Bathroom Baskets! - Guest Post

Hi all! BM Jess here, as requested by the bride to give y’all a little insight into some of the details that you’ll see on the day of the wedding :)

A few months ago Audrey reached out for some help with one of those wedding details that you could call a trend if you’d like, but one that’s become more and more popular and shows no sign of disappearing soon for one very specific reason: this one actually makes a lot of sense. I am referring here to Bathroom Baskets, which are exactly what they sound like: baskets placed in the bathroom and filled with various goodies and toiletries for wedding guests to make use of throughout the night.

I know all of the girls reading this immediately went “oh my goodness, SUCH a good thing to have” and all of the guys went “huh?”, but let me tell you, with a few minutes of brainstorming you can pretty quickly think of some essentials for both girls and guys that you’d want access to throughout a long night of partying. Audrey, Javier and I thought of an initial list of must-haves, but I first got true inspiration walking into the Mecca of cheap, travel-size toiletries: Dollar Tree. Needless to say, my list of “must-haves” grew very quickly and I soon had an absurd amount of things no wedding guest could possibly live without... After rounding out the purchases with a couple other stores and a trip to Michael’s (for the essential basket component of the bathroom baskets), we ended up with the lovelies you see below. So if you happen to need breath mints, ibuprofen, tissues, hair spray, cough drops, or any number of other essentials, make sure to swing by the bathrooms and see what’s we have :)

While there, you’ll also see the second part of the bathroom decorations – a bathroom poster giving you some details about Audrey’s and Javier’s oh-so-fabulous honeymoon in Chile! A&J thought it would be fun to add a poster with trivia or facts about the two of them to the backs of the stalls in the bathrooms, and this idea evolved over time into giving the guests a glimpse into their trip to Chile. You can see a preview here, but again, make sure you take a minute during your trips to the restroom to read up on some of the sites they’ll be visiting and some Spanish vocab to know!

Not to over share, but I'm a lady that takes a lot of trips to the bathroom (big water drinker).  So this special addition to make our guests feel more comfortable in the facilities was an important one to me.  Jess did such an amazing job with them!  Ladies and gents, I think you'll find just about anything you could possibly need (hygiene wise at least) in these baskets.  They are filled to the brim!  And the Chile fliers are gorgeous and really interesting to read (its nice to have stuff to read in the bathroom...).  Looking forward to my first trip to what will be our homey bathroom at Ash Lawn ;)  Thanks Jess!

Czech it out! - guest post by the mother of the bride!

Audrey and Javier have decided that they would like to give Kolace (a Czech pastry) as their favor at the wedding. Lots of people give candy or other treats so at first this may not seem so unusual. However, in our family Grandma Helen (Audrey’s Maternal grandmother) has been the primary and without a doubt the best baker of Kolace for all of our lives. Consequently, few immediate family members have attempted to replicate her creations. I for one knew that the baking of these pastries required much more than simply following a recipe. You see it’s all about the DOUGH. I had mentioned the plan to serve Kolace at the wedding to several family members over the holidays and all immediately knew what this intimidating endeavor entailed. The preparation requires not one but two periods of “letting the dough rise”. It takes practice, experience and judgment to know when the dough has risen enough to proceed with the next steps.

I might explain that Grandma Helen is now age 89 and not able to prepare the needed Kolace for Audrey and Javier’s big day. Previously she had prepared Kolace for Audrey’s two cousins’ weddings, Amber Blaha and Jeff Williams. She also prepared Kolace for the wedding party at Kelsey’s wedding. So the presence of Kolace has become a tradition of sorts at this generations’ weddings.

Consequently, we have issued a challenge of sorts to encourage family members to have a Kolace bake off. We have asked immediate family members to experiment and develop their Kolace baking. The best treats will make their way to the wedding for your enjoyment.

So over the holidays, with a little time on my hands and an empty house, I decided to attempt my first ever batch of Kolace. I might explain that I have never really worked with yeast dough before. I was duly intimidated and had low expectations for the project. However, much to my surprise the results were acceptable in both appearance and taste (ask Aud and Javs). The dough required lots of encouragement to rise (moving from place to place in my house to find the perfect warm place) and lots patience (not my forte’) as it did so. I shared my results with several different testers and was happy to receive positive comments from all. So with several more months ahead to practice, I now have high hopes that the Kolace served at the wedding will be as close to Grandma Helen’s standards as possible.

It will be a special treat to share because it reflects Audrey’s Czech heritage and will be prepared by the loving hands of family members.
-Barbara

I pitched the idea to my mom about serving Kolace as our favor at the wedding with more than a bit of hesitancy. 1) I have had the pleasure of eating my Grandma's Kolace my whole life so I knew just how high the bar was set. (I've heard, more than once, people at our 100+ family reunions walk up to the dessert table, spot Kolace and immediately ask, 'are those Helen Kolace?' They're famous! 2) I had actually gone to study (yes, study not watch) Grandma make Kolace two different times to try to learn the secret that made hers so good and therefore knew the time and precision it takes to make these treats!

But I'm so relieved by the willingness and excitement that both my mother and extended family have expressed with the challenge! And Mom's really were delicious (and on her first try!). As she said, with a few more months to practice, I feel confident that we'll be able to deliver to our guests Kolaces that will make Grandma proud :) Let the mouth watering begin!