Bouquets Inspiration

I was recently talking to a Bride about choosing the perfect bouquet for her wedding day. For some, this is just an added piece of decoration and bring beauty to the ceremony, for others, these flowers could represent more. For me, I chose flowers that I fell in love with. My purpose and personal touch came through the wrapping that help the bouquet together. It was my mothers veil. I loved that I was able to incorporate her wedding day into mine without having to feel obligated to necessarily "wear it"

Credit to Bella Lu Photography for these photos

Thank you Kristi with the Posh Posey for my beautiful flowers!

How do you feel about your bouquet? Will you be adding anything personal to yours? If so, what will you be adding? 

Headpiece or Veil? What is your style?

Do you tend to lean towards to more tradition style of a veil? 

Or do you tend to lean towards a more modern day headpiece style...

Whatever your style... the popularity of both of these items are still huge! You should have no problem finding a way to take either of these and making them uniquely your own.

The Mullet Cake Revolution

The Mullet Cake Revolution

The wedding cake is one of the highlights of the night when it comes to "formal events". But how about wowing your guests with a little bit of "elegance and glamour in the front and personality and party in the back?!"

Shortly after I started working at the Forest House, I began to realize there was such a thing called the "mullet cake". This was surprising to me as Monica has several requests for this hot new trend. So, of course, I just had to do a blog about it!

As I began doing "research" about the mullet cake, I found that our definition of this 'double-personality' cake may not be as popular as the traditional cake but nothing ever stopped us in the past from starting a new trend! (When Googling "mullet cake" you come up with actual pictures of people's pictures on a cake of them with a mullet. It made for an entertaining few minutes.)

So.... as the Mullet Cake Revolution begins, here are some of our favorites done at the Forest House by Monica, as well as some of  the main facts about what a mullet cake is and if it is something you might want to do at your wedding!


The Jeep was a replica of the one our Groom drove.

If your considering a mullet cake for your wedding here are a few ideas to help spark your creativity.

1. Do you and your fiance have a love affair with sports?
2. What about your favorite place to travel?
3. Hobbies in your life?

Southern Hospitality - Rehearsal Dinner

When making selection please choose the following:

2 Appetizers 1 Salad 1 Vegetable 2 Starches and 2 Entrees. Chef Mark will add appropriate additions and condiments

Southern Hospitality

Appetizers:

v Smokey Pulled Pork Sliders

v Deep Fried Artichoke Hearts

v Popcorn Shrimp Remoulade

Salad:

v Traditional Green salad

v Bacon Bleu Cheese Romaine Heart Cobb

Sides:

v Green beans with Fire Roasted Peppers

v Honey Buttered Corn on the Cob

v Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower with Brown Butter

v Red Beans and Rice

v The Bacon Mac and Cheese

v Roasted Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes

Mains:

v Southern Fried Chicken

v Shrimp Etoufee

v Smothered Porkchops

v BBQ Chicken and Ribs Combo

v Cajun Jambalaya

Dessert:

v Cinnamon Sugar Beignets with Berry Compote and Ice Cream

Things to accomplish during the wedding rehearsal

Rehearsal dinners are a great way for bridal parties and families to get to know each other, relax and prepare for the big day to come. Your rehearsal dinner can be anything from a formal event, themed party or a casual jeans and t-shirt styled event.

Here are a few things that you "take care of" at your rehearsal dinner:

Thank you's to family and friends for all their love and support; we have all been to the wedding where dozens of family and friends want to talk... let them say what they want but do it at the rehearsal dinner.

Hand out gifts to your bridesmaids, groomsmen and family ( if doing gifts)

Groomsman cake- Why spend the money on a grooms cake just to have it make a 30 second appearance? Display the grooms cake at your rehearsal and use it as your dessert for after the rehearsal dinner as well.

Slide shows- Slide shows are a great way to reflect with family and friends on where you came from and what you've become. Use the rehearsal dinner as an intimate opportunity to reflect with the people that mean the most to you.

Grooms Cakes

An Old Tradition for a Modern Wedding

If you've attended weddings recently where there was not one but two cakes, you may have enjoyed what could appear to be a charming new trend: The groom's cake. The fact is, the groom's cake isn't new at all. With origins in the 17th century, the groom's cake is really a very old wedding tradition, somehow lost and now rediscovered for the most elegant of wedding receptions.

The history of the groom's cake is as varied as its flavors and shapes. Some sources say it originally was a rich, dark fruit cake without icing; some say it was a fruit cake with white icing to match the bride's cake which was decorated with spun sugar.

Still others take the lore a step further and say the groom's cake became the top layer of the bride's cake and was not served to guests. Instead, it was placed in a tin and drenched in brandy to preserve it for the celebration of the couple's first anniversary.

Many know the groom's cake as the confection that was wrapped in individual, silver or white boxes monogrammed with the couple's initials and tied with fancy ribbons. These dainty packages were distributed to guests as wedding favors to take home.

In the South, the groom's cake tradition has enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years, especially with single, female guests. Legend has it that if they take a slice of the groom's cake and place it beneath their pillows at bedtime, they will dream of their future husbands. Credits to Jan Kish for the article on Grooms Cakes

Today, remnants of these various traditions remain or have evolved into other wedding customs. For instance, couples still reserve the top layer of the wedding cake for their first anniversary, but it no longer needs to be preserved in brandy. And although the Southern groom's cake customarily was a dark fruit cake, it now comes in any flavor, shape or color.

Many couples are designing groom's cakes baked and iced to reflect the groom's hobbies or interests. Original and engaging, groom's cakes have resembled the groom's antique car or cowboy boots, while others in traditional cake shapes have sported hunting scenes or his favorite hole on the golf course.

In the past, groom's cakes, which were separate from the bride's cakes, were either cut and wrapped to be eaten after the reception, or they were served from another table for those guests who preferred a darker, richer cake.

Today, the groom's cake is still sliced and served separately, usually by a member of the wait staff. Some couples prefer to offer the groom's cake at the rehearsal dinner, a fitting time since the groom's family hosts the occasion.

Whatever time or theme you choose for the groom's cake, it is a charming tradition that adds a distinctive, personal touch to your wedding festivities while honoring the man you just married.

Thank you to Monica Nickle from Forest House Lodge for the Cake photos!

Napkin Folding

Simple Turned Elegant.

Trying to be creative and impress your guests at the dinner table? Think of the most simple item included in each plate setting, the napkin. Yes, the napkin, something so simple can be the perfect item to spruce up the dinner tables at your wedding.  This can be done through the easy process of napkin folding. The art of napkin folding took off around 1880. Since then many new styles have appeared. Napkin folding is still used today primarily for special occasions, such as the wedding. You can choose the perfect style to fold your napkins to fit in with the theme of your wedding. 

The simpler styles of folding seem to be what's in and more elegant.

Simple, yet elegant with pearls.

It's said that napkin folding originates from origami.

An easy way to add color and elegance to a simple setting. 

Serving dinner buffet style?

Napkin folding even provides a creative way to display guest name plates and even decorations. 

Folding your napkins or adding decoration/place cards is a great way to add depth and texture to your tables.

What creative ways would you fold your napkins?