Maria & Richard - June 30

Check out these beautiful pics from Maria and Richard's wedding, compliments of the very talented Onada Photography. Precious Petals played off the Miami theme with colorful flowers and modern lampshade centerpieces.

 

Brenda & James - September 8

Congratulations to Brenda and James! A little rain didn't put a damper on the fun at the Moshulu in Philadelphia. Carl Alan created beautiful decor and Pravada Photography took these breath taking photos. Check out the wedding video by Buds Palola.

Thank you to all of Brenda and James’ wedding vendors for working with us to create a spectacular event!

Ceremony Venue: St. Andrews, Gibbsboro, NJ

Reception Venue: Moshulu, www.moshulu.com/

Photographer: Pravada Photography, http://pravadaphotography.com/

Videographer: Buds Paola Wedding Films, http://www.budspalola.com/blog/

Transportation: VIP Limousine Services, Inc

Flowers: Carl Alan Event Designs, www.carlalan.com/

Hair & Make Up: Daneene Jensen & Associates, www.daneenemakeup.com/

Reception Music: DJ Dan Bucciarelli 

A Star-Spangled Soiree – July details

This Independence Day celebrate our freedom from those British tyrants with the best Fourth of July party your friends and family have ever seen. Red, white, and blue palette? Obviously. Stars and stripes? No doubt. Easy, stress-free, and fun? Read on!

Décor and More

For simple but elegant centerpieces, fill round glass hurricanes with two to three inches of red beads or sand.  Nestle a small glass cup and white votive candle into the vase filler and embellish with a small white star cutout. Click the image below for the printable recipe.

Use star-shaped stencils and colored sidewalk chalk to create a patriotic path leading guests to your party. Or take it one step further and make your own red, white, and blue star-shaped chalk to keep young guests (or guests young at heart!) entertained for hours. 

Its time to dig out your Christmas decorations! Fill large glass vases and bowls with Christmas tree ornaments and baubles in shades of red, silver, and blue. Or hang them on the wall to make a wall decoration! Plain white Christmas lights strung overhead amongst red, white, and blue streamers will provide just the right mood for you and your guests once the sun sets.

On a tight budget? Visit the dollar store and load up on all sorts of inexpensive, what-would-you-need-this-for? items: paper pinwheels, flag picks, and streamers as well as stand-alone red, white, or blue elements like vases and plastic plates.
Use a ¼ inch star hand punch to cut perfect star borders around plain paper plates. The star punches can then be used to embellish blue forks. Add stripes to your red spoons with strips of white craft foam.

Balloons are a party must have but don’t let them go overlooked in a corner. Fill your large red, white, and blue balloons with confetti! When the time is right, let your young guests pop the balloons – creating a firework effect that the kids will get to enjoy before the actual fireworks start. 

Featured Recipe – Cupcakes in a Jar!

Materials:

• Vanilla cake batter
• White frosting
• Red, white, and blue sprinkles
• Blue and red concentrated gel coloring
• 2” round cookie cutter
• Piping bag
• 10-12 ½ pint canning jars
• Ribbon
• Lollipop sticks
• Tomkat Studio Memorial Day Free Printables

Prepare the vanilla cake batter according to the box or your recipe and divide it into three bowls. Using the gel coloring, color one bowl of batter red, color one bowl blue, and leave the third bowl uncolored. Lightly grease three 9” cake pans (round or square) and line them with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pans and bake according to the recipe instructions.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, remove them from the pans and use a 2” round cookie cutter to cut out circles of cake. Using a pastry deco bag, pipe some frosting onto the bottom of the jar. Layer cake and frosting as shown above (blue cake, a little frosting, white cake, a little frosting, red cake, a nice swirl of frosting).  Top with festive sprinkles.

Decorate the jars with ribbon and The Tomkat Studio Free Printable Memorial Day designs printed on card stock and attached to lollipop sticks.

*Note - the cupcakes in a jar could also be make using cupcakes, cut in half, then used as directed above.

Hats off to your Guests

These Uncle Sam hat party favors are adorable and easy to make. Start by gluing red tissue paper to the top of cardboard toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls cut in half or thirds.  Print out American flag graphics here and paste one onto each cardboard roll.  Fill the hats with your favorite red, white and blue candies and seal them shut by attaching a 3″ red card-stock circle with a glue gun.  Display the finished hats on a table at the party and invite guests to take a patriotic parting favor as they leave.

Happy 4th of July from details by Kelly Miller!

Sources:

http://www.bhg.com/holidays/july-4th/decorating/easy-diy-decorations-for-the-4th-of-july/#page=2

http://www.projectalicia.com/2010/06/not-so-wordless-wednesday-diy-4th-of.html

http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting/Articles/4th-of-July-Celebration

http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/cupcake-monday-4th-of-july-cupcakes-in-a-jar/

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/07/03/uncle-sam-hat-party-favors/

Details by Kelly Miller Welcomes our Newest Addition!

Loredana Petriello is currently a sophomore studying Communications at Drexel University.  She has been very interested in event planning since she can remember.  In her freshman year at Drexel she joined the Campus Activities Board, where she learned how to properly create and plan events.  Earlier this year she helped plan a trip to Couture Fashion Show in New York City. 

Loredana is very excited to take the next step and further her education by interning with Details by Kelly Miller.  She hopes that this experience will help put her on the right path and guide her towards a future career. 

Loredana is originally from Westchester, New York and is enjoying her time living in Philadelphia as a student.  In her free time she enjoys photography, reading, and cooking.

details, The Commercial

Check out this neat commercial we made using ProMotion Builder showcasing some of our favorite past events!

Irish for a Day - March details

Let the celebration of all things Irish begin! Go greener than green with these fun St. Patrick’s Day tips and tricks.

Décor & More
- Décor doesn’t have to be the “Lucky Charms” themed leprechauns, shamrocks, and pots of gold. For a more sedate look, cluster greenery, candles, and gold coins down the middle of the table and use green gossamer to create swags, drapes, and curtains.

- Nothing beats live Irish music! Ask around to see if anyone knows a bagpiper. Or do a search on www.gigmasters.com or Craig’s List.  On a tight budget? “The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs” is a great compilation of popular Irish drinking songs.

- These super cute leprechaun hat centerpieces are much easier to make than they look! Start by painting a clay pot and base bright green. Flip the pot upside down and hot glue the base on top. Paint a black strip around the lip of the pot and hot glue a small silver picture frame for the buckle. Attach floral foam to the top of the base and arrange your silk flowers in the floral foam to your liking. Hot glue green Spanish moss at the bottom to hide the floral foam.

The Menu

- If you’re hosting a party this year, serve up an Irish-infused menu of mini shepherd pie appetizers, Guinness beef stew with Irish soda bread, a build-your-own baked potato bar, and Bailey’s cheesecake for dessert.

- Sadly, not everyone enjoys green beer. Instead of dying the entire keg green, you can dye individual cups or mugs. Add two to three drops of green food coloring to the bottom of the mug or cup. As you pour the beer in the glass, it will mix on its own. No need to stir.

Featured Recipe – Shamrock Shaker
This smooth, creamy cocktail is an ideal drink for St. Patrick's Day celebrations, complete with a bit of green and gold dusting on top. The drink itself is a decadent mix of coffee and almond flavored liqueurs brought together by a bit of milk.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Kahlua

2 1/2 oz milk

1/2 oz Amaretto

Edible green and gold powder for garnish (found at cake-decorating supply stores)

Instructions:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.

Shake vigorously.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Sprinkle the green and gold powders on the top.

Seasons Greetings
I found these adorable DIY St. Patrick’s Day cards on Better Homes and Gardens!

Supplies:

• Green Cardstock
• Scissors
• Small eyelets
• Small silver charm
• Cord

Instructions:

• Cut a window in the front panel of a piece of folder card stock and set small eyelets on either side of the opening.
• Suspend a small silver charm from a length of cord inserted in the holes and tie the ends on the inside of the card to secure.
• Handwrite or stamp the message “you’re my lucky charm” below the window to finish.

A Parting Gift

End the party on a high note by presenting each of your guests with a pot of gold favor. The little white buckets can be found at Dollar Tree (3 for $1!). Fill the buckets with Rolos, wrap them in cellophane, and tie the cellophane with a festive tag (download the tags here).

Marilyn & Alain - October - Crowne Plaza Valley Forge

What a lovely a couple! They certainly had their work cut out for them trying to plan a Philadelphia wedding while Marilyn was living in London - but the day went off with out a hitch. Congrats Marilyn and Alain! It was a really fun wedding!

Thanks to Pravada Photography for providing me with these gorgeous pics:

Thanks to Marilyn and Alain's GREAT vendors:

Ceremony location: St. Eleanor, Collegeville, PA

Reception location: Crowne Plaza Valley Forge, King of Prussia, PA 19406

Photographer: Pravada Photography, http://www.pravadaphotography.com/

Videographer: Buds Palola, www.budspalola.com,

Reception Music: Untouchables Entertainment Group, www.untouchablesdjs.com, Greg Shubert

Flowers: Robertson’s Flowers, www.robertsonsflowers.com

Cake: The Master’s Baker

Transportation: J & J Transport and Galaxy Limo

Hair & Make Up: Daneene Jensen & Associates, www.daneenemakeup.com