RECIPE: THE HONEY B COCKTAIL (B STANDS FOR BOURBON)

This cocktail is perfect for almost any occasion and any season. It's simple enough for an impromptu get-together at home, a tailgate party or even elegant enough for a wedding. In fact, I made this cocktail for the wedding of my sweet friends Jenna and John way back in 2014. The couple gifted their guests with small bottles of John’s family’s prized honey as a wedding favor. The secret to this cocktail is the beautiful local honey. If you can't get exquisite local honey like this, any honey will work but may not yield the glorious rich taste or color.

THE HONEY B

Makes 2-3 cocktails

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon, room temperature

4 tablespoons local honey

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup unsweetened tea

Dash of orange bitters (find at most good grocery stores in the "adult beverage" aisle)

DIRECTIONS:

In a cocktail shaker or pitcher, add the bourbon and the honey, one tablespoon at a time. Stir or shake well to dissolve the honey before you add the next tablespoon so it all dissolves. If you do this with chilled liquid, the honey will seize up and make it difficult to dissolve.

You may also heat the lemon juice slightly and dissolve the honey in that before mixing everything together.

Add the remaining ingredients. Serve over ice. You may also add a bit more of the tea and serve this as a warm cocktail.

WEDDINGS TRENDS: VARIATIONS ON A GUEST BOOK

A Bible, guitar, a cookbook, even Jenga game blocks! Brides and grooms are coming up with unique and creative ways to remember their wedding day by asking guests to forego signing a typical guest book in favor of something more personal to them. My good friends at The Sonnet House, one of my favorite wedding and event venues (located in Leeds, Alabama) have shared some wonderful and personal variations on the traditional wedding guest book. Here are some of my favorites...

Photo by Alisha Crossley Photography at The Sonnet House Leeds, Alabama

This bride and groom asked their wedding guests to highlight a favorite bible verse in a family Bible and sign it. Each time they look through the Bible over the years of their marriage, they will be reminded of their wedding day and the family and friends assembled to wish them well.

Photo by Amy Carson Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

This couple had their wedding guests sign a guitar which they will hang on a wall in their new home as a reminder of their wedding day.

Photo by LaShay Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

In keeping with the selfie station trend you find at many events these days, using a Fujifilm instax™ Mini 8 camera and smartphone wireless printer, this couple had family and friends take a selfie which was printed on the spot and clothespined to a rustic board for the wedding. Later, the couple will assemble the photos into a keepsake wedding guest album. Find the camera at Michael's, Wal-Mart, Amazon, etc. From $70.

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Photos by Rob and Wynter Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

This creative couple will be able to relive their wedding day each time they pull out the Jenga blocks! If you have a large guest list, you may need to provide several games to accommodate all your guests good wishes. Afterwards, these wooden blocks can be fixed to a frame and hung as a piece of art.

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Photo by SCB Photography taken at The Sonnet House, Leeds, Alabama

One of my favorite wedding guest book ideas for foodies, cooks and food lovers: have wedding guests sign pages in a favorite cookbook! Love this! Maybe one day, a bride and groom will have guests sign MY cookbook!

Many thanks to Ellen, Jared & Corey at The Sonnet House and all of the couples and photographers for the inspiration.

WEDDINGS: PLANNING A PERSONALIZED BRIDAL SHOWER

It’s wedding season! Many of us have friends getting married right now and we’re faced with the impossible task of planning a fun, unique, and appropriate shower to celebrate the occasion. What kind of party you ultimately decide to throw for your bride-to-be should depend on her personality, your budget, and what type of gifts the couple really wants or needs.

Gather the girls to host a bridal shower completely customized to your bride-to-be!

Since our friends already had what they needed to set up their home, we decided to host a Honeymoon Travel Shower for them with food and decorations evocative of the Mexican beach honeymoon they were in the process of planning. A beach theme, Mexican cuisine, and margaritas made for a perfect pre-wedding fiesta.  

Aqua blue and sea green along with coral and shells inspire this Mexican Riviera theme for our bride's honeymoon shower.

If your friends are into cooking, a “Top Chef” style kitchen shower could be fun. Ask each guest to bring a favorite dish with the recipe and a utensil necessary to complete the dish. Every bride (and groom) loves a lingerie shower so how about hosting a “Sex in the City” themed party complete with Cosmopolitans and plenty of girl talk? With the popularity of couples’ showers, consider a tool and gadget shower. The guys won’t complain when they can test drive the latest gadget innovations. If the couple is renovating their home, a do-it-yourself (DIY) shower for their home or patio could help them prepare for future entertaining. Guests come armed with everything necessary to paint a room or make-over the outdoor space. You do the work, they reap the benefits!

No matter what kind of shower you host for the happy couple, here’s a guide to help you plan.        

Setting the Scene

Decorations and music are two essential elements in setting the tone for any event. You don’t have to go over the top with your decorations, but do put some thought into them. Many hostesses will stop by the party supply store and pick up uninspired decorations which can be expensive. A better idea? Use items you have or can borrow and add a few key decorative objects like we did for this party. Start by selecting a color scheme. For a chic seaside tone, I used aqua and soft blue as my color palette. Adding shells to a row of candles on a hammered silver tray anchored the beach theme. Two brightly colored glass fish seemed to swim over variegated blue sea glass in a round vase filled with water, making a whimsical yet elegant centerpiece. Travel posters, luggage tags, and suitcases with travel stickers borrowed from a travel agent completed the décor. Throw on a compilation CD of “margarita” music and you’ve set the mood for a perfect party. If you prefer a traditional Mexican color palette, there are hundreds of fiesta supplies readily available.

This couple likes to dive so we wanted to create a water element that was affordable. We filled glass fish bowls with sea glass in party colors and found glass fish to replicate the ocean.

Planning the Menu

Creating the menu for a party is often the most difficult task—especially when you’re inexperienced in the kitchen or don’t have a lot of parties under your belt. Nothing creates a party mood like good food and a refreshing cold beverage. Since we were working with a Mexican beach theme, this menu was easy to create---there are tons of easy Mexican recipes or good Mexican take-out if you’re not up to cooking. I decided on sure-fire party favorites like fresh guacamole, warm tortilla chips, and a variety of salsas as starters. Easy fiery grilled shrimp skewers over rice with store bought pineapple mango salsa looked festive presented on a Mariposa shell platter. Build your bar around a selection of margaritas. Add salt, limes, mint iced tea, and sparkling water and you’re all set. A large frozen margarita maker comes in handy for a big crowd. Serve drinks in any pretty glassware that coordinates with your décor or a margarita pitcher and glass set.

Games and Entertainment

I admit it. I am not a big fan of shower games. (Is hate too strong a word?) While a wedding tradition, they can be soooo boring! Smart hostesses incorporate creative activities into their party plans instead of stale games. The wedding gown game---using toilet paper, tissue paper, newspaper or paper towels to design a wedding dress is always fun and it gives guests a chance to mingle and chat. Another fun activity is to create a memory album. Guests bring copies of their favorite photos of the bride or couple and make a scrapbook or photo album together. You can even have a printed and bound copy sent to the bride using an online service. Have guests send images via email or scan them into your computer at the party.

Don’t stress out trying to come up with the perfect shower plan—just stick to the recipe for any good party. Good food, plenty of drinks, a good cake, a fun theme, and good mix of people make any party successful. The fact that presents are involved is icing on the party cake!

Photos by Arden Ward, Arden Photography