DIY: Gingerbread Centerpiece

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Last week I posted a simple paperwhite table from our new project designer, Jess. Today we’ve got gingerbread! If this doesn’t get you in the holiday spirit, I don’t know what will. For her gingerbread centerpiece, Jess used a kraft paper runner, powdered sugar “snow,” and cookie houses and trees.

gingerbread house centerpiece
snowflake cookie place setting

Festive plaid napkins add a little color to the otherwise neutral table (we found these at T.J.Maxx for $1.50 apiece).

red green plaid napkins
gingerbread houses

The fun thing about Jess’s two tables is that they needn’t be limited to a wedding – both would be perfect for a holiday party. Also, if you’re not the baking type, you can always buy pre-made gingerbread houses and decorate them however you like.

Fab photos by the Boston-based Rebecca Hansen for Snippet & Ink.

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DIY: Boxwood and Paperwhites

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Remember when I was looking for interns a little while back? Well I found not one, but two fabulous ladies to help me out at Snippet & Ink! Let me introduce Jess, our new project designer. When I asked her to put together some fun seasonal projects for us, she created this simply lovely table of boxwood and paperwhites. DIY and budget friendly!

paperwhites centerpiece

Boxwood monograms are a pretty way to embellish a place setting, and paperwhites are both lovely and budget friendly (we found ours at Stop & Shop, $10 for 3). Boxwood table numbers would be another way to use this idea.

boxwood monograms
holiday greenery place setting

Create a simple centerpiece by clustering votive candles and paperwhites in mixed or matching containers. We used mercury glass vases and votives ($5 to $8, Anthropologie) to add a little sparkle – they would also be lovely take-aways for your guests.

mercury glass vases

I hope you’re as excited about having Jess at Snippet & Ink as I am! Also, a huge thank you to Rebecca Hansen for the beautiful photos.

 

Download instructions for the boxwood monograms right here.

Please take note: Boxwood sap can cause minor skin irritation, so you may want to wear gloves when handling it. If allergy is a concern, use another seasonal green or faux boxwood for your monograms.

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A Rustic Autumn Table

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Up next, another lovely table from Carter & Cook Event Co. and Jill Thomas Photography. This one is a bit more classically autumn, but still with unexpected touches, like cupcake liner ruffles on the table runner, and chargers wrapped in yarn. Great inspiration for your fall wedding or your Thanksgiving table. Says Ashlyn Carter from Carter & Cook Event Co.:

I really wanted to design a fall-inspired shoot based on fruits, wood, and lots of texture and color. The idea started with the idea of birch wood stumps and persimmons. My favorite aspect to the table was the custom made yarn-covered chargers, which adds such a cozy touch to the table. The brown craft paper table runner was a fun DIY project that incorporates cupcake liners of various sizes made into flowers in different shades of neutrals and gold. This table is organic and natural, but has strong pops of color in the fall fruits and potted succulents. Guests are served old-fashioned cookies as favors in the mini brown paper bags, which also doubled as the menu. We loved the height and variety of textures to this table that create such a warm and fun table for any Thanksgiving feast!

ranunculus succulent centerpiece

Potted succulents are an unexpected touch, but I think they fit really nicely on this table, and echo the gray in the yarn chargers.

monogrammed details wedding
fruit centerpiece wedding
diy yarn charger
cupcake liner ruffles
bentwood chairs

Photography: Jill Thomas

Design / styling: Carter & Cook Event Co.

Flowers: The Floral Lab

Paper design: Posh Paperie

Bentwood chairs: Classic Party Rentals

Tableware: Pottery Barn

Napkins: Pier 1 Imports

Doesn’t this make you even more excited for Thanksgiving? I love the menus that double as favor bags, and I especially love the place cards under each wine glass. Thank you so much to Carter & Cook Event Co. and Jill Thomas and all the other vendors involved for sharing these fun tables with us. And in case you missed the first table, check it out right here.

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Real Wedding: Martine & Fred

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There’s always something so special about weddings at home. Fred and Martine knew from the get go that they wanted to get married at the bride’s childhood home. Martine put on her wedding gown in her childhood bedroom, beverages were served out of the playhouse that her father built for her when she was little, and the ceremony was held in the field with a beautiful view of Mount Hood behind them. Says Martine:

“My parents designed and built the log home that I grew up in, so the house has a lot of history and meaning for our family. Fred loves it there (he’s a city kid by birth but a country boy by nature), so we agreed that that was the place. Once we decided on that, we tried to go with details that made sense. When you’re getting married at a ranch, hay bales with vintage blankets to sit on just seem natural. So do mason jars, bunting on the barb wire fence, Bundt cakes, and a country band for a barn dance!”

Martine customized a sign template by Hello!Lucky for the signature cocktail, Blushing Bride.

Says Martine: My future mother-in-law and my good friend were my floral designers. I wanted very simple wildflower-esque arrangements and had the good luck to have peonies in season so it wasn’t too tough. After the rehearsal dinner all my friends came back to the house and pitched in to finish up the last centerpieces and everything turned out beautifully.

I bake Bundt cakes for all sorts of occasions, so I made three caramel apple and three double chocolate for the wedding. My family thought I was crazy for baking the morning of the wedding but it was actually quite soothing. Our caterer also made a small traditional wedding cake, and Fred made the cake topper of crossed wrenches since we are both engineers.

Deciding on music was tough – we didn’t really think a DJ would fit in at the ranch, but hiring a wedding band conjured up images of a bunch of guys in tuxes with trumpets which was also scary. One night during our engagement, we went dancing at the local roadhouse to hear our favorite band, Knut Bell and the Blue Collars, and I had the revelation that we could probably hire THIS band. I gasped and looked up at Fred, and I could see he had the same thought. Right there, we decided! They were a highlight of the wedding – the dance floor was full all night. My parents are big country dancers, so my father and I did the wagon wheeler’s waltz, a beautiful pattern dance, for the father-daughter dance.

Venue: family ranch in Hood River, Oregon

Wedding coordinator: Wedding Love Notes

Bride’s dress / cowboy boots: I Do Bridal / Lane Boots

Parasols: Bella Umbrella

Cake: Pampered Palette Catering

Country band: Knut Bell and the Blue Collars

A big thank you to Heather España for the fabulous photos, and to second shooter Ryan from You Look Nice Today.

Hello!Lucky is a sponsor of Snippet & Ink.

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Real Wedding: Wendy & Sean

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Thirteen people were present at Wendy and Sean’s June wedding, and that’s including the bride and groom! Their intimate and charming ceremony is a great example of how to include children from previous marriages in a second wedding. Says Wendy:

We have three boys between us, from our first marriages, and we both felt very strongly that this wedding wasn’t just about Sean and myself, but about our new family. It was a chance for our children to heal from the divorces and to feel safe and secure in our new family. Everything we did was geared towards making it a happy, special day for them.

The day before the ceremony, Wendy and her sons decorated the church inside and out with magnolia leaves taken from trees she had planted when they were born.

A few details from Wendy: For our first “family date,” we visited a little church in Amelia where a small battle had been fought during the Civil War. We took Frisbees and had a really fun picnic, plus we got to share a little of Virginia’s Civil War history with my sons. It was a magical day and the real start of our family. When we were trying to figure out where we wanted to get married, that little church, Namozine (maintained by the Amelia Historical Society), seemed like the perfect place.

For the wedding, we did a sand ceremony with our boys. Each of us had our own jars of sand, which we poured into a larger jar to symbolize that we are individuals, but joining together into one family. The children took the sand ceremony very seriously and I think that it meant a lot to them. I hope that every time they look at that jar of sand, they will know how much we love them and want to make a happy, secure family for them.

Wishing all the best to this new family! And thank you to Susan Bolling for sharing these charming photos with us.

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