01Dec2011

Tis the season to decorate! Try these easy-to-make holiday centerpieces

With an inexpensive glass cylinder and some beautiful decorations, you can create a holiday centerpiece that’s perfect for winter weddings, holiday parties or home décor. You may already have a few of these glass cylinders at home. They come in several sizes but I recommend the 6″ cylinder for centerpieces, so guests can talk over it when sitting down.

Holiday and Wedding Centerpiece Ideas

Tip: Many of the decorations and embellishments used in these centerpieces can be found at your local hobby store. Take advantage of after-holiday sales to purchase ornaments, ribbon and holiday accents at reduced prices.

 

  1. Want to glam it up? Grab a square silver charger — the plate/tray that goes under a dinner plate — and place a glass cylinder with white candle in the center. Then place smaller votives around it. We added color with a variety of pink ornaments and some faceted baubles. You can also use beaded garland swirled around the charger.
  2. For a dramatic look, we lined the glass cylinder with a black linen napkin and we wrapped the rim with fancy beaded trim (attached with double-sided tape). Then we added a few black feathers and one large ornament with a dangling black ribbon. The Initials and Heart Favor Label in ebony creates the finishing touch.
  3. A winter wonderland in silver and white. The base is a felt snowflake and the cylinder is filled with silver ornaments and snowflakes of all shapes and sizes. Prop a few snowflakes up around the cylinder and sprinkle on the table. Top the cylinder off with a larger snowflake on the edge. The larger snowflake is perfect for holding table numbers.
  4. Classic, natural, beautiful. Not to mention inexpensive! Cut a 3 in. wide strip of burlap and pull a few cords away at the edges to get a nice frayed look. Wrap it around the cylinder and tie with ribbon and cord. Fill the cylinder with pinecones and add a small pinecone and evergreen piece as an outer accent. We used real pinecones but artificial greens since real evergreens can be sappy and messy. For an extra woodsy feel, consider setting the centerpiece on a round piece of log cut about 1 in. thick.

I hope these ideas have inspired you to make a unique holiday centerpiece of your own, maybe even several for your next holiday event!

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28Nov2011

A Favor for all Seasons – featuring cellophane favor bags!

If you want your favor to fit your wedding’s seasonal theme, cellophane favor bags are a great place to start. These fun and colorful favors are something guests can enjoy at the reception or take home with them.

wedding favor ideas for every season

1. Spring Wedding Favor – we’ve filled small clear favor bags with purple candy, tied them with purple chiffon ribbon and added custom seals personalized with first names and butterfly design cut 5276C.

 

2. Summer Wedding Favor – here we’ve filled a small cellophane bag with sugared lemon candies and secured it with a black border seal personalized with first names. A black satin ribbon adds the finishing touch.

 

3. Fall Wedding Favor – we’ve used large cellophane bags and placed caramel apples inside. Then we tied the bags shut with mocha satin ribbon and a mocha leaf favor tag personalized with names and wedding date. Trail mix or leaf-shaped chocolate candies also make great fall treats.

 

4. Winter Wedding Favor – have fun with a holiday theme and make Christmas cookies, mini loaves of bread or caramel corn to fill your cellophane bags. Tie with white satin ribbon and add jingle bells on the ends for a festive touch.

 

Tip: Keep in mind your location and the temperature of your reception. If it’s outside, heat can take a beautiful favor and melt it into a mess. Looking for inexpensive alternatives to candy or treats? Try small scented candles, mini photo frames, flower seed packets or bulbs, lottery tickets in personalized holders, key chains or hot chocolate mix.

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24Nov2011

Happy Thanksgiving, Bargainistas

‘Tis the season for being thankful!  The time of year when we really feel grateful for all the wonderful blessings in our lives — from family, friends, and fiancés to work, love and health.

 

Planning a wedding during the holidays can be stressful, but I’m sure you’ve had a few helpers along the way. So thank family and friends for their support and all the planning help they have provided for every wedding related event so far, and of course for coming and sharing in the fun.

 

Remember the little things this season, go that extra mile and tell everyone you care about how much you appreciate them — because you’re a lucky girl! Engaged, soon to be married and surrounded by love.

 

Happy Thanksgiving from the A-Team. Thanks for following us. We appreciate helping you plan your fabulous budget-savvy wedding.

 

Ann's Bridal Bargains wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Now go enjoy some great food, family and friends!

 

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21Nov2011

Invitation Embellishments: The perfect bow every time!

Dress up your wedding look — it’s so easy and elegant you’ll want to put them on everything!

Self adhesive brown satin bows
Our self-adhesive satin bows will stick to just about any surface, making them super easy to apply as a beautiful accent.  PLUS our basic colors work for all color schemes – black, white, and brown.

self adhesive black satin bows

Choose from chiffon and satin to coordinate with your look. The sheer chiffon ribbon adds a subtle, romantic sheen while satin ribbon creates a sleek, sophisticated look. Add these exquisite bows to everything from invitations to programs to wedding favors.

self adhesive white chiffon bow

 

Who knew such a tiny detail could create such impact!

How are you dressing up your wedding stationery?

 

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18Nov2011

It’s Floral Week at Ann’s! Today we’re highlighting the hibiscus flower.

The Hibiscus: A voluptuous, tropical flower in brilliant colors with large green leaves along its stems. Perfect for destination and beach-themed weddings.

Tropical Wedding Theme

Meaning: Delicate beauty.

In Season: Midsummer to early autumn.

Money-Saving Tip: Don’t worry about having flowers throughout your reception. Your bouquets are the only floral touch you need. Display them with bouquet holders at the head table. Then continue your tropical theme by adding the vibrant color of hibiscus flowers to your reception tables with personalized napkins in bright orange or fuchsia. Napkins will add just as much color as floral arrangements for a fraction of the cost!

Complementary Accessory: We’ve paired our pair of flowers wedding invitation and coordinating enclosure cards with our large white cake boxes secured closed by flourish favor labels in fuchsia. The wedding napkins we’ve shown are personalized with a complementary palm design cut, names and wedding date.

See our complete collection of tropical wedding invitations and accessories for more ideas and options to coordinate with your wedding.

 

We hope you enjoyed Floral Week at Ann’s! Let us know if you’ve chosen a flower we didn’t mention. We’d love to hear how you’re featuring them throughout your wedding.

 

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17Nov2011

It’s Floral Week at Ann’s! Today we’re highlighting orchids.

The Orchid: An exotic flower of exquisite beauty. Its long green stem ends in several, uniquely shaped blooms of vibrant color (available in a variety of colors and sizes).

 

Meaning: Love, beauty, fertility

In Season: Orchids are available year-round because they are almost always imported, which also means they are often quite expensive.

Money-Saving Tip: Search for the dendrobium orchid, which is a hearty variety of orchid that happens to be well priced. Colors include white, pinks and purple.

Complementary Accessory: Below we’ve shown the orchids wedding invitation with coordinating thank you notes. We’ve also shown our wedding napkins personalized with a single-initial monogram above first names.

Orchid Wedding Theme

And check back tomorrow for the last beautiful bloom we’ll be highlighting this week. We know you’re curious, but you’ll just have to wait.

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16Nov2011

It’s Floral Week at Ann’s! Today we’re highlighting the cherry blossom

The Cherry Blossom: The cherry blossom is a small, fragrant flower that blooms along the dark brown branches of the cherry tree. Pretty and whimsical, cherry blossoms are a modern, romantic choice of flower found in white, pale pink and dark pink.

 

Meaning: Spiritual beauty.

In Season: Spring. Cherry blossoms have a very limited growing season of just a couple weeks, so finding fresh cherry blossoms for a reasonable price is difficult. We recommend searching for silk flowers at your nearest hobby store. Watch for sales! Hobby stores will frequently reduce their prices on fake flowers.

Money-Saving Tip: A single stem is all you need. Depending on the type of cherry blossom you choose, one or two stems are enough for one centerpiece. Just place them in tall, clear vases for an elegant look. Also, consider purchasing vases. You’re likely to find them on sale for less than the cost of renting.

Complementary Accessory: Below we’ve shown the birds in cherry blossoms wedding invitation, pink favor boxes with a cherry blossoms design cut and wedding napkins personalized with the same design cut, names and wedding date.Cherry Blossom Wedding Theme

See our complete collection of cherry blossoms wedding invitations and accessories for more ideas and options to coordinate with your wedding.

And check back every day this week for another favorite flower. We may be highlighting your chosen bloom — don’t miss it!

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15Nov2011

It’s Floral Week at Ann’s! Today we’re highlighting the daisy.

The Daisy: A charming flower that’s both romantic and cheerful. The Marguerite Daisy is a classic meadow flower with a thick green stem and delicate white petals surrounding a yellow center. The Gerbera Daisy is usually one solid color and available in a rainbow of hues. Known for its longevity, gerberas will still look amazing at the end of the day.

 

Meaning: Innocence. Thoughtfulness. To share one’s feelings.

In Season: Spring to autumn, but are reasonably priced throughout the year.

Money-Saving Tip: Although gerberas are well priced all year long, you’ll want to avoid popular colors during particular times of the year. For example, red and white gerberas are more expensive around the holiday season.

Complementary Accessory: Below you’ll find the floral delight wedding invitation, daisy ring pillow and wedding napkins personalized with a daisy design cut, names and wedding date. Consider placing two daisies next to each other on top of the wedding cake for an inexpensive cake top that coordinates with your theme.

Daisy Wedding Theme

See our complete collection of daisy wedding invitations and accessories for more ideas and options to coordinate with your wedding.

And check back every day this week for another favorite flower. We may be highlighting your chosen bloom — don’t miss it!

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14Nov2011

It’s Floral Week at Ann’s! Today we’re highlighting the calla lily.

The Calla Lily: An elegant flower with long sloping stem, smooth white color and graceful curves.Calla Lily Wedding Theme

Meaning: Magnificent beauty.

In Season: Spring and summer.

Money-Saving Tip: Half the cost of wedding flowers is the labor it takes to arrange them. Calla lilies are beautiful on their own, which means you and a family member or friend could put together your own simple arrangements.

Complementary Accessory: We’ve paired one of our favorite calla lily wedding invitations with a coordinating wedding program and napkins personalized with a calla lily design cut, names and wedding date.

See our complete collection of calla lily invitations and accessories for more ideas and options to coordinate with your wedding.

And check back every day this week for another favorite flower. We may be highlighting your chosen bloom — don’t miss it!

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12Nov2011

Congratulations to the October Winner of the Ann’s $500 Shopping Spree!

A big congrats goes out to our newest Shopping Spree Winner…Glenda! She’ll have tons of fun spending $500 at AnnsBridalBargains.com on anything from save the dates and wedding invitations to accessories and favors.

 

But first, you have to hear the story behind their courtship and proposal! Glenda and Andy have known each other since they were kids. They grew up in the same small town, went to church together and occasionally spent time with the same friends. They never dated and went their separate ways to college. After 15 years, both returned home, the stars aligned and the dating began. He won her heart treating her like a princess — helping her study, taking care of her when she was sick and bringing her daisies simply because they’re her favorite. Being a good Christian man was the icing on top (something she always wanted).

 

Now, for the proposal story! This is good.

While Andy wanted Glenda to pick out her ring, he also wanted a proper proposal. Andy first attempted to embarrass her on the Jumbotron at her favorite team’s game, the Arkansas Razorbacks. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards. He then worked with the local radio station, which was having a game party at a local restaurant in Little Rock. The radio DJ jumped on the bar at halftime to have some fun with trivia, but threw in an extra trivia question at the end  — “Does anyone have a birthday on October 13?”  Glenda shyly raised her hand. The DJ then asked her to come to the bar so he could introduce her to the crowd. He gave her a huge bouquet of heart-shaped balloons, a restaurant glass and had the bar sing happy birthday. After all that embarrassment, she began to walk back to her seat and the DJ stopped her just in time to see Andy walking around the corner carrying a huge bouquet of flowers. The DJ introduced Andy as Glenda’s fiancé, and Glenda corrected him saying, “He’s not my fiancé yet.” Then, Andy got down on one knee and said, “I will be if you marry me.” Naturally the girl said YES!

 

And the dream wedding…Island Sunset

Glenda has been dreaming of a wedding on the beach at sunset, and Andy is delivering! The lovely couple will get married in the Cayman Islands the day after Thanksgiving, on the beach, at sunset. And while the couple will miss the biggest Razorbacks game of the year, I’d say a wedding on the beach is way better. Plus, a fabulous reception is planned for the return home.

Here’s to a few dreams come true! Congratulations, Glenda and Andy!

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