If you’re like me and addicted to Instagram here are some easy ways that I have found to help satisfy your Instagram and Wedding Planning addiction!

1) Hashtag Your Wedding & Print Pictures with Printsagram or PostalPix - Come up with a hashtag for your wedding and spread the news to friends and family (via your wedding website obviously!). There are several sites that will allow you to print from Instagam.  Postalpix is an app that will let you do this (print pictures on luster sheen paper, aluminum and more). Check out Printstagram for mini albums and books. They’re the perfect complement to your professional album from your photographer!

2) Send Postagram Save-the-Date Postcards! - Download Postagram to  your phone, choose your photo, add the content, and compile your guests’ home addresses. This site actually coordinates and sends the cards for you!

3) Rent an Instaprint Photo Booth - Rent an Instaprint photo booth and you’ll have everything you need to shoot and print mini Instagram prints on location for all your guests to take with them. If you’re a DIY bride, I’ve also read about some couples that create their own DIY Instagram photo booths using the Instagram app for iPad!

4) Create Sticker Labels for Favor boxes using Instagoodies - Add some pizzaz to your wedding favor boxes or thank-you cards with Instagram photo stickers using Instagoodies. It’s a low-cost way to really make an impact!

5) Show off your Honeymoon Pics with Casetagram! - How else are you going to put all those beach photos to good use? Casetagram lets you design and create your very own iPhone case — made entirely out of Instagram photos. This could potentially also be great for bridal party, or bachelor/bachelorette favors as well!

Happy Planning!

~ AWE

As the 2013 wedding season is hitting us in full force, the bar and beverages are becoming an integral part of the planning process. With cocktail scene moving at a rapid pace we are already out with old and in with the new for 2013 – and here is what we think will be big!  We’ll be doing a series of 3 blog posts to share these ideas with you!

Can anyone say Daiquiri’s? What makes Daiquri’s so great is that they are so simple. With just 3 key ingredients: White Rum, Lime Juice and simple Syrup, you’re on your way to a rocking cocktail!  Also RUM is making a huge comeback and so we’ll be seeing a lot of these fruity cocktails at weddings this summer.

Chef’s Inspiration: The distance between the bar and the kitchen is getting shorter at a rapid rate.  Chefs are starting to create ingredients to be used in cocktails.  Using creative foods such as smoked pepper infused Bourbon, or pickled bitters are just some example of how far you can take it! 

Lower Alcohol Content: This is something that we’ve seen slowly becoming really popular.  Taking drinks that may originally have a higher alcohol content but switching them to lower content alternatives. For instance substituting Whiskey with a Campari, dramatically drops the alcohol content by 50%.  As the North American palate changes toward more of the dryer, bitter and reasonable tastes this trend will continue to grow!

Spirit of the Year Goes to Brandy! The next big spirit we will see this year is brandy. Drinks like Cognacs and Armagnacs will be seen everywhere as the world of booze is starting to take similar form as the world of wine. Barreled Brandy’s and aged Cognac’s will be all the rage!

Next Big Ingredient – Minerals: So in 2012 we’ve already done vegetables and so 2013 goes back to the elements and using minerals. Things like slate-cured Vodkas and serving mineral salts alongside your drinks so that people can add this to suit their taste buds will be seen in upscale bars as well as at luxury wedding events.

Stay tuned for more inspiration for your bars in Part 2!

Happy Planning!

CTC West | South Asian Bridal & Formal Wear

It is definitely Bridal Season!  As we speak, North America’s 2010 and 2011 Brides are surfing the web, analyzing what the stars are wearing and scouring bridal boutiques in honour of one of the greatest internal debates – what should they wear on their wedding day!?!

At CTC West, we generally find that the “perfect outfit” rarely exists online, or in a bridal wear store.  Quite often, the PERFECT outfit… is yet to be made.

On her wedding day, a bride should be entitled to wear an outfit that fits, feels and falls the way Goldilocks would have it – jussssst right!  This is definitely not the day to be compromising on clothing!

As a bride, your wedding lehnga needs to be made up of all the right elements.  The right design, the right fabric, the right colour.  The right blouse cut with straps or sleeves that accentuate your features.  The right length and shape and cut for your lehnga skirt to make you feel like a modern-day Empress.  The elements should be perfect, and thankfully, you no longer need to settle on a make-shift solution!

At CTC West, we feel that if a lehnga is too long for a bride, the solution is not to simply cut an inch or two off the top – that’s like cutting the forehead off of the Mona Lisa!  You would lose the border or an element of design that ties the bottom of your lehnga into your blouse.  Your outfit is an art piece, and your body is the designer’s canvas.

The CTC West Custom Couture Experience ushers in a new era in South Asian Bridal Wear.  When you find a CTC West design that you are IN LOVE WITH, we make a brand new and unique piece just for you. Take a look at an example of the CTC West Custom Couture Experience below.

For more information on ordering your custom bridal wear, visit us online at CTC West.ca

One of the hottest trends this season has been the use of crystals in all aspects of decor. Wether a wedding, corporate gala or anniversay the use of crystals has been worked into practically every color scheme imaginable.  The ability of crystals to reflect light can make a soft room look bright and make a dark room look dramatic!

We sat down for a quick chat with the Creative Director at Design 2 Decor, Paras Mehta to find out about his inspirations in creating shimmering elegant events.

AWE: How long have you been designing in the Wedding/Special Event Industry?

Paras: I have been designing events since I was in middle school, but didn’t realize its career potential until I was 21.  I have been designing events professionally for eight years now and it is a true passion of mine.  I have had the pleasure of working with some of the city’s finest.

AWE: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Paras: Mainly, my clients are my inspiration.  They challenge me to create amazing event experiences that fuse their personality with my creative abilities.  My design inspirations come from nature, fashion, interiors, and architecture.  My mentors and colleagues in the design and events industry are always a source of inspiration.

AWE: What is your favorite color trend for 2010?

Paras: My favourite colour trend for this year is sapphire blue and coral, anything yellow…shades of green will always be my ultimate fave.  In terms of metallics, gold and bronze are definitely making a comeback in recent years.

AWE: What is the most popular design trend for 2010?

Paras: A return to the basics of event design and décor – Neutral palettes, monochrome colour themes, simple elegance…modern design with classic interpretations.

AWE: What are some of your favorite venues to work in?

Paras: My favourite venues in Toronto are determined by not only their interiors and level of service, but by the relationships that I have formed with their friendly and knowledgeable events team.  These include the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, Pearson Convention Centre, Mississauga Convention Centre, Le Jardin Special Events Venue, International Centre Conference Centre, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, and the Intercontinental Toronto.

AWE: Why do you like working with event planners?

Paras: Planners are the backbone to an event.  They are talented producers that bring together all the components of an event.  I enjoy collaborating with planners to create amazing, seamless events that are organized, highly stylized, and a true reflection of their clients’ objectives.

Take a look at how Paras Mehta from Design 2 Decor has incorporated the use of crystals into his designs – let us inspire you with this visual spread of decor!

Hi everybody, thanks for joining us on our very first blogging journey! The Chocolate Fountain Shoppe (TCFS) has been up and running for close to 4 years now and we’ve decided to venture into the world of social networking….that’s right blogging! Feel free to send ideas our way on what you would like to see us talk about.  Every month, we will be featuring new and exciting discussions, specials and we ask for your feedback and new suggestions to help us cater to you – bigger and better.

This month, we really wanted you to get to know us and what we do. We are Sandy and Mindy and have been inseparable sister-friends for over 12 years. We’ve always had a passion for delectable desserts and high quality sweets, so after a year of painstaking research we took the plunge and road tripped to the States to purchase our perfect, shiny fountains. What started off as a charming Chocolate Fountain Company grew within a year to include high quality, decadent dessert options. And today we can comfortably cater events of up to 1200 guests and can confidently promise that everyone will absolutely LOVE our sweet ending to your perfect night.

The Chocolate Fountain Shoppe has had a great start this year. Our February wedding show at the Toronto Congress Centre was a huge success, as always. We were especially excited this year because our TCFS booth finally received a much needed and long overdue makeover which we just adored! We had a great turn out, and needless to say, the Belgian milk chocolate by Barry Callebaut was definitely the popular choice for our clients yet again this year. It’s actually our favorite too! – Especially with pineapple!

Since the show, we have been busy bees with client consultations and tastings! Here we get to meet some great couples and families who bring a natural flair of excitement when they come to meet us. Wedding planning can be stressful, but the dessert planning is nothing less than a delightful experience! Especially when you get to take home the desserts; talk about a sweet deal! We especially enjoy this part of our business because it gives us a chance to really get to know our clients and be able to provide them with exactly what they want for the day of their big occasion!

Additionally, we have had some great events in the last few months. We were invited to be part of the Father Sierra fund-raiser for the second year in a row, this was an absolute blast! We always look forward to giving back to the community and kids with chocolate & marshmallow covered faces are the cutest thing in the world! We also had a huge dessert table for an amazing client Lily, who went above and beyond in planning an elaborate peacock/Bollywood themed sweet 16 party. We worked with Lily’s vision for her daughter’s party and especially loved working with her because she was open to our suggestions and was genuinely excited about having our dessert table at her nothing-less-than-fabulous party! Needless to say our desserts and fountains were a hit! The guests especially loved the Larocca Picollinis as well as the assortment of Larocca cakes!

Last month we also had the great pleasure of working with our friends from Arora Wedding & Event Planning in Woodbridge. Guests were especially eager to try the desserts and even lined up before we had opened the table! We’re pretty sure from their reaction that it was well worth the wait!

 Until next month, we will be busy with bookings for the coming summer months. Looks like it will be a busy summer for TCFS but we’re looking forward to it!