of the blog CreatureComforts, created by the oh so talented Ez (pronounced Ee-zee). She created this awesome Wedding Template of FREE printable matchbook notepad favors and I wanted to share her amazing work with you bargain brides out there looking for a great DIY project to do (boy are they cute)! Click to Download free matchbook_notepads.pdf

We found these more pricy finds & also great inspiration for the project:Ruffled Umbrellas Above - From Bella Umbrella $82 - $99

Came across a fabulous and inspiring DIY idea from Disney of Ruffles & Stuff, who recently posted how to transform an old tall umbrella into a cute ruffled one - all on a dollar store budget! Check out this great idea and HowTo for your upcoming fall or winter wedding, enjoy! (Inspiration above and $1.00 DIY version below)

"Materials:

• Boring old umbrella (on hand)
• Dollar Store shower curtain liner $1
• An old button

Cost Estimate: $1

1) First you want to measure all the way around the bottom of your umbrella, and double it for how much curtain liner you will need (plus extra for a flower, and top ruffles). For example, my umbrella was 120″ around, and I cut four 2″ sections that were the full length of the curtain, for a total of about 280 inches. No need to add seam allowance because it doesn’t unravel! Yay!

2) Then sew a straight stitch (on your machine’s longest stitch length) down the middle of all the strips, and pull the bottom thread to gently gather.

3) Hand stitch them onto your umbrella, wherever you like! So easy!!"

Weddings now days are becoming so much more creative... Having a Vintage Soda Shop is a great and unique way to entertain your guests in a memorable way! Take your guests back in time to the good ol' days when soda pop was served in glass bottles and savored ;) I recommend sticking with your color scheme and making that color pop (with soda pop). Here are some items you will need: Glass Bottled Soda Pop (Coca Cola, Pepsi, IZZE, etc), Beverage Tubs (filled with ice to chill your bottles), Bottle Openers, Colored Straws (stick with one color or multi-colored stripped straws), and a beautiful table display (some fun ways are to have a colored or patterend table cloth, or even using a cute cart to make a soda station). Check out the inspiring images and let the Fun Pop!

IZZE Soda Shop