The Finishing Touch — Weddings, Events, Design, Paperie

Party favors, Wedding favors, What color?, What flavor?, Oh the choices…

Belgian chocolate is one of the best chocolates in the world. But then again it doesn't have to be Belgium chocolate to create a mouth watering effect to those people who crave for sweets. Belgian chocolate, dark chocolate, light chocolate, colored chocolates, dark chocolate, the choices are endless! Wedding chocolates, party chocolates, corporate chocolates for events, the lists for a party can be numerous and overwhelming! By the time you are done reading the choices, you are having an anxiety attack before the occasion even arises! Lia Caravella of Chocolate Bacio is here to give you some insider information on making the right and quality choice for your occasion!

Chocolates are not just a token given to someone special on an occasion or event. Chocolate wedding and party favors have become one of the greatest items a couple or individual could use in their wedding or party as a favor. Not only does chocolate have to taste great, it can also serve as a home décor, and also be a usable or an edible thing! Intimacy and passion comes to mind when talking chocolates. Perhaps it is the reason why they have been used as one of the options in the lineup of wedding and party favors.

To make special occasion chocolate favors more suitable for a wedding or party, different molds have been created to shape the chocolate into designs that would suit any type of wedding. Of course there are other tastes available as well in mint, dark, or white chocolate, and these can be appropriately matched with a particular shape or style of wedding chocolate favors.

The best part about chocolate is that you can fit any style a customer wants! Let’s say you are making favors for a wedding, you can have a royal wedding theme, an outdoor wedding, or Disney themed wedding. A chocolate favor lollipop can take about any shape or designs that could fit a wedding celebration! Those heart-shaped chocolate favors that have a design in the middle are the simplest design that you can have, or if you choose, you can have a whole entire basket filled to the max with every shape, size, character, color chocolates in a basket as a center piece on tables! Anything your heart desires can be done!

For party favors, you can use an oval, round, or rectangular forms since they are wide enough to make more patterns in the middle of the chocolate. Some of the more unique shapes in the wedding chocolates design world would be wedding gown, tuxedo, bride and groom image, flowers such as rose and calla lily, birds such as swans and doves, castle, wedding bell, wedding cake, and even elegant fans. Check out some of Chocolate Bacio’s designs or see below for examples of Lia’s amazing masterpieces.

Furthermore, you can use your chocolates as wedding chocolate cake topper or even centerpieces! Individualized chocolate favors are also more inviting because your guest will see that you have put some extra effort into creating them. You can add some more accessories to your chocolate favors with a colorful mini stick and a ribbon! You can turn your favor lollipop into a more amazing wedding or party favor. Anything your heart desires can be done, all with the help of Chocolate Bacio!

Chocolate Bacio, a business created by Italian chocolate lover herself, Lia Caravella, believes in the finer treats in life. In Italian, we would call this “La Dolce Vita,” or as most say, “The Good Life.” Chocolate should only be served to you using the world’s finest ingredients, creating the most luxurious taste once that chocolate hits your mouth!

Chocolate Bacio is here to save the day! Call Lia to experience the finest in chocolates, made to customize to your style, taste, event, or party! The choices are endless, but just know, the best chocolate and designs are waiting for you with your name on it. Get your hands on them now! And of course, all orders are sealed with a kiss. Baci!

Lia Caravella, owner of Chocolate Bacio

Call 973.390.4627 or email Chocolatebacio@aol.com for more information on Chocolate Bacio and/or placing and customizing orders.

Visit us at: http://www.facebook.com/ChocolateBacio

With Sex and the City 2 hitting theaters this week, girls all over the globe have been anxiously waiting for their latest dose of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte!

Recently, Stephanie from the Finishing Touch team took a few of her girlfriends into New York City for a day of Sex and the City fun. They started the day off at the world famous Plaza Hotel-where they were greeted by photographer David Toth who came out to shoot some photos for Stephanie and her friends to capture some of their exciting day. David took great shots of the girls at some fabulous locations such as the Pulitzer Fountain, Central Park, and the Plaza gardens.

After their morning of photo fun, the girls went on the Sex and the City Hotspots Tour. On the guided tour, the girls got to follow in the footsteps of the "Fab Four" and shop where they shopped, drink where they drank and gossip where they gossiped! The tour included over 40 locations from the show, and as they drove by each landmark they viewed clips from the SATC scenes that took place there! The tour guide had many interesting facts about each location and about each of the cast members, from Charlotte's art gallery and Samantha's private club, to Miranda's lucky gym.  She even pointed out where Carrie and Mr. Big held their engagement party.

One of the favorite stops on the tour was the Magnolia Bakery, where everyone was treated to some delicious cupcakes that Carrie and Miranda had once enjoyed on the show. The tour continued where the girls could do some shopping at stores such as Ralph Lauren, Diane Von Furstenburg and Manolo Blahnik.

The tour is perfect for a girls' day out or for a unique bachelorette party in NYC. So whether you are a Carrie, a Miranda, a Charlotte or a Samantha- you will be certain to have a day that's simply fabulous!

Special thanks again to David Toth! Click here to visit his website!

Click here for more information on the Sex and the City Hotspots tour!

The Finishing Touch is proud to annouce that we offer the full line of Envelopments products.  Known for their wide array of pocket invitation options, Envelopments supplies gorgeous, unique cardstock and papers for our custom invitations including textured metallics and patterned vellums. 

Check out our online Envelopments showcase to see just some of the custom invitation, stationery, and decor work we have done for our clients.  Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see collages of photos from each event.

Stay tuned for more exciting products from Envelopments as they roll out their new collection that includes favor boxes, trendy patterns, and letterpress stocks. 

We are happy to announce that The Finishing Touch is now a preferred vendor partner with The Princeton Club in New York City offering our custom stationary and decor. Located in the heart of Midtown, between 5th and 6th Avenues- The Princeton Club is a fabulous location exclusively catered to their members and sponsored friends. Alum of Princeton, as well as Columbia and NYU all have the opportunity to join the Princeton Club and offer an array of privileges, including sleeping rooms, a squash & fitness center and upscale dining restaurants.

With two floors of private event space, the Princeton Club offers a traditional, old world feeling – with bookcases along the walls and wood paneled rooms, overlooking 43rd Street. The newly renovated 4th floor features floor to ceiling windows with access to a large rooftop terrace. The Finishing Touch is excited to work with the Princeton Alumni community in designing gorgeous events!

Photo Courtesy of The Princeton Club of New York

Check out (201) Bride's articles featuring Candice Benson, MBC™ of the Finishing Touch! Candice offers tips on how to determine colors for your wedding and planning your rehearsal dinner. To read about choosing colors for your wedding, click here! For tips on planning your rehearsal dinner, click here!

The Association of Bridal Consultants is a proud sponsor of "An Affair to Remember" at the Forsgate Country Club on May 21, 2010 from 6-9pm. This is not your average bridal show! Join us for an evening of fun, food, entertainment and a chance to meet great local vendors. Walk the red carpet, sip champagne and visit the bridal suite & grooms lounge! The Forsgate Country Club, located in Monroe Twp., NJ, offers distinctive settings for groups of 20-400, and can accommodate your needs for any event. This is your chance to meet the experts and gain first hand insight into making wedding day magic!

Enjoy a strolling fashion show presented by Thurin Atelier  and have the opportunity to meet Princeton’s hottest Couture Gown Designer Ralph Thurin for a one on one consultation. Be sure to check out The Glam Fairy, Alexa Prisco,  star of “Jerseylicious”, in action as she does live demos! There will also be a question and answer session with wedding expert Kristin Rockhill, owner of Details of I do, as seen on the Style Networks “Whose Wedding is It Anyway” and “Married Away”. Don't forget to stop by the ABC table and say hello! Hope to see you there!

For more information or to register, click here.

One of our favorite couples, Meghan and Keith, wed on 11.7.09 at the trendy W Hoboken. Both marathon runners, it only made sense for them to send out their save the dates with a picture of them in their running gear, tying their shoes and stating ‘Guess who’s tying the knot!’ written below. Meghan, who’s spreadsheets almost outdid ours, and Keith were a very organized and decisive couple throughout the planning process.

One of our favorite hotels, the new W Hoboken played host to the wedding on this crisp fall day. Meghan and her bridesmaids had hair and makeup done at their hotel room which provided an absolute stunning view of the NYC skyline. Playing homage to their Irish backgrounds, bagpipers led the way as Meghan and her girls, dressed in beautiful champagne dresses, walked from the hotel to St. Peter & Paul’s church a few blocks away. Always something that excites a bride, cars honked and walkers yelled their best wishes as we passed by.

As we know there can always be things that happen that are out of our control no matter how much preparation takes place.  In Meghan and Keith's case all enjoyed a laugh as Keith tripped over Meghan's veil just as she arrived at the alter, removing it for the remainder of the ceremony. Father Frank joked that ‘if this was the worst thing that would happen in their marriage, they were golden!’. A beautiful ceremony led by Father Frank whom had guided the couple throughout pre-Cana, provided touching & humorous stories of the couple. Once declared husband & wife, everyone was led to the W Hoboken by the bagpipers.

Cocktail hour was held on the second floor and offered an array of passed hors d’oeuvres and food stations such as Mac & Cheese balls, sliders, an Asian wok station. Along the ledges, the couple provided old photos of past family weddings, as well as a slideshow that played on the W's built in plasma TV. Detailed touches consisted of the cream and brown scroll place cards to match their invitations as well as custom table numbers, provided by The Finishing Touch.

    The ballroom was adorned with crisp white linen, brown chivari chairs
and deep red & orange centerpieces. Craig Scott Entertainment
provided the 8-piece band, Escapade, along with a Frank Sinatra
impersonator. Keith and Meghan danced their first dance to ‘Better
Together’ by Jack Johnson.  To pay respects to the great Frank Sinatra,  Meghan and her father danced to ‘The Way you
Look Tonight’ sung by the Band's extraordinary Sinatra singer.

The cake, provided by the now famous Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, was cut and guests were also treated to a cigar roller (what Hoboken wedding would be complete without offering Sinatra’s signature: a cigar) as well as The Finishing Touch providing a delicious candy bar stocked with the couple’s favorite candies. Guests couldn’t get enough of the chocolate-covered pretzels, Twizzlers and Swedish fish, claiming they were filling a second bag ‘for their spouse’.

All in all, the day turned out to be an absolute gorgeous and successful wedding day for our beautiful couple, Meghan & Keith. It is always bittersweet for us when the wedding night comes to a close, but we know we will always be in touch as we hope they will share their honeymoon, new home and possible baby news with us in the future.

Many thanks to the fantastic vendors we worked alongside of:

W Hoboken – A special thank you to Vivian & Brad who took care of our every need and made the planning process & day-of a breeze!

St. Peter & Paul Church & Monsignor Frank

Shrewsbury Quartet

Craig Scott Entertainment

Jan Press Photography

Gardens Bloom Florist

Hoboken Premium Cigars

 The Finishing Touch is happy to announce our partnership with Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange, NJ.  As one of their preferred event consulting companies, we look forward to introducing you to this beautiful venue.

    Set on sixteen acres of impeccably landscaped grounds, Orange Lawn Tennis Club is the perfect setting for any event large or small. The Clubhouse at Orange Lawn, was founded in 1880 and is rich in tradition and history. Founding members include Richard Sears, the first US Singles Champion and James Dwight, the first USLTA's first president. In a time-honored tradition, OLTC also maintains 10 of the finest grass courts in the country.

OLTC boasts several architecturally stunning interior rooms that can accommodate anywhere from 10-200 guests. Rooms ranging from a glass covered dining room overlooking the front lawn (perfect for bridal showers or rehearsal dinners) to private rooms for corporate meetings, along with the newly built grand ballroom with magnificent panoramic views and 22 ft. ceilings.

Ariane Duarte, of TV's famed "Top Chef" is a preferred caterer at the club, but they also welcome outside caterers of the clients choice and will customize any event to meet your clients needs and budget. In all, Orange Lawn Tennis Club is truly a first class act! If you are looking for a unique location to hold your next event please contact us or visit their website at www.orangelawn.com. Special thanks to David from The Studio Photographers for taking some fabulous photos!