India

India is known for its bold, vibrant colors and exotic feel.  Using beautiful handmade paper for your wedding invitations, out-of-town bags, name place cards, save-the-dates, thank-you cards etc. could be a fun way to add color and flavor to your wedding. 

While shopping in downtown Mumbai (Bombay) I came across Chimanlals.   It’s a beautiful shop filled with an array of items made by hand.  The work is exquisite and the custom wedding invitations are incredibly unique and detailed. 

As with all other aspects of wedding planning it’s easy to spend money on wine.  My advice is to pick your budget and stick with it.  Purchasing wine in bulk will also bring the cost down.  Find out in advance if your reception space or caterer has a corkage fee.  If you can negotiate with them to allow you to choose and purchase the wine, you’ll be ahead of the game.  One final tip: When it comes to wine tasting, you like what you like, don’t worry about the “tasting notes” or what you should like.  Here are my recommendations:

L’Ecole No 41 is on Highway12 west of Walla Walla in the town of Lowden.  It’s hard to miss the former schoolhouse with its distinctive architecture.  I’d been curious about the label for a while (a watercolor by a Ryan, grade 3 I discovered), and decided to check them out.  The 2007 Columbia Valley Semillon is dry and refreshing and would be a perfect wine for your cocktail hour with cheeses and seafood.  At $15 a bottle it’s a great value.  You’re sure to find a deal on wine.com and other places if you shop around.  L’Ecole No 41 has a giant tasting list and a wide range of wines.  Surprisingly, I didn’t like any of the others as much as the Semillon, with the exception of the 2006 Pepper Bridge Vineyard Apogee, but at $49 a bottle it’s hardly a steal.

Continuing on into the town of Walla Walla be sure to check out Forgeron Cellars where Maria-Eve Gilla creates masterpieces.  Any bottle you find there is sure to be a hit on your big day. It’s difficult to choose a favorite but for price and uniqueness, I recommend the Walldeaux Smithie.  Forgeron calls it “bold and juicy with firm structure.”  It’s a fun, original and fantastic wine sure to delight. At $16 a bottle it’s easily half the price they could charge.  Forgeron’s 2006 Chardonnay ($25), 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon ($30), and 2001 or 2005 Zinfandel ($30-$40) are all excellent.

For romance and really good wine tasting, but not necessarily wine purchasing on a wedding budget be sure to visit scenic Pepper Bridge Winery.  As an estate winery, it sets out to make ultra-premium wines.  At $55-$110 a bottle it might be best to get one for yourselves to toast with on your first anniversary.  The wines are swanky, plumy, smooth and sophisticated.  The mineral of the estate stamps its mark and the winemaker has highly entertaining descriptions of his wines including “pencil lead” and “pain grille” which makes for a fun wild goose hunt, attempting to track them down on your palate.  If you do splurge, I loved the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon $55.

Taking a break from the wineries, be sure to check out Walla Walla.  It has a classic main street, (which happened to win the 2001 Great American Main Street Award, lest you think I’m exaggerating.)  For old school breakfast, follow the Sunday church-goers to Popular Donuts (706 W Alder St) and enjoy a light and fluffy donut with a coffee for prices you haven’t seen since you were too short to see over the counter.  Top off the evening with an ice cream shake from the stuck-in-time Ice-Burg (616 W Birch St), just steer clear of the food.  As for dinner, I can’t vouch for Brasserie Four (4 E. Main Street) but it definitely had vibes.

Other Budget Options

Heading north of downtown Walla Walla you’ll find the Airport Wineries.  It’s just as it sounds, a bunch of wineries by the airport.  It’s a really unique setting that I loved seeing, especially the old military barracks.  There you’ll find small wineries just starting out among more well-known names like Dunham Cellars.  Be sure to stop by the incubator on Piper Ave.  It’s a complex funded in part by the state to help fledgling winemakers.  There are five buildings with five different wineries that have 6 years to “make it” before moving on to create a winery elsewhere.

On your way out of Walla Walla, if you still haven’t found that budget wine you were looking for stop by Columbia-Crest (Hwy 221, Columbia Crest Drive, Paterson, WA).  Their Grand Estates ($10-$12)  line is always dependable as is their Two Vines($6-$8).  I particularly recommend the Merlot.  If you purchase the wines you like there, they’ll arrange to have them shipped free of charge to their local office in Woodinville closer to the time of your wedding.

Here’s a toast to a fun trip and tasty wine!

Like the napkin ring idea I wrote about earlier, if you commit to potted plant centerpieces, make sure you have ample help on hand the day of for assembly.

Finding the Supplies:

The pots are probably hard to find inexpensively online due to high shipping costs, but please leave a comment if you find some! Your best bet is to find a good deal locally well in advance of the wedding.  It’s one of those things to be on the lookout for.  The flowers you should place an order for in advance as well.  The MOG here placed an order with a local nursery and had them delivered the day before.  It’s probably possible to work out something similar with a Loews or Home Depot as well.  The filler is possible to buy online and cheaply.  I like Save-On-Crafts.  You have many of options here, (I suggest moss, or shredded wood.)

Getting the Look:

Assembly is very simple.  Throw the flower, plastic pot and all into the center of your ceramic pot and gently distribute some of your filler.  It’s really simple and the beauty is in the variation so you don’t have to be perfect.  Voila!  A natural and fun centerpiece.

Here are the steps you can take to get the look.

Supplies

• Shower curtain rings
• Raffia ribbon
• Silk flowers

You can purchase the supplies cheaply if you have time to shop around and online.  I recently saw a 12 pack of clear rings for $1.85 on Amazon.  I also love www.papermart.com for paper supplies for weddings.  They have raffia ribbon there for $4.85 a half pound.  Feel free to email or comment on the best place to get silk flowers, I’ve always gone to Jo-Ann Fabric.

For the nice presentation simply put your hand in the middle of the napkin, then pull the top down through the ring.  Then arrange the rest of the napkin in a fan shape.

The only downside to creating this look is the manpower required! I recommend hosting a crafting party (well in advance of the wedding) with girlfriends.  If you provide the materials, spritzers and appetizers and you’ll able to complete the number you need ten times as fast.  On the day of the event, depending on how many people you are hosting, allow time for setting the tables.  It takes longer than you think to stuff the napkin rings and arrange.