On a recent Saturday morning, our home was bustling with excitement. Our good family friend, Amanda, was getting married and I had been asked to host the bridal party at my home the day of the wedding. I was simply overjoyed. The group of gals in the wedding party and the bride’s mom, my dear friend MJ, were filled unbridled enthusiasm!

Right after (and I do mean right after) receiving the call asking me to host, I began to immediately plan my brunch menu which included the following:

  • a refreshing non-alcoholic sangria

Now you just know I had two bottles of wine in the frig chilling for those who wanted, well, a little something…extra

See a little sangria makes everyone smile.

  • my roasted asparagus quiche (found in my cookbook You Never Cook Alone)
  • a crudités platter with an herb dip

crud-i-what?

Well, that’s just a fancy French word for raw vegetables.

 

When I started thinking about the menu for this brunch I knew that I had to call Amanda’s mom, Debbie, from Inspirational Creations by Deb. Being an amazing photographer I knew that she would have beautiful pictures of white flowers. After I chose the photographs Debbie created cards labeling the food.

Aren’t they pretty? This was one of my favorites…

Debbie let me choose from a large assortment of flower photographs she had taken. They were all charming, and I thought white was really sweet and ideal for a bride’s big day.

I love sharing our home with family and friends and really took pleasure in getting it ready for the girls. I especially enjoyed getting my master bathroom and bedroom ready for the girls. Pink tulips in pretty rustic baskets were arranged and wrought iron bird baths were used to hold soap. I found a lovely lavender aromatherapy spray that I knew would help make for a relaxing environment for all.

Mandy had Sky, a professional makeup artist from Christian Dior, apply her and her mother’s makeup. I told Sky that I would pay her whatever it took to make me look as flawless as she was!

See I told you. Beautiful isn’t she?

Speaking of beautiful, take a look at my friend MJ.

And that my friends is before the makeup was applied.

Mandy looked equally stunning in her late grandmothers robe which was her “something blue.”  Her grandmother’s purple brooch was also attached to her bouquet which represented her “something borrowed.” Her “something new” was her wedding dress.

Mandy enjoyed a day of love and laughter with her family and good friends

and at the the end of the day that beautiful girl married the man of her dreams.

l day, spent with those who love her most and this bride married the man of her dreams.

Weddings by Chip and Anna

Congratulations, TJ and Amanda!