DIY Wedding Wishing Tree

This is a really cool alternative than having a traditional guestbook at your wedding!  It's something that you can put in your house after the wedding and be able to look at everyday instead of a book to look through every once in a blue moon that sits on the shelf.  It is SUPER easy to make and you can dress it up year-round with a different theme for each month (January - snowflakes, February - hearts for Valentine's Day, March - shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, April - Easter eggs, etc).  You get the idea! 

What You Will Need:

• Flower pot
• Branches (14 branches, varying sizes)
• Spray paint (for the branches)
• Glitter paint
• Crystal garland (I used about 24 feet)
• Lighted branch
• Newspaper or green floral foam
• Rocks (enough to cover the top opening of the pot)
• Scrapbook paper (you get about 12 tags per sheet)
• Stamp and ink
• Scissors (pattern edges)
• Thread
• Hole punch

Wishing Tree
Spray paint the branches whatever color you choose... I used silver, blends with the crystal garland best.  Spray paint the rocks silver and after they are dry, put on a few coats of glitter paint.  Wait a day until the branches and rocks are completely dry.  Use newspaper or foral foam to fill in the pot to stick the branches in whatever arrangement you would like.  I cut the branches all different sizes and put the longest ones towards the back and the shortest in the front.  I also put a lighted branch right in the middle which adds a nice little touch!  Once all of the branches are in place, wrap the crystal garland around each branch.  Fill the rest of the pot with the glittered rocks.

Wishing Tags
Cut the scrapbook paper in 2 inch by 3 inch circles or squares with the patterned scissors.  Punch holes at the top of each and tie thread through the hole.  On the textured side of the paper, you can have a pattern or if it's blank you can stamp a design on it.  The smooth side will be used for people to write their messages.

When setting up the wishing tree, put the wishing tags either in a shallow bowl or plate.  Make sure to have pens for guests to write on them!  I wrote out a little message to the guests explaining the wishing tree below:

Wishing Tree

Write a note to Doug & Kristina with the tags provided and hang on the tree.

Have fun and don’t forget

to sign your name!

 

Happy crafting!

Here are some examples of decorating your wishing tree for different holidays.

 

St. Patrick's Day

 

 

Valentine's Day

DIY Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes Recipe

 

DIY Wedding Cupcakes

These cupcakes were the true test to see if I could really "Do It Myself".  For my wedding, I just loved the idea of cupcakes!  After going from bakery to bakery, it turns out that cupcakes for a wedding can be even more expensive than a wedding cake itself.  In the back of my mind, I just kept thinking... "I could totally make my own cupcakes".  And so it began. 

My husband and I's all-time favorite recipe is the Irish Car Bomb cupcake.  For about 2 years, I have tried many different recipes for this one Irish Car Bomb cupcake - a chocolate stout Guinness cake with Jameson whiskey ganache filling topped with Bailey's buttercream frosting.  And after doing several trials, I have finally found the PERFECT Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (and they're wicked easy too... unless you're making 130 of them).  The pudding and cake mix makes more of a moist cake rather than crumbly cake.  The whiskey ganache gives the cupcake a rich chocolate taste and the little bit of frosting on top brings all parts together.  Here it is!

 

Cupcakes:  (makes about 24)

• 1 box of Devils Food Chocolate Cake Mix (I find the Pillsbury Moist Supreme is best)
• 1 box of Instant Chocolate Pudding (3.9 ounce box)
• 4 whole Large Eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup of Sour Cream at room temperature
• 3/4 cup of Guinness Beer at room temperature
• 1 stick of Butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line regular sized muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, beer, and melted butter.  Make sure the eggs, sour cream, and Guinness are at room temperature so the melted butter won't seize up.  Mix the ingredients on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until thoroughly combined.  The batter will be super thick - don't worry, it's supposed to be like that!  Spoon the batter into cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full (I use an ice cream scooper - it fills it the perfect amount).  Bake for 18-22 minutes.  Remove from pan and let it cool completely.

 

Ganache filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I find the Ghiradelli 60% cocoa is best)
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons of Jameson Irish whiskey

In a double boiler, heat the cream until it is simmering.  Add about half a cup of chips at a time and stir it until smooth.  Keep adding the chips little by little.  Once smooth, add the butter and whiksey and stir it until well combined.  Let it cool enough until it is thick (like the consistancy of honey).

When the cupcakes are cool, use a cupcake corer to make holes in the cupcakes (be sure to only go about halfway through).  You can pipe or spoon the ganache into the filling to the height of cake.

Frosting:

This was the hardest part to figure out.  And turns out to be the easiest... because I tried to make frosting from scratch many, many times.  And have failed many, many times.  I ended up going to a local cake store and bought a tub of ready-made buttercream frosting and added a couple of tablespoons of Bailey's until it tasted just right.  Frost the cupcakes any style you'd like with a piping bag and tip. 

To fancy it up, I added some sugar crystals on top of the frosting and red chocolate hearts.  In order to make 130 for my wedding, I did the cupcake and filling the day beforehand and frosting the morning of.  You can make up the chocolate hearts a week or so before, but make sure they stay in a cool place.  Mine melted a little, but I just rubbed over them with a paper towel and they looked just like new.  And lastly, the best way to dress them up for the wedding is the presentation.