.favors: almost finished.

In late November, my dad sent me photos of him bottling my favors. They are just about complete- the last piece, which is the label, is waiting on me. My only concern now is having enough. Since we compiled our final tally, there have been some adjustments to the guest list; however, I believe that we were always shooting for 200 bottles.

Back to the favors. Ok, so we are giving away homemade wine (which is my dad’s retirement hobby) and there will also be a candy buffet and another little fun thing, which is remaining nameless, for now. The one time I received wine as a favor, I kept it in the bottle as decoration- mostly because I was only 17 when the wedding took place. I want people to enjoy the wine, it is homemade, it has been about 9 months in the making now and it is a labor of love. I want guests to DRINK the wine, ENJOY it. And, if you want, save the bottle as your souvenir because the labels are going to be fabu.

So what I am asking for is some help—I need something catchy to put on the labels. I have wine & love quotes, but I want a cute saying that we can use to let guests know to drink the wine now and save the bottle. It can be about friends, aging fine wine, enjoying now, etc.
Anyone have any ideas? Yes, I am a writer and I am asking for writing help. The irony.

.a custom dress hanger.

I will be a bride for one day but a Mrs. forever..... so having stuff that says, "bride" is not important to me.

A wedding is one of the few times in your life when you can go overboard on anything and everything. Think about it: What other occasion would you have for buying one of these:


Or one of these…

This would be great for both the bride and her dress and maybe make for some cute pics for the groom’s suit! I am not one who is into the “bride” labeled items, so this is a great! A unique item that you can use throughout your entire marriage- forever!

These are found on the ever reliable Etsy with the seller Lilafrances

.welcoming the OOT guests.

When you have an abundance of out of town (OOT) guests, a wonderful and thoughtful way to welcome them is to leave OOT bags/gifts in their hotel rooms. Yes, this can get costly, depending on your number of guests, or you can wholesale shop and keep it affordable. Just what do you include in these baskets? They can be as easy or as elaborate as you wish!

.Kate Parker Weddings .

Some suggestions:
Something seasonal: Getting married in the fall? How about some apples or pumpkin seeds for snacks?

Winter: some candy canes or dessert snowballs.
Something satisfying: Bottles of water are always appreciated, so that your guests can avoid the mini bar temptation.
Something local: Vegas poker chips, a pair of dice or something to save your guests the aggravation of souvenir hunting! Coupons, entertainment guides, etc.

Something for anytime: popcorn balls, check mix, boxes of gum, candy and mints.

You can easily spend several minutes buying items at your local warehouse club and separating the items into smaller snack bags or you can go all out and buy individual snacks already packaged. You can spend hours driving around buying local maps and trip guides or you can pull information from the web and DIY your own. I recently came across something that would be a perfect additive to any OOT basket, especially if you are providing maps & local treats:

A radio station guide.

If your guests will be renting cars, nothing can be more frustrating than static all over the radio or hitting every station on their commercial break. Ok, maybe being lost is worse than not having great music?? After receiving the car from the valet during our recent “staycation” at the Lake Las Vegas Ritz, I noticed that there was one left in the car and it provided me with the inspiration that I needed to DIY my own.

Obviously, we are not from out of town, but had we been, this is quite a nice touch from the hotel. Lake Las Vegas is about 20 miles from the heart of Vegas itself, so it makes sense to include this in each car.

If your guests are driving from your ceremony to your reception or even to any sightseeing ventures on their own, not only will they appreciate your OOT welcome gift, but also the tunes you will help them to find.