Lemonade Bar

One of my upcoming weddings is featuring a Lemonade Bar during their cocktail hour. It's something that your guests will love to drink and it looks beautiful too! Here are some lemonade variations that you could include in a lemonade bar or as your signature drink:

Purple Basil Lemonade

In this recipe, basil is crushed with sugar to release the oils. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, process the basil, sugar, and about 1/4 cup of the water in a food processor or blender.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups water - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice - 1/2 cup loosely packed purple basil leaves (about 1/4 ounce) - 6 tablespoons sugar - 4 cups ice - 4 purple basil sprigs

Preparation:

Combine 4 cups water and juice in a large bowl. Place 1/2 cup basil and sugar in a mortar; pound with pestle until a paste forms. Add sugar mixture to juice mixture; stir until sugar dissolves. Strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Place 1 cup ice in each of 4 glasses. Pour about 1 cup lemonade into each glass; garnish each serving with 1 basil sprig.

(recipe courtesy of Cooking Light)

Vodka Thyme Lemonade

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar - 12 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish -4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 24 lemons -2 cups vodka

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups water with the sugar and thyme; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool to room temperature.
2. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a large glass measuring cup; discard thyme. You should have 2 cups syrup. Cover with plastic; chill.
3. In a large serving pitcher, stir together lemon juice, vodka, and chilled syrup; garnish with thyme. Divide evenly among eight tumblers filled with ice; serve immediately.

(recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart)

This is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to make your event look elegant. Slice lemons, limes, and oranges into your lemonade and be sure to include large sprigs of the herbs you are incorporating to give it a punch of color.

Whichever recipe you choose, always make sure that the alcoholic versions are clearly marked and that there are non-alcoholic versions available.

Fill My Fall!

This weekend will mark the end of my "wedding season." My spring season began on March 28 and it's been a steady stream of weekend weddings ever since. It has been As You Wish Wedding & Event Design's busiest season yet - and I cannot even begin to thank those couples who made it possible. I am so lucky to be a part of a season full of memories for some amazing couples.

What I learned from this busy season is that there is nothing in the world I would rather be doing than planning weddings. It's been a crazy few months, but I have learned so much and can't even call what I do work because I enjoy it so much. I really look forward to many more spring and summer seasons to come! But, it was so great, that I don't want to wait until next spring. I want you to Fill My Fall!

My goal is to fill up every weekend for myself and my consultants from September through December. We love what we do, and we want to do more of it. Times are tough and we want to help out as many people as we can, so we are slashing our Day-Of Coordination rates by HALF!

Aside from all of the great reasons to hire a Day-Of Coordinator (article to follow next week - check back!), we want to give you an extra incentive. If you book with us, a portion of that fee will be donated to The Neuropathy Association and the Make-A-Wish Foundation in your name. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the end of 2009 than helping some incredible charities!

Consultations are always complimentary - we'd love to hear from you! Help to Fill Our Fall!

30 Day Shred!

A big part of Wellness Wednesdays will be exercising and living a healthy lifestyle. I will be the first to say that when my life gets busy and hectic, exercise becomes a low priority for me. One of my goals for this summer was to change that. A good friend recommended Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD to me for workouts on rainy days. I love to hate it. It's a a tough workout but it really gets the job done in a short amount of time. Each of the three workouts on the DVD are made of up quick circuits of Strength Training, Cardio, and Abs. Each workout lasts only 20 minutes, but it's non-stop. There are no breaks.

Whatever your workout routine, make sure that it is a priority! Happy Wellness Wednesday!

Frugal Flowers!

Wedding magazines are every girl's guilty pleasure. One drawback to them is that they often showcase flowers that are exotic and very expensive. All too often I have clients who have their hearts set on the exact centerpiece or bouquet that they see on one of those colorful, glossy pages. When they hear that the bloom in the photo is a rare orchid from New Zealand that is only available three weeks out of the year and that it costs $250 a stem, it changes everything. Have a firm floral budget worked out before you meet with your florist. Work with your florist to see what flowers are readily available within your price range during your time of the year. Always bring the photos that you fell in love with. Chances are, your florist will know of similar blooms and arrangements to make your floral dreams come true for much less!