a jubilee event :: wedding inspiration for the jubilant bride » Holiday Parties

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Entertaining

Candice — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:00:59 +0000

It’s almost that time of year… holiday season! It’s my favorite time of year because I get to see and spend so much time with my family and friends. Thanksgiving is a huge holiday for us and one filled with so many years of memories! Whether this is your first year hosting Thanksgiving in your home or it is a time honored tradition, here is some inspiration for your holiday table from a photoshoot at Tyrone Farm that we collaborated on with a list of incredible talents!

{ all photography by carla ten eyck }

No. 1; Tablescape by Jubilee Events / Just For You Floral Design with handwashed burlap linens, farm chairs decorated with green moss and hanging mirrors.

No. 2; Fresh artichokes decorate a vintage silver serving bowl (my grandmothers, to be exact!). Consider purchasing or borrowing vintage pieces and using them as decor in your Thanksgiving tablescape like the artichokes pictured.

No. 3; Thanksgiving inspired fashion styled by Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the shore. A cute knee length cream colored dress paired with a vintage fur stole completes this look. I love the nude and fresh makeup by Catie Bane of Dana Bartone & Company and the feathered headband our model Kelley is wearing!

No. 4; Our tablescape up close with white Pottery Barn dinner plates and alternating rusty brown salad plates with a bird motif from Pier 1. We used antiqued looking mercury glass egg cups from anthropologie to hold some of our mini pears at each place setting. Our tablescape was a mixture of old silver containers, limoncello cups, and ivory taper candles in short candle holders from ikea and tall clear bubble candle holders from CB2. We pre-poured water glasses with lemon wheels to give it a pop of added color (and flavor!). When decorating your holiday table this year remember to play with sizes, shapes and heights in our centerpiece. It will add dimension to your design!

No. 5; A close up shot of our individual place settings with tiered dinner, salad and dessert plates. I purchases some vintage floral napkins from a local antique store and folded them length-wise. A mini pear holds into place our placecard, which is done on a piece of wood veneer by Pretty Mail Calligraphy.

No. 6; Inexpensive mini-jars are wired to curly willow branches with candles and ivory spray roses tucked in. This would be a gorgeous arrangement for your front foyer or on an accent table and fairly inexpensive to create! Curly willow lasts forever and spray roses can easily be found at your local flower shop.

No. 7; One of our beautiful centerpiece arrangements by Just For You Floral Design using ivory roses and local greenery. Most of the flowers we used were in an ivory / yellow / green shade. I love the neutral palette!

No. 8; I always LOVE to play with chair backs, and this time we added long strips of green moss down the backs of this old farmhouse chairs. In the center, we tied (at varying heights) inexpensive mirrors I purchased at the dollar store. Jane fastened some hearty greenery to the mirrors using a little bit of floral wire.

No. 9; Warm apple cider in white Pottery Barn mugs accented with a fragrant cinnamon stick. This is why I LOVE fall! This would be great served to guests as they first arrive on a silver platter (as pictured).

No. 10; S’mores cake pops by the talented Lovely Lollies from Danbury, Connecticut. We love pastry chef Corine Dell’Orso’s play on the cake pop with these s’mores pops. They as much fun to display as they are to eat, shown here in an inexpensive urn draped with moss to cover the floral foam we used inside to keep these beauts upright.

Happy entertaining! xoxo

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Hostess Gifts: The Best Wines at $15, $25, and $50

Candice — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:40:14 +0000

If you are attending a holiday party this season you cannot arrive empty handed! There are so many fabulous gifts to give in honor of your hostess and wine is on the top of my list for every occasion. It is easy to pick up and everyone I know appreciates a good bottle of wine. I asked our friend Anu at Swirl Events to give us her top picks for wines in three different price points

$15 and under
* Monte Velho, Red Table Wine, Alentejo, Portugal $12
* Crios, Torrontes, Salta, Argentina $11
* Ben Marco, Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina $18
* Sorrelle Branco, Prosecco, $14

$25
* Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand $30
* Seghesio, Zinfande, Sonoma, CA $24

$50
* Ridge Pagani Ranch, Sonoma, CA $35
* Orin Swift Cellars, The Prisoner, Napa, CA $37
* Montinore, Parsons’ Ridge Estate, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $35
* Argyle, Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR $42

I am going to pick up a few of her recommendations. Can I just say that I love the Argentina wine that she has chosen? The wine from that region is absolutely delicious!

And if you are feeling a bit more generous consider giving a Swirl gift certificate. Swirl is so fabulous — they come with everything one needs in order to host a wine tasting event. I know of so many people who would LOVE this as a gift (myself included!). To learn more, visit Swirl’s website.

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Holiday Centerpiece: Carnations

Candice — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:20:27 +0000

Elisabeth from BLUSH floral design posted a fabulous purple centerpiece on her blog and I wanted to share. I just love these carnations in varying shades of purple. Believe it or not, carnations in bulk (like these) can look so gorgeous. The key is to use a lot and make your centerpiece very full. I agree with Elisabeth, too, that with these flowers the you can use the container to dictate the style of the arrangement. You can use square chunky vases, tall cylinders, old candy jars or medicine bottles, or mint julep cups. Although, I really love the antiqued vessels she used. And the sequin balls? Gorgeous! They’ll sparkle too in candlelight and are a touch of necessary glamour.

If you’re too busy for arrangements this season, give Elisabeth a call. Blush is offering holiday inspired arrangements at a really fabulous price. Get all the details here!

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Holiday Cocktails: Grinch

Candice — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:00:58 +0000

I believe this is a martini that even Betty Lou Who would approve of. It is super fun and sounds absolutely delicious. There is a ton of things you can do, like adding a heart ice cube to the glass.

ingredients:
• 2 oz. Midori
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice (fresh)
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup

Mixing instructions:
Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Option: Garnish this green drink with a red cherry or candy cane.

Recipe source: Thatsthespirit.comSimilar Posts:

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Holiday Party Decor: Outdoor Lighting

Candice — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:00:16 +0000

Bright twinkling lights against a snowy backdrop is probably one of my favorite things during the holidays. I love to decorate for Christmas, especially outside. If you are planning a holiday get together this year, consider the outside of your home when designing your parties theme. It is the first thing your guests will see as they arrive to your home and the last impression they’ll be left with when they leave. It just makes your event extra special and romantic.

I think variations on the usual outdoor decor is needed, so I did a bit of research to find some unique outdoor lighting ideas and a few new takes on some old ones.

First, I love these icicles that are hung from trees. Martha Stewart has a tutorial on how you can create these beautiful centerpieces to your yard. They seem super easy to make (especially if you enlist your fiancee / husband to do all the work) and the effect is really fabulous. Can you imagine what they would look like after a snowfall? These would work well year round too. I can see them used in a night time wedding as a variation on the ever popular chinese lanterns.

These shooting stars are super dramatic. I can see them scattered through out your backyard — it would be so unexpected! I love lights strung in layers, especially from tree to tree or object to object. It’s almost like creating a canopy of lights. Click here for a tutorial on how to make them.

I love these but they are a bit hard to make. They certainly would be fabulous for cocktail party, scattered and grouped along your sidewalk and on your front porch. They remind me of the outdoor luminaries (which we’ll talk about below), except made with snow instead of white paper bags. But they are so much fun! Martha has a tutorial on how to make these, too. You could vary the shapes depending on what type of “molds” you could find. I bet festive cake molds would work well.

Wrapping your lamp post in evergreen garland isn’t new, but adding this orb lights instead of the traditional string of lights makes this extra special. They look like little snow balls!

Consider lining your steps or walkway with cylinder vases like these, filled with something fun. Cranberries, crystals, ornaments, strands of beads, even popcorn would look gorgeous in these. I think varying pillar candle heights would also create lots of dimension.

Paper bag luminaries are so popular and for a reason — they have a big impact and they are easy to make. All you need are white paper bags, some tea lights, and a little sand which are all available en mass at your local craft store. I love these because of the festive cut outs, which can be achieved with a simple craft punch (or if you are super artistic, an x-acto knife).

I LOVE the big, vintage christmas lights. And what better way to display them then wrapped around an old bicycle. Some other ideas with a similar theme: an old vintage mail box or sleigh.

I love lights wrapped around these rustic grape vine balls. You can find them virtually anywhere and at all different price points. They would look so pretty lining your walkway, in your flower boxes, hanging from a tree, in a flower pot / urn, or grouped together in a sturdy bush.

I hope that I’ve inspired you all to rethink your outdoor holiday decor and make it part of your next holiday soiree!Similar Posts:

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Holiday Cocktail Party Invitations

Candice — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:48:13 +0000

The best parties start with a fabulous invitation! Just like your save the dates and wedding invitations, an invite to your cocktail party gives guests a glimpse into the style, formality, and overall theme. If you must, you can always do e-invites, but I prefer to send something beautiful in the mail instead. Here are a few invitations I really love and think you will too:

Invitations by Jubilee

First up are the invitations Jubilee is offering through our etsy store. They all have a vintage vibe to them with fun and catchy phrases. We can customize them for you too, based on your parties color scheme!

Good Golly, Lets Get Jolly

This one is a favorite of mine — and I love that it is double sided! Click here to see more!

Holiday Soiree

This invitation was originally designed for our own fabulous holiday party, which we’re throwing on the 20th of December. I love that it is double sided, too! Click here to see more.

The tree won’t be the only thing that’s lit…

This one is fun and a slight variation to the invitation that Mike and I sent out to our first holiday party three years ago. Click here to see more.

Click here to see more.

Eat Drink & Be Merry

I love the design and colors in this fill-in-the-blank party invitation by MewPaperArts on etsy. Click here to see more.

Cocktail Party

The rounded edges and vintage details are what makes this gorgeous fill-in-the-blank card! Click here to see more.Similar Posts:

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Holiday Cocktails: Candy Cane Martini

Candice — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:00:12 +0000

I thought we should start our holiday entertaining series the way all good parties get started: with a martini.

I love this recipe for the Candy Cane Martini. It is super easy to make and most of us have the ingredients already stocked in our bars, which means it is also budget friendly!

ingredients:
• 1 1/2 oz. vodka
• 1 tsp. peppermint schnapps

Mixing instructions:
Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Here is an option: garnish with a small candy cane or create a candy cane “rimmer” with crushed candy canes.

Recipe from: ThatsTheSpirit.comSimilar Posts:

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Jubilee Celebrates the Holidays for the Month of December!

Candice — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:00:42 +0000

The holidays are my favorite time of year. I love decorating, gift giving, wrapping, eating, drinking, and all the merriment of the season. We’re going to take a slight break from wedding inspiration and talk about holiday party planning for the entire month of December. I want to motivate you all to celebrate the holidays with more cheer and vodka than years past! With all the crazy happenings in the world, it is all the more important to spend quality time with family and friends. If you’ve never hosted a holiday party than this year is the year to start! If you begin your preparations early, you can save a few dollars on food and décor. I would love to feature photographs and details of your holiday party! I’ll be sharing my own with you all.

As you are reading this I am out and about with all the crazies for a little black friday shopping. The rest of the day today will be spent cooking a Turkey and decorating the entire house! I hope you are all enjoying your left overs and having some holiday cheer yourself. Similar Posts:

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