Real Wedding: So Cal Nuptials

This weeks edition of Wedding Wednesday comes from Style Me Pretty.  The lovely So Cal wedding caught my eye because of its simplicity... which comes across as pure elegance.  I'm also really diggin' navy blue right now... and the bridesmaid dresses this bride chose are perfect because they're definitely dress her girls can wear again!











See. Gorgeous, right? If you are interested in reading more about this simple, yet elegant, wedding and to check out more photos, head over Style Me Pretty here.


Do you have a wedding you would like feature on Wedding Wednesday?  Send your submissions to CK Events today!

Loving this idea: Custom coloring books and crayons for the kiddos

Remember when you were a kid and the only thing you had to look forward to when going to a wedding was the cake and dancing (or was that just me?!?)?  Or how about being an adult and being at a wedding or event where all you hear is kids crying and screaming?  As a hostess for any event, if you're inviting children to attend you should always be prepared for boredom. Let's face it, most kids aren't going to enjoy sitting through a wedding ceremony... an event speech... or anything not having to do with cake or dancing - so why not try to make it more enjoyable for them?

I found the great idea of supplying custom coloring books and crayon sets in your wedding or event colors on the Stephanie J Design's blog and had to share it!  Why not try and occupy those kiddos attention with this fun activity (when I was growing up, my church provided this as an option to my parents... what a great way to keep me quiet during those sermons!)









If you are unable to create these yourself, the Stephanie J Designs team will package the 4-pack of crayons in a cellophane bag and wrap in a ribbon color of your choice.  Head over to their blog to view more details about how to order... and check out all the other fabulous ideas and inspiration they have to offer!

Real Party: Pink and Yellow 2nd Birthday Party

I'm in the midst of planning two baby showers right now for November - one for my sister and one for a best friend from college, and I think the hardest part so far has been figuring out a theme that matches the personality of each mom-to-be.  I think I've got it all figured out, though!  My friend is having twins and isn't finding out the sex of the babies so I'm doing a navy blue and pink theme.  My sister found out she's having a girl and has a color palette of pastel pink, green and yellow planned for her nursery, so I thought a pastel-y pink and yellow would be a good color combination.

I'm an avid follower of the blog A Blissful Nest, and when she posted about the party she threw for her daughter's 2nd birthday, with a theme of pink and yellow (and butterflies), I knew I had to save it as inspiration... and to show it off to my wonderful readers who may have not seen it already!  This is a great party to draw inspiration from for my sister's pink and yellow shower... however, I'll have to tone the pink down a bit since she's not a fan of bright pink!

How adorable is this dessert table.  I love the fabric and bows for the table cloth!

A closer look at the dessert table

Pretty flower arrangement

The beautiful and delicious looking cake

A close up of some of the dessert table goodies

How cute are these cookies?!

Dressing up straws is a great way to keep your parties theme rolling throughout the entire party

Favor table.  Too adorable!

Cute frame and note about favors for the Lauren's guests

How cute are these favor boxes?

Cute butterfly catchers

How pretty does this flower wreath with L monogram?

Adorable custom printables made by Rebekah for A Blissful Nest

The cute little birthday girl... loving that tutu!!

For more detail and photos from this great party, head over to the A Blissful Nest blog!  She has a ton of party inspiration and ideas on her blog!  

What are you favorite ideas for a baby shower?

Real Wedding: Arizona Vintage

I wanted to start a new thing on the CK Events blog - Wedding Wednesday!  I try to mix-up the topics and parties of CK Events, so I thought Wedding Wednesday would give me a good outlet for showing the gorgeous weddings that inspire me and an event designer.  I have featured a few weddings in the past, so I think having a set day will allow you, my followers, to gauge a day for weddings!

Today's inaugural Wedding Wednesday post is just beautiful (if you're a follower on Facebook, you may have seen the the link for this wedding last night... one of the advantages of be a Facebook follower!)  I came across this wedding on The Wedding Wire blog and my jaw almost hit the floor.  First, let me say I'm in love with the brides stunning dress, and secondly, I think she accomplished the look she was going for - timeless and not too trendy (although, if I get married, I'd follow on with this trend! :))

How gorgeous is that dress?!?! Ugh... I want!

To read more about this wedding from the bride, head over to The Wedding Wire blog for more details! While you're there, stay and check out some of the other real weddings, wedding tips, inspirations and trends the Wedding Wire has to offer!  You can't be disappointed with that site!

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Wedding Wednesday!  If you have a wedding that's inspired you - or perhaps that you've assisted in planning - please email CK Events.  We'd love to feature your work!

Real Party: Baseball Baby Shower

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend... personally, I think it went by way too fast!  I was in a wedding on Friday that turned out gorgeous... my best friend from high school looked like a life-size Barbie!  I'll post pictures when I have some!

Anyway, I came across this adorable baseball baby shower awhile back on the Oh Baby! Custom Shower Decor blog and just had to share it!  Baseball season is coming to a close as playoffs near the beginning of October, so I thought this would be a fitting post... plus, I'm in dire need of baby shower inspiration and I love this shower!

How cute are these baseball invitations?

The menu for this baseball baby shower was so fitting!  Hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, peanuts

a close-up of the cotton candy cups

I love the idea of having an old fashioned popcorn popper at the party!  So cute!

These baseball cupcakes look adorable... and delicious!

Sandi, the talent behind Oh Baby!, made the adorable bunting for the party

Guests took home gourmet rocky road popcorn... don't you just love the baseball takeout containers?

I'll be planning my sisters baby shower in a couple of months, and will also be hosting a shower for one of my good friends from college who is having TWINS this coming winter!  Who has some great ideas for a baby shower for twins that is gender neutral?

Things I'm Loving: {Breast} Cancer Awareness Greeting Cards

FIRST - don't forget to head sign up for our giveaway here!

I came across these awesome {breast} cancer awareness greeting cards on the Wedding Paper Divas blog and just fell in love with them.  I've always been a strong supporter of breast cancer awareness and research in finding a cure, and since my grandmother has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, I've been more enthralled with the idea of finding a cure for all types of cancer (specifically hers, but that's just because it's more personal to me).







Interested in the story behind these? Tiny Prints, the Wedding Paper Divas parent site, teamed up with The Pink Agenda to raise breast cancer awareness!  100% of the proceeds from each card purchased goes toward research, prevention and awareness!  And the best part - Tiny Prints is offering $1 off each card through the end of October (10/31/10).  Simply head to the Tiny Prints site here to pick the card or cards you're loving and enter the code BCA2010.  Their goal is to raise over $200,000, so head on over there to help out and to show your support for breast cancer!

Bridal Shower DIY: Towel Cake

A few weeks ago I attended the bridal shower for my best friend from high school, whose wedding I'm in tomorrow, actually!  Because she had a smaller registry, I wanted to get her something different than just the ordinary toaster, blender and cookie sheets (besides, those aren't as fun to buy anyway!).  I wracked my brain for ideas (along with the internet) and came up with what I was going to do - make her a towel cake.  After figuring out the colors of her bathroom (she told me it was Pittsburgh Steelers colors - which if you aren't a fan of Football, they're black and yellow... which is one of my favorite color combos!). I set out to buy the necessary items - bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths and ribbon.  I added in some coasters with the initial of her soon-to-be last name, some linen spray in different scents and some room freshener.

Finished towel cake including accessories

Towel cakes are super easy to make!  I totally didn't think to take step-by-step pictures, so hopefully my instructions are understandable (if not, there's some videos online to check out!)

What you'll need:

- 2 bath towels

- 2 hand towels

- 2 wash cloths

- safety pins

- ribbon that coordinates with your color scheme

How to create each layer:

Largest layer: 

1. Fold each bath towel in thirds.  Then fold in half.  

2. Connect end of one towel to end of the other towel, use safety pin to keep two connected.

3. Starting at one end, carefully roll the towel as tightly as possible, making sure the top and bottom are level.

4. Now you can either: a) safety pin towel together and tie ribbon around towel roll   or   b) simply tie ribbon around towel roll sans safety pin.

Middle and top layers:

1. Fold each hand and bath towel in half.  Then fold in half again.

2. Repeat steps 2-4 above.

Once the layers are complete, accessories with any extras you'd like!

Have you ever made a towel cake?  Looking to make one?  Stop by and show it off... I'd love to see how it turned out!

Halloween Giveaway - enter now!

I was stumped on what to do for my 100th post giveaway... then I saw all the cute Halloween baking stuff Michael's had and thought it was a great idea!  Who doesn't love cute cupcake liners, fun favor bags, themed ribbon and papers for creative cupcake toppers and food labels... and some BOO stickers?!?!  I know I do!




As mentioned above, giveaway includes: regular cupcake liners, small cupcake liners, favor bags, stickers and two different pieces of Halloween-themed scrapbook paper (perfect for cupcake toppers, food labels, Halloween scrapbooking, etc.)

This giveaway ends next Wednesday, September 22nd at 10 p.m. CST.  Winner will be drawn using the Random.org number generator.

There are multiple ways to enter:

1st entry: Leave a comment below with your name and email address

additional entries:

2. Become a follower of CK Events on Facebook (click the Facebook "like" button to the right).  Leave a comment with name and email address.

3. Become a follower of the CK Events blog.  Make sure to leave a comment with your name and email address!!


Easy and 1-2-3, right?!?!

Good luck!!!

Giveaway starts tomorrow! Be sure to enter!

Tomorrow is the day we announce the 100th post giveaway we mentioned a couple of posts back!!!  Be sure to check back and enter!  Check the CK Events Facebook page here for a hint on what that giveaway is for!!

Real Party: Paris in the Spring

I spotted this party on the Birthday Girl blog back in June and flagged it as a source of inspiration.  The party was inspired by a Parisian inspiration board that Becca from Birthday Girl created for her client Gail.  The party was created for Gail's daughter Emma's 12th birthday.

There are many aspects of this party that I love, but the color scheme is probably my favorite... in addition invites (created by the Tomkat Studio), printables and Eiffel tower accents used throughout the party.















If you've never checked out the Birthday Girl blog, you're seriously missing out!  Head over there now to check out all the fabulousness and eye candy Becca has to offer!