Wishing you the best of the season, may love and joy surround you and your loved ones.

Love this winter wedding shot at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, where the cozy cabins and rustic setting make a great location for a wedding with a homespun feel.

The cozy parlour at Outlook Cabin at the Lodge

Wedding photo by Dave and Peggy Photography

We found this on the lovely Twig and Thistle blog — what a brilliant way to warm up the holidays! Change out the regular marshmallows for complementary colours, flavours and hand-cut gourmet stock for something even more personal.

“I wish I could take credit for this fun little kit but I actually spotted this while shopping at Packaging Specialties, my favorite packaging store here in Seattle. They used clear accetate boxes to wrap up all the necessities for homemade S’mores and I just added a bit of baker’s twine to finish it off. The two bottom boxes measure 3″x3″x2″ and the top one is 2″ square. These would make a sweet guest room gift at a wedding or a nice treat for house guests over the coming holidays. Simply add a coordinating ribbon, roast and enjoy!” Kathleen, Twig & Thistle

We ventured out last week to a cookie decorating class with instructor Jaclyn Douglas at the Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design. To round out the group, one of our newly engaged readers, Carolyne and her friend Karen joined Catherine and me, at the school for two hours of education in royal icing. It was a sweet afternoon!

Even though none of us had much cookie decorating experience, we all left with three delightful seasonally inspired engagement cookies, a snow-couple’s engagement on a winter’s day, an announcement on a scroll and an engagement ring box, complete with sugar ‘diamond’ — each would work beautifully as a surprise engagement announcement, a save the date or a wedding announcement. We love the idea of leaving a pile of “we’re engaged” cookies out for family and friends to discover over the holidays (or anytime!)

From the right: our super talented instructor Jacklyn, Catherine, Carolyn, Karen and me.

Continue reading the post to get the DIY instruction and tools for your own cookie decorating.

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There’s a new cookie shop in town where the goods are twice baked (like someone’s list is checked) to your requested density and then shipped in super pretty eco-friendly boxes to your doorstep. The Biscotti Shoppe launched its online retail venture a week or so ago and we were thrilled to hear about the company’s mouthwatering flavours (Oh La La Lavender to Canadian, Eh?), their green initiative and commitment to finding alternative ingredients to the original such as organic spelt flour, organic cane sugar and free-range eggs.

For a wedding, consider serving biscotti with coffee after dinner and perhaps leave a box at each table once dinner has finished for a little added decor.

The Biscotti Shoppe sells 12* biscotti for $35.00.

*earlier today we noted there were 24 cookies to a box, the total amount of each box hasn’t changed, they’ve just returned to making each cookie a little larger

We recently had the sublime pleasure of visiting Masterstroke and meeting ribbon collector Steven Fraser in his packed-to-the-rafters room of gorgeousness. Arranged by colour with the vintage spools tucked into a cupboard for safe keeping, the room at Fraser’s family’s industrial warehouse has a Santa’s workshop feel and it was hard to focus on Fraser when we were surrounded by so many different, amazing types of ribbon and embellishment. From silk to grosgrain, organza’s to novelty ribbons, one of the four of us was constantly pointing out something new. It’s no wonder that Fraser has been so successful with his business, which he started in order to supply his own wedding with ribbon, he definitely knows how to let his product speak for itself!

We were there to see the space but we had also arranged for Fraser to demonstrate his essential bow, something we thought would come in very handy over the holidays. Especially if you’re a person who loves to wrap as much as you like to shop, this is a great DIY for the holidays but also for gift giving in general.

a) Hold the ribbon on the top centre of the gift box with a fish tail remaining long enough for one loop of the bow. Wrap the ribbon around the box, at the cross point turn the ribbon at a 90° angle. b) Wrap around the box bringing the ribbon back to the top of the box. c) Wrap the end of the ribbon over and under the result of (a+b) to form a cross. d) Tie the fish tails in either a loop bow or in a shoelace bow and garnish with trim. For added security, knot the ribbon prior to tying the bow.

Just finished reading Deirdre Kelly’s memoir where she recounts eight highly memorable trips she’s taken to Paris, the city she says has an “impenetrable aura of beauty.” The book is a great holiday read and a super gift for any Parisian-at-heart, especially one who’s engaged; in Fiancée, her sixth chapter, Kelly writes about introducing her beau to the city of light as a test, she writes for the “assurance that he was the One.”

Before trudging out to get the tree, or hitting the skating rink with your sweetheart or friends, take 10 minutes to plan a cozy and personalized cup of hot chocolate, chai tea or a homemade caramel latte and dress up your takeout cups with something a little more than the ordinary.

These coffee jackets would also be a gorgeous detail at a wintery wedding, especially if some of your wedding day occurs outside in a snowy winter wonderland!

Materials

Cardstock paper
Printer
Scissors
Glue Gun
Coffee Jacket from local coffee shop
Takeout cups

Search the Internet for pictures of images you can manipulate in a photo-editing program; this project used jewellery but you can use your logo, a photo or your names and date – whatever suits your fancy! Reduce the image to a size no larger than 1.5” tall. Drag and drop to a new document (standard paper size) and place the image in the top centre using landscape layout. You can make two jackets per page by placing a second image about 5” below the first. Print!

Open the jacket from your local coffee shop and trace it over the cardstock with your selected image in the centre. Cut out new jacket and use a high heat glue gun to adhere the jacket together.

Utterly Engaged, issue 004

Links: Photography by Bonnie Tsang, Floral Design & Stylist Fleuretica,
Kelley Lee Gin of Picture Perfect Events, and Eva Chiou of Red Velvet Occasions

We get it, you’re rushing like mad to stay caught up with work, buy gifts and and survive the holiday madness but what you need to consider, if you’re planning a wedding for 2010, is that this is the perfect training ground to practice for that few weeks before the big day. Like now, gifts will need to be arranged, family to be entertained, parties to attend or host and one big celebratory day to plan, execute and enjoy in a whirlwind of other tiny details.

Many couples are incorporating handmade projects and touches into their wedding day, it’s a current trend and also a celebratory tradition to infuse one’s personal touch, background or creativity just as many people infuse the holidays with favourite recipes, decor and carefully planned gifts. So, to marry the two potentially stressful but wholly wonderful times, we’re dedicating this week to a handmade holiday wedding of sorts. We’ll have posts right up to, and including Friday that incorporate ideas for DIY projects that work for both Christmas and wedding celebrations, especially winter nuptials and a winter wedding scene from one of Canada’s most idyllic spots for the ultimate homespun winter wedding.

First up, Design*Sponge posted a how-to for these stunning wreaths last week. We think they’d make incredible decor for a winter wedding, both on walls and doors and set atop creamy white linens as seasonally-inspired centrepieces, especially because you can add so many different elements to each one from the succulents they’ve recommended to your flowers to holiday ornaments.