New Location!

We are happy to announce that we have partnered up with Donato's Floral in Maple Grove!

Rita Marie Weddings will now be located in Donato's.  We can do wedding consultations and customers can take a look at cake stands (to purchase or rent), vintage linens, table cloths, etc.

Donato's is a lovely flower shop/warehouse.  So excited to venture with the ladies who run it!
You can check out their website here Donato's Floral.  They specialize in wedding flowers and special occasions.

More to come… we're busy getting settled.  We'll be open as soon as next Saturday!  Hip-hip-hooray!

Oh, and my website got a little facelift, too, with better pictures to see what we rent.
You can check it out here Rita Marie Weddings.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sparklers and Confetti Ribon

Once upon a time, there was this beautiful couple.  And they got married.

They had an amazing wedding reception in the evening.  So they had the wonderful idea to leave at the end of the night with sparklers and confetti ribbon.

We had the bridesmaids hand it out to everyone.  But first we put the supplies in these baskets (which are available to rent).

First all the guests lined up in the big long hallway on each side.  Then as they came running down the aisle, we popped the ribbon out.  What is so cool is the ribbon stayed attached to the container so there was no clean up hassle.

Then once outside, everyone lit their sparklers.  No picture of that (sorry). 

 It was a fun and festive way to end the night.  

And begin a new life together.

Valentine's Mantle

See the post right before this to read about the challenge I gave myself.

Here is the finished product... a pink, green, and white Valentine's mantle.

It has been so grey here in Minnesota lately, that the pinks and greens really spoke to me.  So did this little bird.  Little Birdie keeps me happy when I am missing all the little critters that have flown south for the winter.  I picked him up at a craft store about a year ago.

My cute little banner cost about $3 to make.  It took about an hour of time.  About half-an-hour to select the paper and punch the di-cuts at Archiver's.  I bought ribbon on Clearance at Michael's for 99 cents.  I know- get out of town- that is cheap!  Then it took about a half-hour to design it and tape it together.  I used double-sided tape on the parts touching the ribbon, and a glue stick when it was time to glue paper to paper.

I like the idea of switching things out with a little color.  You'll notice from my Christmas pictures below that I used a lot of the same things, just with a different twist: instead of ornaments hanging from frames, I used hearts.  The red berries are awesome for Christmas, but also Valentine's. 


Serve up a little love with a heart on a pedestal... decorating with pedestal stands is the best!

I have these frames and this beautiful antique mirror and a lot more available for rent if you live in the Twin Cities. The possibilities are endless!

Introducing Rita Marie Weddings

To better serve our customers, we've undergone some exciting changes.

We have a new name!  Rita Marie Weddings

Here is my new banner that was designed by a fancy New York City graphic designer (so lucky to have a cousin who works in that industry!)

And my new logo….

The name is inspired by my grandmother who is no longer living.  My designs started out vintage, although there are lots of different styles now.  I felt that her name sounded vintage, so it was true to my vision and beginnings, as well as has a nice ring to it.  Plus, I really feel my grandmother "speak" to me as I design and run my business, so it keeps her close to me.  Wasn't she a beauty?

And to see my new website, click here:Rita Marie Weddings

And to contact me with any questions, leave a comment or e-mail me at info@ritamarieweddings.com

It was so fun to start this adventure a while back.  I let my kids help me come up with that first name, JL Plates and Platters, and my instinct was correct in letting them help out.  They are so creative, and it was just what we needed to get started off the ground.  Things have grown so much, that a new name was needed to better describe our services.  Thanks to those of you who have supported me along the way, purchased things, and trusted us to serve you or help with a wedding or event.  It has been a magnificent adventure!

Vintage Dessert Bar

Here are my practice pictures from the dessert bar I decorated at a recent wedding at International Market Square.   It was so fun to use a dozen of the cake stands I've made from beautiful vintage and antique dishes.  They topped each stand with desserts.  Then we set fresh and silk flowers, as well as little vintage dishes and tea pots and such, interspersed throughout the table.  It turned out charming and breath taking.

I am still waiting for pictures from the professional photagrapher, but here are a few from when I was practicing to make sure the color scheme matched.

If you are interested in having me decorate tables or a dessert bar, or want to use these cake stands, just leave a comment or e-mail me at jlplatesandplatters@gmail.com.  All of the floral arrangement and table cloths (not pictured) are available for rent as well- if you need tables and dessert bars decorated, you've found the right place!

International Market Square Wedding Reception

It was a magical night at International Market Square last week.

I had the privilege of decorating the wedding reception of a beautiful young woman and her new husband.  

I can't say how much fun it was working with D'amico Catering and IMT!  We dropped off my vintage cake stands a day early, and they designed the dessert bar from the cake stands.  Anyone watch Sweet Genius on Thursday nights? (it is my favorite show)  Anyway, he always gives the contestants an inspiration piece to use to inspire the desserts (usually weird or funny objects like a turkey or a clown or Noah's Ark.)  I was so excited to have my cake stands be the (hopefully not weird), but very sweet and charming inspiration piece.

Here are the pictures of the kitchen way down under.  It was so much fun riding the freight elevator down and finding our way through the maze of underground halls and seeing chefs in white coats all over the place.  The head pastry chef was so kind and generous, and the staff was top-notch professional!  Here are a few random pictures of my cake stands in the fridge and of the kitchen.  

And this, my Friends, is the magnificent International Market Square Atrium.  I love all the design shops and the awesome feel that this landmark has to it.

We had just 3 hours to transform this place into a Vintage Themed Reception.  I was in such a hurry I am even blurry in the picture.  I am sure that is because I was moving at the speed of lightening.  Or maybe it was just because I was Bionic Woman for 3 hours.

It went great.  Because we were in such a hurry, I had my kids help out.   

They were very professional.

Don't you agree?

Actually, I told them they were not allowed to act like teens, they had to be professionals.  And boy howdy, they did all that we asked and more.  They saved the sillies for the clean-up after all the guests and the wedding family were long gone ;o)

I will leave it to the professionals to take the pictures of the reception.  My camera didn't do it justice.  Check back in a few weeks for the pictures to be posted when they arrive from the photographer!

All of the table cloths and supplies I used to decorate with are now available for rent.  Leave a comment if you are interested and I will get back to you right away!

A Little June Cottage Wedding

Here are a few of the pictures from the sweet little "cottage" wedding reception I did way back in June.  It was so fun to help this family plan their reception as well.