………. <PART ONE ……. PART TWO…….PART THREE >

The Mansion at Elfindale is such a beautiful bed and breakfast in Springfield.  There are also wedding services available in their chapel and reception area as well.  While we were standing on one of the covered porches at the Mansion, we could look across and see the chapel which is connected to the Mansion by a brick covered walkway.

Once inside, we were surprised with the beauty of the chapel which is absolutely perfect for a Springfield wedding. It has a center aisle which is very important to most brides. The stained glass windows, arched cathedral ceiling, and imported marble flooring at the altar are impressive.

The covered walkway from the chapel to the Mansion leads to an area that is perfect for a wedding reception as seen pictured below.  This room was originally the State Dining Room but later was transformed into a ballroom with a fireplace.  The owner purchased a magnificent fireplace mantel for this room at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, imported from France with dolphins carved into the beautiful wood.  That is why it is known as the Dolphin Fireplace and the room is referred to as the Dolphin Room today.

There are several suites in the Mansion which would be nice for honeymoon bed-and-breakfast lodging, but I think the most romantic would be the Tower Suite.  It is situated on the third floor and contains three rooms plus the bathroom.  Two of the rooms are actually in the tower.

Upon entrance to the suite, my eyes were immediately drawn to the first tower room. Through the passageway, you can see a sitting area with beautiful lace curtains and a desk.

Once you enter the sitting room, you see this impressive winding staircase leading to the top of the tower. The view from this room is great but a fourth story view is even more inviting!

The view from the top of the tower is impressive. Looking over tops of trees, you can see the small lake which is on the property. This room is perfect for relaxing in the morning with a leisurely cup of coffee and maybe even watching the sun rise.

From this fourth story tower room, you can easily see the original school built on the property as well as many other places.  By the way, some people like this suite as a retreat away from the busy, hectic life they live. This is also a place where people can retreat and refocus on what is important in life.

This Springfield bed and breakfast also makes great accomodations for the wedding party, relatives and guests attending the wedding from out-of-town. There are 13 luxurious bed and breakfast suites, each suite distinct with its own personality and charm.

For more info:

Weddings in Springfield, MO, @ The Mansion

.

My mother-in-law’s favorite sugar cookie recipe is a special family recipe!  She’s been making these cookies for years and got the recipe from another relative.  My m-i-l needs to gain weight so I suggested we make these cookies while we were there visiting this summer.  I don’t know if she gained any weight….but I definitely did!!  Oh well, now I remember why I rarely bake cookies.

These cookies are soft and yet delicately crisp at the same time.  They’re rich tasting and melt in your mouth.  They should be rich tasting considering they have one cup of oil and one cup of butter (the Pioneer Woman would like all the butter in these!)  In my opinion, I think these cookies would be great to serve at a wedding or baby shower, especially if rolled in colored sugar to match the colors of the shower.  They’re definitely not healthy so really these should be just special occasion cookies.  Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup sugar (plus extra sugar to roll the cookies in)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Colored sugar for special occasions
  

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the sugars, butter, oil and salt.  Beat well with mixer.  Add eggs.  Add dry ingredients.  Chill dough.  Make into balls, roll in sugar, and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

Here are the cookies we made at my mother-in-law’s house.  Wish I could take one off the plate right now!

I’ve always heard that June is the most popular month for weddings, but recently I read,  according to the American National Center for Health Statistics, that July and August have actually had more weddings than June for three years in a row now.    Summertime is still the busiest season for weddings.  All the details from the location, bakery, and florist to wedding favors and whether to use rice or bird seed must be planned ahead of time.  To ensure a well planned wedding & reception and to reduce the amount of stress, it is wise to follow a wedding planning guide with time frames for each detail of the wedding.

(picture of Rings by Alena Kratochvilova)

This makes a delicious tea!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 quarts water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 sliced lemon
• 2 cups strong tea
• Juice of 3 lemons
  
• Juice of 2 oranges
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Boil water, sugar, and sliced lemon for five minutes.  Add remaining ingredients.  Chill.   (also good served warm)

FormalTux.com offers new tuxedos and accessories from the top designers as well as discounted new tuxedo jackets and pants.  They carry a great selection perfect for weddings and formal occasions and offer name brands such as:

• Perry Ellis
• Ralph Lauren
• Lord West
• Geoffrey Beene.
  

Women’s formalwear and a large line of career apparel are also offered as well.  They offer just about any tuxedo style, have been in business for over 70 years, and offer great customer service.

What girl doesn’t like a pretty piece of jewelry to accent her outfit?  Some may want just one piece of jewelry such as a bracelet for their accent, while others may want a matching set of necklace, bracelet, and earrings.  Whether one wants diamonds or colored gemstones, Reeds Jewelers has been serving customers since 1946.

Customers can design their own jewelry such as a custom made diamond engagement ring, or they can choose from a great selection of engagement rings as well as wedding bands and wedding gifts.  This family-owned company wants to help plan a perfect wedding!

This is a gift we gave our daughter last year when she graduated with her master’s degree.  I wanted her gift to look extra special, so I wrapped it a lot fancier than I usually do.  Most of the time, I put gifts in a gift bag with tissue paper; however, I usually do wrap half the gifts at Christmas…but they’re not fancy.

With springtime here, there are going to be a lot of bridal showers and graduation gifts.  If you need some fancier gift wrap but don’t want to pay for expensive gift wrapping, you can do it yourself and save money.

Now that a lot of us are trying to save money, here are some ideas for even greater savings on gift wrapping:

• Look for nice gift wrap at places like Ross Stores and Tuesday Morning.
• Use coupons from craft stores such as Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics to buy nice gift wrap, nice sheer ribbon, and silk flowers.

Wrapping a gift yourself for that special person is worth the effort, plus it’s fun to be creative!