Archive for the ‘Simply & Forever News’ Category

Sep 23

{real rehearsal} Erin + Chris

I absolutely loved working with my September 3rd couple Erin & Chris who got married at Graham Chapel and the St. Louis Club.  I was honored to help them plan a fabulous rehearsal dinner at Via Vino in Frontenac for their families and friends.  We created a wine pairing menu with Michael Del Pietro and Gus leading up to the event, and Michael and his staff definitely did not disappoint!

ViaVinoRehearsal1

The menus and escort cards were created by M.Haley Design and the escort cards were backed in red and the menus in silver to continue their color palette for their wedding weekend.  Simply & Forever created three all rose centerpieces in low black rectangle vases, with glass candlesticks adorning the length of the table.  The long rectangle table was perfect for their family and friends and just watching the table, you just felt happy, because everyone was laughing, smiling, and enjoying the company around them.

Via Vino Rehearsal 2

Thank you so much Erin & Chris for having me be a part of this special weekend for you both!  Your love for each other is so apparent to everyone around you, and your love for your family and friends is truly amazing.  I know they all enjoyed spending the weekend with you two and you made every single event important for each of the guests as well as yourselves!



Posted in Inspiration, Simply & Forever News
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Sep 9

Hot Chocolate Bar

Fall is one of my favorite seasons as I love the turning of the leaves and the crisp cool air.  I can totally feel that the seasons have changed here in St. Louis and I want Fall to stick around as long as it can.  Since I haven’t yet had my first hot chocolate of the season (or pumpkin spice latte!), I definitely was feeling fall inspired this morning.  A hot chocolate dessert bar would be a fabulous addition to your fall or winter affair.  The heart marshmallows are such a tiny but amazing detail and the hot chocolate is just a comfort that warms you up from the inside out.  Try making your own spin by including other comfort desserts like brownies shaped with hearts and add a s’mores station for that gather around the campfire with friends feeling.

hot chocolate bar

Image Credits from left to right
1. Martha Stewart  2. Camilla Photography via Green Wedding Shoes  3.  Wedding Wire  4. jolynne photography  5. Smitten Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Posted in Decor, Inspiration, Simply & Forever News
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Aug 24

Out of Town Guest Bags

st.louis out of town bags

Can I tell you a secret?

I absolutely love creating out of town bags for wedding guests.  Why you ask?  Because I LOVE sharing the great talents that come out of St. Louis, even in the shape of food!  Your guests are traveling from all over to be a part of your special day, and it is an extremely nice touch to welcome each of them to our beautiful city with a bag that represents the best snack foods we have around!

I loved the above bag because they created a canvas tote bag that was imprinted with I heart STL, very much so like the famous NYC slogan.  It shared information about St. Louis including maps and things to do, which we have PLENTY OF around here!  I could spend an entire day at Forest Park if you let me.

Looking to create your own Out of Town Bags?  If you have under 50 guests, look to find reusable grocery totes to hold your treats for your guests.  They are reasonably priced for packages under 50, and your guests can carry them home with them as well.  Then think about all of the fun city bakeries and shops you have.  For example, most bakeries can do individual tins of a dessert (if you are here in St. Louis, think gooey butter cakes!) or can do smaller bags of their product (for example: mini popcorn bags, chocolates shaped like your skyline).

One last tip, don’t just stop at thinking about the food!  Ask yourself: do I live in a town known for a certain drink or does a company bottle their products here?  I promise that your out of town bags will be something that your guests will talk about as a reminder of your fabulous wedding weekend!

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Katie

 

 



Posted in Inspiration, Simply & Forever News
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Aug 19

Ombre Trend

A Fashion Friday post will be coming later on for this weekend, but first a trend that I am absolutely LOVING right now!  St. Louis has a great Knot community and on Wednesday evening we had our fabulous Knot Cocktails and Connections night.  The vendors were amazing, and it was such a great night to see others in the industry and network with each other.  I love events where we as professionals can all come together and mingle and just share the love that we all have for this industry.

One of the vendors, Whipt Cream, is FABULOUS.  You have seen their cakes on quite a few of my Pizzazzerie posts, and my brides love them as well.  As I told Lee on Wednesday, my absolute favorite “treat” beyond their cake and cupcakes is their brownie bites, they are to die for!  Well for this event, Lee and his fabulous team worked on tasty treats for our Knot party that totally brought the ombre theme of the evening to life!  They made this fabulous cake that is fondant made to look like ruffles, and it is awesome!  Can you imagine cutting into this at your wedding?

ombre cake

Image taken by Landlocked Bride at the Event

And then these amazing mini desserts were arranged in ombre style all across a custom board made by Whipt Cream.  Yes, these are mini cakes, mini cheesecake bites, and they even had individual size cakes!  And you know how much I love individual cakes from my bridal show booth!  Needless to say, I brought one of those home for my husband to enjoy.

Whipt Cream Desserts

Image taken by Simply & Forever at event

And if you’re dying for a few more ombre cake pictures, check out fellow blogger Postcards and Pretties post with some ombre cake inspiration!

Happy Friday everyone!  Back with our fashion favorites later!



Posted in Cakes, Simply & Forever News
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Aug 8

Megan + Joe {Engagement Session}

Back from a very quick trip to Wisconsin to visit a new little one in the family, and ready to share some fabulous pictures and inspiration with you all this week!  Let me introduce you to Megan, she’s my fabulous assistant who some of you will most likely see behind the scenes with me on your wedding day.  But for all of you that are a part of our blog family, you just may see some things from her on the blog as well in the near feature!   Megan is a fabulous designer who loves details as much as I do, and she completely appreciates and loves being a part of each bride and groom’s special day just as we all do.

clairegrahamchapel

May 2012 Bride Claire and her Dad -shot by Joanna Kleine Photography

But besides being my awesome assistant, Megan is also getting married herself this September.  I am super excited to be a part of her own special day, and watch her walk down the aisle to her fiancé Joe!  In honor of her upcoming wedding, I wanted to share a few of my favorites from her engagement session with Angie from Todd Studios, part of our fab dream team on their wedding day!

MeganJoeEngagement

I love that their engagement session was at a local fair which provided such a variety of spots for them to take some great pictures! I just love the colorful backdrop behind them, and the opportunity for Angie to really capture how much fun they love to have together!

fair-engagement-pics-meganjoe

And if you love the series of photos below, you’ll have to see what else Angie and Megan brewed up at this engagement shoot here!  Let’s just say if you love twinkle lights and a cute couple as much as I do, you’ll want to see the rest of the shoot!

fair-engagement-pics-meganjoe2

Happy Monday everyone!

Katie

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Posted in Engagement, Simply & Forever News
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