In love with Bake It Pretty - BB Jean Events, Bellingham WA Wedding planner

You know when you find those websites that just make you happy to the core?! I found one of those today. You see, it's Monday so I like to go over to Bakerella to see what crazy cute thing she's baked up this week. It's a favorite fun site of mine and provides some inspiration for

the occasional party I get to throw that doesn't involve veils, first dances or champagne...ok maybe there's champage but definitely not the other two.

Bakerella had a post today about Bake it Pretty...my new internet BFF for sweet special occasion exploits. The little gems on this site turn a simple box of cake mix and tub of frosting into something your friends and kiddos will swoon over. All things cute, fun, exciting . . . for baking.

Like this:

When I was a little girl, I was all about the cupcakes topped with the plastic ballerinas...and these look exactly like the ones I remembered from 20+ years ago...ah the memories!

Or how about these awesome cupcake wrappers?! These are just two of the DOZENS of regular and mini cupcake wrappers they have. DOZENS PEOPLE!!! There's no excuse not to make any occasion cute!

And they have fancy schmany baking cups. Like these pretty floral numbers below. How pretty at a wedding or baby shower. For those that are still on the fence about cupcakes being appropriate at weddings, these just might change your mind.

I remember birthday party loot bags as a kid too. Although the ones that stick out were the plastic bags with the pink background and the clown face on them. . .I never did care much for clowns. But these bags, are fun and vintagey and all kinds of awesome!

The site has even more on it! Party goods, more toppers, more wrappers, ribbon, string, boxes, favor bags, candy, candy molds, fondant, straws, party hats, and I'm finishing this post so I can go back to gazing at all the fun...and maybe buy a few things for my next little gathering!

Jam it up!

I love edible favors. Guests do too. And I love when those edible favors are practical enough that brides can do them on their own. For instance, jam! I made jam for the first time yesterday, and my mom wasn't kidding, it was super easy (a little bit of a bad idea in the 90 degree heat we had, but that was about the worst of it). Jam perks: it's easy to do ahead of time, it's easy to customize the packaging to your event, and most people like jam.

So here's how you do it, the concise making-jam-in-a-walnut routine: buy cute jars, lids and rings. Get berries. Wash berries and sanitize jars. Mush berries. Measure mushed berries into a pot. Add pectin and bring to boil. Add measured sugar. Stir. Bring back to boil. Pour in jars. Lid the jars. Boil jars. VOILA! Each box of pectin has detailed instructions for how much to measure for what type of fruit so consult for specifics. And for the record, I liked the box instructions better then the internet. But in case you like the internet, this is a good site: www.pickyourown.org/jam

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When it comes to knowing how much to make, the box underestimated a bit I discovered. One batch (and jam should be made one batch at a time, no doubling up here folks. A batch only takes around 30 minutes so suck it up!), made 5 pints, or almost 10 half pints or up to 20 4 oz jars. 15 pounds of raspberries got us 20 pints or the equivalent of 80 4 oz jars. It just depends on what size jar you'd like to give your guests.

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A good result is always in the details and I would recommend picking your own berries. They're super fresh and they just taste better. Seriously. Something about that sun warmed and ripened berry waiting for you just makes the prouct that much better. And ps, u-pick means local, fresher and CHEAPER then the grocery store.

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Extra Credit: Small baskets of jam, orange juice and scones waiting for each couple after a late night of partying and dancing at your wedding. Nothing says "thanks for coming!" like a hearty and simple breakfast to get your guests past their morning hangover :)

Eco Friendly Favors

Trying to find eco friendly favors? And not just ones through big favor companies online that list the items as "green" (with the little quotes and all) but ACTUAL earth friendly favors?


Many products that are being offered from wedding companies as green favors, aren't as green as they're saying. And to sift through the advertising, simply as yourself a few questions:

1. how close is the item to me (local means supporting your community and less polution from shipping), 2. Is it organic, 3. What is it packaged in.


Why is this important? When I searched a popular, nationwide favor company for green favors, I inquired with customer service about a particular product made from bamboo. I found out it was packaged in several different layers of material, the bamboo wasn't organic, and it was being shipped from the east coast. The eco-friendly benefits of that product were starting to look not so green after that.


For your own green favors, here's a few of my favorite items and locations to hunt down your own:


1. Soap. Everybody uses it (or SHOULD be using it) so it's useful, and can be molded into a shape befitting of your wedding. The heart below is from Lavendar Wind Farm in Coupeville, WA who use organic lavendar and goat's milk in their guest soaps. 2. Famer's Markets. Why order honey from a nationwide favor company and pay way too much on shipping when you can get it from your local farmers market (I mean, you could even MEET the bees the honey is coming from if you wanted!)? You can find great prices and quality products at these places and they make a fun and gourmet-esque gift for your guests. If you don't like honey, consider other items that may be offered like flowers, lavendar, cheeses or fresh berries.



3. Speaking of bees, try beeswax candles. Candles have long since been a popular favor option but cheap ones can have lead in the wick and be made with parafin wax overseas. Beeswax is all natural, clean burning and most have cotton wicks. This one is in a cute travel tin but the company making them (Beehive Candles, Maple Falls WA) also offers taper candles, votives, or aromatherapy options.

4. Etsy.com. Etsy features handmade items and you can choose to shop locally. When I searched Bellingham, WA I was shown plenty of options from sweaters and furniture to small toys, soaps and lotions. If you find an item you like, make sure to check with the seller first to see if they can accommodate your order and that you give them plenty of time-a little bit of work, but worth it for the handmade goodies your guests will get!!

5. Tree favors. Greenworldproject.net provides a variety of tree seeds and seedlings in different types of packaging. Some plastic tubes the trees are shipped in can even be converted to bird feeders.

Friendlier Flowers + Favors

Flower favors have to be one of my most favorite things to do at weddings for a few reasons: They can serve as your centerpiece or another decor element, they act as favors, they are live plants which are good for your home and they don't get thrown into the garbage like candy favors do once all of the chocolate has been scarfed :)


Clustering a group of flowers together on the table makes for a pretty, garden-like centerpiece. Martha Stewart Weddings recommends a little sign with them that say "Pick one" so guests know to claim one when the night is through.


Putting flowers on a silver tray or in silver vases instantly ups the glam factor. These purple hyacinths are striking and add a lot of vibrant color to your space. Again, just make sure guests are informed that one is for them. Another idea is to place a small potted bloom at each guests' space with their name on it: favor, namecard and decor piece all in one.