Voting Results...

The people have spoken, and winners have been elected. Without further ado, I bring you the findings of our drink poll:



With the most votes: Appletini, Pina Colada, Strawberry Margarita & Blue Hawaiians.
In second: Cuba Libre & "Other," whatever those may be...
In third, the underdog Mojito.
In fourth, with an astounding 0 votes, the cosmo.

So, I guess we'll definitely be serving the Appletini, since my vote is always the tie breaker, and I'll have Tom choose from one of the frozen beverages. We'll probably serve the Cuba Libre, too, as that's what he drinks (though he doesn't actually know that that's what it's called...).

Now we just have to decide if we'll have the caterer buy and serve the alcohol, or if we'll buy and they serve. I guess the only thing we can do is price it out and go from there...

Stupid Purchase??

So while at the Salvation Army shopping for part of Tom's Halloween costume, I ran across this:

Well, minus the iron stand. The price? $12.50. What it's selling for at Target is $29.99.

I didn't buy it. YET.

I figured I could sleep on it and go back the next day (today) and pick it up if I wanted to. And I do WANT to. I'm just not sure if it's worth it.

The idea would be to get 2, (I can always purchase the other from Target or check out a different Salvation Army since they get Target cast-offs), and set up a table at the ceremony for beverages.

Like this:

Cute idea, no?

As much as I love it, and know it would be fairly simple to pull off (some water, lemonade mix, some sliced lemon to float on top and a few cups), I feel like it's definitely something we could do without.

But on the other hand, for $50 (after purchasing both jars and the table cloth), it seems like it could be a nice touch that is much appreciated. Remember, it will be a warm, June afternoon outside and I'm sure people would appreciate some cool water & lemonade.

Hmmm. Maybe I could just buy the one for $12.50 and serve water only...

Thoughts??

PS - In case you're wondering and I didn't mention it earlier, Tom's Halloween costume is the Hulk. He's teaching at his elementary school this morning, so he's been directed to take lots of pictures of him and the kids. Hopefully I'll be able to post them this weekend!!!

Drink Up!

So no party, big or small, is complete without beverages. Especially of the adult kind.

Now it's no surprise that I'm unhappy about the "standard" bar package. (Crowd begins booing).

It's not like I'm trying to be difficult or high maintenance, I just think that standard=boring. Or at least for me. And that's probably because I'm overstimulated on Dunkin Donuts coffee half the time.

But, if I had to choose between spending $16/person on a standard bar package, only to have half of our families nurse their carafe of lemon water on the table, or spending $16/person to have a few fun, exotic drinks, the ULTIMATE coffee bar, and some fun non-alcoholic beverages, I'd obviously choose the latter.

So that said, here are my ideas:

"Signature" drinks: An appletini, a Cuba Libre (rum, coke & lime), and two others (maybe something frozen like a pina colada or strawberry margarita? and something more classic like standard martini??)

Detailed signage at the bar will alert people to their choices, much like a menu:



Wine: 1 red, 1 white. Most people don't drink it anyway.

Beer: We're gonna have a kegger!!! Except, of course, without the red plastic cups. And the $5 admission fee. Instead, we'll have the bartender "hide" it behind his stand and serve it in classy pilsner glasses, like so:

High class, people, high class. And yes, we'll have a standard and a lite. And maybe an import if you people behave.

And, for the piece de resistance, the ULTIMATE coffee bar. (I'm not really sure why I feel the need to capitalize this, it just seems appropriate.)

Coffee: Regular & Decaf
Hot Cocoa: Regular & Dark
Syrups: Vanilla, caramel & mint
Cordials: Bailey's & Kahlua
Extras: Whipped cream, chocolate shavings, sprinkles :-)

Umm ---YUM!!



PS - As stated previously, I have something even better up my sleeve for the non-alcoholic beverages. It's just too good of an idea to share right now. Maybe once I finalize it with the caterer....well, once we finalize a caterer....haha

An Unofficial Decision: Timing, Food & Drinks

So though I sort of took a wedding break last week, my unfortunate little brain has been working overtime thinking about all this lately. As I'm a person who can't really handle situations left unsettled, it's not surprising that I'm trying to plan timelines and make decisions 20 months before the wedding.

Gross number, I know.

So, I haven't really consulted Tom about all this yet (mainly because I know his response will be "Umm, yeah, sure." followed by a "Wait, we never talked about this." two months later). BUT, the following are all the thoughts swimming in my pretty little head and I really don't want them up there anymore.

Reception type: Heavy Hors d'ouerves --- Instead of having a separate cocktail hour and "stations" type dinner hour, we'll just combine them. The food will be ready once the ceremony ends, so everyone will gather in the house, grab a drink, we'll walk in, have a toast or two and grace, then everyone can dig in. Meanwhile, we'll sneak out the back for some pictures, then come in when we're finished to kick off the dancing...

Food: Upscale colloquial. Is that even a term? Well, it is now. My thoughts are to stick with some of the foods that we love, but dress them up a bit. For instance, Tom and I spend obscene amounts of time and money at Buffalo Wild Wings. I think it's only appropriate to have buffalo wing bites on skewers, or something similar. And how about those super fun miniature burgers? And of course, my favorite idea ever: the mashed potato bar!!! We'd probably still do the carved prime rib and the fresh fruit and cream station, too.

Drinks: Undecided. Still. Ugh. So I'm still really torn on this whole issue. I love the idea of doing a few signature cocktails, and while I don't think a full bar is necessary (especially at 3:00 in the afternoon), I still feel like that's being a poor host. But when you host a dinner party at your home, how many people have a full bar prepared anyway? Don't you most of the time offer guests their choice of a few beers, wines, and a cocktail or two??? My initial thoughts are an Appletini, Jack & Coke (Tom's favorite), and maybe a mojito. Of course, we'd probably offer a few beers (Rolling Rock --again, Tom's favorite-- and Corona), and a white and red wine, too. Then towards the mid/end of the night, we'd break out the coffee/cocoa bar (more to follow on that later!). Plus, I have another trick up my sleeve for the non-alcoholic beverages.

Reader question: What's the most popular drink to order at bars? Also, what do you usually order???