Fall Spice

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes {Made by Me!}

If there is one thing you haven't seen on Koru Wedding Style, it's cooking & baking.  Let's just say I do not have a natural talent in the kitchen.  Natural disasters in the kitchen, well, I have plenty of those.  However, when I ran across this yummy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes recipe on Hey Gorg & none of the ingredients or instructions scared me, I decided to give it a whirl.  

Please indulge me as I recount one of my first positive baking experiences.  Ever.

First things first, I lined up my ingredients & supplies.  The less surprises & fruitless searches, the better:

I know lots of great bakers who add just a little bit of this & a little bit of that but I followed the recipe to the letter.  Soon, I had a concoction that looked & smelled like pumpkin spice:

Here is my sous chef Beagle Bailey.  He's pouting at my feet because I had not dropped anything delicious his way:

Soon, my pumpkin spice cupcakes-to-be were ready for the oven:

20 minutes later, these perfect cupcakes emerged from the oven.  I couldn't believe it!

Naked pumpkin spice cupcakes in pink foil for Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

Now the recipe calls for homemade Chocolate Ganache frosting.  I knew I had already pushed my limited baking skills with the cupcakes.  Store bought cream cheese frosting?  Yes, please.

The Pumpkin Spice cupcakes are surprisingly easy & sooooo delicious- I definitely recommend them!  They draw rave reviews that swell this non-baker's heart.  So far, I have brought them to a new Mom & Dad while visiting their newborn & to a hungry crew at a Jets tailgate.  They're just perfect for Halloween parties, Thanksgiving & Fall weddings too!

Koru Kate Finds: Halloween Spirits

Happy Halloween Week!  Halloween is almost here!!!  Welcome to my chic & spooky Halloween-themed blog (this week only).  Let's start with a Koru Kate Finds: Halloween-Style!

How about some sinister drinks to spice up your Halloween party or wedding?

Black Magic Cocktails

Image via Martha Stewart

With Halloween chic names like Ghost in the Graveyard, Screwed-up Screwdriver & Berry Scary Martini, these dark drinks scream of a hauntingly good time!   Please, I beg of you, put one drink on display with a scrawled sign bearing its name.  You know what I mean- that classic, a monster-just-wrote-this scrawl.  It'll be a fearful, fabulous touch, I promise.  I can say from personal experience that black vodka is not easy to find but it's well worth the trouble.  Sinister black vodka drinks are a big hit this time of year!

 Witches' Brew

Image via Martha Stewart

Just imagine this steaming cauldron of Witches' Brew making a creepy statement at your Halloween party or wedding!  What's inside?, you may ask.  A good, old-fashioned favorite Root Bear Float.  Just add some dry ice & you've got the Halloween spirit.  A Witches' Brew that is good for big & little ghosts & goblins alike is a frightful delight this time of year.


For above recipes & more Halloween drinks, please click HERE.


Do you love or hate Halloween?  Can you tell that I'm a big fan?  Any spooky inspiration to share?

It's A Wrap! 26th Edition

Spooktacular Wedding Invitations

Image via You Stir Me

Hi there!  Is that a smile on your face?  Yes, me too- it's Friday!!!  I've been in my true element this week as I worked on a wedding planning job & took a wedding invitation order.  Loving it but still loving my peaceful, no-work-allowed weekend :-)  Before I go, here is the Koru List of wedding loveliness just for you:

A spooky, chic collection of Halloween wedding & party decor

What will you be saying about your wedding & marriage two years later?

A bright & cheerful wedding to put a smile on your pretty face

Hey Mister DJ!  How about some of these indie songs for your wedding?

Oh happy, cheerful wedding day!

Three cheers for a colorful Brooklyn fete!!!

Did I miss something good?  Do tell!  & have a wonderful weekend~

Pretty Paper

I have a wedding invitation appointment tomorrow & I'm really, really excited because I don't have such appointments much anymore.  I'm not comfortable bringing strangers to my home studio & I'm not lugging my heavy invitation books elsewhere.  But tomorrow is a fun appointment with a family friend that will give me the golden chance to flex my creative invitation muscles.  Now I have invitations on my mind! 

Invitations are my favorite wedding detail & I'd love to share some recent finds with you:

Invitation by Avie Designs

via Oh So Beautiful Paper

The modern, lasercut Mexican Papel Picado invitation is AMAZING!  I'm in absolute awe.  This invitation is practically too good to be true.  I would love, LOVE to receive this invitation to a fun, fiesta wedding!! 

   Invitation by Julia Kostreva

via Once Wed

No doubt about it, letterpress is beautiful.  This Fall invitation takes letterpress invitations to a new level with a process called split ink fountain.  I don't know anything about split ink fountain except that I absolutely love it!

Invitation by Woodland Papercuts

via Postcards and Pretties

This charming invitation is named Deer Beloved.  I mean, that just about says it all!  Papercutting is used to create the invitation & I'm a huge fan of the results.   I'm picturing a winter wedding in Aspen.

Invitation by Scout's Honor Co.

via 100 Layer Cake

Nautical-themed weddings & invitations are nothing new but the fabulous watercolor design takes this invitation to another level.  I know from my art class days that watercolor is no easy feat so I really admire this design.  It's a fresh, pretty take on a classic waterfront wedding. 

For more of my fun invitation picks, check my Paper Board on Pinterest!

What invitations are you loving these days?

Family Vintage Wedding

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary!

40 years.  40 years!

Last weekend, RZ's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.  This lovely photo shows the day of their positive new beginning.  The day they started their baby family that would bring them two amazing sons, two fabulous daughters-in-law (if I do say so myself) & one adorable, fun granddaughter.  Just one pretty wedding day, ordinary & extraordinary.  

I have only been around for the last five years of their journey but I have witnessed something that is precious & beautiful.  They lead their family with a strength & love that is nothing shy of fierce.  

We hope to follow in their big, loving footsteps.  Of course, our story & our path will be our own.  But like them, we'd like the love & strength to be the common thread in the story of our life together.     

We are three months shy of our first anniversary & they are an inspiration to us!

Koru Kate Finds: Giselle

Giselle Wedding Gown

Image by Elizabeth Dye at englishdept

Way back when I was on the hunt for the perfect wedding gown . . .

The Giselle wedding gown was my very first love.  Simple & sweet, just my style.   That Alencon lace detail?  I die!  Oh, I fell in love, so hard.  I printed out a photo of the Giselle wedding gown, tucked it in my wedding folder & considered the dress search over.  I'd picked out matching wedding invitations with an Alencon lace detail.  I was sold!

I booked my first trip to Lovely Bridal Shop during an Elizabeth Dye trunk show & although I was open-minded & tried on a bit of everything, Giselle still had my heart.  But I worried about a tea-length dress for a formal church ceremony, not to mention during winter.  During my second trip to Lovely, I tried on the full-length version of Giselle.  It wasn't right for me.  The fit was awful for my body & the lace detail was lost.  Giselle was soon forgotten when I fell in love, true love, with the last dress I tried on: my wedding dress!

Alas, Elizabeth Dye remains a favorite wedding gown designer of mine & as I happily perused her new, beautiful collection, I was pleased as punch to discover a redesigned, full-length Giselle to present as the latest Koru Kate Finds:

Giselle Wedding Gown, full-length

Image via Elizabeth Dye at englishdept

Love, love, LOVE!  The new, full-length Giselle is the perfect replica of the tea length version.  Same flattering A-line silouhette & same sweet lace detail.  It's absolutely divine in my humble opinion.  I don't wish I could go back & have this dress but I am really, really excited for the Brides-to-be that have this lovely dress as an option!  

Be sure to check out the other fabulous Elizabeth Dye options at The English Department too!

It's A Wrap! 25th Edition

This photo has nothing to do with this post.

It makes me smile though & isn't that enough?

Image by Our Labor of Love

via 100 Layer Cake

Hi.  Please raise your hand if you're happy it's Friday.  Yes, me too.  This week has been a bit, well, trying.  I am beyond lucky & blessed in life & I never lose sight of that.  Still.  Sometimes things are not so smooth or happy.  The grey, rainy weather hasn't helped any, although it has perfectly matched my mood.

& my mood has affected the weekly Koru List.  I like to bring you plentiful wedding eye candy from the likes of Style Me Pretty, while sprinkling in musings on weddings & marriage from the likes of A Practical Wedding.  They are my top favorite wedding blogs as different as they may be.  While the eye candy this week was as gorgeous as always, my stormy, brooding mood was drawn to two posts this week that made me think.  A lot.  About what wedding blogs I like & support, about the value in my sweet wedding planning business.

So I present you those links:  

Dear Wedding Bloggers, You Suck     

Price Is Not The Same As Value  

Well worth the read, ladies.