Destination Wedding in Barcelona by Reviva Weddings

Earlier this year we were contacted by Sharon and Eoghan to ask for help with planning their wedding in Barcelona. Sharon had become overwhelmed with trying to plan her destination wedding and realised she needed some help in order to get her up to and through her day.

After a few emails we were booked and Carla flew to Barcelona to familiarise herself with Sharon´s wedding including a visit to the venue, introducing herself to the booked suppliers, finalising all the details and make sure no stone was left unturned.

At this time as well Carla took the opportunity to make sure all the suppliers were up to a high standard and found some new ones as well to add to our Barcelona Weddings portfolio.

Carla took over Sharon´s paperwork, budgets, deposits to be paid, etc and
shortly after this Carla was back on a plane, clutching as many decorations as she could from our shop, and settled in ready for the wedding day.

Despite a stressful start to planning her wedding, Sharon was calmed by the fact she had the ever efficient Carla next to her side and a fabulous wedding day was had by all. You must click on the link below to see this wonderful wedding in all it´s glory!

Here is the link to Sharon and Eoghan´s slideshow
www.loughranweddings.com/eoghanandsharon.html

Here is a lovely email received from Sharon and Eoghan shortly after their wedding upon return from their probably well deserved honeymoon!

Dear Carla

Would you believe this is the first evening I have bought my laptop home since the honeymoon as I overdosed on gmail coming up to the wedding so I had enough for at least a few weeks!

I had a fantastic time and would not change a thing, but I can honestly say it was more stressful and so much more work than I ever thought it would be, I don´t know how you do it dealing with stressed out brides everyday?

The fact we had to organise everything vs having a hotel was immense but to be honest I could not imagine a more perfect venue and god must have been smiling on us to have such a perfect day - we really were blessed.

Our guests are still raving about the day, it was fantastic and we both loved it. Having you there was such a relief and to be able to share the pressure with you was what got me through the days beforehand.

You were fantastic Carla, I know I was stressed out of my mind but we really did have a magical day. I will be singing your praises to all who will listen!

I will send on some photos when the official ones are through,
all the best Sharon and Eoghan xxx

Our thanks to Loughran Wedding Photography for the wonderful images and our congratulations to Sharon and Eoghan.

A Fabulous Wintery Wedding Cake Find

A quick inspiration post as I gather ideas for our patient 2012 brides!
I found this image today of a grey lace crochet cake design by Sweet and Saucy. I love this idea to incorporate with a spanish themed wedding.

I also love the austere colours, grey is my favorite winter colour and combined with the dark wood cake stand is evocative of the dark wood we see here a lot in the traditional spanish bars and homes.

It really works for me and I can imagine designing a complete wedding to match this cake with a winter wonderland theme, using dark woods, crocheted table accessories, pine cones and a bit of sparkle combined with rustic charm, log cabins spring to mind as well and roaring fires! The list is endless as I am always captivated with Winter Wonderland Scenes!

Remember with one inspiration a whole event can be created.
Anyone any good at crochet!

Creative Mental Blocks!

It is strange being a creative person, well for me, and I am not sure many can relate to this.

We have just finished a very intense September full of beautiful weddings that I thrive on.

I am constantly making lists, both mentally and of course in my pretty notepads albeit I have now become a master of Excel as long as it is colour coded!

By the time we arrive at the wedding day I cannot think about anything else. Call me obsessed but all the details are locked into my brain leaving little time for anything else.

It is now at this time of year, as we slow down and take stock, I feel brain dead and start to panic! All the creativity has gone and I always worry it will never come back but of course it does :) Thank goodness!

In order to get my creativity flowing again I need inspirations and I have to admit over the past few days I have been rather boredly surfing the internet looking at some average OK things but nothing that has made me sit up and go WOW!

Until tonight I fell upon this fabulous Mexican wedding created by Lisa Vorce, who I greatly admire, but I think it was the decorated donkey, along with the fact of course this could be translated into a Spanish theme, that immediately drew my attention to this as what brave person was put forward for this bit of styling!

Isn´t the whole wedding just divine from the bride´s stunning veil to all the gorgeous details.

I have just gone to heaven and back and finally reconnected with my creative brain again :)

With our new in house stationery department supervised by Anoulka with her new die cutting machine, nicknamed Cougar (long story but we are into names!) we are dying to start creating even more fabulous weddings and this will certainly be an inspiration to us.

Bridesmaids {Pastel Chiffon}

{Dresses} All Nordstrom

Due to some unforeseen staff resignations Issue 20 of Wedding Style Guide could not be brought to print. Stay tuned for an upcoming revamp of Wedding Style Guide which we are sure you will find an invaluable source for Wedding ideas :)

Pretty Paper Straws for Weddings

One of my summer obsessions has been paper straws, probably following on from the trend of paper cupcake wrappers, but aren´t they just beautiful and reminiscent of childhood days :)

I love the idea of personalising them for weddings and using them as cocktail stirrers with cute flags attached to them or presented in a vintage jar for guests to help themselves.

There are some lovely striped ones or even more exciting are polka dots! I have just ordered some more for our shop and I am sure Anoulka will hate me when she has cut out hundreds of these for our weddings! But it will be so worth it :)

Stunning September Weddings in Marbella

I have just realised we are almost at the end of September and I have not created one blog post since August so hugest apologies to all our followers.

Working in the Destination Wedding Industry here in Marbella, we do have incredibly busy months, predominently May, June, July and September. Needless to say September has whizzed past leaving little time for me to indulge in my blogging.

We have been frantically waving our famous magic wands over Andalucia and have some fabulous weddings to share with you over the next few months plus some very exciting news, so do keep an eye out for our announcements coming shortly.

We have been thrilled to again receive many testimonials from our brides and would like to share this one with you received tonight for a wedding we planned, executed and designed at the beginning of September.

I think the importance of this email is that our lovely bride works for one of the largest event companies in London so we were up against a real test of our planning and decoration skills with this fabulous wedding set in a stunning monastery in the hills behind Sotogrande.

Hi Laura and Carla

We really wanted to thank you guys for you amazing hard work and commitment to make the wedding so beautiful and such a success. We absolutely loved every minute of it and are both still on a total high from it all and buzzing.

Every detail was perfect and when we arrived at the both the church and the venue we were really blown away by how fantastic they looked and all those months of work and deliberating had delivered something beyond what we expected.

All our guests remarked on how stunning the venue looked and how fab everything was from the food/drink to the disco and laser lights were, people really felt this was something unique and special and the wedding of all weddings!

Sad that it is all over but we have such fantastic memories and cannot wait to see the photos and videos which we will of course pass onto you.

Thank you for making it such a memorable day.

Very Best Danielle and Ed

Our thanks to Danielle and Ed for choosing us and allowing us to plan, design, decorate and manage this fabulous wedding and we thoroughly enjoyed working with them and their lovely family and wish them a future filled with fun and happy times.

Happy Hour: Royal 61

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz gin
- juice of half lime
- 1 oz creme de cassis
- 1 oz watermelon syrup*
- Champagne
- sugar for rimming (optional)

Mix all ingredients except in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed with sugar (optional). Top with Champagne.

Watermelon Syrup
To make watermelon syrup, mix 4 cups pureed seedless watermelon and 1 cup granulated sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir while bringing to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Stirring occasionally, simmer until the mixture has reduced by one half in volume and becomes syrupy. Remove from heat to cool and then place in a glass bowl or jar, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Keeps 5 days in the refrigerator. Makes 2 cups. (Watermelon syrup recipe and photo by National Watermelon Board, cocktail recipe by Yuri Kato) {Source: Cocktail Times}

Happy Hour: Sage Lady

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Absolut mango vodka
- 2 or 3 fresh sage leaves
- 3 cucumber slices
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- Dash peach bitters

Muddle cucumber, simple syrup and sage. Shake with ice and fine strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a spanked sage leaf. {Source: Cocktail Times}

DIY Yummie: Baked Banana

With Rum-Spiked Crème Fraîche
Wrapped in their skins with butter and brown sugar, bananas can be placed over dying coals to be ready for dessert when you are.

Ingredients
10 large firm bananas
1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup crème fraîche
2 tablespoons dark rum

Instructions

1. With a sharp knife, slit the peel open on each banana. Carefully remove peel, reserving it.

2. Roll the bananas in the melted butter and then in the brown sugar. Return each banana to its peel.

3. Using lengths of kitchen string that have been soaked in water, tie each banana. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, blend the crème fraîche with the rum. Set aside.

5. Grill the bananas over low coals, turning frequently, for 15 minutes, or until heated through.

6. Remove the strings and peels from the bananas and serve them on individual dessert plates with some of the crème fraîche on the side.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: The Tot (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients
6 large strawberries
1 scoop of ice
1 ounce simple syrup
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh orange juice
1/2 ounce grape juice

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth consistency.

2. Pour over cubes in a highball glass.

3. Garnish with candy or fresh berries.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Harvey Wallbanger

Ingredients
1 ounce vodka
4 ounces orange juice
1/2 ounce Galliano

Instructions

Pour the vodka and orange juice into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Stir. Float Galliano on top.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Fresh Pear & Ginger Juice (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

8 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
8 green apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
2 ripe pineapples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

Instructions

Pass the pear, apples and pineapple chunks and the ginger through a juicer according to manufacturer’s instructions. Chill.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients
2 pounds plus 1/4 cup sugar
1 pound fresh ginger, shredded
1 pack compressed yeast
1 cup black raisins
2 lemons, juiced
60-72 white raisins

Instructions

1. In a large pot soak the sugar and ginger in 3 quarts water overnight. In the morning, bring the liquid to a boil and allow to simmer for 1 hour. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. Pour the liquid into a clean pail and add enough water to total 2 gallons of liquid. Add the yeast and black raisins. Cover the pail and allow to stand airtight overnight.

3. In the morning, through a strainer, add the juice of 2 lemons. Cover and set aside for 6 days. Do not stir.

4. Siphon and strain all but a few inches of the ginger beer into a clean pail. Discard the remaining liquid, ginger, and raisins.

5. Bring to a boil 1/4 cup sugar with 2 cups water. Add to the ginger beer and stir.

6. Pour the ginger beer into 10 to 12 750-ml bottles leaving 1 inch of air space at the top of each bottle. To each bottle, add 6 white raisins and cork tightly. When the raisins rise to the top, the ginger beer is ready to be served.

Note: Be careful, the corks may pop for the first few days while waiting for the raisins to rise. Place a towel on the cork when opening bottle. This is a non-alcoholic beverage.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Courvoisierpolitan

In the mid to late 1990s, the Cosmopolitan became the drink of choice among hip, savvy urbanites—or anyone who aspired to that status. Here’s a variation on the Cosmo with Courvoisier instead of the usual vodka—call it a Courvoisierpolitan, or CV Cosmo, for ­short.

Ingredients
4 ounces ­Courvoisier
4 ounces Triple ­Sec
4 ounces cranberry ­juice
6 ounces lime ­juice
Slices of orange peel, for ­garnish

Instructions
1. Chill 6 martini ­glasses.

2. Pour all the liquid ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the glasses. Garnish each with a slice of orange ­peel.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Blueberry Cosmopolitan

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Ketel One Vodka
1/2 ounce Cointreau
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce runny honey
3/4 ounce blueberry juice

Instructions

1. Pour all ingredients into shaker. Shake and strain into martini glass.

2. Garnish with an orange twist soaked in Cointreau.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Brandy Alexander

This cocktail is just right if you’re looking for something a little decadent that’s rich and sweet. Its flavors are elegantly balanced and sure to cure your cravings.

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce crème de cacao
1 ounce heavy cream
1 scoop crushed ice
Whole nutmeg

Instructions
Pour brandy, crème de cacao, and heavy cream into a mixing glass with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a 6-ounce cocktail glass and grate nutmeg over top, to taste.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Convertible

Ingredients
2 ounces Bacardi Rum
1/4 ounce Maraschino liqueur
2 ounces coconut milk
1 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
5 ice cubes

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients with ice and pour into wine glass.

2. Garnish with a lime twist.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Espresso Shots

These shooters are sure to keep the party going. Pass them around any time you need an energy boost. They’ve fueled many of my parties and kept guests dancing longer than they originally intended to. Yield: Makes 3 to 4 ounces.

Ingredients
Peel of an orange
Chocolate shavings from the best quality chocolate bar
Chili pepper flakes
1 ounce best quality, premium Vodka or Tequila
1/2 ounce Kahlua especial (70 proof)
1/2 ounce Tia Maria
1 ounce cold espresso

Instructions

1. Rim the tube/shot glass with the peel of an orange rind. Dip the rim of the glass in chocolate shavings and chili pepper flakes.

2. Place the vodka or tequila, Kahlua, Tia Maria and espresso in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into test tubes or shot glasses.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Vodka Gimlet

Ingredients
2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Rose's unsweetened lime juice

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with several ice cubes. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Tall Cool Blonde

Ingredients
5 tulip petals
1 part Grenadine
2 parts Lemoncello
2 egg whites
Confectioner’s sugar
4 parts Stolichnaya® elit™ vodka
Sparkling water

Instructions

1. Pack a tall Collins glass with ice and tulip petals.

2. Pour Grenadine into bottom of glass, followed by Lemoncello and let settle. Whip egg whites and dash of confectioner’s sugar in blender.

3. Pour Stolichnaya® elit™ into glass, and top with sparkling water. Spoon egg white meringue on top.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Coviello Cup

Ingredients
3 leaves of fresh basil
4 parts Stolichnaya® elit™ vodka
2 parts orange juice
1 part sweet vermouth
1 part simple syrup
Diced cucumber
Cucumber sphere for garnish

Instructions

1. Pack a double rocks glass with ice and three basil leaves.

2. In a shaker, mix the additional ingredients with the diced cucumber. Shake vigorously and strain into glass.

3. Garnish with a cucumber sphere.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Strepe Chepe

This is a fabulous, refreshing, and potent concoction, which is ideal for launching a summer party. The tricky thing about frozen drinks like this one is that you don't taste the alcohol. It can give such a fresh, innocent impression but it can sneak up on you. So be careful, and enjoy!

Ingredients
8 ounces high-quality vodka
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons superfine sugar, plus more to taste
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, tightly packed

Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a blender full of ice cubes and blend until the contents achieve a uniform frozen consistency. Add more sugar periodically as needed, or until the mixture is just right. Serve in champagne flutes.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Chocolate Martini

Ingredients

1 shots Godiva chocolate liqueur
1 shots Crème de Cacao
2 shots of vanilla vodka
2 shots half-and-half

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.

2. Garnish the glass with swirls of Hershey syrup on the inside or use chocolate shavings on the rim.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Black / White Russians

Black Russian

8 ounces vodka
6 ounces cofee liqueur

Pour 2 ounces of vodka and 1 1/2 ounces of coffee liqueur into each of 4 rocks glasses full of ice, stir, and serve.

White Russian

8 ounces vodka
6 ounces coffee liqueur
4 tablespoons heavy cream

Pour 2 ounces of vodka, 1 1/2 ounces of coffee liqueur, and 1 tablespoon of cream into each of 4 rocks glasses full of ice, sitr, and serve.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Mimosa

Ingredients

3 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
5 ounces Champagne or sparkling wine

Instructions

Pour the orange juice into a champagne flute. Fill the glass with Champagne or sparkling wine.

An interesting idea is to replace the regular orange juice with blood orange juice when in season.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Ruby Margarita

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces Gran Centenario Reposado tequila
• 1/2 ounce Cointreau
• 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice or a couple dozen pomegranate seeds

Instructions

1. Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled margarita glass.

2. Garnish with a thin lime wheel.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Madras

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces 1800 Reposado Tequila
2 ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce orange juice

Instructions

1. Pour the 1800 into a highball glass with ice and then add cranberry, orange, and lime juice. Stir well.

2. If desired, garnish with an orange slice.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Watermelon Martini

Ingredients

• 1/4 large seedless watermelon
• 12 ounces vodka
• Juice of 1 lime
• Splash of Simple Syrup (see below)
• 6 watermelon balls, scooped out with a melon baller, for garnish
• 1 lime, thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

1. Chill 6 martini glasses (see below).

2. Pulse the watermelon in a blender to create a purée (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). Pour the vodka, lime juice, and Simple Syrup into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the chilled glasses. Garnish with a watermelon ball on the rim of the glass and float a slice of lime in the center.

Simple Syrup: This cocktail sweetener can be made of varying thickness; thin is 3 parts water to 1 part sugar, medium is 2:1, and thick is 1:1. Simply bring the sugar and water to a boil, then remove from the heat immediately and set aside to cool. Store in a jar in the refrigerator for as long as you like.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Mint Summer Night-ini

Ingredients

• 2 parts Stoli Blakberi™ vodka
• 1 part fresh cucumber juice
• Splash of simple syrup
• Mint leaves to taste
• Thin slices of cucumber for garnish

Instructions

1. Muddle mint leaves and shake ingredients over ice. Strain into chilled martini glass.

2. Garnish with sprig of mint and thin slices of cucumber.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Blakberi Blues

Ingredients

• 2 parts Stoli Blakberi™
• 1 part Stoli Blueberi™
• 1 part cranberry juice
• 1 part simple syrup
• Splash of raspberry liqueur
• Squeeze of lemon
• Sage to taste

Instructions

1. Muddle sage. Combine with ingredients, shake vigorously over ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

2. Garnish with one blueberry, one blackberry, and sage.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: B&B (Blakberi & Basil)

Ingredients

• 1 part Stoli Blakberi™
• Basil to taste
• Sparkling lemonade

Instructions

1. Muddle basil with Stoli Blakberi™.

2. Shake with rocks, strain into a tumbler with rock and top with sparkling lemonade and basil.

Source: Colin Cowie

Happy Hour: Bita-Tini

Ingredients

• 2 oz Kettle One vodka
• 2 oz fresh grapefruit
• 1/2 oz pomegranate juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/2 oz fresh lime

Instructions

Mix all ingredients and shake well. Strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with a fresh piece of grapefruit twist or lime twist.

Source: Colin Cowie

Match the Wedding {Navy and Orange}

{Column 1} Orange/Navy Brown Dress, Orange Print Dress

{Column 2} Orange Dress, Navy Top and Orange Skirt, Navy/Orange Stripe Dress

{Column 3} Navy Polka Dot Dress and Orange Tights

Color Palette {Navy and Orange}

{Row 1} Necklace, Place Setting, Flowers, Cake

{Row 2} Fabric, Bride and Groom, Bridesmaid Dress

Planning {Wedding Shower}

Recently, I helped plan a wedding shower for my best friend and her fiance. It was a lot of fun and I undertook several projects including paper flowers, lots of fringe, and DIY tequila favors (idea via Ruffled). The wedding is October 1st! Can't wait.

{Pictures by me!}