Shower Favors!

I am out of the office today because my best friend in the world is GETTING MARRIED! In her honor, I want to show you a few fun items that I used to throw her shower.

For the favors, we put together a candy buffet. I ordered the chinese food take out containers from Nashville Wraps. Then, I got these cute custom labels from Beau-Coup Party favors - which I love! They have a ton of different shapes, sizes, and designs.




One of my biggest concerns was having a great table scape. In order to make it not only look great, but also be personal, I chose these votive wraps from Wedding Things. From the moment I saw them, I knew I had to have them. They were a simple DIY project that made a huge impact. At the end of the event, everyone got to take a candle as well.



I lined up the candles along the floral centerpiece - which blew my mind when I saw it. Laurie from Laurelwood Designs designed it and it left me speechless! It was the perfect simple, clean, but stunning look I was going for.




This is just the tip of the iceberg. I can't wait to share more details from the shower and now, Jannet & Rob's wedding!

Vodka Cream Pasta

Happy Wellness Wednesday!

One of my favorite things to do when I'm not working is to cook. I'm not a huge meat eater, so most of the recipes I will share with you will be meat-free. One of my favorite comfort foods is Vodka Cream Pasta! I love that this recipe makes a ton of sauce, which is perfect to dip a flaky piece of bread in.

Vodka Cream Pasta

Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

-2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
-1 tablespoon of butter
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-3 shallots, minced
-1 cup of vodka
-1 cup of chicken stock
-1 can of crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
-1 small can of tomato paste
-16 ounces of penne rigate
-1/2 cup of heavy cream
-15 leaves of basil
-Course salt and pepper
-grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
-One baguette (optional)

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 5 minutes. Add vodka to the pan. Reduce vodka by half, for about 3 minutes. Add 3/4 of a cup of chicken stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring sauce to a light boil and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.If you like a thinner sauce, add the remaining 1/4 cup of chicken stock. If you like a thicker sauce, discard the remaining chicken stock.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente.

Stir cream and basil into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Place a serving of pasta and a serving of sauce into a frying pan over medium-low heat. Toss the pasta and sauce together and continuously mix until the sauce gets thick, about 3 minutes. This will cause the sauce to stick to the pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Very Truly Yours,

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to the new and improved As You Wish WEDding blog! I have made some changes to the look of the blog as well as the content. I thought long and hard, talked to many people, and I think you'll really enjoy what I have to deliver.

One of the traits of being a successful wedding planner is the ability to plan out every last detail but also to be incredibly spontaneous and flexible. This new blog will be a physical representation of that. There will be some structure and things you can count on, but there will also be a ton of spontaneous items thrown in. Here is what you can count on:

Money Saving Mondays - Especially in these economic times, funds are tight. I am going to share with you some tips and tricks to save you money throughout your planning process. There are ways you can - and SHOULD - save money with budgets big and small.

Wellness Wednesdays - Whether you are a wedding pro, a busy bride, or anything in between, we all need to take a step back from the planning and just relax. As a business owner this is something I have struggled with. There is always another contract to review or an email to answer. As a bride, there is always another invitation to send or favor to assemble. Each Wednesday I will share a non-wedding related item that helps me relax. From great wines, to the newest handbags, to travel recommendations, I'll provide a ton of excuses to break away from the stress and indulge in something incredible.

Fun Find Fridays - I am exposed to fantastic new ideas and items in the wedding industry every day. Some don't fit into the themes of anything I am working on, but it may fit into what you are planning and they are just TOO GOOD to keep to myself.

In between all of this, I will answer reader questions and always keep you up to date on everything that is going on at As You Wish!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading. Please subscribe to my blog so that you can be notified when exciting, new things are posted. As always, any feedback you have is always welcome!

Follow my daily travels on Twitter!


Very Truly Yours,

See you in July!

My workshop on Wednesday was absolutely incredible. I cannot even put into words how many valuable tid-bits of information I picked up on. And the information came not only from our expert, Liene Stevens, but also from a room chock full of some incredible wedding vendors from all over the northeast! I am so excited to intergrate this new information and make this blog bigger and better than ever before. To do that, I need to get a whole new plan together. I will launch a brand new blog on July 1st. Stay tuned!

For now, look at the photo above. This is the backdrop for my vow renewal this weekend. Working is not too shabby when that slice of heaven is your backdrop!

See you in July! Keep up with our travels on Twitter!

Exciting Day Tomorrow!

I will be away from the office tomorrow all day attending a really awesome workshop given by The Smart Planner! It's a workshop for wedding professionals that teaches how to use these new technologies to our benefit! I am really excited to learn some new tricks and trends to make this blog even better!



I'll report back tomorrow with what I learned!



In the meantime, check out the bootcamp as well as where the magic began! And let's get this social media show on the road and follow me on Twitter!

Exciting News!

I am so excited to finally announce the official dates and location of the first class of the As You Wish Education Division's wedding planner training program. Our first class will take place from January 11-January 15.

And here is the most exciting part! As You Wish is working with Maggiano's Little Italy Restaurant. All future classes of the As You Wish Education Division will be held at Maggiano's - not only here in New Jersey, but at Maggiano's all across the country. Our New Jersey class will be held at the Maggiano's Riverside Square in Hackensack, NJ - a convenient drive from all points in New Jersey and NYC! Not only will you be able to start out on the path towards an amazing career, but you'll get to enjoy some really incredible Italian food while doing so! Our class will offer breakfast, morning snacks, a full three course Italian lunch, and afternoon snack each day!

Be on the lookout for Summer 2010 classes in Philadelphia and Boston. Do you want us to hold an As You Wish ED class in your city? Would you like more information about our New Jersey classes? Email us and let us know!

Keep checking back for our new website which will be up in the next few weeks!

Real Wedding!

I love coming home to presents, and this morning I got a great one! I had CD's full of pictures from one of my weddings last year from my favorite photographer, Tania Lezak. Check out some of my favorite shots from the day!

There was a wine tasting bar set up for the guests throughout the reception. At the end of the night, every guest recieved a bottle of their favorite wine as a favor!

The happy couple!

The bride and groom are very involved with their town's Fourth of July celebration. When picking their wedding date, Flag Day was the perfect tribute to their patriotic love! As each guest arrived, they were given a flag pin with a description of Flag Day!

Their cake was gorgeous and one of the main hits of the party!

The small reception allowed for table names rather than numbers. All of the tables were patriotic themed!

Here's my absolute favorite part! The bride and groom are currently building their dream house. They decided to hold the ceremony in the bones of their future house! Is that an amazing way to create family history or what??

I love this shot because it says so much about this family. They are some of the sweetest and most welcoming people I have ever met. I really am so privileged to have been involved with them!

I am so happy I was able to work with Ann Marie and Gary on their big day and that I have continued to work with their family!

Special Thanks to Tania! Check out her work, she is incredible!

Honeymoon Warnings!

I came across an article from Travel & Leisure about some different laws in countries around the world that you should be aware of while on your honeymoon! Some that could really affect your honeymoon? You can't kiss at a train station in France or England and you can't stroll in a bathing suit in Grenada!

Check it out!

Weekend Raves!

I just had the greatest weekend. I got to squeeze in time with a bunch of different friends in between working. One of my favorite things about spring is the start of the summer street fairs. It's one of my favorite ways to find inexpensive new jewelry. I headed out with my mom on Saturday to the street fair in Tenafly and have to share some of the new vendors I came across.

SA Swank

The jewelry is made in Africa. Check out the About Us section on their website. The colors of their pieces are so vivid and incredible. The photos on the site don't do them justice.

Vivi Sun

Vivi Sun was the best find of the day. Their pieces are so different. They are relatively inexpensive but so classy.

These rings were a personal favorite:

Hope you all got to enjoy this gorgeous sunny weekend!

Rave!

I had breakfast with my good friend Angela this morning. It was such a nice change of pace from the craziness of the past few days! We've been dying to try Toast in Montclair -- and we are so happy we went there. The place is adorable and the food is fantastic. Their menu is really great. I had the oatmeal with grilled bananas and it was totally delish! If you're looking for a new place to eat breakfast or lunch, try Toast!

And while we're talking about cool, new things check out my friend Angela's new company, It's A Chick Thing. She's an incredibly talented woman and you'll be hearing a ton about her in the future!