Sweet Snacks!

What Summertime treat is just perfect around a campfire?

Image via MarthaStewart.com 

S'mores!

Image via SmittenKitchen

Sweet graham crackers, melt-y Hershey's chocolate, and gooey marshmallow join together for a tasty and messy dessert.  No one in the world could resist them...except for me.  I don't like S'mores.  Never have.  

You know, I'd always enjoy making S'mores but I never liked the taste or how they were so hard to eat!  I'd get halfway through one gooey sandwich and reach for the bag of marshmallows, because I love roasting marshmallows!

And what does this have to do with our wedding?

Image via Highlands Country Club

Our reception site has fire pits that are lit after dark!  And I thought it would be a brilliant idea to roast some marshmallows. The a few weeks ago, we learned from our site coordinator that Highlands offers S'mores as an option for a late night snack.  Nice...don't you just hate it when you find out that something you thought was original suddenly isn't?  Oh I totally thought that up? Oh, I didn't.

So I sheepishly mentioned that I was planning to bring in marshmallows on my own, since I don't care for S'mores (or melted chocolate near my dress for that matter).  And then she said that I could either bring them in myself or let them take care of it!

Photo by Robert & Kathleen Photographers

Hooray!  Of course I started working on the design of the marshmallow packaging right away, until Mr. M pulled the brakes on my plans.  There is a tiny cost difference if I make them on my own and there's a huge time crunch ahead of me.  Mr. Marmalade came to my rescue and insisted that we have our venue take care of the details, even if I could have come up with some really cool packaging (I totally could have).  I'm still going to make a sign for it, so there. 

But what a "sweet" way to end our night!  I can't wait to hang around the fire with friends and a flaming marshmallow at the end of my stick (I always burn them).  

Did you serve your guests any late night treats?  Am I the only person in the world who doesn't love S'mores?

The Venue That Was...

The search for a reception venue was frustrating, to say the least. Looking back on it, I spent a week or so, sending out emails and looking through magazines. I narrowed it down to a few sites around locations we were interested in, but nothing that suited us seemed to fit in our budget. And then one Sunday morning, I picked up a magazine and thought to myself "I've got some time to kill, might as well look through this thing before I toss it." And that's how I stumbled across our venue.



Meet Saltwater Farm Vineyard--

View of the exterior

View of the vines in Winter

Wine display in the entryway

Fermenting tanks in the main room

View of the second floor balcony - you can the exposed wood that was left in tact from the airplane hangar

I had to visit this place. One weekend, when Mr. Marmalade was home for a visit, we got up early and drove two hours from home to take a look for ourselves. We were floored by the beautiful site; it was peaceful, the views were just stunning, the building was a gorgeous balance of vintage and modern.

In their words:

"Saltwater Farm Vineyard is set on more than 100 panoramic acres - 15 of which are planted with six varieties of grapes, and bordered by tidal marshes, a cove and vistas of Long Island Sound, near the historic New England coastal village of Stonington, Connecticut. The centerpiece of the bucolic property, which has a small private airport dating to the late 1930s, is a World War II - vintage hangar, designed by the late architect John W. Lincoln, a colleague of Walter Gropius. The hangar, opening onto terraces and the vineyard, has been preserved and converted into a winery. The seamlessly renovated building showcases a vaulting roof, silvery milled aluminum exterior, the original interior wood sheathing and, dominating the airy room and gathering places, handsome and massive timber trusses." - From the Saltwater Farm Vineyard site.

Perfection.  As a wine geek that grew up in coastal Connecticut, a seaside vineyard is a dream!  Add the history of the airplane hanger and we were both sold.  

We were so happy to meet with the owners of Saltwater Farm. They were so kind, and warm. They are wonderful, friendly, down to earth people. We were so excited to work with them! (I believe the first thing I said to Mr. M when I saw them was, "oh my gosh, they're so cool!") Working with them was by far the easiest decision I have made about anything related to our wedding, at that point.

We put down a deposit and started planning an intimate, semi-destination wedding on a seaside vineyard.  But it wasn't meant to be (it still hurts to look at these images).  

Did you find a dream venue? Was it just a dream, or did it become a reality?

**All photos of Saltwater Farm Vineyard are my personal photos.

I Would Walk 500 Hundred Miles...

(Source)

Cuz and I grew up together, like two peas in a pod, if by peas you meant to little girls who loved each other to pieces and yet always had a knack of getting at each other's throats, then yes, two peas. There are places in our town that we can walk upon and think of the memories that were made. The beach where we walk on a lazy days was once the spot where we giggled and partied with our friends. The middle school down the street from her home, was once once where Cuz, her brother, and I played soccer as kids--I can remember bundling up in my purple sweatpants and heading over there as a family on Saturday mornings. And of all the places in our town, our church holds years and years worth of memories.

But what am I saying here? Back when Cuz's nuptuals were a hypothetical, she insisted that she would be married somewhere far, far away. Well, flash forward to today--they've decided to get married around here, most likely in the church we grew up in. All she needs now, is to find a reception site both of them will love. They are looking for a few simple things:

- A "one stop shop" (the site will take care of all the details).

- Not too far from our church.

- A reasonable price for amazing food.

- Elegant and beautiful site/decor.

- Room for 200+ people.

- On the water.

Theoretically this shouldn't be too hard, people! But it is! We live in a large town in coastal Connecticut, less than an hour from New York City. You would think that we would be able to find a venue like that under any old rock around here, or at least I would think that... but no. Off hand, I can think of one place that fits the bill but it's where my older sister got married--in other words, it's out. There are two locations around here that provide the "package deal" that she's looking for but they aren't on the water. There is one place with water on their property, but it's more like a man-made lake than Long Island Sound. I also need to mention the fact that we live in one of the more affluent parts of the state. Essentially, we are from a blue collar town surrounded by white collar towns, so know what that means? Vendors are expensive around our neck of the woods because they can be. What to do, what to do?

Go somewhere else! Sure! Why not?? A quick drive to NYC, or Westchester county should be easy, gotta take advantage of being in the Tri-State area! Maybe even upstate or eastern Connecticut? CT's a small state, so why not?

So how far is too far?