Classic Cocktail Comeback: The Sidecar

The Sidecar was created in Paris during World War I and enjoyed popularity for many years before seemingly falling off the map in the 70s. Any good bartender should know how to make this classic, but many mix it poorly (probably the reason for its decline in popularity). Recently, however, the Cognac Martini has been making a comeback at trendy bars in New York City. Try this recipe for yourself and see why it's fast becoming a hipster favorite!

• 1 1/2 oz bourbon, Cognac or Armagnac
• 3/4 oz Cointreau
• 1/4 oz lemon juice

1. Pour ingredients in a mixing tin with a scoop full of ice.
2. Shake well (6-8 times or until tin is frosted over).
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with a lemon wedge (try pineapple or orange if you're feeling sassy!)

SteamLine Luggage

Have you ever been in the line for the luggage carousel at their airport and stood helplessly as an endless sea of identical black bags parade before you, totally unable to identify your own suitcase?



With a piece of SteamLine Luggage, this may never happen to you again. Styled after the fantastic vintage steamline trunk of days past, they retain a nostalgic charm but with a lightweight and modern twist. Our favorites are the Editor Series, which features trim in pink, mustard, and chocolate, and the Explorer Series, which is cased in bine and features either mustard or chocolate leather straps. They would also make excellent wedding gifts for stylish honeymoon travel. Check out the entire line at www.steamlineluggage.com.

Introducing The Wedding Skills Workshop

Along with my dear friend Emilie from Emilie Duncan Event Planning, I am thrilled to introduce Wedding Skills Workshop!

Wedding Skills Workshop is a new way to learn and interact in the Columbus area. Emilie and I both agree that we have outstanding networking associations in the area but wanted more in depth and directed education. We hope that other vendors will join us in raising the bar and taking their knowledge and service levels to new heights!

Please visit The Wedding Skills Workshop's blog to learn more about our first offering: The Floral Rescue Workshop.

This workshop is perfect for photographers, catering managers, banquet managers, on site coordinators, videographers, wedding planners - anyone who comes into contact with the bride and groom and their flowers will benefit from this hands on, intensive workshop. We are limiting participants to 10 so everyone has a chance to learn and ask questions. We look forward to learning with you!

New & Exciting Bliss Weddings & Events Updates

I'm so happy to share that you're going to see some exciting changes coming up in the next month or so for us! We've got a new look planned for the blog, a new beautiful logo and a new adventure in store for you.

I hope you'll stay tuned to check them all out!

An Indian Wedding: Sheetal & Jason Part 4

Here it is! The final ballroom set. I can't wait to share all of the pro pics when they come in. Glam, Bling and Flowers everywhere - just what Sheetal wanted!

Congratulations Jason & Sheetal. Thank you for letting me be a part of your amazing wedding. I wish you many years of love and happiness!

An Indian Wedding: Sheetal & Jason Part 3

Saturday morning we were at Our Lady of Snows Catholic Church for Jason & Sheetal's christian ceremony. Sheetal wore a beautiful A line wedding gown with custom crystal and bead work on the side. She was stunning!

After the ceremony we headed over the the Hyatt Wind Watch for the reception. There was so much going on it was amazing. Major decor installation in the ballroom, cherry blossom trees lining the foyer hallway, ice bar installation, glow bar installation are just a few of the major items that were going on.

Here's a few of the before pictures that I snapped during set up. I was honestly a tiny bit concerned that we weren't going to finish on time, but as always, it magically comes together with time to spare.

Sorry for the blurry photos - they were snapped on my iphone and it's not the best camera as you can see...but you get the idea.

Tomorrow - the completed reception!

An Indian Wedding: Sheetal & Jason Part 2

After the first ceremony, we tore down the beautifully modern pink mandap and made room for the second, more traditional mandap for the actual wedding ceremony. This mandap was red, white a gold - traditional Indian colors.

There was a beautiful red runner lined with red and white rose petals, as well as a custom monogram made from red and white flowers. It was so beautiful! We had closer to 400 guests in attendance for the second ceremony. The groom arrived and remained outside until the bride's family greeted him - this is known as a Baraat. A more traditional Baraat would have had him arrive at the ceremony on a horse or similar animal. Jason didn't want to do this, so his white limo was just a good!

I couldn't believe how beautiful the saris were that the women wore. Sheetal's was so gorgeous in a deep red and gold...and the jewelery...oh my! I was feeling very under dressed!

The Wedding Ceremony Mandap

The Program

Guests are arriving!

Here comes the groom!

A groomsman and bridesmaid. I just love the pink & white!

Here comes the bride!

An Indian Wedding: Sheetal & Jason Part 1

As you may have seen I jetted off to NYC last week for my very first Indian Wedding experience. What a fantastic time I had to Preeti & her team! I'll be sharing images all week of the various parts of the weekend.

First up is the Sathak ceremony. I understand that typically this ceremony takes place in the home of the bride. This was not possible with over 350 guests in attendance for Sheetal's ceremony. Instead, we were at the Chateau Briand in Long Island.

Preeti & her team created a modern, glitzy mandap for this first ceremony. Sheetal loves flowers and crystals and wanted something on the modern side for this ceremony. I have to apologize for the blurry photo but it's the only one I snapped and didn't realize it until much later. Preeti has promised to send the pro pics once she gets them back from the photographers. I'll definitely share this with you as well so you can get a real feel for what she created.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm off to the Big Apple today for an exciting wedding filled weekend with Preeti of Preeti Exclusive Creations! I'll have pictures and stories to share next week when I return.

Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday Bliss & That

Today the Bliss & That blog officially turns 1!

I can't believe an entire year has gone by already. I'm so happy to be able to share this important milestone with you! In honor of our Big "1st" Birthday we thought we'd do a little contest! As you know, we at Bliss & That, love the little details, unique touches and beautiful decor that really brings everything together at a wedding. We're asking you to share your most favorite detail, personal touches or decor items that you think really make a wedding. At the end of the contest we'll pick 5 lucky winners and share some of our favorite treats, shopping splurges and other fun stuff with you.

Here are the official rules:

Contest dates: Beginning today March 25th and ending on April 1st (that's no joke either! hee hee).

Who: You - our Bliss & That readers (brides, planners, anyone can join in)

Where: Right here at Bliss & That

Why: Because it's fun and we're celebrating. We'd ultimately like to showcase our favorites from your comments and submissions. Yay!

Prizes: Include gift cards from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (have no worries - they ship anywhere in the US!), A beautiful treat box from Pistacia Vera, an always useful Target Gift Card, a first edition copy of Southern Weddings Magazine just to name a few!

How: Feel free to post comments directly to the blog, and if you've got images to share to accompany your comment please email those to info@blisseventsohio.com.

Photo courtesy of Anne at Pink Cake Box.com

Who's the Big Bad Wolf?

There are tons of blogs that get down on the wedding industry, and especially the Biggest, Baddest Wolf of them all, the evil Wedding Planner. They say we are taking brides for a ride on their "big day" and fueling the trend in Bridezillas, but I really wanted to know what the percentages were for each category, who was making the most money in the industry that is reportedly fueled by greed and self indulgence.

What I found, surprised me and I think it's important to outline EVERYTHING that is included in the SIXTY BILLION DOLLAR a year figure that the wedding industry reportedly pumps back into the economy. The number don't include all the money spent on books, magazines and websites created by the bride and groom. How much can that add? My guess is it's equal to the wedding planning figures.

First off, did you know that in 2006 Wedding Registry was a $20,000,000,000 (TWENTY BILLION) dollar a year industry all by itself? That doesn't take into fact all the people working on the wedding, that is just what people spent on gifts for the bride and all the things the bride & groom asked their guests to buy for them in exchange for an invitation to their wedding. That was in 2006, I cannot locate 2008 figures, but with inflation it is safe to assume that it probably went up by a few million.

So here are the stats and what they include....next time you're picking up that Le Creuset pot and you're anti big bad wedding industry...consider that between registry & reception costs that is just under 50% of the industry right there. Then add in Jewelry and you're at 62%. Those three account for over $49,499,852,691 dollar.

Oh, and the big, bad wedding planner who takes everybody's money? 2%

Update: Full stats are available via .pdf download at the end of the post....

The Wedding Registry $20,000,000,000
All Wedding Registrys Combined $20,000,000,000.00

Ceremony: $3,141,133,867
Aisle Runner $115,651,166
Ceremony Location $2,384,867,234
Other Accessories or Decorations - Ceremony $480,346,606
Ring Pillow or Box $78,853,068
Unity Candle $81,415,793

Entertainment $2,569,755,774
Band at ceremony $98,434,913
Band at reception $392,294,013
Dance lessons $253,709,746
DJ at ceremony $298,765,513
DJ at reception $938,395,316
Musician/s at ceremony $410,079,761
Musician/s at reception $178,076,512

Flowers $2,340,140,022
Boutonnieres, Corsages $227,929,174
Bridal Bouquet $323,823,266
Bridesmaid Bouquets $302,160,576
Ceremony Flower Arrangements $513,683,931
Flower Girl Flowers $130,633,249
Flower Petals $133,546,432
Reception Flower Arrangements $708,363,394

Photography/Video: $4,774,246,617
Engagement Photographer $641,820,166
Engagement Videographer $837,813,848
Wedding Photographer $2,332,736,595
Wedding Videographer $961,876,008

Planner: $1,249,492,573
A La Carte Services $111,839,935
Day-of-Coordinator $178,470,777
For Getting Started $84,241,361
Full Service $722,381,717
Month-of-Direction $152,558,783

Reception: $19,201,663,915
Hotel Room for After Reception $415,511,861
Other Accessories or Decorations - Reception $445,191,280
Reception Bar Service $3,537,983,836
Reception Food Service $5,911,264,050
Reception Location $4,349,841,882
Reception Rentals (Tent, Table, Chairs, Etc.) $2,883,065,299
Reception Table Centerpieces $617,967,113
Toasting Flutes $157,881,365
Wedding Cake $699,842,882
Wedding Cake Topper and Serving Set $183,114,347

Source
Want to see it broken down by category, you can download a very large .pdf Excel Spreadsheet Download Weddingindustry reports

A big Thank You to Sasha Souza, who originally shared this on her blog: Sparkliatti!, for allowing me to repost this to share with our Bliss & That readers! Thanks Sasha!