A Moroccan Fete

Olga Earle and I were very excited to host a meeting for the Association of Bridal Consultants last week! Olga is the owner of La Belle Reve--a beautiful bridal salon in downtown Bellevue. We hosted the event at her shop. Although it was a tight fit, we were able to transform the room in to a Moroccan themed event. Swagging draping, pillows, lanterns, champagne cocktails, tapas and a night of entertainment!

Olga and I put our heads together and designed this event and we wanted to bring the hottest trends of 2009 into play as well. Color is a huge trend of 2009. We found ways to bring lots of color into this event--through the food, entertainment, linens, drinks and lighting. Lighting makes a huge statement when trying to create a feeling. We hosted a fashion show of some of the most colorful bridesmaids dress of 2009 as well. Our models were absolutely stunning and did a great job! And what would be a Moroccan Fete without a belly dancer!? Oh my! When Nadira started dancing she was captivating. The room was in total silence...until she unleashed the interactive part of the performance bringing a few good sports up on stage to teach them how to belly dance! The whole room echoed in laughter. Needless to say the event was a huge success!

Here are a few photos..

Looking to firm up before the big day?

I have been attending some of my bride's dress fittings lately and the number one thing I hear is..."Don't worry about letting the dress out yet...I plan on loosing some weight."

While all of my brides are beautiful and do not need to loose any weight, I totally understand the feeling...I was a bride once and know how important it is to look and more importantly feel on your big day! Well, let me share a little secret with you...

Hot Yoga of Kirkland

Some of you might think, yoga is for wimps...I dare you to take a class! ;-) I was a little apprehensive at first as well...but from the first class I was hooked. You have to be able to withstand heat and be prepared to sweat, sweat, sweat! You can burn up to 1200 calories a class if you work hard. I did Hot Yoga before I got married and felt beautiful the day of my wedding. I was fit, toned and radiant...I felt great! I have been attending Hot Yoga of Kirkland off and on since I got married and love going ever time!

Even Ryan, my husband, kept teasing me about hot yoga when we were engaged and I was going all of the time. He kept saying yoga is for girly girls that don't really work out. If you go to the Wednesday afternoon class you will see yoga isn't just for girls...a lot of the Seahawks work out there on Wednesday afternoons...and they say it is one of the hardest work outs they have ever done. So finally I challenged Ryan to come to 1 class...he also became hooked and we went together a lot leading up to our wedding day. It was something fun to do as a couple as well!

I really recommend going a couple times a week. It is truly incredible how quickly you can tone up. If you are a new student it is only $10 for the first 10 classes...what a steel!

Signature Cocktails

The signature cocktail is one very easy way to bring your theme or color into your reception. If you are just hosting beer and wine--add this on for something a little different for your guests to indulge in. Sometimes venues do not even allow hard alcohol--so try a champagne cocktail instead! Better yet, host a champagne bar...a bar dedicated to different colored/flavors of champagne. To acheive different colors, add syrup mixer to the champagne (pomagranate, peach, mango, melon, etc.)

To give you all some inspiration for your upcoming menu tastings I thought I would share some of my favorite easy-to-make signature cocktails to coordinate with the color or theme of your wedding.

I like to encourage brides and grooms to come up with funky names for their cocktails that either have significant meaning to them or they are just fun to say.

Since Valentine's Day is on the horizon, I will start with a Flirtini:

White Cocktail - Flirtini
Martini Glass - Pink Sugar Rim
1oz Vodka
2oz Champagne
2oz Pineapple Juice
Red cherry at bottom to garnish

Ravishing Red Champagne
Champagne Glass - White Sugar Rim
4oz Champagne
1oz Pomegranate Juice
Garnish with a raspberry

Vanilla Lemon Drop
Martini Glass
2oz Vanilla Vodka
2oz Lemonade
Lemon Juice
Yellow Sugar
Garnish with a lemon slice

Chocolate Martini
Martini glass - Crushed Oreo cookies as sugar rim
1oz Chocolate Liqueur
1oz Creme de Coco
1oz Vodka
1oz Half and Half

Tiffany Blue Champagne Cocktail
4oz of Chamgane
1oz of Hypnotique

Melon Tequila Sour
Highball glass - Ice to rim
1oz Tequila
1oz Midori (Melon Liqueur)
Dash of Sweet and Sour
Margarita Mix to fill
Garnish with a key lime

Summer Cocktail - Strawberry Mojito
Highball glass - Ice to rim
2oz Rum
1oz of Strawberry Puree
2 Limes
Muddle with mint leaves
Dash of Simple Syrup
Soda water to fill
Garnish with a strawberry

Hawaiian Straight Up
Martini Glass
2oz Vodka
1oz Blue Curacao
1oz Pineapple Juice
Dash of Lime Juice, Garnish with a Lime

Grooms - not into the blue martini? Host Blue Moon beer at your wedding or do a His and Hers signature cocktail.

For the non-drinkers host Jones sodas that come in a variety of colors. You can even have your own custom label made!