Bonne Mariage: Pasadena, CA New Years Eve Wedding Winter Wonderland

This New Year's Eve Winter Wonderland Wedding took place a number of years ago but I look at the pictures almost every day. The wedding location was Pasadena, California. The wedding lighting was in shades of blue and purple and also complimented the ice presentations on the terrace. The perimeter of the tent was lined with white light strewn birch trees and giant white-flocked icicle trees flanking the corners.

Guests danced the night away on a clear plexiglas dance floor that covered the family pool. Lovely!

Happy New Year! Dream Big My Friends!


Joanna

Credits: Party Planner , Photographer

Happy Happy Christmas Everyone!

Have a Rosy Pink Day!

Credits: Making It Lovely

Bonne Mariage: Bridal Couples' Real Weddings - Let me Spotlight Your Wedding.

I adore spotlighting real weddings that embrace something unique – an idea, environment, venue, inspiring details, or the couples’ own unique spin. I absolutely love to spotlight Southern California Weddings – and I love great photographers.  I would like to feature your wedding - wherever you are. 

Please send me an e-mail: joannahendrie@gmail.com with your photographs with at least 650 pixels in width. Please include all the fine points and details of your Wedding or any thing you would want to see featured.

Thank you - I look forward to talking with you soon and linking your website to our blog.  Merci! Joanna

Bonne Mariage: Vintage America

Credits: Love Me Do Photography

I was bowled over when I saw this beautiful bride, with stunning red hair, striking face and a vintage gown reminiscent of the early 1950’s. The new and up to date cupcake display is a whimsical sight – red and pink, black polka dot trim - I call this wedding young and fun. The extremely luscious photos are brought to us by Nadine at Love Me Do Photography.

Cuisine: Christmas Peppermint Bark - Joyeaux Noêl!

Here is a simple and easy little gift to make for all your friends and family. Fast and so Colorful, Peppermint Bark – I love the taste of Chocolate and Peppermint together - the richness of the Chocolate and the sweet, refreshing and crackly crushed pepperminty taste of the Candy Canes.  They're easy and exhilarating to make and great fun smashing and bashing the candy canes into linen napkins. All the ingredients are organic and can be found at Whole Foods Market. This recipe is enough for one cookie sheet of Christmas Peppermint Bark and makes enough bark for six "Peppermint Bark Gift Boxes."

Christmas Peppermint Bark Recipe

• 24 ounces white chocolate chips
• 24 ounces milk chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 20 candy canes

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a vegetable cooking spray.

2. Pour all the milk chocolate chips onto the pan and spread them around. Bake for a couple of minutes until they look a bit melted. Then take the pan from the oven and spread the chocolate around with a spatula. Put the pan in the refrigerator to cool and harden for about 30 minutes.

3. Next open the candy canes, place them on a cookie sheet under a clean dishtowel and crush them with a hammer (as I said this part is fun). Sort the larger candy cane pieces from the candy cane dust (set aside).

4. Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler (I used a small glass bowl over a pan of hot water) and stirring constantly. Add the peppermint extract and stir in the candy cane dust which will color your chocolate a light shade of pink. Let it cool a bit, and then pour it over the top of your milk chocolate layer.

5. Sprinkle this last layer with candy cane pieces and press them down gently so as to not stick.

6. Refrigerate pan for several hours, shake off the excess candy pieces, and then break the bark into chunks. Best to keep Peppermint Bark refrigerated.

Pack pieces of Peppermint Bark in Cellophane Bags and place bags in small box cushioned with tissue paper.

Close box up and tie with a Big Fat Red Satin Bow.

Merry Christmas!

Fleur & Decor: Roses in November

In Canada, my birth country – it is very rare to see roses blooming in November. Look at what’s been going on in Toronto (where I lived and was raised as a toddler). Freshly blossomed roses are springing up in several parks and green spaces around the city. This picture was snapped yesterday - November 26th! - amid all the fallen leaves of the surrounding shrubs.



Credits: Andy Ritchie

Peace This Thanksgiving!

I am wishing all of you a beautiful, peaceful and loving Thanksgiving Day. I'm very grateful to have friends and family such as you.  

As a gift please accept this lovely Princess Cake from Miettes Patisserie located in San Francisco, California.

 Enjoy!

Wedding: Dusty Pink and Black New Years Wedding 2011

Mood boards are a great help to a bride to be, graphic designers and film makers. The board is used to enable a bride to illustrate visually her style direction or the point of view, which she is pursuing. A wedding is a story and the mood board sets the stage for an imaginary setting for the wedding storyline. They serve as a visual tool to quickly inform every one of the overall 'feel' and “flow” that a bride/designer is trying to achieve. Creating mood boards in a digital form may be easier and quicker, but the tactile feel of physical objects (fabric, paper stock) often tend to have a higher impact on people because of the more complete palette of a sensational physical mood boards offer, in contrast with the black & white or color-prints of a digital mood board.

For a New Years Wedding 2011 – still a work in progress - the beginnings of a blush pink and black 5:00PM cocktail wedding in the bride’s parent’s Laguna Beach home over looking the Pacific Ocean.

Wedding Champagne and French Cheese Buffet - First Things First - The Tasting.

We are happy to lend our wedding planning expertise to a most beautiful bride for 2010 Autumn Wedding. The bride and groom love great food and wine. So I set aside an entire evening last week and started the planning for the French Wine, Champagne and French Cheese tasting. Had lots of fun. All the while kept in mind the theme of the wedding “A Shimmering Champagne Wedding” .  The bride has chosen a monochromatic color palette of Blush Gold. The bride loves French Champagne and wants the wine and Champagne paired with French Cheeses.  French wine is similar to Champagne - it is processed the same way. However, the wine grapes are not grown in the Champagne region.


As a work in progress – The Shimmering Champagne Wedding Tasting Menu is taking shape. 

Au Votre Sante!

A Vineyard Tasting

• Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux
• Chardonnay from Burgundy
• Pinot Noir from Burgundy
• Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley

A First-Class Tasting

• Bordeaux Grand Cru Classe
• Burgundy Grand Cru and 1er Cru
• Chateauneuf du Pape
• Champagne Grand Cru or Millesime

A Champagne Tasting

• Champagne Blanc de Blanc
• Champagne Rose
• Champagne Millesime

A Select Cheese Pairing

French Muenster (considered the Best and called Munster) is a farmhouse and cow’s milk cheese. Authentic Munster cheese is made only from the milk of cows that graze in a designated area in the Vosges Mountains in the east of France. It is a soft white cheese with a reddish-orange washed rind and is noted for its strong smell and pronounced taste

Double Crème French “La Brie” is a soft cows' cheese named after Brie, the French province in which it originated.

Epoisse a cheese from Burgundy, France. Epoisse is firm, moist and grainy with a fresh taste.

Come back often - next up the buffet layout and design.

Wedding: Happy Halloween Wedding - Skibo or Malibu?

Planning a Halloween Wedding. Take inspiration from Wedding Wire’s Opulent Mood Board. If not this weekend – why not plan next year's wedding in October - now the new June. Start early and start the Holiday Season 2010 off with your wedding either choreographed here at a luxe mansion on a hill in Malibu or Santa Barbara. - or, and this is my fantasy get going and dream up the ultimate Scottish Destination Wedding at Skibo Castle.  The dress – think rich, ornate, lots of layers, and - add a soft orange tartan cashmere wrap with lots of jewelry.

Credits:

Mood Board: Wedding Wire

Skibo Castle: Scotavia