The Unbride - A Unique and Unusual Wedding Blog » Food + Drink

A Pinkberry Wedding?

Justine — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:59:54 +0000

I just saw this over on Inspired By This and as a HUGE Pinkberry fan I had to re-post.

Breaking news for pinkberry lovers…Pinkberry is now doing wedding catering! To find our if they are doing it in your area, contact your local store. If you are getting married in the south bay area, you are in luck as the Hermosa Beach store is ready to make your event extra cool-get it fro yo? cool? Contact Ray the manager to get you set up. The event minimum is 25 orders which comes with transportation, set up, team to serve, breakdown and cleanup as well as all the serving bowls and utensils. Seriously loving this idea!! They are offering 6 delicious flavors: chocolate, coconut, pomegranate, passion fruit, original and green tea. They also bring all of their toppings! To get more information contact your local Pinkberry.
Thank you Leila & Kellee for bringing this to our attention!! Photo by Caroline Tran.

Leslie in Wonderland

Justine — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:17:41 +0000

I just love love love this adorable Alice in Wonderland-inspired bridal shower that Unbride Leslie sent us. Her lovely bridesmaids planned an intimate Mad Hatter tea party at Comme Ca in West Hollywood complete with Croque Monsieurs, Photo Albums, Chai Teas, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Flower-filled Tea Pots, and Champagne.

The Mad Hatter theme was consistent through out the entire event! The appetizers had little “Eat Me” flags, the Champagne glasses had “Drink Me” tags, even the Mad Hatter cupcakes had “Take Me” labels.

Event Planner: Soiree Parfaite
Flowers: Shannon G
Cupcakes: Vanilla Bake Shop

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Leslie, we can’t wait to see your wedding pictures as well!

Bringing back the Candy Dish

Justine — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:41:19 +0000

It’s amazing how the wonderful world of weddings can connect you with long lost friends. A few weeks ago I got an email from Maggie Wickes, one of my Alpha Phi sisters from college whom I don’t think I’ve seen since graduation which is what, like almost 10 years ago now. Wow, time really flies on by. Anyway, I was just tickled to see that besides being a Harvard-educated attorney now living in Denver, Maggie is also now the owner and founder of a The Blue Bird Candy Dish Co. Maggie tells me that she plans to use candy dishes as centrepieces at her wedding next year and I just love the idea. Perfect for the candy-lovers out there or those who want something more long-lasting and/ or less expensive than elaborate floral designs.

Check out all of these delectable candies you could fill your dishes with…yum yum!!!

Unique Desserts By Diana

Ellen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:14:05 +0000

I almost fell off my treadmill about a week ago, when I opened up my Sunset Magazine and saw a huge feature on our friend Diana Sproveri, designer pastry chef and her dessert parties. Diana is a fellow Buffalo girl, who creates melt-in-your-mouth and oh-so-pretty desserts. She won’t be doing weddings until the Spring of 2010, you if you hurry, you might be able to book her for a bridal shower. Or instead of the giant 45 layer wedding cake order a few dozen Lollibakes. With flavors like Red Velvet, Coconut Macaroon, Pumpkin Spice or Peppermint Bark, there is something delicious for everyone at your wedding. Plus, you don’t have to stop dancing to enjoy your wedding cake.

Lydia + Luke

Ellen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:54:56 +0000

The second we saw this amazing wedding photographed by Hillary Maybery, we knew we wanted to feature it. Not only is the bride absolutely gorgeous, but they had custom designed skateboards with their wedding logo for each of the groomsmen, and a cheesecake bar to boot.

Here are some details from Lydia: Luke and I met in Ketchum, Idaho, at a local watering hole called The Casino, in Feb 2003. Luke was born and raised in the Sun Valley Area. I moved to Sun Valley in 1996, from Seattle, where I was born and raised. He proposed on Christmas Day, 2007.

While we were planning our wedding, I wanted a small destination wedding.. somewhere tropical with our families. Luke was very passionate about having a large wedding with all of our friends and family. Growing up in such a small community, everyone becomes family- it’s very unique and special. So we decided to have a big, yet intimate wedding in Hailey, Idaho. Our wedding had 250 guests! Luke and I both wanted to have a mellow wedding where everyone felt comfortable and welcome. We decided to have an outdoor garden ceremony and BBQ style wedding at a private residence- his families properties. I did not want a wedding planner, we both wanted it to be very personal and homemade. It was fun meshing both of our personalities together into this wedding. I like pretty things, and he is a total skater boy.

Luke’s mom, sister, Luke, and I planned the entire event. There were so many little details.. here are a few:
• Luke designed custom skateboards for his groomsmen. He drew two love birds with two hearts and had our names, wedding date, and location printed on the decks.
• My wedding rings were rubies and diamonds- I wanted rubies because it is Luke’s birthstone.
• I am half Japanese, so we handed out white Japanese paper fans to guests. On the dinner tables, we had fuscia and orange paper fans for decorations along with blue vases with colorful flowers for centerpieces.
• Our officiant, Luke’s best friend since infancy and best man, read our vows out of a Thrasher Magazine. Neither one of us are religious, and Thrasher is Luke’s “bible”.
• The old turquoise truck in the pictures in Luke’s “man truck”. He is kind of an old soul and loves old things. He wanted to include it in the wedding to get a real “Idaho” feeling.
• We had 8 ‘angels” in our wedding. These were 7 boys who are very close to us and who we love very much- they ranged in ages 4-10. The 8th angel was our dog, Satori, our giant love-able Malamute/Husky.
• For the cocktail hour before the wedding, we had drinks and appetizers available. We set up “mini living rooms” all around the property for guest to mingle with- BEAUTIFUL! Just imagine being in the mountains, blue skies, rugged terrain, aspens, wildflowers, and just chillin with a yummy drink and snack!
• We both aren’t crazy about cake, so we decided on cheesecake! We had a cheesecake bar- toppings included fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries.. All locally grown in Idaho.

Vendors:
Personalized Skateboards: The Board Bin www.boardbin.com
Fabulous Jewelry: Christopher & Co. in Hailey, Idaho
Cake: Luke’s sister, Melissa Rushton, designed and created
Flowers: Luke’s mom, Terri DeMun, designed and created (along with a lot of family help)
Furniture and Details: Lone Star Interior Design Hailey, Idaho
Catering: Full Moon Catering www.fullmoonempire.com
Music: Zander Cox Boise, Idaho and DJ Press Play of Portland ,Oregon
Photographer: Hillary Maybery www.hillarymaybery.com
Party Rentals: That’s Entertainment www.thatsentertainmentsv.com and Party Center of Twin Falls, Idaho
Wedding Dress: Sally Crew www.labelleelaines.com in Seattle
Bridesmaids Dresses: Bridal Couture of Boise www.bridal-couture.com
Grooms/ Groomsmen/Angels Outfits: Volcom Clothing www.boardbin.com
Brides Shoes: Diane von Furstenberg www.dvf.com
Grooms Shoes: Reef sandals www.reef.com
Brides Hair: Jana Jo Burnell www.vertuhairdressing.com
Brides Make-Up: Jamilynn Smith www.vertuhairdressing.com
Accomodations: Sun Valley Lodge www.sunvalley.com

Inspiration: Let Them Eat Cake

Ellen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:57:00 +0000

Indeed…sweet and sexy, or perhaps hot and haughty. All that pink and sugary goodness, with an air of “But of Course”

Credits: Marie Antoinette The Film, Jenny Yoo, Vanity Fair, Petits Fours-Devine Delights

Lollipop Escort Cards

Justine — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:24:37 +0000

I’ve shot a couple of weddings recently where my adorable brides had adorable ideas for their escort card tables so I figured why not share them here? This one is from a wedding that was just yesterday at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC. It was a pretty traditional and formal wedding so I loved the fact that they wanted to incorporate some fun, cutesy elements to spice things up a bit. The escort card table was simple and fun with white pintuck linens, gerbera daisies and pink lollipops wrapped in plastic.

Each lollipop had a guest escort card tied to it with a little white ribbon. Subtle, elegant and playful.

They were a big hit with the guests too and doubled as favors. In my opinion the best favors are almost always edible.

My margarita recipe

Justine — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:10:36 +0000

I know I’ve been threatening to share my personal margarita recipe here for months but since today is Cinco de Mayo, I figured that it was now or never. My husband and I both LOVE a good margarita but I just hate the pre-made mix stuff, not to mention that a typical margarita usually packs a whopping 700+ calories, yikes! So a couple of years ago, we decided to start making our own and have become sort of famous for our delicious margaritas that our friends now request that we make them every time there is a party. So here is the recipe we’ve just sort of made up as we’ve gone along.

Squeeze lemons and limes together so that you have a mixture that is about 2/3 lime juice & 1/3 lemon juice. Then add the juice of 1-2 freshly squeezed juicing oranges. This will help to sweeten up the mixture and cut the sour a bit. Then add splenda until the mixture tastes right to you. The more orange juice you add, the less Splenda you’ll need. Now you have your sweet & sour mix.
We use this citrus juicer from Crate & Barrel.

In a tumbler, add ice, 1.5 oz of tequila (something decent), .75 oz of Grand Marnier or Cointreau & 3 oz or so of your mix. Shake it up well and pour into a salt-rimmed glass.

Beware, these are really really good so if you share them with friends, be prepared to make them regularly.

Vendor Spotlight – Fancy Cakes by Leslie

Justine — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:29:21 +0000

Since I’m in DC right now for a wedding, I thought it was a good time to get back to showcasing the amazing work of all of my own wedding vendors. I could not have pulled together such an amazing event without the support and generosity of all of my amazing vendors. Today, I want to introduce you to Leslie from Fancy Cakes by Leslie. We have known each other for years so I was thrilled to finally be able to ask her to make a cake for my own wedding. This was one of those things that Gary and I battled over a bit…we just seemed to have the exact opposite ideas of what made a great wedding cake. He liked the idea of something very structured but still cool. I wanted something so crazy that it looked like it might fall over at any point. Since we couldn’t agree, I finally just sent over a few pictures of cakes that we both liked and asked Leslie to just make whatever she felt like. And here is the cake that we got….
Photos by Greg Gibson

It was perfect…and it was delicious!

And ya know how you’re supposed to save that top layer for your first anniversary? Well we ate it when we got back to our hotel room the night of the wedding. So much for tradition, right?

Cake batter anyone?

Justine — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:45:25 +0000

I have to say with just a little over 2 months til our wedding, it is getting down to the wire to make smart food choices and start exercising. So, tomorrow I start boot camp and am going to make a real effort to say no to dessert as much as possible. Sure, I’ll still indulge my sweet tooth a couple of days a week, but really, who needs to eat dessert literally every day? It’s about moderation, right? Anyway, last night when Gary and I were at the grocery store for cereal, soy milk and coffee creamer (the only things we have to buy now that we get lunch & dinner delivered), we toyed with the idea of buying a box of Dunkin Hines cake mix. No, not to actually bake a cake but to make a big bowl of cake batter and to eat it for dinner. There are few things I love more than a good bowl of raw cake batter. Since we have yet to settle on what exactly our wedding cake will look like, we thought for a minute, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just set out a giant bowl of cake batter with spoons at the wedding? Yum! Alas, I just don’t think it would fly but we got a real kick out if the idea of it.

Anyway, if anyone happens along a cool cake that you think might work for our wedding, please feel free to post a link…we could use a little help narrowing down the options…thanks!

Pinky vodka

Justine — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:15:03 +0000

I stumbled across this on the Hostess with the Mostess blog and I knew I had to bookmark it. I think Pinky, a new Scandinavian vodka looks perfect my wedding and it sounds absolutely delicious. Here’s a little excerpt from their website, “Pinky vodka adds a little something extra to classic cocktails. It’s hand-blended with violets, rose petals and ten other botanicals to deliver a floral nose and a rich, complex taste. The taste is driven by esters – the delicate top notes that give fresh fruit its vibrancy – so fruit and herb-based cocktails come to live in an amazing way. “ Yum yum yum, sounds delicious. I can’t wait to try it and maybe we will make some fabulous signature cocktails for our guests with this.

The planning has commenced…

Justine — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:17:09 +0000

Well actually buying my wedding gown has kicked me into high gear for actually planning this wedding. Gary and I sat down and made an actual guest list this evening and discovered that we seem to have just the right number of people to invite. Phew, what a relief. It’s so hard to guess until you put it all down on paper. So now we can think about sending out a save-the-date…better late than never, right? We’ve also settled on a really cool idea for a “wedding logo” which I will reveal as soon as it’s done. The whole theme of the event is going to be sort of a mish-mash of Hollywood (where we live) with a Rock ‘n Roll vibe. It should be pretty cool.

Now one thing that is pretty important because of the venue, is our choice of a wedding cake. It’s the first thing that guests will see as they come down the stairs to the reception area so it really has to WOW them. So I’ve been racking my brain for an idea that would go with our whole theme as well as be really interesting to look at…and here’s what I’ve come up with.

The Capitol Records building. It is already sort of in the shape of a cake so I figured it might be easier than some of my other insane ideas but I’ve emailed these pictures to my amazing cake designer to see what she thinks. I’ll report back soon…

Lollipop centerpiece

Justine — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:46:36 +0000

On Saturday I shot my first ever bat mitzvah. It was a blast & the young guests had such a fun time. They had these lollipop centerpieces on all of the tables and I thought it was such a cute idea and could be an alternative to using flowers or in additional to floral centerpieces, especially for any of you candy-loving brides out there…

I also found these more sophisticated blackberry versions atwww.candywarehouse.com

I may have to incorporate these into my decor somehow…

Introducting our caterer…

Justine — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:26:08 +0000

Today I received the proposal from our caterer, Well Dunn who are just the most amazing catering company in all of DC. It is almost overwhelming all of the incredible choices we have so I thought I would share a few of the menu options with you. We’ve decided to go with a very loungy, cocktaily vibe for our reception so in lieu of a sit-down dinner, we will be serving a combination of passed small plates along with cocktail buffet stations.

We will need to select 2 of the following…any votes?

A California Tasting Table

Cioppino
A traditional San Franciscan fish stew of scallops, muscles, shrimp, Pacific snapper and grouper simmered in an Italian-inspired tomato and herb broth, served in teacups over Parmesan polenta

Grilled Sausages with Two Mustards
Fresh turkey sausage with sun-dried tomatoes and basil and fresh lemon spiked chicken sausage with tarragon grilled over charcoal and presented in medallions with an imported grainy rough mustard and a rustic spicy brown mustard

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Fancy heirloom tomatoes combined with shallots tossed in a crisp herb and champagne vinaigrette

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Polenta Crust
Classic pizza dough crusts prepared with polenta and maize topped with wild mushrooms and shallots sautéed in petit syrah and soy, baked with parmesan and asiago cheeses

A California Cheese Board
Artisanal cheeses displayed with bowls of figs and almonds and baskets of sliced sourdough fiscelle and herb toasted baguette rusks

Laura Chenel’s Herb Marinated Chevre Medallions
Hilmar Cheese Company’s Sharp Cheddar with Apple Jam
Winchester Cheese Company’s Smoked Gouda
Joseph Farm’s Pepper Jack

A Levantine Meze

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Two Sauces
Leg of lamb, butterflied and marinated in olive oil seasoned with lemon thyme, rosemary and garlic, char-grilled, sliced and presented with green olive tapenade and a fresh fig jam

Baskets of fresh pita loaves and miniature croissants

Grilled Chicken Kebabs on Lentil Pilaf with Blacken Onions
Morsels of boned chicken breast marinated with white wine, lemon juice and fresh herbs, skewered, char-grilled and presented over a lentil pilaf with chopped tomato, seeded cucumber and blacken onions

White Beans with Rosemary and Cumin
White beans tossed with a crisp sherry vinaigrette scented with toasted cumin seeds, fresh rosemary and garlic

Hummus and Tabbouleh
A traditional chickpea and tahini hummus and fresh tabbouleh presented with baskets of herb toasted pita chips

Olives
Bowls of imported green and black cured olives

Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables with Sun-dried Tomato Aioli
Baby eggplant, fennel, summer squash, zucchini, endive and red onion drizzled the olive oil and grilled over charcoal and presented with a sun-dried tomato aioli

Nouvelle Asian

Hoisin Marinated Steak Skewers with Nectarine Salsa
Ribbons of flank steak marinated in hoisin and soy sauces with scallions, gingerroot and Worcestershire sauce, threaded onto long bamboo skewers, char-grilled and offered with a salsa of nectarines, green pepper, tomato and chilies

Thai Shrimp Dumplings in Green Curry Sauce
Spiced Thai-style shrimp and mushroom dumplings with matchstick vegetables simmered in a classic green curry sauce

Wasabi Salmon Fingers with Kiwi Dipping Sauce
Fingers of pan-seared salmon filets brushed with wasabi, rolled into phyllo pastry sheets, sprinkled with sesame seeds; presented with a semi-pureed kiwi dipping sauce scented with ginger

Korean Rice Bowl with Spicy Chicken and Vegetables
Steamed long grain white rice topped with morsels of sautéed free-range chicken breast and ribbons of zucchini, squash and a tri-color of bell pepper doused with a spicy sauce

Lemongrass and Charred Eggplant “Hummus” with Crostini
Grilled eggplant pureed and scented with lemongrass and tahini offered with baskets of lightly toasted ficselle rusks

Nouvelle American

Seared Beef Tenderloin with Mustard-horseradish Sauce
Whole beef tenderloins rubbed with seasoned olive oil and pan-seared, sliced and presented on a bed of watercress with capers and fresh cracked black and a Dijon mustard sauce spiked with fresh horseradish

Roast Salmon with Cider-Apple Cream Sauce
Cocktail portions of fresh Atlantic salmon braised with leeks, pan roasted in fish stock and local fresh pressed apple cider with Granny Smith apples and shallots

Autumn Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Semolina pasta pillow filled with a squash pureed scented with nutmeg, served in a sage infused brown butter sauce

Asparagus and Carrots
Gently poached asparagus and baby carrots with a bit of their green tops left on, served with a Green Goddess dressing

American Cheese Board
A display of fresh American artisanal cheeses to include: Cowgirl’s Creamery MT PAT (a triple cream cow’s milk cheese), Grafton Village cheddar, Maytag Blue and Coach Farms Triple Cream Goat, accented with bowls of walnuts, sun-dried figs and sun-dried peach slices

Baskets of fancy crackers and sliced baguette

Talk about a peronalized cake

Justine — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:09:41 +0000

When I was perusing websites the other day searching for images for my vision board, I came across this cake on Duff Goldman’s website. Many of you probably know Duff and his amazing team (Charm City Cakes in Baltimore) from their tv show, Ace of Cakes on the Food Network. I’ve never actually met Duff but I do remember a pretty spectacular cake that he made for a wedding I shot back in 2004 on the eastern shore. It was very Alice in Wonderland topsy turvy and it stuck in my mind along with the name “Duff”. It wasn’t until years later when I saw the show that I put the two together. Anyway, I saw this cake and I thought, is that a personal statement for me or what? I have to think about what I would do with it if I got something like this at my wedding, only because the area where I plan to display my wedding cake sort of calls for something larger and more dramatic. But how cool is this camera cake?

Thank goodness it is a Canon camera although the “20D” would need to be updated to the “5D”. Geez, I’m such a camera snob.
Visit the Charm City Cakes blog here.

Cafe Valet

Justine — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:11:09 +0000

Okay, here is something that I’m super excited about and I definitely want for my wedding, it’s a brand new service from my friend Mitch Rotker from Smoothie Time and it’s called “Cafe Valet”.

As your guests are waiting for their car at the valet, have our Café Valet service. We will serve them a cappuccino or latte and give them a bag of mini donuts for the ride home.

How fabulous, right? Who doesn’t love fresh, hot doughnuts? What a great favor.
Check out the amazing antique doughnut machine they will bring right to your reception.