Weddings @ The Mansion at Elfindale in Springfield, Missouri

………. <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.

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Wedding Planning Guide

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)

Almond Tea

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)

Formalwear from FormalTux.com

tux-5-29-09FormalTux.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.

Jewelry Accents & Wedding Rings

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!

Idea for Gift Wrap

2nd-sd-card-christis-grad-gift-wrap-2nd-2-20-09This 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!

Groom’s Cake Gets Creative

2nd-sd-card-wedding-cake-from-lisa-holly-bb-wedding-001A lot of people are planning weddings this time of year.  Actually it’s a year-round thing because when our daughter got married, we started planning over a year in advance.  Crazy, isn’t it?!!  Anyway, I just wanted to share this picture of a groom’s cake where the groom, who is an avid fan of …hmmm…I wonder what  :), had his ideal groom’s cake complete with a puzzle he put together himself.   Pretty creative!  Just put the cake on a pretty silver tray surrounded with greenery and baby’s breathe, and it looks elegant!

Outside Wedding? Have a Back-Up Plan!

2nd-sd-card-wedding-cake-from-lisa-holly-bb-wedding-004

We attended an outside wedding located in the garden area of a bed and breakfast.  It was beautiful, like in a storybook.  However, it started to mist at the beginning of the wedding.  Mist was tolerable, and everyone got out their umbrellas.  But just when it was time for the bride to walk down the aisle, it started to rain hard.  Everyone had to head inside at the bed and breakfast, where the reception was to be held, until the rain subsided.  Soon, it did, and the gathering of people went back to their seats outside, armed with towels to dry them off first.  The wedding began again with the bride coming down the aisle.

If you are planning an outside wedding, be sure to have a back-up plan so the guests will have a place to wait until it stops raining, or if it doesn’t stop raining, a place to perform the wedding.

FormalTux.com

For those of you who are or have been looking at tuxedos, FormalTux.com has a great selection and also has a line of discounted tuxedo jackets and pants.  Whether a tuxedo is needed for a wedding, formal event, or concert, it is great to own a tuxedo for whatever event requires formal attire.  My husband owns his own tux because he plays in an orchestra, and it is definitely worth the investment.

Wedding Invitations

I have been to several weddings that took place during the winter, but I don’t remember ever receiving wedding invitations that looked like a winter invitation. The one pictured with the snowflake is an example of a beautiful winter wedding invitation. Invitation Consultants has many beautiful invitations from which to choose for any time of year plus a good selection for themed weddings.

Engagement & Anniversary Rings

Are you thinking about engagement rings or maybe anniversary rings? Seems like a lot of people are right now.

Our son-in-law is so creative (I guess that’s the graphic design artist in him) when it comes to giving our daughter rings.  When he proposed at their favorite coffee shop several years ago, he had previously been there and bought one of their chocolate candy eggs, taken it home and carefully opened it so he could place an engagement ring inside, and then closed it up so that it looked like new.  Our daughter, knowing nothing about this, opened the candy egg at the coffee shop thinking that our s-i-l had just purchased the candy.  When she saw the ring, he got down on one knee and proposed to her.  So sweet!

Well, recently they celebrated their five year anniversary, and so our s-i-l being the creative person that he is, bought a book and cut out a section in the middle of it so that he could place an anniversary ring inside of it.  You can imagine our daughter’s complete surprise when she opened the book!

I don’t think I need to tell you what a great s-i-l we have!!

Outside Weddings

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!