Party Ideas: Signature drink ideas by color

I absolutely love the idea of featuring a signature at any event you throw - whether it's a wedding, corporate party, birthday party, anniversary, baptism, bridal shower or just a random get-together.  Signature drinks don't need to include alcohol, it all depends upon what type of event you're having.  For instance, some may find it inappropriate to serve an alcoholic signature drink during a Baptism reception, while others might find it perfectly acceptable.

The best part of a signature drink is that you can customize the name anytime you want because most people won't know what it is anyway.  If you're looking to have your own "couture" drink for your event, get together with a bartender who's well versed in what ingredients mix well together for the yummiest concoction.  Below you will find a list of drinks by color that have been tried and tested as de-lish!


Purple: Purple Flirt

Ingredients:
1  1/2  shots vodka
3/4 shot sambuca
2 shots cranberry juice

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into a chilled martini glass


Pink: UV Pink Flamingo

Ingredients:
2 parts UV Lemonade vodka
1 part cranberry juice
Splash of triple sec

SHAKE with ice and strain into a martini glass

Blue: Blue Raspberry Martini

Ingredients:
2 ounces vodka
2 ounces raspberry liquor
twist of Curacao

SHAKE with ice and strain into martini glass


Red:  Strawberry Sucker

Ingredients:
1 ounce vodka
2 ounces strawberry schnapps
club soda
1 strawberry, halved

FILL a tall highball glass with ice cubes.  Add vodka and schnapps and top with club soda. Garnish with strawberry.


Green: Apple Green Martini

Ingredients:
1  1/2 ounces of vodka
1 ounce green apple schnapps

SHAKE with ice and strain into a martini glass


Yellow: Yellow Cab

Ingredients:
2  1/2 ounces vanilla cognac
4 ounces fresh pineapple puree
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
Splash of coconut milk

SHAKE with ice and strain into chilled martini glass


Orange: Orange Push Up

Ingredients:
1  1/2 ounces Captain Morgan original spiced rum
1/2 ounce grenadine
4 ounces orange juice
1 splash sweet and sour mix

BLEND ingredients with 1/2 scoop of ice and serve in a hurricane glass.



Have you offered a signature drink at any of your events or weddings?  What did you name them?  What recipe did you follow?

Real Party: Rustic Baptism

I'm still poking around the 'net to try and find some more inspiration for my niece's {and soon to be Goddaughter} Baptism that's taking place in April.  Let me tell you - there is not a lot out there for photos of Real Baptisms... whon, whon!  But - thanks to that lovely little party site, Catch My Party, I was able to find some cute Baptism inspiration there {although, not much for a baby girl, which I found quite surprising}.

Today's real party comes from Meghan McCann of MegMac Designs.  She designed and planned her nephew's {and Godson) baptism with a very adorable rustic theme.  The Baptism was held in the fall, so all of the yummy homemade treats and food fit the season.  The menu included a DIY chili bar with homemade mini biscuit bowls, pumpkin-flavored whoopie pies, s'mores pops, spice cake balls, a harvest salad and much, much more.  The decor was simple, but adorable, with all of the printables made by Meghan.  Scroll down to view the great photos of this adorable rustic Baptism!

The adorable Guest of Honor - Grady

I love this simple, but adorable, centerpiece idea

Favors for each guest to take home - Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream {homemade... and YUM!}. Each tag read "All of God's grace in one SWEET little face".  A-DOR-ABLE!

I love this wishing tree!

I love this idea of a photo clothesline - such a great way for guests to see how much the baby has grown!

Adult-only Autumn punch

mason jars to match the rustic theme, with matching blue paper straws

the DIY chili bar with the homemade mini biscuits

Harvest salad

Sweet baked brie with homemade strawberry jam

pumpkin whoopie pies with custom party circles designed by Meghan

yummy s'mores pops!

Spice cake balls

Homemade coffee macarons with chocolate Nutella ganche

Seriously, is this Baptism one of the most adorable Baptism's?  I love the rustic theme in the fall time... and how Meghan matched the food to the season.  She must love that little guy a ton - everything was homemade and created by her - including all of the delicious food!  

If you would like to read more about the Baptism, and see more photos, head over to her blog here.

Hopefully I have some updates soon on my niece's Baptism that I'm planning - it's two months away from today!  That's not much time to plan! Oye vey - better bog down one of these nights! :)

Wedding Wednesday: How to Incorporate Sports into your Wedding (without over doing it)

If you've been a follower of my blog for a while, you more than likely know that I'm a lover of baseball and football.  If you are, too, you're totally feeling my pain of having no sports to watch currently... or you're enjoying having you life back for a couple of months.  I think I'm a mixture of both at the moment.  As a couple, my boyfriend and I attend many Minnesota Twins games and watch our fair share of football - the Chicago Bears for him and the Minnesota Vikings for me... and then any other football teams playing on Sunday afternoon, night or Monday night. Yes, we're quite obsessed.

Anyway, I write this post because I came across a great article on The Knot titled "10 Subtly Sporty Wedding Ideas" and I think I've touched on all of them with my future dream wedding!

source

1. The Color Palette  - If you're both hardcore fans for one team, use their colors {baby blue and yellow for the San Diego Chargers or Milwaukee Brewers, navy and silver for the Cowboys, yellow and purple for the LA Lakers}. If you're fans of opposite teams, see if choosing one color from each teams color scheme would work well together - for example, you could use the navy blue from the Chicago Bears color scheme and the yellow from the Minnesota Vikings to create a gorgeous color palette of navy and yellow
2. Hidden Accessories - cuff links, socks, garter
3. The Favors - what comes to mind when you attend a sporting event? or the sport that you're incorporating into your theme? The food? The equipment? Use these ideas for your favors! {example: a box of cracker jacks with a cute custom tag would work well for a baseball themed wedding}
4. The Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties - I love the idea of custom baseball shirts for your bachelorette party; custom jerseys for all the guys at the bachelor parties; attending a game
5. The Rehearsal Dinner - Rehearsal dinners don't have to be stuffy and boring!  Have fun at a sports bar, outdoor park playing lawn games, at a bowling alley, etc.
6. The Invitations or Save the Dates - think sports tickets... or incorporating the sports theme into your invitations subtly
7. The Groom's Cake  - How fun would it be to have an over-the-top grooms cake for your hubby-to-be?
8. The Guestbook - have guests sign a football, baseball or bat, soccer ball, bowling pins, jersey - the ideas are endless!
9. The Wedding Party Photos - head to a venue or park that allow you and your wedding party to take photos that look like you're playing the game {or better yet - actually do it! Play a game of touch football, toss around a baseball, kick around a soccer ball}  Your photos will turn out so fun!
10. The Centerpieces - Incorporate the sport into your centerpieces - use baseballs or golf balls in the vases, trophies instead of a traditional vase, bowling pins as vases, etc.

To view the whole article and more ideas from The Knot for a sports themed wedding, click here.

What are your thoughts about sports-themed wedding?  Would you have one?  If you were asked to assist in the planning of a sports-themed wedding, what do you envision the day to look like?

No Bake Oreo Cookies and Cream dessert

As some of you may have read in my last post, I'm in the beginning stages of planning my niece's Baptism, which will be on April 17th.  The Baptism will be at a church with a luncheon/reception following at my sister and brother-in-law's house.  I will be her GODMOTHER {such a huge honor} and since I'm the one in the family who LOVES planning parties, I volunteered to plan the luncheon.

While I'm thinking the color scheme is going to be different shades of purple with white and silver mixed in {since it's a week before Easter, finding items in purple shouldn't be too hard - at least I hope}. I'm also thinking a dessert table would be a great spruce up to the party.  In my research for easy and quick desserts, I came across these delicious looking no bake Oreo cookies and cream cheesecakes on Bakers Royale.  Read on below for the directions on how to make these yummy treats!

*This recipe makes 16 mini 2-inch cheesecakes or one 8-inch cheesecake*


What you will need:

Crust
- 1  1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter {melted}

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar.
2. Add melted butter and blend until combined.
3. Press into pan and set aside.

Cheesecake
- 2  1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla powder
- 3/4 cup Oreo cookies, crushed

1. Beat heavy cream until medium peaks form.  Set aside.
2. Add cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla powder and lemon juice to a bowl and beat with a paddle attachment until smooth (about 3-5 minutes).  If you do not have a stand mixer or a paddle attachment, a hand beater will work as well, but will take longer to achieve a smooth consistency.
3. Add cream cheese mixture to heavy cream and be until incorporated.
4. Gently fold in Oreo cookies.
5. Fill chosen pan with a slight mound at the center as the cheesecake will be slightly sunken at the center.
6. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set, or overnight for best results.
7. Remove from refrigerator and smooth top to level with edges.  Serve with whipping cream and garnish with a mini Oreo.


Additional notes:
- Although these were made as mini cheesecakes, you can also make one large cheesecake in a 9-inch baking cheesecake pan or springform.
- If you don't have vanilla powder, you can omit it.  Vanilla extract can tint your cheesecake with a brownish color, so it's not recommended.  If you choose to use it - about 1  1/2 teaspoons is recommended.
- Keep refrigerated until 20 minutes before serving.
- Chilling overnight will yield the best results.


To get a printer-friendly version of this recipe, and the check out many more delicious dessert recipes, head over to the Bakers Royale site.

Real Party: Baby B's Baptism

Many of you know my niece was born on New Year's Day - yep, she's a New Year's baby and I couldn't be any more smitten with her {I just think of how much fun she'll have celebrating her birthdays when she's older... everyone will definitely want to party with her on her big day!}.  Anyway, my sister and brother-in-law just set the date of her Baptism as April 17th - and guess who the Godmother is. THIS GIRL!  The pressure right? Nah, just joking - I'm in baby heaven just thinking about being that little cuties Godmother!  But there is tons of pressure to make sure she has one bangin' Baptism that she can look back on and show all her friends when she's older! :) (OK - so the pressure is just from myself... I don't think anyone else really cares if she has a bangin' Baptism like I do!)

With all that said, I've been on the search for some Baptism inspiration, because I have no recollection of ever attending a Baptism reception/lunch.  I mean, I attended my own, but let's be real here, I was like a month old - I don't remember if the cake looked good or the color scheme meshed well - which I'm willing to make a bet it didn't! :)  And this is my first niece - we've never had to throw a post-Baptism get together.  (and let me say - I know this day is supposed to be about a child entering into God's kingdom and what not, but let's let my niece do it up in style! I must promise myself (and probably my mom and sister that the message of the day doesn't get lost in the party planning.  I may only need a couple reminders of that though!)

OK - back to the point of looking for Baptism inspiration - um... there's just not that much out there that screams "Hey! I wanted this Baptism to be bangin'!"  But I did come across a couple that I wanted to share.  That's where today's party comes from - Jackie Fo's adorable pink Baptism for her niece (hey, we've got something in common here!).  The little details of this party were perfect and not too over-the-top - just how a Baptism celebration should be!  Jackie used lots of pink and lots of accents with the letter B (for her niece's name, Brooke).  We hope you enjoy it as much as we have - and that it inspires you for your next Baptism celebration!

I just love the little flower detailing of this cake!

Great drink station set up with custom water bottle and wine labels with the guest of honors initial

I love how she displayed photos of her niece throughout the the party! Very cute touch!

Love these!  I wish we could do something cute like this for my niece's Baptism, but hers is taking place during regular church hours

Little details like this DIY wreath always make BIG impact on parties... and welcome your guest before they're even in the door

Gorgeous flower arrangements!  Such an elegant touch for such a special day!

Are you just super impressed with Jackie's knack for throwing together an adorably bangin' Baptism?? I know I am!  Be sure to head over to her blog to view more photos and read more about the day!

If you have any Baptism parties that you just love and adore, please feel free to send them to us!  We're constantly scouring the blog world for real parties to feature - and we would love to feature yours!  Plus - I always love some good inspiration!  Send an email to info{at}ckeventsmn.com.

Fun and Easy DIY Project - Cupcake Flower Toppers

I love anything that is fun and easy and comes out looking fab...  Usually you can't use all of the words together - but I promise, with this project featured on the Icing Designs blog, you can!

I love the idea of using cupcake liners to create a cute little flower. Icing Designs uses these as an alternative for cupcake toppers in their post, but I think they could be used for so much more than that!  These would be perfect for little flowers at a each place setting with a cute little name card, or cute little flowers on a simple dessert table (in lieu of real flowers... or in addition to), or even for a mini garland to display around your party space (anyone else envisioning these to create a mini garland for the guest of honors chair??).  Seriously, there are so many fun little ideas for these - I think of them as mini versions of the tissue paper poms/flowers... everyone needs a little mini in their life sometimes, right??

So are you wondering how to make these little gems?  Head over to the Icing Designs blog to get the directions!

Real Wedding: Red, Black and Romance

To follow up with last weeks romantic wedding featuring a red and black 40's era theme, I wanted to show another fun side of the color combo.  I found today's Wedding feature coordinated and designed by Madeline's Wedding and Events (based in Canada) via Brenda's Wedding Blog back in June and instantly fell in love!  While last weeks post was more elegant-romantic, this weeks post definitely screams sexy romance!

The beading and design of the brides dress is just gorgeous!  Perfect fit with the rest of the wedding details

Hello fun shoes!!

Isn't the bride {and the dress} stunning!

I am a HUGE fan of deep red roses... and the rhinestones and greenery add an extra umph to the brides bouquet

the beautiful bridal party

Didn't I say this wedding screamed sexy romance?!

Loving these centerpieces!

Who doesn't love a candy bar?

Gorgeous, gorgeous photo!

To view more details and photos of this wedding, be sure to stop by Brenda's Wedding Blog and Madeline's Weddings and Events {tonight was my first time stopping by Madeline's site - there is SO MUCH real wedding inspiration to  look at, I'm sure you'll be seeing more work from them in the future!}.

Vendor Credits: 

Coordination/Design: Madeline's Weddings and Events

Photography: Jeremy Hiebert Photography

Ceremony and Reception: the ballroom at The Four Points Sheraton

Florals: Julie from The Floral Fixx

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how the same color palette can be so different based on how you plan out the rest of the details of your wedding!  I also hope I provide some real wedding inspiration for any readers out there who are planning a wedding around Valentine's Day - it is, after all, the holiday of LOVE!  There are so many fun ideas that you could add to a Valentine's wedding - we'd love to hear yours!

**We are always looking for real weddings to feature, so if you are interested in featuring your own wedding or a wedding you coordinated or photographed, please contact us at info{at}ckeventsmn.com.**