DIY Bride™

It’s holiday time, my friends!

In addition to Brooklyn Bride’s annual holiday card swap (you’re participating, right?) I thought it’d be lots of fun to do a cookie exchange among us DIYers and DIY-admirerers.

Here’s the concept:

• You sign up for the list with the type of cookie you’ll be making.
• You’ll be matched with a random participant who is NOT making the same type of cookie.
• You send each other 1 dozen homemade cookies by the deadline.
• You get a yummy treat in the mail. Easy, right?

Here’s how to get involved:

1. By November 28th email cookie at diybride dot com with:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your email address
• Type of cookie you’ll be making
• # of people you want to swap with (remember – you’ll be making a dozen for each person and paying for shipping!) Let’s set a limit of 4 partners per swapper. That’s manageable, right?

2. On December 01, I will email you the details of your swap partner(s).

3. You have until December 10th to send out your home-baked cookie goodness.

General Rules:

• US residents only for this swap, y’all. Sorry, international cookie fiends! Due to holiday shipping and customs issues, it’s just not a good idea to try to send overseas with expectations of pre-Xmas delivery.
• Please don’t flake! If you think you won’t be able to meet your obligation, please let me and your swap partner know ASAP.
• While we dig Toll House cookies, it’d be a drag if everyone sent them. Please do use original or unique recipes that don’t come from the back of a package or are sliced from a tube from the store.
• Package your cookies well! Crumbly, broken cookies make people cry. For packaging tips go here and here and here and here. I recommend USPS small video boxes for shipping.
• It’s not a mandate but a recipe card along with your cookies would be swell!

Need cookie inspiration? No problem! Check out these spots for recipes to get you started:

• Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day
• Christmas Cookies dot com
• All Recipes
• Baking Delights 50 Best Cookies on the Net
• Cookie Madness
• Epicurious
• Food Network

Heads up, DIYers! The forum and downloads areas will be unavailable beginning Friday, 11/6 through Sunday, 11/8. I’ll be switching over to a new (and more user-friendly) setup for handling our community area and the 300+ downloads.

Real Problems is a spin-off from our Real Etiquette feature where we discuss real-life problems couples are facing as they plan their weddings. This is our first post in the series.

Dear DIY Bride,

My fiance and I recently met with a baker that we saw at a bridal fair. Her booth was busy on the day we went but we got a small sample of her cake and picked up a brochure that had some beautiful designs done by her company. Fast forward to a last weekend. We met with the cake lady in person. She was friendly and said that she could do all of the things we wanted for our cake. She had some good ideas and was enthusiastic about working with us. Then she handed us a scrapbook of her work.

Most of the cakes were pretty basic. Nothing wrong with that but I wasn’t seeing anything like what we were asking for. What bothers me most is there were a few cakes I recognized from some websites and magazines. I think she just copied and printed on photo paper to make it look like they were real shots of her work. (The reason I recognized one of those cakes is that I tore out the exact page from a magazine for my inspiration board.) To my fiances horror, I called her on it. The cake lady claimed that the magazine copied it from her and that she’s using their shot because it’s better than the one she had. It kinda sounds plausible. What do you think?

Trust your Spidey (bridey?) senses here. If you have reservations about the authenticity of a vendor’s claims, it’s probably best to move on. My understanding of your situation is the cake designer is using photographs of cakes that are not hers and is trying to pass them off as her creations. Yeah, that’s a big red flag.

Also, her portfolio isn’t reflecting the kind of work that you’re wanting. Not all cake designers can do every kind of cake. If she’s promising things outside of her normal skill set, you may want to reconsider. Do you want to be her cake test dummy? Finding out on the day of your wedding that she’s no good at intricate lacework (or whatever it is you’re seeking) is not a good idea.

Still confused? Hop on Google, Yelp and WeddingWire and do a search for your cake lady. It’s pretty easy to find reviews and background info on vendors. If you can’t find any info on her — and if she’s claiming to have done a significant amount of cakes or has been in business for more than a year — please be suspicious and act accordingly. You can also ask for a small sample cake of your design. It’ll cost you some cash but at least you’ll know what you’re in for.

Hey DIYers,

I’ll be dedicating an entire week to wedding crafts that are made with recycled materials. This is something near and dear to my heart because I’m a packrat thrifty recycler who adores rescuing and repurposing items.

I – and the entire DIY community – would love it if you shared your recylced projects with us for the showcase. Just send us your project details + pictures using the form below by October 23rd. (You can send project anytime, by the way! We love showing off the work of our talented readers.)

Dear Readers, please satisfy our curiosity about your weddings. What are you giving as your favors?

Today is my 9th wedding anniversary! I’m off for a couple of days to celebrate. Have a great week, everyone!