{frolic!}

little berry favors

I am a big fan of these little berry candies. I made these favors for the Mywedding.com blog. You can see the post here.

Photos: Chelsea Fuss for Mywedding.com.

a homespun iowa wedding

I am happy to share the super sweet wedding of Anna Allen. You may know Anna from her blog, awe-inspiring sewing projects and lovely clothing line. About a month ago, Anna was married to Jed at her local church in South Amana, Iowa. The wedding included 70 people, mostly family.

Anna says, "I know it sounds cliché, but it really did turn out to be the perfect day and I think Jed and I could both honestly say it was also the best time we’ve had together! We were a little pessimistic during the whole wedding planning and were talking about how we would have liked to elope. But when the big day came, we both agreed how happy we were to have a wedding shared with our friends and family and wouldn’t change anything for the world!"

The morning of the wedding and about an hour before the ceremony, Anna made all the bouquets herself. She said it was actually quite relaxing. The hydrangeas came from her backyard and the other flowers were ordered online.

Anna's dress (originally from J.Crew) arrived ten days before the wedding from Ebay! 

John Allen, Anna's younger brother, took all the wedding photos and the whole family helped clean the church a few days prior. Anna made the layer cake herself (with this recipe)and decorated it with flags inspired by Herriott Grace. The cupcakes were made by a friend who works at a local bakery.

From Anna: "My  dear friend, Elizabeth, whom I hadn’t seen in nine years, came all the way from Ontario to sing for my wedding! She and her sister helped tremendously the week of the wedding, creating all of the decorations and generally making the atmosphere happy and fun, which helped me not stress out! I don’t think anything went wrong and if it did, I didn’t realize it! I made a decision in the beginning that I was not going to stress about my wedding. Of course it did prove to be more stressful than I had originally thought. But you just have to realize that’s almost inevitable. Everything was lovely and I think people enjoyed themselves, even though we didn’t have much of a program or entertainment!"

Anna and Jed honeymooned on Prince Edward Island. So sweet! Congratulations!

Photographs: John Allen. Dresses: J.Crew.

origami balloon lanterns by banquet

The girls over at Banquet Atelier + Workshop put together these charming balloon lanterns. You can see the full instructions right here. I think these are so fun for a backyard summer party or even a wedding. I had the pleasure of meeting Tammy from Banquet when I was in Vancouver a few months ago and I am simply smitten with the work she and Sarah do.

Photos and concept by Banquet for Frolic!

a charming cape town wedding

Mariah sent over the sweetest wedding photographed by Kate McLukie. Her friends, Jess + Caleb were recently married in this pear orchard outside Cape Town, South Africa.The bride wore a simple gown with a leather belt and a lace veil. The wedding procession included a pony, ribbon wands, tambourines and a violinist! After the ceremony, the couple went for a canoe ride around the pond.

I love the twig chandelier! The tablecloths were handmade by Mariah and friends out of butcher paper and included stamped phrases like "share a pear with a friend". The names of each guest were handwritten on the tablecloths.

On each table sat a glass jug of organic pear juice and wine as well as boards of cheese, herbs, figs, nuts and bread.

The brides father made a tepee for guests to hang out in on a little island in the middle of the pond and they even had a bonfire after it got dark.

What a thoughtful and festive wedding! Congrats to the lovely couple. See more photos here and thanks to Mariah for sending this my way. See full credits below.

 

Concept & Design: Mariah Breitenberg and Jess Pedersen

Styling & Execution: Mariah Breitenberg and Amy Ellenbogen

Flowers: Amy Ellenbogen

Photography: Kate McLuckie 

 

gardenia bouquet

Gardenias are under-used me thinks. This is a sweet bouquet of them captured by the Polaroid master, Jen Altman.

Photo: Jen Altman.

summer project: picnic menu + name tags!

I am excited to welcome Annemarie Buckley of Scout's Honor Co.as a contributor to Frolic! Her summer camp style really speaks to me so I am thrilled to have her on board! First up is this great painted stripe idea that can be used for menus, invitations, or notes. Annemarie also included some adorable arrow name tags perfect to tie around napkins or chairs. Click through here for the full instructions (which are easy as pie) and additional photos! Thank you Annemarie!

Photos by Annemarie Buckley/Scout's Honor Co. for Frolic!

my aunt dorothy + uncle alex's wedding photos

I know I am crazy about vintage photos but my Aunt Dorothy just turned 90 and my cousin Tom just emailed out a slideshow. Included were these heartwarming photos of my great aunt and uncle who were very happily married (see their engagement photos here).

I love how classic these portraits are. If I were getting married today, I'd ask my photographer to try and recreate some candid shots like this (of course it helps that the people are simply adorable!). Happy Birthday, Aunt Dorothy!

Photos from the Muirhead Family Collection. Thanks, Tom!

wedding + party favor: chocolate bars

For a party or wedding favor, try wrapping up chocoate bars in mix and match fabrics to coordinate with your theme. I made these for My Wedding.Com's blog.

Photos: Chelsea Fuss for My Wedding.com.

sweet pea bouquet

  

A little sweet pea bouquet I made for My Wedding.Com.

 

Photos by Chelsea Fuss for My Wedding.com.

the easiest candy favors

I recently shot these little favor ideas for Project Wedding.

1. I always love using food for favors that already have great packaging. See article here.

2. These are so easy and fun! The cupcake holders come from this awesome Etsy shop.

Photos: Chelsea Fuss for Project Wedding.