Hey Girl, I Found Something Glorious Today

So, I found this website today.  It's pretty great.  Here's a preview:

It's called Practical Ryan Gosling, it's totally brill and its slogan is this:

Helping brides stay sane with an extra dose of hotness.

Check it out, y'all.  Calming phrases and America's reigning supafox Ryan Gosling?!  

Now that's a lot of sugah. 

You (all 30 of you) Asked For It: So, Now What?

Ok, so, two things before we get started.

1.  A big, beaming, Goldiluxe  “Congratulations” to all the New Year’s Day engagements! 

2. I got so many e-mails on this topic; I thought I would answer you all at once.

So, here goes!

Hey Goldiluxe!

I’m engaged!  It happened on New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t cheesy and I am so super happy I can’t stand it.  So…what do we do now?  Is there something I should be doing?-I feel like there’s something I should be doing.  I could just pee-Help us!

No need to pee.  I promise.  It does terrible things to rugs.

First of all, calm it on down, sugar!  You got engaged, what, like ten minutes ago?  You should be enjoying this, basking in the delicious glow that is being engaged. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of “should’s” and “must’s” when it comes to weddings, but I think there are a few things worth doing in the very early stages of wedding planning.  

1. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! Throw a party, take a vacation, or shout it from the mountaintops, if you want.  Just get out there with your sweetie and make a joyous ruckus!  My favorite part about being engaged (besides the obvi) was getting to prance about; all dewy and doe-eyed; talking about my man and our super awesome lurve.  Having that extra special, one on one time made the daunting task of planning our wedding much less overwhelming.

2. Set a date. If you ask 100 couples when it’s best to get married, I guarantee you’ll get 100 different answers.  So, I’m not going to try to sway you one way or the other (for now, winky face).  I will say that the two of you should talk it through a little bit, see what works best for you.  I wouldn’t worry too terribly much about everyone else, because no matter what you do, people will have opinions (ask me about having a Friday wedding!).

3. Set a budget.  Seriously.  Before you look at flowers or venues or any of the 150 billion other things, set that budget.  Money talk can be uncomfortable and it can be tedious, but it is a hell of a lot less uncomfortable and tedious than what will happen if you run around like a drunken sailor on shore leave buying everything that’s not nailed down.  Whether you are paying for it solo or getting help from the parentals, everyone should be clear on what’s being contributed.  This is not to say unforeseen overages may occur (a subject for another post), but you do need to work out a reasonable number (again, another post) and make it your best friend.

4.  Decide on a style.  A grand affair with a guest list 0f 300?  An intimate soiree with close friends and family?  Something in-between?  Only you two can answer that.  More importantly, only you two should be answering that (or, you two and your friendly neighborhood wedding designer, of course).  The style of your wedding really shouldn’t be up for public debate.  Remember, the best weddings are not necessarily the big, flashy ones.  The best weddings let guests get a peek into the awesome couple and their awesome lurve.

Above all, have fun!  Slow down, be gracious and enjoy the ride.  Everything will fall into place.  I promise.  

Photo credit: smilingsilversmith.blogspot.com

You Asked for It: Candy Curious

Hi there...

This really isn't a wedding question, per se, but I am making candy favors so it kind of is. How do I know when the sugar is done? Have you made candy before, am I a crazy person?

Candy can be kind of a jerk, so trust me, I gets it. You're in luck because there just so happens to be a whole system to tell when the sugar is done (and I'm assuming you are heating up sugar syrup...). My mom taught me and it goes a little bit somethin' like this:

CAUTION: When dealing with heated sugar, please allow the syrup to cool in the water for a bit before touching!

1. Thread Stage: 230° F–235° F
This a relatively low temperature for sugar as there is still a lot of water left in the syrup. Test by dropping a little bit into some water. You should see a liquid thread that will not be made into a ball.

2. Soft-Ball Stage: 235° F–240° F
Test by dropping some into water. You will be able to form a soft flexible ball that doesn’t really hold its shape. If you take the ball out of water, the heat from your hand will be enough to flatten it.
Examples: fudge, pralines

3. Firm-Ball Stage: 245° F–250° F
By administering the water test, you will get a firm ball that won’t flatten when removed from water, but is still malleable and will flatten if squeezed.
Examples: caramel

4. Hard-Ball Stage: 250° F–265° F
When you try to put this in water it will form thick threads as it comes of the spoon. It will form a hard ball in water. When removed from the water, it will hold its shape very well. You should still be able to flatten it with a little extra pressure.
Examples: marshmallows, gummies, divinity

4. Soft-Crack Stage: 270° F–290° F
When you drop some in water, it will form threads that, when removed from water are flexible. Not brittle. The threads will bend a little bit before cracking.
Examples: Saltwater taffy

5. Hard-Crack Stage: 300° F–310° F
In water the syrup will form firm, thick threads. These threads will crack when bent. Examples: Toffee, lollipops




Hope this helps!

Vendor Love: Tablevogue

If you've been reading Goldiblog for awhile, you've probably heard me talk about Tablevogue.  For those of you who are new, a recap:

From the Tablevogue website:

The only table cover designed to provide a secure, tailored fit for your folding tables!
Our innovative, patented design takes your table from functional to fabulous in a matter of minutes.  Features include:
                      Corner drop seams provide tailored, secure fit
                      Finished, stitched edges provide clean, sophisticated lines
                      To-the-floor coverage hides unsightly table legs
                      Patented soil release feature
                      Machine washable — won't fade, shrink or pill 

It's a pretty great product...I really thought it couldn't get any better-then they announced they'd expanded their color palette to include red.  The news, kind of blew my mind.  So you can probably imagine my delight when I received this in my inbox yesterday:

Gah!  Mind.  Blown.  Seriously, can it get any better?  Check out the website for deets.

Photo credit: tablevogue via my e-mail newsletter.

First Look: Heart of Stone

We're designing a 90's party!

Allison and I are designing a 90's themed Valentine's Day dance party for a Bay View bar.  It's going to be pretty amazing!  I can't wait to share some of our ideas with you.  To tide you over, I thought you might like to see this:

Pretty great, right?  Another home run for our resident design genius!  I like the "zine" look it has and it definitely reminds me of some flyers I saw floating around my middle school.  Also, hello!  AC Slater, anyone?!  He was totes one of my favorite 90's crushes.  That, and JTT, of course!

Luxe Life: Full Glitz

As you are aware, Allison and I turned 30 this year. (Yikes.  30.  Still a shock.) What's the perfect way for two hip ladies to celebrate?  With a swanky party, of course! We grabbed some of our closest, most awesome friends and headed out to see our favorite local band, The Five Card Studs.  But first, we had a sweet little get together in the suite we reserved for the night at the historic Knickerbocker Hotel.  It was a huge hit and I thought I'd share some of our favorite images from the night..

Allison and I made cute prize ribbon pins.  We something a little fancy for our big night.  I think we succeeded.  I just wish I had a good picture of hers.  It was so pretty-black/blue/gold, if memory serves...

Custom wine labels!  These have to be my favorite detail of the evening.  Allison did an amazing job on these!  As always, I love the throwback design.

Cuppycakes!  I am really loving these toppers!  I think they are my favorite design so far.  Fun and festive.  The cupcakes were pretty great, too.

The invite that started it all! I am just so proud of this invite.  Allison did such an amazing job!  She is such a talented designer and I am continually amazed by her impeccable taste...I'm so lucky to have her as a design partner (and even luckier to have her as a friend). My favorite part of the invite is our "Bedazzle it! Glamorous!" tagline.

This is my favorite image of the night! My fun lady friend and the incomparable, Caesar Palace!  We had such a blast!  This was such a fun design to work on...so much fun in fact, you may be seeing it again soon!