Food favors are always a great idea. They’re practical, provide a tasty takeaway, and out-of-town guests appreciate a little something to snack on back at the hotel.  Who needs another knick-knack cluttering up their house? My newest favor finds are these unique confections by Bon Bon Brittle.

Bon Bon Brittle makes classic brittle candies with a twist.  With flavors like Green Tea Brittle made with almonds and Japanese matcha, or  Bacon Chipotle Peanut Brittle, you’re sure to bring a bit of surprise to your favors.  For something more traditional, try their Divine Almond or Crazy Good Chocolate Brittle. Bon Bon Brittle provides custom favor packaging for weddings, personalizing orders with your desired colors, ribbons, and your own message. Check them out at bonbonbrittle.etsy.com.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know by now I have a sweet tooth.  Imagine my satisfaction when I came across a table brimming with mini pecan pies, sweet potato pies, pecan pralines, red velvet cupcakes and more at sfnoir’s Wine & Food Gala this weekend.  The creator of this sweet spread?  Yvonne Hines, a baker and Bay Area native who is whipping up delightful Southern-style cakes and cookies just the way she likes them.

Take her Pecan Pralines for example—the Southern candy confection made with butter, sugar, milk and pecans is her signature sweet.  My personal favorite is her “Old School” Butter Cookie, a retro style treat based on the cookie recipe used at her school cafeteria growing up.  Yvonne’s authentic flavors and family recipes add a touch of nostalgia to her desserts.

I’d never recommend something I didn’t try for myself, so of course I had to have one of each. And at an event where I was already stuffed to the gills and limiting the portions I ate of each dish, Yvonne’s desserts were the one thing I ate every crumb of.  Her pecan pie has just the right amount of sweet with an incredibly layered flavor.  Her Red Velvet cupcakes are moist little cakes with just a touch of frosting.  If you’re looking for a fun twist on traditional treats for a dessert bar at your wedding, Pralines by Yvonne might be just what you need.

Want a little of everything but can’t imagine not cutting the cake?  In addition to her pies and cookies Yvonne makes buttery pound cakes, carrot cake, German chocolate cake, and even something called “Mama’s 7-Up Cake.”  I’ll be heading to her bakery to try some of these for myself (in the name of research of course!).

I’m continually amazed at all this area has to offer, and I love meeting bakers and chefs who express themselves through something delicious.  Yvonne started her business baking for friends and family, then turned her passion into a profession.  As she says, “It has been a sweet journey.”  With a mouth full of butter cookie crumbs, I had to agree.

Pralines by Yvonne

5128 Third Street, San Francisco, CA  94124

www.pralinesbyyvonne.com

For more information on special orders for weddings contact Yvonne at pralines@mail.com.

If you’re looking for something fun to spice up your wedding reception, give T-Party Photo Booths a call.  Run by Theresa Parilo, T-Party Photo Booths brings a new dynamic to any event by providing an alternative to the traditional guest book and allowing guests to ham it up for the camera.  I had the opportunity to sit down with Theresa and get the scoop on this new company.

T-Party Photo Booths was inspired by Theresa’s friend who had hired a photo booth company for her wedding.  Theresa went back to the booth for photos four, and then five times, and she began chatting with the operator who suggested starting her own photo booth company.  After the seed was planted, Theresa could not get the idea out of her head, and in November, T-Party Photo Booths was born.

The only simple part about setting up her own business was coming up with the name.  T-Party Photo Booths comes from Theresa’s nickname T-Par (a combination of her first and last names).  Theresa says that “the great thing about a photo booth is that it is simple, but unique” with the prints customized to fit your event.

Signing up to have T-Party Photo Booths at your event includes an unlimited number of photos, and guests choose their favorites to give to the bride and groom.  You also have the option of getting a scrapbook made with the photos from your event.  In addition to wedding receptions, this would be a great option for birthday parties or even showers.

One thing she is most looking forward to is having the opportunity to share her new passion with family and friends by bringing her photo booth to their weddings, birthday’s, and Christmas parties.

For more information and samples check out her website at www.tpartyphotobooths.com

When it comes to wedding favors, there is an abundance of choices. The decision becomes much more difficult when trying to find something practical, memorable and eco-friendly! I was thrilled when someone introduced me to WeePlant. Not only is WeePlant a local business, but it is also a very unique gift that serves as a memory of your wedding that can grow with your guests over time.

Weeplant sells miniature plants called Pinky Trees that grow in a 2″ capsule and was founded on the ideal to improve green consciousness through a positive symbol, a real tiny plant that you can take care of.

Valerie Auberger, the founder of Weeplant was kind enough to answer some of my questions regarding her business and green practices.

1)      What was the inspiration for starting WeePlant?

When I was editor-in-chief at MSN France, I launched a green channel with several editorial partners like National Geographic, WWF and others. At that time I thought people (and advertisers) needed something more tangible and entertaining than very “guilt-driven” advice on how to save the environment. I thought that by providing them a living symbol, I would create a more emotional reaction and would possibly give them a living and growing reminder of how fragile mother nature is and how much they would need to take care of it (like they would need to take care of their babyplant).

2) What makes the favor green? How does it contribute to re-forestation?

All the plants are grown in California in full respect of ecological guidelines (no use of chemical pesticides, choice of species that don’t require too much water or heating). Regarding the reforestation, as soon as the company was born, we started a partnership with American Forests to help them planting trees in areas that have been devastated by the human activities. Basically, for each 4 Pinky Trees sold, we donate the necessary fund to plant a tree. American Forests is very happy about this virtual circle and will start sending our Pinky Trees to their donors this springtime as a thank you gift.

3) What is the process for keeping and nurturing the tree once you receive it?

Because all the plants are succulents and cacti selected among the most resistant and little water need species, the Pinky Trees need very little care: cacti will need to be watered once every 3 months and succulents once every month and a half (or every month in summer time). The key requirement for all the plants is being exposed to light. Once the plant has grown too big for its capsule (time really depends on the species and goes from 2 or 3 months for some succulents to 2 years for most of the cacti), the person will just need to open the capsule top and split the base apart (already cut on 2 half for this purpose) and then take the plant with its soil and repot it.

4) Where would someone go to purchase these favors?

Besides selling the Pinky Trees online, we currently sell them in a few eco-boutiques and retailers in SF and across the USA (NY, Boston, LA etc…). Our main distribution is in museum stores like California Academy of Science, Chicago Contemporary Art Museum, Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry, Walker art center in Minneapolis, Phoenix Zoo Store, and many others.

To learn more about Pinky Tree – visit www.weeplant.com

What do you think? Would you give Pinky Tree as a wedding favor?

How many of you have been to weddings where you leave with a photo of the bride and groom, a mug with their names and the date, or any number of cute, but useless, trinkets?  I definitely have, so I made it my mission to help my friend come up with a useful and cute favor.  During my search I discovered “The Perfect Pair” slogan, and websites went overboard offering different pear shaped items including cookies, candles, salt and pepper shakers, and even soap.  After a while I noticed that the simplest option of them all was missing: an actual pear!

Instead of buying any of the above-mentioned pear shaped items, why not take an actual pear, and tie a tag to the stem?  As a favor, labels could be printed on cardstock with the name of the bride and groom and the date, and the ribbon and cardstock could match the wedding colors.  They could also be turned into a great place card by including the name of the guest.

Pear Place Card From Sunset Magazine

In addition to reducing waste by providing everyone with an edible gift, guests would have a tasty and healthy treat to take home that they will actually use and enjoy.  Now, the trick is to get married while pears are in season!

My first thought was to turn one moment from the video into a photo.  Unfortunately, it seemed as though choosing one shot was just not enough.  Finally, I came up with the idea to make a flip book.  I planned to print out a bunch of successive shots and have them bound together.  Fortunately, when I searched online for ideas and tips, I came upon a website that could do it for me!

There are a number of sites that come up when you search for flip books.  The one I used (www.flipclips.com) seemed the most straightforward and required only three steps!

1. Upload your video
2. Pick the cover, size, and quantity
3. Enter your billing information

The only downside to this site was the limited amount of choices for the cover.  Instead of allowing me to create my own, I had to choose from a limited number of pre-made designs.  It worked nicely for mine because there was a wedding option, but if you want to add in your own photo or design you may have to search for a different site.

It took five minutes to upload my video and place my order.  Two weeks later I showed up at the engagement party with the ultimate in personalized gifts!  In addition to a great gift for the bride or groom, a flip book could make a cute shower or wedding favor.  Not everyone has a video of their engagement, but I’m sure any couple would appreciate personalized flip books made from videos captured throughout their courtship.