Junior Bridesmaid/Ring Bearer Gifts!

Mr. ICS and I have almost all of the bridal party gifts completely finished! The only ones that we had left, were the ones for the Junior Bridesmaids and Ring Bearer. I've already purchased one gift for each of them (see below), but thought it would be nice to get them a little something extra.

Image Via Asterias Bridal Shop on Etsy

Image Via Sock Prints Etsy Shop

The ICS Maids, as you might already know, will be donning beautiful bathrobes. The ICS Men, will be donning handsome wristwatches. In an effort to make the Junior Bridesmaids and Ring Bearer feel more integrated, I decided to purchase them gifts that would somewhat go along with the theme. I felt that purchasing robes and a watch for the youngsters would be a little unconventional, so I tried to think outside of the box.

After searching on Etsy for quite a while, I came across some adorable t-shirts. (See below)

Image Via Designs By Christine Etsy Shop

Image Via Bride and Entourage Etsy Shop

I loved both of the styles that I found. They were super cute and I thought all 3 of them would have really enjoyed receiving them as gifts. The prices for these t-shirts ran for about $15.00, not including shipping. So, last weekend, I decided to venture off to Michaels in search of t-shirt making supplies to hopefully save some money.

I watched a few Youtube videos before I went, to make sure that I was purchasing products that had good reviews. Believe it or not, I've never made a t-shirt before with iron ons. I was super duper nervous, too! I was really hoping the project wouldn't be a total flop and waste of money. While I was there, I couldn't decide which decals to purchase, so, I purchased multiples. Here's what I came home with:

Image Via Michaels.com: Transfer Colored Paper

for $9.99

Image Via Michaels.com: Transfermations Flock Letters

$5.99

Image Via Michaels.com: Black Glitter Letters

$5.99

Image Via Michaels.com: Black Tshirt

$3.99 originally, on sale for $1.99

Image Via Michaels.com: Pink Tshirt

$3.99 originally, on sale for $1.99

So, after purchasing all of my materials, it was time to get to work. First, I took a current t-shirt of mine (that happened to be a kids' size--completely accidental, it was just the only size my company had left), to see the spacing of the letters. I measured both horizontally from the sleeves and vertically from the collar. I laid out the letters on the the t-shirt first, to check the spacing. Then, after my iron was fully heated, I laid an old pillow case over top, and pressed down evenly. I removed the iron from the shirt and letters, and VOILA! I couldn't believe my eyes--it actually worked! No, it wasn't perfect, but it would do! Here are the finished products! Sorry the photos aren't better quality, I didn't have any photo space left on my phone so I had to take them through Snapchat. 

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I'm quite pleased with the result actually. Also, here's the best part: the t-shirts on Etsy were about $15.00, not including shipping (varying in cost from $5.99-$8.99), but the final cost with materials used for these t-shirts was $6.99. Woohoo, over a 50% discount! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

I hope the kiddos love them!

How about you, Hive? Did you do any DIY projects for your bridal party's gifts? If so, what did you do? If you didn't DIY, what did you buy? Can't wait to hear!

-Ms. Ice Cream Sundae

Ice Cream You Scream: Ice Cream Sundae Invitations!

I knew what I wanted for invitations for quite some time, for the most part. I loved getting wedding invitations in the mail because I liked to see the different spins and variations each couple put on them. I can even remember taking pictures of some invitations family members would get, so that I could mimic those invitations when the big day came. Truth be told, I have no idea where those photos are now, but Pinterest came along and saved the day!

So, choosing the invitations was fairly easy. Here was my Pinspiration:

Image via justinviteme.com

Image via weddinginclude.com

I loved the look of both of these invites. The ivory paper with blush and gold accents fit the color scheme of our wedding perfectly, and I thought these invitations looked extremely elegant. So, needless to say, I was so disheartened when I went to actually order the invitations and the final total came to $950. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do at that point. I didn't know that invitations could cost so much! I feared I would have to go a completely different route and forego my beloved pocket folds (yes, full on dramatic tone used here) for a 2 dimensional invitation (which there is absolutely no problem with, I just had my heart set on the former). Then, to my surprise, enter MOH A. 

Thankfully MOH A.'s best friend, B (HA, I just realized that is the beginning of the alphabet and sounds super cute--ok, full disclosure, I'm writing this post at 6:00 am with very little coffee in my system) has been planning her wedding around the same time that I have. She just got married this past June. She, too, had gold and blush for her wedding colors, and MOH A. was a bridesmaid in her wedding. As I told MOH A. my woes about the extremely expensive invitations, she suggested using B.'s graphic designer. She sent me a picture of her invitations, and they were just beautiful. So, the important question was, "how much?" She didn't remember them being that pricey, so we went ahead and booked an appointment with her. Thankfully, MOH A. and Mama ICS offered to meet with the graphic designer in person and Facetimed me throughout. MOH A. showed her pictures from my Pinterest board, and she laid out a rough draft on the table. I couldn't see the colors too well through the screen, so I had to rely on MOH A. and Mama ICS's keen eyes to make the final decision. She sent me a few mock ups via email so that I could choose the font and the wording, and then sent me my own copy of the invitation in the mail.

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I absolutely loved the final product! They were exactly what I envisioned, and for an even better price! All together, the pocket folds, inserts, addressed envelopes, and response card envelopes came to $195. When she told me the final price, I was beyond excited. I could not believe that I was able to save $755 and still get exactly what I wanted. 

They did not come fully put together, but I was more than ok with that. I waited to pick them up until the weekend of the bachelorette and bridal shower, so that we didn't have to pay an additional fee to have them shipped all the way out to CA from Syracuse. MOH A., Mama ICS, and I had a blast putting them together. We made an assembly line of sorts, and MOH A. shipped them out the next day. 

All in all, I am so happy with how they turned out, and am so thankful for the efforts of MOH A. and Mama ICS! I definitely couldn't have gotten this done without them!

So, hive, what did you do for your invitations? Did you DIY, or have them made? Did you go off of a website for ordering, or did you find someone local by word of mouth?

Can't wait to hear all about your invitation process!

Miss Ice Cream Sundae

Out of the Ordinary Out of Town Bags

I've been prepping for this post for the last 4 weekends. Goodness grief, that's a long time! These out of town bags have really thrown me for a loop. I desperately wanted to give my guests bags, but we are really trying to keep our wedding cost low. I priced some things out, and everything seemed a bit too expensive.

So, I decided to go a different route. As you know by now, I LOVE to bake. That being said, I wanted the guests to be greeted with homemade treats that screamed "Syracuse!" Now, how I was going to pull that off, was the problem.

After brainstorming for a while, I came up with a spin on out of town bags, and instead, went with out of town boxes! Boxes of homemade cookies, that is.

So, this post has been a long time coming because I've been baking up a storm to get the cookies just right. I decided on half moon cookies, because they are native to upstate New York, and are absolutely delicious. Not to mention, they have a black and a white side, which to me, sort of signifies the bride and groom.

I went to Michaels and bought a box I thought might work. It came with a package of 5 for $3.99. This was cheaper than the pack of gift bags I found at the dollar store-score! Then, I went to find some ribbon to tie around the outside of the box. This was more expensive and cost about $3.99 for the spool. I tried it out when I got home, and the ribbon didn't go very far. It only covered about 2 boxes (and the boxes are small). Back to the drawing board I went. Actually, to Target, where I found black and white yarn-not what I was going for, but it actually turned out better than the first! And I only needed one spool, and that cost $2.99! Woohoo! Ok, then to assemble.

Ta-da!

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Now for the inside: I made two different sizes to see how well the cookies would fit. I'm having difficult deciding which I like better. I think the larger cookies look better: more professional, but maybe the medium cookies are more practical. I really can't decide.

This is where you come in, hive! Can you help me choose, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top (so fitting for the Sundaes)?

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Here's a picture of the smaller cookies (pictured above).

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Here's a picture of the larger cookies (pictured above).

So, Hive, did you do the traditional Out of Town Bags, or did you opt for something out of the ordinary? Can't wait to hear all about it!

Miss Ice Cream Sundae

Sundae's Syracuse Derby Shower (Picture Heavy-Beware!)

I have been waiting for this weekend for what has felt like months! All of the planning and Pinteresting that has gone into this, I can't believe it has actually arrived! I must admit, it was difficult not being there in person to view and meet with the venue, but the Ice Cream Sundae maids and mom did an absolutely wonderful job! I couldn't have done it better myself, that's for sure!

Originally, while in the planning stages, I hoped to have more of a hand in the planning of the bridal shower. I wanted to decide on the theme, pick out the decor, bake the dessert, make the favors, and plan the menu. The ICS maids really tried to urge me not to have such a say, because they wanted to make the day special by planning several surprises. So, we came to a compromise. I told them that I really wanted to do the derby theme, because Mr. ICS is from Kentucky, and I wanted him to be a part of it in some way. I also really wanted to bake the dessert and make the favors. The compromise was that they could take care of the rest. For me, that was a BIG compromise. Let me tell you, in the long run, I was SO thankful for that. Looking back, there's absolutely NO way that I could've gone shopping for flowers, decor, and odds and ends while being halfway across the country. It was all that I could do to fit some small incidentals in my suitcase for the wedding. I can only imagine what it would've been like or cost to ship everything!

Fast forward now to last weekend. I was absolutely blown away when I stepped into the restaurant. It looked like something out of a magazine. I couldn't believe what a spectacular job they did. I tried my best to take pictures so that I could have them to show you, Hive, but these photos just don't do it justice.

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 The girls put together a candy bar, a beautiful floral arrangement, and some adorable signage! I was blown away by this display. The flowers were absolutely breathtaking, the signage was too cute for words, and the candy bar blew me away!

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This adorable display was for one of the games! The ICS maids put together some spectacular derby hats for those people that thought they could get away with not wearing one (hehehe). This hat tree was so fantastic and easily a highlight of the day!

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This table housed the recipe cards and gifts. I love love love to cook and bake, so the ICS maids asked every guest to include a recipe, put it on a card, and place it in the recipe book provided. I had SO much fun reading though them after the shower, and I can't wait to start cooking and baking from them!

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This table is where the mimosa bar was. Oh my goodness, this was such a pleasant surprise. Not only did the girls include different types of juices, but they also included adorable gold paper straws which added such a cute touch!

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Here's a close up of the vanilla almond dessert cupcakes and milk chocolate horseshoe favors that I made. MOH ICS found an adorable printable tag online that we tied to the favors (wrapped in cellophane bags).

Looking through all of these pictures really makes me appreciate just how much each of the girls really did for this day. I'm currently scheming and brainstorming different ideas for how I can repay them. I continue to be blown away by the outcome, and am so thankful to have such amazing women by my side. 

So, that being said, I'm dedicating this post to you ICS Maids and mom. This couldn't have happened without you! Thanks a million! 

              

(personal photos)

Planning for the Weekend: Bachelorette and Bridal Shower

The Ice Cream Sundaes are in full wedding swing! With only 2 months left to go, we are furiously trying to make sure we have everything in order. This past weekend has brought me a particular amount of stress, because I'm only going to be in town (Syracuse) for 3 days, and I have so much to cram in. Here's the itinerary:

Thursday

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Friday

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Saturday

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Done? That can't be right. Well, I guess we'll find out. I've been planning this weekend for what feels like months. There've been so many things that have fallen into place, and so many things that have fallen through.

Take the Bachelorette for example, I invited 5 people and 5 confirmed. Hooray! We booked the boat, found transportation, decided on outfits, and all was well! But then...2 backed out last minute. I was so sad and disheartened, but I have come to realize something- those that want to share this day with me, are making every effort to do so, and that's all that matters. I know we will have so much fun, but I'm human, and sometimes my feelings get the better of me. So, here's to having an extremely fun weekend with a great group of gals! Stay tuned for the next post, where I share how the weekend actually went! Was I able to stick to my itinerary? Did I self-destruct because I crammed too much in in too short of time?! You'll just have to wait and see!

Until next time!
Miss Ice Cream Sundae

[Banana] Split Decision: Kids' Condundrom

I've been questioning the idea of having an adult only reception for a while now. I've asked several family members and friends what their opinions were on an adult only reception was, and the end result: split completely down the middle.

Since I can remember, I've envisioned my younger cousins being a part of my wedding day. I've asked them to be in the wedding as Junior Bridesmaids and Ring Bearer/Page. I truly feel in my heart, because I'm asking them to be in the wedding, they should also have the opportunity to attend the reception afterwards. They will likely be the only children there, as the majority of the people coming are either older and/or do not yet have children. But thankfully, they have each other. I just really want the experience to be enjoyable for their parents as well, as neither really get to have date nights or time to themselves.

Because I actually didn't attend my first wedding until I was in my 20s, I wasn't quite sure how the kiddos would feel attending an all-adult "party". I definitely don't want them to be bored. They also don't see each other that often, so they get SUPER excited when they are together, and feed off of each other's energy :) Which can make for a fun situation, but also one that can be tough to curtail midway through. So, I came up with some ideas that I thought might help.

I decided that at their table, I would have 3 buckets with their names on them. Inside the buckets there would be a few goodies to keep them entertained for a portion of the evening (I'm being realistic here--I KNOW this won't keep them entertained long, ha). These items included:

1. Stickers and Washi Tape

2. Markers/colored pencils

3. An intricate coloring book (because they are 10 and 7)

4. An [old] iPhone (yes, I know what you're thinking)

5. A photo scavenger hunt

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Above is a photo of some of the items that I included. I found all of them at target in the Dollar Spot section. It was a pretty good deal. About $10 for everything. What I don't have shown in the photos are the iPhones that I'm planning on placing inside. They are both mine and Mr. ICS' old phones that are no longer connected to any sort of data plan, but still work extremely well for taking pictures. The kiddos ALWAYS steal their parents phones, so I thought, why not give them their own to snap photos with for the evening. And while we're at it, why not make a contest out of it?

I'm planning on using an "I Spy" sheet that I saw on Martha Stewart's website a while back. I think it will work out great, and will keep them busy for a bit :) Because I'm turning this into a contest, I really want to have 2 more contests (at least), so that each of the kiddos has a chance to win (yes, this will be rigged--I don't want anyones feelings getting hurt!) 

For the other contests, I'm deciding between: 1. Quiet as a Church mouse: who can be the best behaved in Church?, 2. Strut your stuff: Who has the best dance moves?, 3. Decor Galore: Who can decorate their bucket the best?, 4. iPhone Scavenger Hunt: Who "found" the best pictures? 

Next on the list? Picking out non-gender specific toys to give at the end of the night that the kiddos will like (and are not too expensive). Honestly, I've put more time and effort into this than I ever thought possible. I just really want them to have fun, but also want to allow their parents to have fun too :) I think this is a good start, though!

So, hive, here's where you come in! Do you have any tips or tricks up your sleeves that helped/will help you keep kiddos entertained on your big day? Any advice/recommendations? I want the day to be enjoyed by all :)

A Sweet Surprise: Mama Sundae Visits San Francisco!

Mama Sundae is here for a visit! I'm SO excited! I'm trying to plan a slew of fun things for us to do, but one of them is essential to wedding planning: finder her a dress. She has been quite hesitant to shop for a dress, although I've been fairly persistent in my requesting for her to do so. I understand where she is coming from, though; she is worried that she will find one that she likes better, closer to the wedding. But, now that the wedding is just about 3 months away, she has agreed to shop! Woohoo! To make this process easier on her, I decided to do a bit of pre-shopping prior to her arrival.
I've gone several times to Nordstrom and Macy's, to see if they had the same dresses in the store as they had online. Unfortunately, this approach did not work. So, last weekend I tried something different. I decided to go based on only what they had in the store.

I asked the employees if I could grab some dresses, hang up them up, take photos, and then make a list of what I picked out. Mama Sundae doesn't love to shop, so I wanted to make it as easy as possible.

Here are the dresses that I chose, all hanging in the dressing room.

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Originally, I was thinking of rose gold for Mama Sundae, but it was extremely hard to find a dress that color! I was really only able to find the one that you see hanging. (The dress all the way over to the left was just one that I thought was cute and wanted to try on to see how it looked). Navy blue was really the go-to color, so it seemed.

I put all of the dresses on hold the Friday that she arrived, and we went back to try them on that Saturday. We didn't waste any time! We even had quite a tough time deciding which ones we liked best. We ended up narrowing it down to two, and called on several people to help us choose. They made it so easy, because their choice was unanimous! The two that we narrowed it down to were: the one all the way to the right (dress with sleeves), and the one in the middle (dress with sequence top).

.....the one that we ended up choosing?

The one in the middle :) It looked absolutely beautiful on her. It was so slimming and went extremely well with her complexion. We did end up shopping for about 5 hours, though, because she was so inspired to find pieces to go with it after purchasing. We knocked out her entire look: earrings, bracelet, and shoes in that one afternoon.

She was so happy with the end result, which in turn made me extremely happy. This was truly the cherry on top of our Sundae Saturday shopping spree.

How did you dress your moms, hive? Did you have them choose a dress, or did you guide them towards one? Can't wait to hear all about it!

Bake Me Away: Rehearsal Dinner Dessert Decisions

I'm not sure why, but when it comes to providing dessert for functions, I tend to go full force. I get super excited because, as I have mentioned before, I absolutely love to bake. Naturally, when there is an opportunity to do so, I jump at the chance. Of course, I wasn't going to take on the challenge of baking our wedding cake because I'm still such a novice baker, and I am really particular about how I want the cake to look. I knew that I couldn't produce what a professional could, so I chose to leave that to them.

But, when it comes to providing desserts for things like the bridal shower, bachelorette, and rehearsal dinner, I go for it! I baked a few test recipes for the bridal shower and my lovely coworkers and Mr. Sundae were able to reap the sweet benefits :) Thankfully, all enjoyed, which led me to try my hand at a few more recipes for the rehearsal dinner.

I've contemplated what dessert to provide at the dinner for a few weeks now. I've gone back and forth between cake, cupcakes, Italian cookies, pasticiotti, and cannolis. No matter what I was deciding between, I wanted there to be some sort of Italian element, because my family is Italian, and Mr. Sundae loves that (and Italian food). That's also why I chose the restaurant that I did (Francesca's Cucina).

I've been searching for recipes and have narrowed down the dessert options to:

Option 1:
Cannoli
Pasticiotti
Italian cookies

Option 2:
Cannoli cupcakes
Spumoni cupcakes

I did a test recipe for the cannoli cupcakes, and was quite satisfied. This coming weekend, Mr. Sundae and I are planning to tackle the cannolis. They are expected to be quite the labor of love, but we'll be doing it together :)

Here's a photo of the final cannoli cupcakes. I had to redo both the cannoli filling and the frosting, but thankfully the second time around, both turned out great.

Cannoli cupcakes: Personal photo

Cannoli cupcakes: Personal Photo

So hive, which option do you think I should go with? Should I scrap these two all together and just do a cake? Or, should I choose between the two options, and if so...which? Also, are you DIY'ing any elements for your shower and/or rehearsal dinner?

DIY Hair and Makeup Trials!

First, Mr. Sundae...AVERT YOUR EYES. DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER.

Now that that is out of the way...  ;)

Last week, Mama Sundae and I were discussing what I should do for my hair and makeup. I was having a bit of a difficult time deciding whether or not I wanted to get it done or not. I want to feel pampered on our special day, but I have never been truly satisfied with the results of getting my hair and makeup professionally done. Well, that's a bit of a fib, I was satisfied with my up-do once my Freshman year of High School for a formal dance, but unfortunately I have not been able to find that hairdresser since :(

I have since found amazing hairdressers that color and cut my hair, but they usually refer me to other hairdressers when I need an up-do. For the day of, I'm just not willing to take that chance. Especially because I'm currently living in California, and would have to schedule a trial with someone back in Syracuse prior.

So, Mama Sundae posed a great question: "Why don't you just do it yourself?" Ah ha. I honestly didn't even consider that option. After some reassurance from her, I was mostly convinced. I asked Mr. Sundae later that evening what he thought about me getting my hair and makeup done for the big day, and he said the same thing. I couldn't believe it! I didn't even pose the question of doing it myself, he just came up with the idea on his own, just like Mama Sundae did!

Of course, I had to try this out to make sure that I was capable. Being that I was a freelance makeup artist at MAC, I figured I had the tools necessary to accomplish this task.  I didn't want to try the look together, because I wanted to have an element of surprise on the big day, so I did the trials separately.

Here's what my hair looked like after my DIY trial:

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..and here's what my makeup looked like..

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As you can see, I purposely did my face makeup a little bit darker, because I'm hoping to have a bit more color by the big day.

All in all, I loved the way that both my hair and makeup turned out. I might dabble a bit with different makeup looks, but this has always been the one that Mr. Sundae compliments me most on, so I thought it would be best to wear this look on the day of, with a bit more enhancements (highlight, contour, lashes, etc.)

So, hive, what about you? How did your hair/makeup trials go? Are you having them done professionally, or will you try the DIY method?

Can't wait to hear all about it!

Bridal Baking Extravaganza!

This weekend, I dedicated most of my time to baking. I absolutely LOVE to bake. It is definitely my stress reliever. With the Syracuse bridal shower planning underway by the Ice Cream Sundae maids (and mom), I thought I might chip in where I can, by taking something small off their plates. So, I enthusiastically volunteered to bake the dessert for the shower. I immediately went into planning and prepping mode. I bought all of the ingredients and got down to business (and baking). I searched for recipe archives on my computer that I knew were absolute keepers, and scoured the web for new.

Although I was feeling funky and wanting to really give the guests something spectacular, I chose to play it safe and stick with vanilla almond and classic chocolate cupcakes.

The vanilla almond batch turned out wonderfully! The chocolate ones, not so much. They were extremely dry and a bit on the crumbly side. Not allowing myself to become disheartened that easily, I decided to search for another recipe and try again (cue the theme song from Little Engine That Could<-is there even one?). The second time around, the chocolate cupcakes were much better! Out with the old, in with the new!

After the baking, came the decorating. I should have taken a picture of the Ice Cream Sundae household, because it looked as if something had exploded by the time I finished. I thought Mr. Ice Cream Sundae was going to have a fit (he is a very neat and tidy person)! But, alas, he sat at his desk very calmly and did not once look over to the kitchen until I gave him the "go-ahead". Clearly, we've done this a time or two.

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Here is what the vanilla almond batch looked like. Mmm, makes me want to take a bite right out of the screen! I definitely prefer vanilla over chocolate (gasp, I know!) I will confess, the frosting was absolutely not the color that I was going for. I believe we settled on some sort of blush for the bridal shower, and clearly, these cupcakes were not blush. I completely misread the food coloring bottle--oops! Mr. ICS willingly took part in trying these bad boys. He was a happy camper :)

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Here are the chocolate (2nd batch) cupcakes. For these ones, I tweaked the food coloring (now blush), and tried my hand at another rose design. I'm not quite sure which design I'll go with yet, but I loved the way that both turned out.

So, hive, here's where you come in! Which do you think I should go with? I should preface this with the fact that I wanted the cupcakes to resemble roses not only because they are so feminine looking, but because the Kentucky Derby is also known as the Run for the Roses. Also, what do you think about the flavors I chose? Should I stick with traditional, or think outside of the box?

I can't wait to read your comments and will surely post a picture of the final products all set up come the time of the shower!

DIY Decor!

Hey Hive!

Here's the continuation from the Shop Til We Drop on Sundae post. I dedicated the weekend to doing it myself..and had such a blast. It was my first time working with spray paint, so I Googled, watched some videos, and then decided to try my hand at it.

Here's what I started with:

Via Google search: Festivelights.com

I forgot to take a picture of my lights before I spray painted them, but here's what they basically looked like!

Personal Photo: The beloved frames (in silver)

The process for prepping the work area definitely took more time than the actual painting process. It was sort of windy outside, so I had to staple all of the newspaper pieces together, which was a bit of a disaster. It ended up working out just fine in the end, though.

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The marquee lights definitely took the longest, because I had to individually tape each light, to protect them from being painted. Unfortunately I didn't do as good of a job at taping as I should have, and the area around the light did not get painted. So, I had to take off the tape and re-do it. Fortunately, I did a better job the second time around.

I was so excited for these things to dry, because I really wanted to see what they would look like all set up. It was like waiting for coffee to brew when you just wake up in the morning. Tick...tock...tick..tock. I didn't get a finished photo of the frames, because I have't yet printed the cards for display, but I do have a picture of the finished lights!

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Now to decide where I'm actually going to display these beautiful letters. I'm thinking on/at/around the cake table. Or, maybe on the table where I display the escort cards [keys].

What do you think, hive? Any suggestions of where I should have these letters displayed? Thankfully, they are battery operated, so they don't need to be plugged in.

..and what about you? Have you DIY'ed at all for your wedding, or are you planning on doing so?

Excited to hear all about it!

XoXo,
Miss Ice Cream Sundae

Get The Scoop: Planning The Ice Cream Sundae Bachelorette!

I'm super excited to be writing this post because I believe MOH A and I have officially finalized (well, mostly) the Ice Cream Sundae Bachelorette!

Since the engagement, I have had many ideas floating around regarding what I wanted to do to celebrate. I'm definitely not huge on the night life scene, so I was able to rule that out early on. I knew that I first had to decide on the location, though, because a party in Syracuse was going to be quite different than one in San Francisco.

Originally, I wanted to do some sort of a boat trip with the ICS maids in San Francisco. Thankfully, they were all on board with flying out, and actually were the ones that had originally suggested it. But after I priced some things out, I just couldn't shake the guilt of having them spend all that money for such a potentially short trip.

I saw this photo (see below) on Amanda Stanton's (yes, from the Bachelor) Instagram, and thought it looked like SO much fun. I loved the idea of doing a boat trip with the girls on a big yacht, where you could just lounge and relax all day.

Image: Via Amanda_Stanton Instagram Photo: Amanda_Stanton

Unfortunately, I had to nix this idea early on, because although we did have the resources to do something similar in San Francisco, the price just wasn't right.

My next option was finding something fun to do in Syracuse. I really liked the idea of doing a wine tour, but most of my friends had already done that, and I hoped to do something slightly different. Enter: the amazing mind of MOH ICS. Knowing that I really had my heart set on some sort of a boating expedition, she slyly did some research, and found the option of a Boat Wine Tour. Boom: Mind blown! The second she mentioned it, I screamed "YES!" I was SUPER excited. I couldn't believe she came up with an option to include both things that I wanted to do! 

So, after some brief planning, we researched and found a wonderful company to go through (with a hilarious captain included: and his name is Skip to top it off!) The price ended up coming out to $115 per person and we can (and will) bring snacks and drinks on the boat. Although this is still slightly more expensive than what I was hoping to ask the girls to pay for the Bachelorette, I think they will have SO much fun and it will be well worth it!

Some other small details I'm hoping to include for the trip: 

Image Via: Bridal Rave Etsy Shop

Image Via: Simple and Trendy Etsy Shop

The tanks above are priced at about $23/person and the cups are $16/person. I definitely don't want to ask the girls to purchase these, so it might be something that I end up doing for them myself. Of course, I'd want one for me too, so that would work out to $138 for the tanks, and $96 for the cups. After seeing this price breakdown, I'm wondering if I could somehow just do it myself.

After some rapid Googling, I found this site to assist me in my potential project. I'm not 100% sold on any one particular idea yet, so I'd love your opinion!

Did you buy your maids anything for the bachelorette? Did you host a DIY day and make things together? I'm excited to hear what each of you did!

Shop Till We Drop on Sundae and DIY Decor!

Hey Hive!

This past weekend included quite the successful trip to HomeGoods and Michaels! I was highly anticipating this trip since last Monday, as I was previously perusing Pinterest, looking for ideas for little decor items to have displayed at the Ice Cream Sundae wedding.

Here was my inspiration:

Via Pinterest by @Melody Carpenter

Mr. Ice Cream Sundae and I decided to do Skeleton Key favors, which would double as escort cards (more on these in a later post). The top photo depicts the inspiration behind displaying these favors.

Fortunately, after scouring the aisles one by one, I stumbled upon something that I thought would be GREAT for this display. The conundrum: not paying an arm and a leg to ship it back to Syracuse from California. Because the display board was quite large, I knew it would cost double--if not triple, what the actual board cost just to ship. I stuck it in my cart anyways and hoped for the best (mostly, I hoped I would arrive at a decision by the time I made it to the checkout).

Image via theeverylastdetail.com // Photography by Meyerott Photography and Cinema

Next came the frames. I had pinned this photo (see above) quite some time ago, and knew that I absolutely wanted to incorporate this idea into the Ice Cream Sundae wedding somehow. My very good friend Jenni, even came up with an ADORABLE hashtag for us to use! So, anytime I would step into a craft store, I would be sure to look for these gold ornate picture frames. Unfortunately, (up until last weekend) I was not able to find any. While walking through the frames section of the store, I saw these perfect frames that fit my vision for the project. Only one thing was wrong: they were silver. I was so bummed. I started to turn away from the frames and continue my search when I realized, duh, only the color was wrong! Enter: spray paint! I grabbed the three frames and threw them in my cart.

As I was getting ready to finish up, I stumbled upon an amazing Vera Wang side by side photo display. I had been searching for gifts for our parents for quite a few weekends, and wasn't able to come up with anything that I really loved. Because I don't want to limit our parents from reading this post, I'll go more into depth on those gifts in a later one. Ice Cream Sundae parents, you may continue reading :)

When I got up to the register, I asked the cashier what she thought I should do about the push pin board. She told me I should call the Syracuse store and see if they had one in stock. That's just what I did, but I asked her to hold my item at the counter just in case. I wasn't about to let that item go!

After this trip, I walked out with: 

Window Pane Push Pin Display Board: $19.99 (remotely, via my lovely sister in Syracuse)
Frames: $6.99 each (bought 3)
2 gifts for parents: [see later post]

With these gifts in tow, I ventured on to Michaels for some spray paint. I was able to find a beautiful antique gold color that matched exactly what I was looking for. After grabbing the spray paint, I walked down the aisles to see if there was anything else that I might be able to pick up.

On an end cap, I saw an adorable marquee light display, that was marked 50% off. Woohoo! What a steal! I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them just yet, but I picked them up anyways!

Marquee lights: $3.99 (originally $6.99) came in white (to be spray painted gold!)
Antique Gold spray paint: $2.99 (originally $5.99) <-had a coupon!

I dedicated the weekend to doing it myself..and had such a blast. It was my first time working with spray paint, so I Googled, watched some videos, and then decided to try my hand at it.

Here's what I started with:

Via Google search: Festivelights.com

I forgot to take a picture of my lights before I spray painted them, but here's what they basically looked like (see above)!

Personal Photo: The beloved frames (in silver)

The process for prepping the work area definitely took more time than the actual painting process. It was sort of windy outside, so I had to staple all of the newspaper pieces together, which was a bit of a disaster. It ended up working out just fine in the end, though.

Personal photo

The marquee lights definitely took the longest, because I had to individually tape each light, to protect them from being painted. Unfortunately I didn't do as good of a job at taping as I should have, and the area around the light did not get painted. So, I had to take off the tape and re-do it. Fortunately, I did a better job the second time around.

I was so excited for these things to dry, because I really wanted to see what they would look like all set up. It was like waiting for coffee to brew when you just wake up in the morning. Tick...tock...tick..tock. I didn't get a finished photo of the frames, because I have't yet printed the cards for display, but I do have a picture of the finished lights!

Personal Photo

Now to decide where I'm actually going to display these beautiful letters. I'm thinking on/at/around the cake table. Or, maybe on the table where I display the escort cards [keys].

What do you think, hive? Any suggestions of where I should have these letters displayed? Thankfully, they are battery operated, so they don't need to be plugged in.

..and what about you? Have you DIY'ed at all for your wedding, or are you planning on doing so?

Excited to hear all about it!

XoXo,
Miss Ice Cream Sundae