Pittsburgh flair: Eat 'n Park Smiley Cookies

If you're looking for a great Pittsburgh-inspired wedding favor, look no further than the Eat 'n Park Smiley Cookie. Whether you're getting married in Western Pennsylvania or are a couple from the 'Burgh saying your vows elsewhere, it's easy (and pretty affordable) to add this sweet treat to your big day.

Of course if you're in Pittsburgh, you can stop into any Eat 'n Park to pick up the local treat. But now you can also order the cookies online to be delivered anywhere. Plus, the Web site let you design your own cookie, so you can customize the smiling faces to match your wedding colors, whether they're blue and orange or black and gold:
While the cookies would make a great favor at your wedding reception, they'd also be a great item to include in out-of-town welcome baskets for your guests. Visit Eat 'n Park's online store for all the details.

Colorful signature cocktails

Choosing a signature cocktail is a great way to personalize your wedding reception, and picking a drink that's color matches your wedding is a great idea. Absolut's Web site can help you find the cocktail recipe that is perfect for you, with their color picker on the right sidebar.

This drink recipe tool is one of the best I've seen, and it's not just for drinks made with Absolut vodka. You can find tons of cocktails made with gin, rum, tequila, whiskey and brandy as well, to help you plan your entire alcoholic drink menu.

And the volume of recipes is impressive. Click on "Blue Drinks" (perfect for a "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" specialty cocktail) and you'll discover 245 choices. "Red Drinks" will you give you 2,476 options--happily, the drinks are sorted by rank, to help you pick the best ones.

Image from Absolut

Fab 5: Spring invitation finds

I don't know about this rest of you, but I am ready for spring! Let's skip ahead a month or two and pretend the sunshine and flowers have arrived. Take a look at these five beautiful invitations, perfect for a spring wedding:

1. Delicate Cherry Blossoms
   
   This wedding invitation features a sweet cherry blossom design in light pink and brown.
   Cherry Blossom Invitation Suite from Epherma
   
   
2. Love is in the Air
   
   A modern design in shades of turquoise, orange and yellow showcases a happy springtime treat: the return of birds who have flown south for the winter. Add your photo to this invitation for extra personalization.
   Love Birds from blue skies and daisies
   
   
3. More Spring Blooms
   
   This sage and chocolate wedding invitation offers a clean, modern look with abstract flowers decorating the corner.
   Dandelion Wedding Invitations from Wedding Paper Divas
   
   
4. Return of Sunshine
   
   The mix of yellow and red flowers at the top of this letterpress invitation envokes more than blooming flowers: it feels like sunshine.
   Floweret by Maura Gauthier from Bella Figura
   
   
5. Blue Skies
   
   This sky blue wedding invitation features a contemporary circles design in blue and bold red.
   Saucy from Tag & Co.
   

Red, pink and white weddings: Hit the sales!

If your wedding colors or theme incorporates any Valentine's Day friendly elements (reds, pinks, purples, hearts, etc.), now's the time to shop for major discounts on crafting supplies and decor for your wedding.

Scour craft stores like Michael's, Joann's and Pat Catan's and box stores like Target and Wal-Mart for Valentine's Day items on clearance that can double as wedding items.

Pittsburgh flair: Black & gold DIY invites

Yet another idea for throwing a stylish black & gold wedding. Miss Chickadee at Weddingbee shared photos and instructions for her DIY save-the-date cards, in black, white and yellow:
She created save-the-dates, but you could easily translate this concept into wedding invitations, menus, programs and more. Simple and stylish.

For more black & gold ideas, check out my previous posts on a black & gold wedding: style, candy and Terrible Towels.

Image from Weddingbee

Pittsburgh flair: The Terrible Towel

Want to really bring some Pittsburgh into your wedding? Have a Terrible Towel send off at the end of your ceremony or reception. Imagine the bride and groom walking through a stream of guests waving the towels, acting like the Steelers just won the Super Bowl:
Whether you're having a black & gold wedding or not, the Terrible Towel send off can be a great way to incorporate some Pittsburgh-style fun into your wedding (take a look at Knottie Pittsburgher's bio for a real wedding example). Plus, using Terrible Towels offers some side benefits as well. Terrible Towels:

• Can double as favors for your wedding guests.
• Raise money for charity. Proceeds benefit the Allegheny Valley School.
• Prevent messes, unlike rose petals, rice, confetti or bubbles. Chances are your site won't restrict them.
• Make for one cool photo.

The Mike Feinberg Company sells Terrible Towels at bulk discounts. If you can't afford to buy one for every guest, ask around: many of your hometown family and friends probably own one already. Or you can just line your exit with your bridal party members, saving on the number of towels you need to purchase.

Image from Charm Bracelet

Pittsburgh flair: Sports garters

Many Pittsburgh brides choose to wear a garter that represents their (or their husband's) love for one of our local sports teams--usually the Steelers, though I'm all about showing the love for the Penguins and Pirates myself. Google "Steelers garter" and you'll find thousands of Web sites selling different versions of this wedding tradition.

Unfortunately, combining the ultra-feminine laciness of a typical garter with the sporty colors and logos of your favorite team can result in gaudy hideousness (case in point one and two). And, whether the garter is officially licensed or not, many sites charge a premium for purchasing a team-affiliated item.

Enter Kristi's Charmed Life on eBay. Here you'll find the garters previously sold on the Morning Glory Garters eBay site. The sports team garter sets feature sheer organza accented with a bit of ribbon, a sports pin and one team logo for a simpler, cleaner look than most other sports garters out there. Plus, for around $20, you can purchase both a keepsake and a toss garter in the set, making this site my recommendation for Pittsburgh sports garters.

Kristi's Charmed Life currently offers garters for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. She also sells a Penn State garter in her college collection, though no Pitt or WVU garters are currently for sale.

Fab 5: Bright, bold centerpieces

Happy December everyone! We got our first real snowfall of the season yesterday through this morning, and after getting stuck in a white-out snow squall on the turnpike last night, I could use a little brightening up! So I give you five deliciously colorful centerpieces to brighten up your table.

1. Hot Pink
   
   I used fuchsia at my own wedding, so it will always hold a soft place in my heart. This bright pink floral arrangement, balanced with a bit of green from the pears underneath, sits atop pink table linens.
   Image from Wedding Channel
   
   
2. Faux Floral
   
   For a more abstract touch, decorate your tabletop with works of art, like this metal flowers sculpture painted bright blue, green and yellow.
   Image from The Knot
   
   
3. Fluorescent Flowers
   
   Whoa! Yeah, this is bright. On top of a black tablecloth, these babies practically glow. (Tip: If you're using this color scheme, please let your bridesmaids wear black dresses--unless you want them to hate you.)
   Image from Wedding Channel
   
   
4. Mix-matched Blooms
   
   Arrange a few, small mismatched vases on your table and fill them each with a different brightly colored bloom or two for a casual feel.
   Image from The Knot
   
   
5. Bold Hues
   
   Top your table with a large bowl of boldly red carnations, and they'll just pop off a pale aqua and white color scheme.
   Image from Martha Stewart Weddings
   

Pittsburgh flair: A black & gold wedding

Last week's Pittsburgh flair talked about treating your guests to some black and gold candy, but what if you want to take the Pittsburgh-inspired color scheme to greater lengths? What if black and gold were the colors of your wedding?

A black and gold event may conjure images more Steelers tailgate party than stylish wedding, but it doesn't have to be, as this inspiration board from Snippet and Ink proves:
When Snippet and Ink posted this a couple of weeks ago, I immediately thought of the Pittsburgh color scheme, though of course that wasn't what she had in mind. She describe it as being bold and unexpected, and it certainly is. But it still has a formal, elegant feel to it.

If you're going to plan a black and gold wedding, my advice is to keep most of the elements clean and classic. Also, a healthy dose of white will lighten things up. Go for style over local kitchy-nes. You'll end up with a wedding that's modern, memorable and totally Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh flair: Black & gold M&M's

Trick or treat! I had to do a candy-related post today, and what better way to express your Pittsburgh pride than with some black and gold M&M's?

You can buy M&M's in 22 different shades, which makes it easy to coordinate with your wedding colors if you want to use them for favors or a candy bar. But, if you're putting together Pittsburgh-themed welcome baskets for your guests or have a Pittsburgh-themed wedding, pick the colors that represent our town best.
MYMMS.COM sells 7 oz. or 5 lb. bags of individual colors online. You can also head down to the Strip District or many other candy stores and hand pick your own combination.

Also, you can add an extra touch by personalizing your M&M's. Create a custom message like you names and wedding date, welcome or thank you (if you go through the business site, you could even upload your monogram or other artwork). Unfortunately, the site doesn't offer customized candies in black--but then again, just customizing the yellow ones and buying a bag of standard black will save you some money.

On top of all that, you can even have the candy arrived packaged in one of four favor options. You could certainly do this part yourself for less, but if you don't want the hassle, this option's for you.

I hope everyone has a great Halloween! Don't eat too many sweets!

Fab 5: White Wedding Cakes

What could be more traditional than a white wedding cake? Unfortunately, a traditional white cake probably brings to mind three tiers of buttercream icing with buttercream piping and buttercream roses, and a plastic bride and groom on top.

Luckily you can have the white cake and still have a more modern style. Here are five fabulous cakes, all in white.

1. Modern Elegance
   
   Modern square tiers draped with smooth fondant serve as a backdrop to a cascade of gorgeous sugar orchids.
   Cake by Collette Foley Specialty Baking, Image from In Style Weddings
   
   
2. Winter Wonderland
   
   Perfect for a winter wedding, this sparkling white cake features edible snowflakes and a topping of ribbons.
   Cake by Carlo's Bakery, Image from Brides.com
   
   
3. Tradition Redefined
   
   Never mix white and ivory? No way! Four alternating tiers of ivory and white look simply gorgeous. Fleur de lis, fondant swagging and sugar paste roses decorate this wedding cake, topped with fresh flowers.
   Cake by Polly's Cakes, Image from Wedding Channel
   
   
4. Roses and Dots
   
   This simple and classic cake, iced in vanilla, features white Swiss dots all over and a decadent amount of white roses between each tier.
   Cake by Scrumptions, Image from The Knot
   
   
5. Detailed Design
   
   Created locally in New Castle, this hexagon-shaped cake features detailed piping design that alternates around the sides and tiers of the cake. One tier features the bride and groom's monogram.
   Cake and image from Jody's Pantry

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