Candy Bar

Weddings have certainly come a long way from tradition, and are great way to show off your creativity and imagination, while still keeping in budget. A fantastic new trend coming up is that of the candy buffet, or candy bar. One of our brides brought this idea to the table and I'm completely in love with it. Candy is fun, nostalgic and can be very budget friendly.

By choosing candies that follow your theme, or colors, it can easily be cohesive with the rest of your wedding and be a fun focal point at the reception. Apothecary jars of varying size can be a great way to showcase the candy, and can often be found at discount stores for great prices. The candy bar can serve as a choose-your-favor station by providing guests with small take-out containers or maybe colorful paper bags allows your guests to pick what candies to take home as their favor. By having a variety of candies you are sure to please both children and adults and have memorable wedding favors.
-Josie-

Using Fresh Fruits in Floral Arrangements

Fresh fruit is becoming more and more popular in floral centerpieces. It is a cheap and easy way to add originality and color to any type of floral arrangement. All you need to know is a few simple and easy tricks to wow your guests with your centerpieces.

1.Decide what fruits will go best with the colors scheme you will be using for the flowers.

2.Select a container that will allow the fruits to be showcased. A clear vase will allow the fruits to show through the glass where as a decorative bowl will only allow the fruits to show where there is breaks in the decoration. Obviously it’s up to you to decide what will be best for your setting and arrangement.

3.Know the exact dimensions and volume of your vases and containers so you will have an idea of how much fruit to buy so it will fill the vase according to your liking. You will want extra fruit incase anything happens.

4.Stick to fruits that are cheap or can be bought in bulk – like grapes, oranges, apples, etc. Certain fruits like mangos or kiwi might catch your eye but they are usually more expensive. If that’s the case and there is something interesting that you think will enhance your color scheme, buy just one or two to use as accents with the other fruits.

5.Leaves and greenery from the fruits or outside your home are great ways to fill the space and gaps in between the fruits. Make sure the leaves are clean, dry and not dead and somewhat go with your arrangement.

6.Place a small pad or small folded towel in the bottom of your container to protect delicate fruit. If the container is clear, be sure to camouflage the pad with leaves. The pad would also be a good way to keep the fruit from moving around in the vase if there is extra room at the bottom. (This is not always necessary).

7.Carefully arrange the fruits in the container. Save the best looking pieces for the top where they'll show the most. If your flowers are going to have long stems make sure you arrange the fruit in a way that the stems will slide in. Short stems will obviously work better in a vase filled with fruits.

8.If possible store the arrangements in a fridge or cool area where they will be kept fresh. If they are going to be stored for more than a day or two make sure you are checking the fruits for any that may be rotting. Replace the rotting fruit as necessary.

9.Enjoy your arrangement!!

Mix and Match Place Settings

Everyone wants a wedding that's completely unique and their own. At the same time, most of us are watching our wallets and also trying to be eco-friendly too. Most people don't think you can have all of these things at one wedding, but even just simple things can make all of those things come together.
The china your reception dinner is served on is a major factor in the look of the tables and ultimately the entire reception. It can be expensive to rent everything and no doubt, someone else has used the same settings at their wedding as you. I can't count how many times I've gone into a salvation army or thrift store and found the cutest china for dirt cheap! Of course, you'll give up every place setting matching perfectly with each other, but think of the creative possibilities of everyone has a place setting that is different.
Since you want to keep the setting in with the rest of your theme, take swatches of your colors with you when you scour the stores for antique china. Look for the same or similar colors and designs to yours. It will certainly be something to set your wedding apart from all others, and because they're from thrift stores, you're also recycling!
- Josie -

Introducing Danielle....Are Your Really Prepared for Your Wedding Day?

Now that you've made all the plans, tasted all the food, and found the perfect dress, have you considered some personal things that you may need on the day of your wedding? I've made a checklist of all the items that you'll want to include in your own Wedding Day Survival Kit.
- Band-aids
- Asprin or any headache reliever
- Clear nail polish (to fix runs on your panty hose)
- Extra panty hose
- Shout wipes (to get out any smudges or stains)
- Deodordant (try the aerosal spray cans so everyone can share)
- Mini Sewing Kit
- Hair Spray (works great for getting rid of static cling too)
- Crosage pins
- Extra Earring Backs
- Extra bobby pins/hair pins/pony tail holders
- Safety pins
- Eye Drops
- Dental floss/tooth picks
- Hand Towelettes
- Extra lipstick/lip gloss
- Small scissors
- Smelling salts (even though we hope you never have to use them, you never know)
- Sctoch Tape
- Matches
- Tissues
- Straws (so you don't mess up your lipstick but can stay hydrated)
- Tweezers
- Cell Phone (with your coordinator's cell # stored)
- Breath mints
- Hair brush/comb
- Compact mirror
- Breath mints
- Tampons/Pads
- Perfume
- Nail File
- Sunblock (if you'll be outdoors)
- Krazy Glue (it's amazing how many things this stuff can fix)
- Lint Roller
- Granola Bars (or any small snack of choice, but think high protien)

Now I know that this list seems a little long, but you never know what might go wrong. I bet you have most of these items laying around your house or in your first aid kit, so no need to go out and buy all of this things. Another option is to add a Wedding Survival Kit to your registry. Places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond carry these kits which are already put together and in a case already. We all want your day to be perfect so just in case something unexpected should pop up, wouldn't you like to be prepared for it, rather than let it put a damper on your day?

July Inspiration at The Rittenhouse!

To inspire you this month it was my turn (Josie!) to pull together the JP Event Inspiration for you this July. I wanted to bring new ideas to a more traditional look to try to bring some of the elegance back to weddings that have more and more become very modernized (not that there's anything wrong with modern either!).
The beautiful Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia served as a perfect and elegant backdrop to the inspiration. They were so helpful and we are grateful to them to showing such hospitality and letting us take over the magnificent Grand Ballroom for the inspiration.
Tina of Tina Jay Photography did all of these fabulous photos. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet and has such great talent to pair with her great personality! It's a great reminder to how important it is to get a wedding photographer that you like just as much as you like their photos.

The Rittenhouse Hotel has a classic and unique feel to it. The Ballroom is truely grand and has floor to ceiling windows ,which cast the beautiful natural daylight onto our table.


For elegant favors, Chocolates from a classic chocolatier, such as Miel Patisserie, are exquisite and unique.
Drinks are another great way to make your wedding completely your own. A signature drink, such as Blueberry champagne, will leave an impression on each of your guests.
The linens, silverware, champagne flutes and base-plates all came from the wonderful people at Select Event Rentals with a lot of help from Jessica from the company!
Invitations serve as a "sneak-peak" of your wedding to your guest. They should reflect what they will see when they arrive at your wedding.
These beautiful invitations came from the talented Rachael at Pistachio Press.
Centerpieces are a great way to catch your guests eyes as soon as they enter the reception. A tall glass centerpiece paired with a string of pearls can serve as an elegant way to showcase table numbers.
The Centerpiece and all the bouquet came from the wonderful girls at A Garden Party Florist in Southern New Jersey. Mary, the florist, was another great vendor to work with, not only did she create fanctastic arrangements, but she did all of this only a few weeks away from giving birth to a new baby!The bouquet was gorgeous! Mary pulled in the beautiful blues, pinks and peach used in the rest of the design and accented them with lovely little pearls strung over.
Cakes often become a focal point for guests. Everyone is always interested to see the cake, so its important to have it reflect your personality as well as be cohesive with the rest of your wedding.
The great people at A Sweet Life Bakery, in Southern New Jersey, created a beautiful cake design that incorporated the champagne pink color with the gorgeous design that was on the invitations. Jill, from the bakery, even invited me in to do a cake tasting like she does with all her wedding couples. Their cakes are amazingly delicious, moist and far beyond any cake I have had anywhere!
The gorgeous gown came from a great little shop right on state road in Bensalem, PA called Sadies Bridal. Danielle knew exactly what dress would be perfect without even seeing the rest of the inspiration design, and she was right! this gorgeous gown featured intricate beading all o ver that was breath-taking and would certainly catch anyone's eye.



Finally, I must thank our beautiful mode, Laura Elwell, who gave birth to a precious baby boy, only weeks before!

More from June at Appleford!

These photo shoots are so much fun to design and shoot. Our staff at JP Event Design comes up with original wedding and event designs to inspire you and then we bring them to life with the help of amazing vendors. Take a look at Sara's June Inspiration and GET INSPIRED!

Calligraphy adds elegance to any event. An outdoor wedding can be elegant by adding special touches like the butterfly place cards. Sara designed the cards and Amy Wilson from Amy Wilson Calligraphy did the amazing writing ad the place cards and table numbers.

Kate Miller looked stunning in the dress from Priscilla of Boston. This shot is a must at Apppleford - it looks like it belongs in a Bridal magazine! Her makeup was designed by the very talented makeup artist, Gena Forsyth - Gena did absolutely beautiful work.

Hanging table numbers are a trend we are going to start - I love the look! In this case we tied a lantern to the tree branch and suspended the table number from the lantern (insider tip - weight the table number - we actually used pennies inside the card to keep it from blowing in the wind :)

Flower pompoms add a 'wow' element to any event. Ilonka made gorgeous little green flower pompoms and we hung them with ivory ribbon from the branches.

Rachel (Rachel McGinn Photography) really took some great shots of Kate and this is one of my favorites.

June at Appleford

The flowers were stunning - they had a vintage feel with pale greens and pinks that complimented the rustic feel of the mansion. Ilonka at Ilonka Floral Decorator in Malvern did an amazing job with the centerpiece and the bride's bouquet.

Appleford Mansion on the Main Line is the perfect setting for a June wedding. Sara designed this look and it definitely had a light summer feel... don't you think? Our photographer for the day was the amazing and talented Rachel McGinn of Rachel McGinn Photography. All of the photos from our June Inspiration are curtesy of Rachel.