Wedding Registry to Consider: Williams Sonoma

Mother of the Bride, has your daughter considered setting up a wedding registry at Williams SonomaSince it’s not one of the standard registries that most brides think of, setting up a registry at this amazing cooking (and more!) store might not have occurred to your darling bride-to-be.

Williams Sonoma offers top-of-the-line quality products that any newly married couple would be lucky to own. Since many of the items fall outside the price range most newlyweds’ own purchases, what better way for your sweet girl and her beloved to begin to acquire these wonderful kitchen and home products than by receiving them as wedding gifts?

Like with most other registries, your daughter can create a Williams Sonoma registry online, but if she’d prefer, they also offer free in-store or virtual registry consultations. Even if she doesn’t feel like she needs a consultation, she might like to visit a store to see their products first hand. It always helps to see and handle items in order to choose what we like best, doesn’t it?

MOB, suggest the Williams Sonoma registry to your daughter and offer to visit a store with her. And then do your best not to want to buy everything in sight for yourself!

*You might also like to read Bridal Shower Idea: A Cooking Class!

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early November. Sign-up is FREE! *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*My photo

Wedding Cake Pops—Pretty and Fun Too!

Mother of the Bride, if your daughter would like to add a dash of fun to her wedding reception, why not include wedding cake pops in the celebration? The very thought of cake pops puts smiles on faces and declarations of “Yum!” on lips. After all, everyone loves a cake pop, right?

Wedding cake pops can also serve several different purposes. You can wrap them in cellophane and tie a bow around them (personalized with the bride’s and groom’s names, of course) and offer them as favors. Or you can display them on trays or towers on a dessert table or they might even serve as the groom’s cake. And if the groom wants to add his own twist to it, instead of the bride and groom designs, he could select something in his area of interest—like golf ball cake pops or baseball cake pops, etc.

So, MOB, try pointing your girl toward some wedding cake pop fun. Believe me, everyone will be glad you did!

*You might also like to read Groom’s Cake Idea: Favorite Team Cake Pops, Fall Wedding Idea: Caramel Apple Favors!, and Edible Favors—Yes, Please!

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early November. One lucky subscriber will receive a $15 gift card to Starbucks and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.) *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*Flickr photo by niner bakesCreative Commons License

Bridal Shower: Makeup Practice-Run and Demonstration

*I’ll be taking a blogging break during Valentine’s week. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Mother of the Bride, a bridal shower is one of the highlights of the wedding planning experience. It’s a time of fun, fellowship, and celebration with family and friends. It’s a girly-girl time that is well worth making memorable in a variety of ways.

If you’re contributing ideas to the shower or actually giving it yourself, MOB, one fantastic way to make it both special and helpful is to have a makeup practice-run and demonstration. Not only will it give the bride and her makeup artist a chance to have a run-through before the big day, but it will provide an entertaining and informative demonstration for the shower guests. Fabulous idea, right?

To make it even more interesting and fun, extra features/activities could be included. For instance, the makeup artist (and her team if she has one) could do your makeup and/or the bridesmaids’ makeup as well. Different techniques and types of makeup would naturally be called for so all the more informative.

You could even have makeup samples for the guests to take home or lipstick shades for them to try at the party. And I bet you and the bridesmaids will be able to think of other ideas as well. Just have fun with it!

Does this sound like an exciting idea to you, MOB? If so, suggest it to the hostesses and see if it’s something they’d like to make happen. Might as well make the shower as girly-girl—and helpful—as possible!

*You might also like to read Bridal Shower Idea: A Cooking Class and Bridal Shower Cake: A Cupcake Wedding Dress!

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

*Flickr photo by Ashley MacKinnon, Creative Commons License

Bridal Shower Idea: A Cooking Class

Mother of the Bride, how about hostessing a bridal shower where everyone can learn a little something to add to their repertoire in the kitchen? I saw this idea on Pinterest with a pin by Loverly and immediately repinned it to my Weddings – This and That board .

If your daughter likes to cook or wants to further develop her skills in the kitchen, a cooking class bridal shower could be so much fun. Just think of the possibilities. You could ask everyone to bring their favorite recipes to share with the bride. You might suggest that everyone bring cooking or kitchen or food-related gifts. You could even make yummy treats together and then enjoy eating them after the bride opens the gifts.

These ideas just scratch the surface so let your imagination and creativity run wild. Brainstorm with those who will be hostessing the shower with you, and you will end up planning a shower your sweet daughter will always remember.

So pull out your apron, MOB, and put on your chef’s thinking-hat and get those ideas cooking!

*You might also like to read Bridal Shower Cake: A Cupcake Wedding Dress and Bridal Shower Gift Idea: A Wedding Towel Cake!

The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early November. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

*Since the readership of the Mother of the Bride Blog is ever-changing, I hope this encore post from October 2013 helped you today!

*Flickr photo by rennes.i, Creative Commons License

Wedding Registry to Consider: Blueprint Registry

Mother of the Bride, have you or your daughter heard of Blueprint Registry yet? I just recently happened upon it so it may be new to you as well. And if so, this may be something your daughter and her beloved may be interested in.

Blueprint Registry is an online registry that allows a couple to add gifts from any retailer as well as import existing registries and also create a honeymoon fund/cash registry. It has a unique blueprint approach where couples shop/register by room and guests can then see how and where their gift might be used in the couple’s home.

I haven’t talked with anyone yet who has personally used it, but it’s getting rave reviews from industry leaders. And those endorsements are easily seen on the home page.

MOB, I encourage you to hop over to Blueprint Registry’s website and take a look. I’ll list some of the links to specific info so you can find what you need as easily as possible. Be sure to share this post with your daughter. Blueprint Registry could be just what she and her hubby-to-be are looking for!

Blueprint Registry homepage  

Info About Blueprint Registry

How the Registry Works 

Benefits of Using the Registry 

*You might also like to read Wedding Registry Roundup.

*My photo