Bachelorette Party Idea #2: Spa Day!

Let’s face it - wedding planning can be stressful! So why not plan a fun Spa Day for your Bachelorette party, allowing you and gal pals some quality time together while de-stressing and sharing some great laughs, food and amazing spa treatments. As a side note, this is also a great idea for a pre-wedding prep for the bride and bridesmaids to enjoy a day or two before the wedding!

Invites/Guests: Going this route I would suggest minimizing the guest count. Too many guests will contradict the whole “relaxing” thing and may become much too overwhelming. On the invitation I would also recommend including a list of the services that will be available and for each guest to please RSVP with what services that they would like. This will allow you plenty of time to coordinate with the spa and ensure that everything goes smoothly. Also, I would like to note to remind your guests of the spa’s cancellation policy when they RSVP. You do not want to be slapped with a charge if someone decides to change her mind last minute. Usually there is a 24-hour cancellation policy, but I urge you to call the salon to verify what their policy specifically consists of.

Typical Costs: Although prices can vary quite a bit depending on the treatment and the spa, you can expect to pay around $40-$75 for a treatment and add about 20% gratuity on top of that.

Where to Go:

Local - There are many amazing local spas in the area that can provide you with exactly what you are looking for. Ask your friends and family for their suggestions and their personal experiences with local spas. Word of mouth marketing can be very helpful when it comes to salons and their services (especially when bringing a group of people in)! Additionally, call ahead and see if certain salons offer group rates or have special group policies. By doing so, you can ask specific questions and get a better feel of the salon and if it is someplace that you would like to visit with your gals!

Spa Party Company - Another up-and-coming idea is the home spa party company. A spa party company comes in and creates a comfortable “spa atmosphere” for you including candles, spa music, robes, and slippers for your guests. They send experienced, licensed spa professionals who set up various “spa stations” with the proper equipment. This is a great idea if you want a more intimate feel and have your spa set up to reflect more of your personality. There are only a few companies that are local, but I know that a few salons do offer home services or are willing to work with you to give you what you are looking for.

At Home DIY - Lastly, if you are trying to minimize your expenses, I would suggest setting up your own at home spa atmosphere with some candles, soothing scents, towels, some snacks, and a few at-home treatment stations. Or, to get everyone involved, buy the ingredients for your guests and have everyone make their own Bath & Body Crafts. Check out Craftbits.com for some great recipe ideas – they have an entire section devoted to Bath & Body crafts. Also, I thought that I would include this great Honey Lemon Sugar Body scrub recipe that I found!

Honey Lemon Sugar Body Scrub

• 2 1/2 Cups sugar
• 1/2 Cup Sweet almond oil (you can use Olive but it won't smell as divine!)
• 4 teaspoons Lemon juice
• 5 Tablespoons Honey

Combine the sugar and oil and stir. Then add the lemon juice, followed by the honey and stir well to combine. This will gently exfoliate your skin and it smells delish. You may want to test a patch before slathering it all over you if you have sensitive skin!

To Note: I also wanted to mention that if you end up celebrating your last few weeks of a single woman at a local spa, call ahead to see if they offer any cheese/cracker or veggie trays or wine/drinks while you are there – or if you are able to bring your own. Many places do offer them and it is a nice extra to think about!

Bachelorette Party Idea #1: Wine Tour on the Niagara Wine Trail

We should consider ourselves lucky to have the privilege of wine country in our backyard. Why not take advantage of it? The best part about it is you can make a day trip out of it and many of our local transportation providers have some great, reasonably priced wine tour packages to make these tours easy and enjoyable!

Invites/Guests: The great thing about wine tours is that you can invite a few close friends - or grab a group of 20 to take part in the festivities and have a blast either way! I would also suggest putting on the invitation for each guest to please bring a bottle of wine or a dish to pass for the limo ride – especially for those who have a 45 min to an hour ride to actual wine country. It helps to get everyone in the right spirit – and nice to have some snacks for the ride and in between!

Typical Costs: Generally you can expect to pay between $1-$3 at each winery, and although transportation costs differ depending on how many people and the day of the week, I would plan on about $30-$50 a person.

Game: On a recent wine tour, we came up with a fun game that really got the guests mingling and got the party started in a fun way (not to mention provided a fun favor for each guest!)! Here is how it works:

Preparation:

1. Find out one piece of information about each guest that people may or may not know. For example: they are a twin, they went to Michigan State for college, they just bought a house, etc.
2. Buy small key rings that you are able to draw/write on (We used circular paper ones which can be found at your local craft store). Going forward, we will be calling these our wine markers. J
3. On each wine marker, draw or write the fun fact from #1 that depicts each guest. For example: Draw two stick figures if they are a twin, draw a Michigan State logo if they went to Michigan State, or draw a house if they just bought a house.
4. When finished, hook each wine marker onto a wine glass (Check out your local Dollar Tree for a very affordable rate on wine glasses. J) to be given to the guest as a favor.
5. Package each glass up in a cute bag or with cute ribbons to distribute on the day of the tour!

Day of Wine Tour, The Actual Game:

1. Hand out, at random, each wine glass/gift bag to your guests upon their arrival.
2. When everyone is settled on the limo have each guest open their favor, look at their wine marker, and try to guess which guest their wine market pertains to. For example, if their wine glass has the marker with the house on it, they have to figure out what it means (someone just bought a house) and which guest has just bought a house.
3. After everyone has gone around with their guesses, have each guest trade glasses in order to get their appropriate wine glass that depicts their own fun fact.
4. Have each guest start enjoying some wine in their special glass after some great laughs and learning fun facts about each other!

Misc. Fun: DIY Corkscrew earrings - Easy as 1, 2, 3! Here is a fun, easy idea to add to the guest's favor if you have extras corkscrews lying around!

1. Grab your extra corkscrews and paint bunches of grapes on them.
2. Buy hook earrings from your local craft store. Fasten onto the corkscrew.
3. Viola! Cute earrings for you and your guests to wear on the tour! Believe me, they get a lot of talk when you are out and about and all wearing matching corkscrew earrings!

Transportation: There are many local transportation providers that include wine tour packages on their website; however even if they do not have it listed on their website, they will most likely be willing to coordinate with you depending on what you are looking for. I urge you to call around and see who can give you the best deal. Typically, if you plan on a Sunday day trip you can snag a better deal than Friday and Saturday evenings. Check out WeddingWire.com or BuffaloWedding.com for a list of some local transportation providers.

To Note: I also wanted to note that it is usually a good idea, once everything is set, to call ahead to each winery that you plan to visit. Let them know that you will be having a group come on such-and-such day at such-and-such time. This will give them time to prepare for your arrival. Many also like when your limo driver calls about 10 minutes prior to arrival as well.

Check out some more details of Niagara Wine Trail HERE.

Niagara Wine Trail Map

Fun Bachelorette Ideas!

Bachelorette Series coming! I thought for a fun change in pace for the blog to focus on some fun bachelorette ideas for my Western New York Brides - or the coordinating friends of the brides! In doing so, my focus for the next blog postings will be four awesome, fun bachelorette ideas for my Buffalo gals! Stay tuned.

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Real Wedding | Mairead & Christian

I had the great honor of helping Mairead and Christian on their beautiful wedding day. Talk about a fun, amazing couple! They were an absolute blast to work with and some of the nicest people I have ever met.

The very talented Yuliya, from Yuka Photo Art captured their special day. Here are a few shots that I wanted to share - I love how she was able to capture the pure magic of the day. The day was full of love, joy, laughter, and excitement. A big thank you to Mairead & Christian for being such a pleasure to work with and for such an incredible day!

Check out some of the awesome details at Facebook.com. Just search "Queen City Weddings."

Ceremony & Reception Location: The Saturn Club

Photographer: Yuliya, YukaPhotoArt

DJ: Frank Sansone, Joy Ryde

Flowers: Maureens

Books n' Babies - A Cute Baby Shower Idea!

This past summer, I had the absolute honor of helping my mother plan a very special baby shower for my sister-in-law, brother, and their baby-to-be! I was so excited to hear the news that I was going to be an aunt again and wanted to do something special for my niece/nephew (they didn't find out the sex of the baby). In wanting to do so, I knew that sometimes, due to the use of registries, showers can lose that personal touch.

So in trying to keep it personal for my little niece/nephew, I decided to add a little twist to the ever-so-popular Hallmark card. I have heard this idea here and there, but I wanted to share it with everyone because it really was fun - not to mention something that the family can enjoy (and pass down) for years to come - rather than throwing away a cardboard card.

On the shower invitation kindly ask the guests to bring a storybook for the baby in lieu of a card. Also include on the invitation to please include their special thoughts, advice or blessings for the baby on the inside cover so both the baby and parents can keep and treasure your words. This was really a hit at the shower, and my sister-in-law walked out with a basket full of personalized books for their baby! Because o the popularity of the book poem, I thought it was perfect to include in a blog for easy access - and so more babies can enjoy the gift of reading!

Although cards are nice with their sentiment and prayer,

They're read once or twice then tucked away with care.

A book is a treasure - words and pictures unite

Read over and over to teach and delight.

So instead of a card for baby and mother,

Please give a child's book with your thoughts in the cover.

Your book will be cherished; God will watch from above,

When it's read they will remember your kindness and love.

Ps. I am now the proud aunt of niece Shylah Belle. She is one of the happiest babies I know and loves reading her books. ;-)

Stock the Bar!!

Mixed in with the many summer events that I attended this past summer was a "Stock the Bar" party. It was a night full of fun, friends, and plenty of amazing drinks! A "Stock the Bar" party is a fun housewarming (or shower) idea for those who want to do something a bit different - and wake up to a bar full of liquor!

When my husband and I were first invited to the housewarming party, I knew that I had to do something with a little more "umphhh" than the usual bottle of Citron or Jack Daniels. So, I decided to put together a fun little "stock the bar" basket to help celebrate the first time home buyers!

With the help of Toast Events, and some online searching of the best recipe, I found this awesome Key Lime Pie Martini recipe (see below). I bought a bottle of Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum with Lime, and lime juice for the core part of the recipe. Then added a box of graham cracker crumbs and a lime for a tasty garnish - and finished the basket with a martini shaker, plastic martini glasses and a printed copy of the recipe! Not only was it a blast to put together, but we were also invited over again shortly after the party to make this scrumptious drink. Yummmm!

Key Lime Pie Martini

ß 1.5 oz vanilla vodka
ß 1 oz coconut rum
ß 3/4 oz lime juice
ß Splash of pineapple juice
ß 1/2 oz of cream/half and half - the cream is what makes it look like the pie.

Mix all ingredients in a shaker tin filled half way with ice. Cap with a mixing glass and shake gently. The trick here is to chill the ingredients without diluting them too much. Strain into a chilled martini glass.