Pakistani Weddings: Rasm E Mehndi “Henna Party”

Rasm E Mehndi is one event in the many celebrations of Pakistani weddings. The literal meaning is “Henna Party” or “Henna Ritual.” This event is traditionally thrown by the bride’s family (as it is mainly a women’s only event), but trends have recently changed allowing the groom’s family to do a joint event with the bride’s family.

{Samson Productions}

There are many rituals and traditions that happen at the Rasm E Mehndi including applying henna to the bride’s hands and feet. In Pakistani culture, warding off evil is extremely important and is performed by circling money around the bride’s head three times, then donating that money to charity. The night continues with singing and dancing but the bride is not to participate as her face is supposed to be hidden in a veil. That tradition has also changed, and many brides often find themselves enjoying the festivities as well.

{AA Creations}

Candy Bar Trends 2012

One of our favorite services to plan at a special event or wedding: CANDY BARS! Or as we love to call them “Candy Couture” bars! From whimsical to rustic to couture, a candy bar is the right touch of merriment that can really add to your event or wedding. A huge trend in weddings and receptions is to offer guests entertainment that calls to all of their senses: music, live acts, decor, gifts.. you name it! On top of thanking your guests, especially those with young children, a candy bar allows everyone to have a little fun and interaction at your reception without having to spend extra cash on more visual decor details.

If you are a budget bride, or unsure of whether to invest in a large wedding cake, candy bars are the perfect solution to your financial woes. They offer a little bit of everything to please different guests, and you’ll never have to worry about taking home leftovers! We hope these candy bars we found will inspire you <3

*If you want to see details up close, click on the image to enlarge it!

{Rustic, Sweet, Couture, Enchanting, Whimsical}

Miércoles Happy Hour

Happy miércoles (“Wednesday” in Spanish!), and we have a refreshing cocktail for you inspired by this weekend’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations! Instead of margaritas, we found the perfect summer, tequila-infused drink to host at your next fiesta or reception. Thank you to the mixologists over at Jose Cuervo for creating the “Platino Fresco,” which we Google Translated to mean “Platinum Fresh.”

Platino Fresco

Ingredients

1 oz Jose Cuervo Platino™
1/2 oz. Elderflower liqueur
Cucumber slices
Mint leaves
Pink Grapefruit juice

Directions

Cocktail Popsicles: Lychee Saketini

Spring is here, but we’re already pining for warm summer days! To get you through this cloudy hump day, we found a mouth-watering and fun cocktail recipe for your next party–Lychee Saketini from Endless Simmer. Cocktail popsicles remind us of those fun summer days as kids, but with a grown up twist. It’s a great cocktail trend that I’m sure you’ll want to try out with other types of spirits and flavors. Although, we think the drinks that use fruits will go over better with your guests, rather than whiskey flavored popsicles

Lychee Saketini Recipe

 Ingredients

· 1 ½ cup limeade

· ¾ cup sake

· 16oz lychee, peeled and seeded (approximately 20-22 regular size lychees)

· 8 oz honeydew, pureed (approximately ¼ of a regular size honeydew)

· Optional: Raspberries to garnish

Instructions

1. Place limeade, sake, lychee and honeydew in a food processor or blender and process or blend until pureed, about 1-2 minutes. Pour mixture through a medium strainer.

2. Pour strained mixture into popsicle forms —add raspberries now if you are garnishing the popsicles—and freeze for about 2 hours or until mixture starts to solidify enough to hold a popsicle stick upright.

3. Insert popsicle sticks and finish freezing popsicles overnight.

4. To release popsicles run hot water on the outside of popsicle molds for a 2-3 seconds.
Thank you Endless Simmer for sharing this delicious cocktail popsicle recipe!

Why You Need A Wedding Planner: The Tasting

Often, brides wonder why they need a wedding planner since they can diy (do-it-yourself) a whole wedding, but once their big day arrives, they find they’re way in over their heads! There are many important factors you should consider, besides choosing a dress or venue, if you want a successful wedding and reception. One of them being the tasting–which dictates how smoothly your cocktail hour and reception will be, and finalizes decor & menu details.

The tasting allows for the bride and groom to meet with the venue’s coordinator, and to visualize a rough draft of: what will be served during cocktail hour, how meals will be presented to guests, what kind of alcohol is available, and where items like the cake table/dessert stations will be placed in the venue. Here is where you might look to a wedding planner for guidance because there are details that you, as a bride, might not consider or overlook. For instance, mini burger sliders may sound like a fun item to serve guests during cocktail hour, but it can be a little too heavy to serve before your main meal. On the flip side, if you’re only doing a hosted cocktail hour and a cash bar for your reception, you might want to offer guests something substantial to offset the heavy drinking that may occur during the cocktail hour.

Besides planning your wedding menu, your planner will help you to figure out decor for your wedding and reception site. Your floral vendor will present a sample of what your centerpieces will look like when placed on the table. Sometimes a centerpiece can look off if your table is either a 60″ or 72″ round table. Your wedding planner can also help you to determine the tablescape layout–how linens (napkins) will be folded, what charger plates to use, and how utensils will be laid out.

There are many other details your wedding planner can help you smooth out, and you can contact us to find out more