We went to an outside wedding this past Saturday evening and guess what happened!  You’re right, it rained.  Just as the bride was coming down the aisle, it started raining harder and all the guests had to go inside and squeeze inside this old, charming, beautiful two story home that had been turned into a bed and breakfast.  When the rain let up, everyone went back outside and the wedding ceremony proceeded in the outdoor wedding chapel.

It’s definitely the time of year to be thinking of weddings and diamond rings.  Hopefully, for those who have planned outside weddings, the weather will be beautiful and clear!

These individual cheesecakes would be nice to serve at a wedding shower if you wanted something different from traditional cake. They are simple to make with the following ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
  
• 2 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 can Nestle Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 21-oz can of cherry pie filling (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees.

LINE 24 muffin cups with paper liners and place one piece of cookie dough in each muffin cup.

BAKE for 10-12 minutes until cookie has spread to edge of cup.

BEAT cream cheese, canned milk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.

POUR about 3 tablespoons cream cheese mixture over each cookie in the muffin cups. BAKE an additional 15-18 minutes until the cheese mixture is set. Cool completely. REFRIGERATE for at least one hour. Remove paper liners before serving.

TOP with a teaspoonful of cherries. (Or if red cherries do not go with your color scheme, then you could top with fresh fruit to color coordinate such as kiwi for green, blueberries for blue, etc., or for something neutral you could use shaved chocolate. That’s just my idea.)

I saw a cute recipe for mini-dessert cups that would be perfect to serve at a wedding shower. It won’t be long until spring gets here and then there will be wedding showers for all the spring and summer weddings.

Have you noticed that a lot of weddings seem to happen within a year or two after your child’s wedding? We had ten wedding showers one year! I was a hostess at every one of those showers, and we were always looking for ways to make each shower unique. If you happen to be planning a shower, check out these cute dessert cups and check back here in the spring for more shower ideas.

One thing my mother taught me and I taught our daughter is to always write a thank-you note within a couple of weeks after receiving a gift. It seems to be the trend now-a-days to not write thank-you notes. However, I think it’s always best to communicate appreciation with a nice note especially for a graduation, wedding or baby gift. It doesn’t have to be long, just sincere. And maybe the two week time period could be extended, but I think a month at the longest. If a person has given the effort to give someone a gift then they deserve a thank-you note. Especially when gifts are mailed, the giver of the gift likes to know their gift was received.  (I must admit that the older I get, every once in a while I forget.)  Some things never go out of style…they are timeless. And I think thank you notes are one of those things!

“The Party Starts Here.com!” has just about every kind of invitation you can think of, including your traditional kid’s party invitations as well as holiday invitations, first communion invitations, open house invitations, wedding invitations, and even pet party invitations. They also have photo cards, graduation announcements, thank you cards, and birth announcements.   They have cards for all occasions and also offer exclusive designs and custom designs.

Have you ever wanted pearls for a wedding or some special occasion? I remember when I graduated from high school, my aunt and uncle wanted to give me something with pearls as a special gift. They gave me a beautiful pearl bracelet which I wore only on special occasions, and I still treasure it to this day.  A lot of times, a pearl necklace is the perfect gift for an anniversary, birthday, or Christmas gift.  And it always looks beautiful with a wedding dress.  If you are looking to buy pearls, Pure Pearls can help you with your selection as you choose from one of the largest selections of pearls online with a savings of up to 85% below retail.   You get a FREE Appraisal from a GIA Graduate to assure you of the best quality in your pearls.  Pure Pearls have been featured in Time Magazine and on the Fine Living Channel and several others.  Check out their site online, and they will help you find the perfect pearls for you.

We bought a lot of clear, glass candle holders for our daughter and son-in-law’s wedding reception. I saved them to loan to friends, but the only problem was wax left in the holders. I found that one of the best ways to remove old wax was to put the holders in the freezer for a few hours. Then I took the holders out of the freezer, turned them upside down, and the wax fell out. I put the glass holders in the dishwasher to get out any wax residue, and they looked good as new!

When our daughter got married, we looked and looked for the perfect tiara and veil to go with her wedding dress. We shopped around until we found the perfect one. If you’re looking for hair accessories to go with your wedding dress, then visit Jude and read her post about different types of bridal hair accessories. She is a knowledgeable resource.

http://judesmultiinfo.com/Beauty_Denominator/2007/10/03/bridal-hair-accessories

If you’re planning a wedding, then there is much to do not only in planning but making those plans become a reality. First, you need to decide on a budget for the wedding.  Then you need to reserve the location for the wedding and reception. Hopefully, the date will be available. When our daughter got married, her first choice was booked up with an afternoon wedding and an evening wedding. So, start early with making your reservation. That is a must!  You will need to choose your attendants, a florist, a photographer, wedding invitations, a wedding dress, attendants’ dresses, and the list goes on and on.  The main thing to remember is to start early with your planning.  With so much to do, you don’t want to be in a rush and stressed out by everything there is to do.  This is a time in your life that you want to enjoy!