OOT Update

Yep, my obsession with OOT bags is back and in full force. Do I want saltwater taffy or molasses taffy? Whiskey or whiskey bread? Is there any chocolate in there at all? What if people don't like sweets (Emily, I'm looking out for you)? Hours and hours of time have been lost to internet research. What are other folks doing? What have their guests said? Do we need things like toiletries or just snacks? There is a lot that goes into these crazy things!

Since we've decided we're taking a "Hometown Homage" approach to our OOT bags, we've decided on the following items:
Georgia- peach preserves, blueberry preserves, Georgia peanuts, and biscuit mix
Florida: Key lime coolers, coconut cookies, saltwater taffy
Tennessee: Tennessee whiskey, moon pies

I found these adorable mini-jars of jam and the prices were so reasonable, I ordered 2 flavors!

Doing my part to support the Georgia Peanut Commission.

What winter gift bag would be complete without cocoa and marshmallows? I got a variety pack of cocoa so that I could include a couple packets in each bag. These will go with the snowflake marshmallows that I wrote about earlier.

Bridesmaid Dresses

Whew... After a lot of deliberation and trying on dresses, we've finally decided on Ruby from David's Bridal. Originally, I was thinking that Truffle would be the winner, but once I saw my girls in the red, there was no going back. Since I can't figure out how to get a picture out of my text messages, I'll just have to show you the choices from the David's Bridal website.

My girls will be able to choose whatever style they like (as long as the dress is knee-length or tea-length). They will also be wearing silver shoes, since I'm not a matchy-matchy kind of girl.

Average Day

Now that planning is in full swing, I've been furiously online shopping for bargains. I've been looking for goodies for our OOT bags, wedding favors, paper punches, paper for invitations... you name it!

It seems like everyday, something new and exciting lands in my office. Yesterday, I received mini-jars of peach and blueberry preserves. Today, it was wedding favors!

We found them on clearance for less than $1! Woo Hoo. I still need to order the cute little cone-shaped favor boxes, but I'm excited. They will look really cute with our table settings.

Candy!

Does there even need to be another word in that title? I submit that there does NOT. As soon as I started imagining my wedding, there was always a candy buffet in there somewhere. It took me a while to convince other interested parties that it was necessary, but I did it without playing the "I'm the Bride!" card.

So I started making weekly trips to Michael's to purchase one vessel at a time with my 40%off coupon and my mom scoured Dollar Tree stores and Big Lots all along US-19. We found a bunch of great glass vases. In my mind, I could see the color-coordinated, chocolatey goodness coming to life. Some folks; however, were still having a hard time envisioning the final product.

Well I put my best computer-graphics-geek self to work and created an actual illustration of my vision. How dorky is that? I'm addicted... to over-planning. Hi, my name is Jen and I'm an over planner (Hi, Jen!). Good thing, I did though because I quickly realized that filling my selected vessels was going to cost me well over $300.00. Now I love my chocolate as much as the next girl, but I needed to find an option that would cinch the budget (if not my waist).

The solution for me was to incorporate cookies and caramel corn to my buffet, in addition to lovely candy goodies:


After much deliberation, these will be the tempting treats:

One word: Yum!

Current Obsession: Pomanders

Perhaps it's the fact that it's May Day and I'm consumed by thoughts of flowers, but I've decided to take a hiatus from my OOT bag obsession to move on to a new fascination: pomanders. Those lovely, little balls of flowers that adorn so many weddings these days. They are fun and happy, and isn't that what a wedding should be? I love them made out of tissue. I love them made out of fabric. I love them made out of real flowers. I love them made out of silk flowers (Is it me, or do I sound like the Cat in the Hat? I love them in a box, I love them with a fox).

Not sure what I'm talking about? Well take a look:



Mark my words, these little babies will show up somewhere in the future. Stay tuned...