Liana's Wedding

Since we are knee deep in wedding season (according to TheKnot.com, July is the most popular wedding month), I thought I would show off a little of my handy work from my friend's wedding. Shortly after getting engaged, Liana approached me and asked me to her "bridesmaid, and wedding coordinator - of course!" And of course I said yes! Are you kidding? I love weddings! And I love my friends finding love even more!

So, after months of planning, the big day has passed and I've got oodles of photos to share! As bridesmaid/wedding coordinator I was in charge of favors, flowers, decorations, and other miscellaneous wedding related crafts. With the help of my mom, the bride, and all our fabulous friends, the wedding turned out fantastic from start to finish!

Let's start with the favors - 200 dark chocolate truffles (1/2 amaretto with a white chocolate shell, and 1/2 raspberry with a dark chocolate shell). There wasn't a truffle left by the end of the night. Most guests devoured theirs before dinner. Which I must say, is a great compliment!Each guest received one of each, in this adorable little box:

The boxes were handmade, using this handy dandy little contraption (provided by my mom):

With the help of some fabulous girls (really, super incredible!) We folded each box (about 120) and glued ribbon to them. Then the Bride helped roll up each truffle and stuff them into the boxes.

Aside from the favors, I was also in charge of doing the flowers. The Bride and I got up at 5am to visit the Flower Mart in Downtown LA, and spent an hour buying flowers. Then, with the help of some seriously super bridesmaids, we arranged all the centerpieces, bouquets, and ceremony flowers. I designed the flowers, but the gals did a bulk of the work putting together the centerpieces and ceremony flowers (little buckets of flowers that hung on shepard's hooks down the aisle). The bouquets on the other hand, are all me! (Yes, I am bragging, but dang it, I'm proud of those suckers!)

There are plenty more, but I'll spare you - for now! In the meantime, here is my much asked for truffle recipe:

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)

3 cups confectioner's sugar

3 cups chocolate chips, melted

1-1/2 teaspoons Vanilla (or any other flavoring you would like - extracts, liquors, etc, seriously, anything goes!)

Directions:

Using a mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate and flavoring until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape into 1 inch balls (a melon baller or small cookie scoop work great).

Part 2

Now here is where you can get creative. You can roll these around in crushed nuts, confectioners' sugar, coco powder, coconut, etc. Or, stick them in the freezer for about an hour, and then dip them in melted chocolate (dip them using a fork and shake off the excess chocolate), and stick them back in the freezer to set.