French Wedding Brunch

It's been an especially busy couple of weeks as our family celebrated the marriage of our son and his beautiful bride. The last few months I've given you glimpses of plans and items we made and bought for the big occasion. Last weekend was the wondrous event, but I'm going to hold off telling you some of the details of the reception until we get back the professional photos. For now I'll just tell you that those invited to the reception traveled through San Francisco on classic cable car buses, stopping at iconic venues to sample San Francisco at its best. We were treated to tasty appetizers, clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, and scrumptious gelato.  Below is one of our grandchildren celebrating by dancing with the bride on the Hyde Street Pier. Their joy was felt by all!

These beautiful photos are courtesy of my talented daughter, Jillian.

Early on in the planning my husband and I were asked by Justin & Meghann (our son and his fiance') if we would host a brunch after the wedding. Traditionally, a reception is held after the wedding, but in this case the reception was the day before in San Francisco and the wedding the next morning in the LDS Temple in Oakland. The wedding brunch would be the last activity in a weekend filled with events, so we wanted it to be beautiful and relaxing. The brunch was held at my sister and brother-in-law's grand home, built in 1905, just 10 minutes from the temple. The home is beautiful and has an imposing view of San Francisco and the bay, so it is the perfect backdrop for this kind of occasion.

We didn't really want the luncheon to begin before the bride and groom arrived, so I decided to make a little "tide-me-over-lunch" for the smaller kids because we knew they would be ferociously hungry the minute they approached the house. I bought these cute sacks at Michael's and filled them with a drink, applesauce, chips, fruit snacks and half a PB&J sandwich. This held them off till all the adults had gone through the buffet line. {This was a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself.}

When Meghann told me that she loved all things French, the "theme" for the brunch was born.

I called La Boulange {a restaurant & caterer in the Bay Area}, and
we designed a menu consistent with what one might order for brunch in France.

 For example, chocolate croissants...

fruit cream and lemon curd filled tartlettes...

"smoked salmon & cucumber," "apple, brie, & jam," "prosciutto & fig jam," 

and "chicken & provolone" brioche tea sandwiches...

an assortment of petite quiches --

"vegetable," "bacon & pea," and "ham & cheese"...

chocolate ganache tartlette...

mini-pastries, and an assortment of fruits, nuts & cheeses...

a "pear, walnut, & blue cheese salad" and a "hearty chef salad"...

 and macarons.

One must never forget the macarons at a French-themed brunch...

The bride's sister made this traditional French wedding cake, called a croqembouche,

and I ordered three different styled cakes to be shared among the guests.

One was chocolate cake with chocolate filling, 

another was lemon cake with raspberry filling, 

and the last was vanilla cake with salted caramel filling.
Simply beautiful and beautifully simple.

 I would highly recommend Andrea at "Cake" in Lafayette, California.
Her cakes were beautiful and absolutely delicious!
Go here to learn about the cake toppers that were bought and made for these cakes.

I love the feeling of satisfaction after a party that's gone well,
when you realize all your hard work and effort made a difference.

Happy.

Wedding Dress Sash...

A few of our grandchildren visited us last week. While they were here they got to know my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Meghann, very well. I think our nine-year-old grandson fell in love. Truly. I'm a little concerned that my son will be elbowed out of the way so our grandson can take his place the weekend of the wedding. I was telling one of my daughters about this last week, and we agreed we all have a crush on Meghann. I knew once she started talking crafts, sewing, and the like that we would get along famously. 

One of the last things Meghann had on her list to do before the wedding was to make a sash to go around her waist for her wedding dress. She saw some photos on Etsy and Pinterest of beautiful bridal sashes, but they were expensive, and she felt confident that she could make her own. At first I was going to help her, but when she was ready to begin I was busy with another project. I became her cheerleader instead as she made this gorgeous sash...

I love what she created on her own. I think the flowers are stunning. She had to get her wedding dress altered, so she had already ordered extra lace which she used on the sash as well. Some brides put the embellishment on the front of the dress, but she'll put the flowers in the back.

This beautiful sash inspires me. I think it's so special that she made it herself, and I can't wait to see it on her...

Fabric Flowers and Wedding Prep...

Wedding season is upon us. This weekend a daughter-of-our-heart {our former daughter-in-law} is marrying in Tennessee, and we're looking forward to sharing that event with her and her chosen. In a few weeks our son and his beautiful bride are tying the knot in California. As my daughter-in-law-to-be said, "We are in wedding sweatshop workshop mode." This week we've been embellishing some beautiful dresses that the flower girls are wearing. The bride and groom have chosen to have their little nieces and nephews all dressed alike and most (that are old enough) will be flower girls and their escorts. The boys will all be in little gray suits (dashing!) and the girls will wear beautiful lacy dresses. The older (5-12 years) girls will be in this champagne colored dress...

 {Country Couture Company Etsy Shop}

And the little ones (3 months - 4 years) will be in this creamy beauty...

{Girly Girl Envy Etsy Shop}

That's 10 little girls parading around in those beautiful dresses and 8 little boys looking as handsome as can be in their three-piece suits! That's the plan. We realize, of course, that the plan and reality rarely coincide. What will probably happen is right before the festivities begin two little boys will get in a mud fight and three little girls will be standing in their line of fire. Wish us luck.

The littlest girls dresses were all dolled up with a cute bow and bling...

so Meghann wanted the dresses the older girls are wearing to have a pretty accessory too. A project was instigated and some flowers were created. You might remember that the wedding colors are green, gray and creamy champagne...

Meghann chose to add a little color to these older girl dresses in the form of a flower...

It makes me wish I was eight years old again!

We used the same technique to make these flowers, as I used earlier this spring...

So pretty. I can't wait to see the grandkids all gussied up! I can certainly recommend the Etsy Shop {Girly Girl Envy} for the littler girl dresses. They came perfectly sewn, were reasonably priced, and arrived right on time. The Etsy Shop for the older girl dresses sent beautifully sewn dresses that were also reasonably priced, but we had shipping problems with both orders we ordered from them. It all ended up fine, but things like that tend to make you cringe a bit. In the end, though, we couldn't be more pleased with these little girl dresses.