Chocolate Mint Truffles Wedding Favors

Pete loves mint and chocolate. Most people do. So that's why these chocolate mint truffles are a perfect wedding favor.

You can make a bunch of them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. I don't want to say they'll save forever, but we have had half a batch of these in the fridge for weeks now and they're still good.

Or so Pete says.

I gave up chocolate for Lent, so I haven't been able to touch them for a month. That's really why they have lasted for so long.

Chocolate Mint Truffles Wedding Favors

You'll have to make these in batches, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Pick up cute mini cupcake wrappers. When your venue (or coordinator) are setting up your favors, have them place one truffle per wrapper.

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1.5 cups mint chips
• 2 tablespoons butter

What You'll Do:

Pour the heavy cream in a saucepan and heat it until it just starts to boil.

Remove it from the heat.

Stir in the mint chips and butter until the mixture is combined.

Cool in the fridge for a few hours until the mixture is solid.

If you check after two hours and it hasn't solidified, remove it from the fridge and put it back on the stove. Head it with a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Stir and put it back in the fridge for an hour.

Shape the mint mixture into tiny balls. One teaspoon per truffle is a pretty good size. Put them on a silicone baking mat-lined cookie sheet. This just makes them super easy to remove when you're ready.

Put them in the fridge for about 20 minutes so they hold the shape.

Melt the milk chocolate.

Dip the truffles in the chocolate and put them back on the cookie sheet.

Cool them in the fridge.

When you're ready, serve them in mini cupcake wrappers.

I used green wrappers because the truffles are mint, but you can have them match your wedding colors.

How To Plan A Potluck Wedding

One of the things we have never touched on before here at A Bride On A Budget is how to plan a potluck wedding. It's something that I've always been a little iffy about. If you're throwing a wedding, I can't imagine inviting guests and asking them to bring food.

We host a huge football party every year, and we don't even ask guests to bring food to that. And we don't ask anyone to anything to our annual New Year's Eve party -- except their A Game for making it til midnight. And even that is negotiable. I honestly tell people they can just come, grab a plate of food, and leave. That's how we host parties.

That doesn't mean a potluck wedding reception is a bad idea. It just means it isn't for me.

A wedding potluck can be a great idea, though, if you're on a budget or if you're really working under a tight planning deadline. Our neighbors actually had one a couple years ago and everyone had a great time. Plus, it was really easy on them because they didn't have to worry about cooking everything and hosting. They also got married out of state and wanted to celebrate when they came back, so planning a lavish wedding reception just wasn't practical.

So, to help you decide if this is for you or not, I put together a list to answer the question of how to plan a potluck wedding, to help decide if it's right for you, and a bunch of potluck wedding tips.

How To Plan A Potluck Wedding

What Is A Potluck Wedding?
For argument's sake, a potluck wedding reception is one where the bride and groom provide the main portion of the meal and guests are asked to bring an appetizer, side dish, or snack instead of a gift.

Focus on that.

The dish is the gift. You can't ask guests to bring a dish and also give you a gift. That's awful and tacky.

How Do You Tell People It's A Potluck Wedding?
Your invitation must state that you're having a potluck wedding reception. Something like, "Please join us for a potluck wedding reception following the ceremony" needs to be on the invitation.

Spell. It. Out. Your potluck wedding reception invitations need to really let people know what they're invited to.

What Could Go Wrong?
A lot of things could go wrong at a potluck wedding.

What Could Go Right?
Also, a lot of things.

The Cons Of A Potluck Wedding

The big pro of a potluck wedding is you don't have to cook everything. If you were planning a backyard reception, you would either be cooking everything or having it catered. The catering bill can get expensive. But cooking for all your guests can be way too much during wedding week. Not to mention, you'd have to find a place for all your dishes once they're prepared.

If you have a wedding pot luck where everyone brings a dish, you really only have to worry about the paper products and whatever dish you are planning to prepare.

There are a lot of cons, though, like ...

You don't have control over the menu.
I was such a planner when it came to our wedding. I planned out every single little detail. So not being able to plan what our wedding menu was would cause me anxiety.

If you're asking everyone to bring a dish, though, you can't tell them exactly what to bring. I mean, Andy and April did that on Parks and Rec when they had their wedding potluck, but this is not TV. It's real life. And you have to allow people to bring whatever they like best. That doesn't mean it will be what you like best.

You may not have space for everything.
If you're having this wedding potluck at your parents' home, you need to hope that their refrigerator can hold everything that the guests bring. Because you can't leave everything on the counter while other guests are arriving.

Some foods can stay out, but many can't sit out for hours. That will get everyone sick. So unless you have access to an extra fridge, you might really want to reconsider.

Timing.
Guests may be cooking and come late to your reception. That actually happened at our last big game party. Two of our friends missed the first quarter because something the wife was baking took longer than she anticipated.

It's one thing for someone to come late. It's another thing for the bruschetta to arrive after the lasagna has already been pulled out of the oven.

But think about it. If you are having a ceremony followed by the reception, when does that give people time to cook anything that needs to be warm? Their options are bring it cold and hope there's space in the oven, miss the ceremony, or bring something lukewarm. None of those are really great ideas.

The Pros Of A Potluck Wedding

The cost.
A potluck wedding is a lot cheaper -- for you, anyway -- that a traditional catered wedding. You'll save by not having to pay a catering hall's set price per person. Instead, your budget is set by the meal you make and the paper products you buy.

You have leftovers.
Of course, no one is going to come to your wedding with a dish and then take it home with them. Okay, side note. Remember that potluck wedding I mentioned our neighbors having? Well, of course, I had no intention of bringing home the dish I made. Neither did my mother. But our other neighbor, who showed up empty-handed, took home both our leftovers.

For the most part, though, no one takes home what they brought, which means you'll have meals for the next few days if there are any leftovers.

It's more casual.
When you have a wedding potluck, much of the food is set out at the beginning and just left out. That allows your guests to graze all reception long. You don't have a stop in the dancing to make sure everyone is seated for the sitdown meal.

Potluck Wedding Tips

Keep the wedding small.
This type of wedding reception works best when you only have a handful of guests. It's a lot easier to cook and store food for 40 rather than 400.

Know your guests (and their cooking abilities).
I have a few go to recipes that always go over well. So does my mom. So if you're inviting the two of us to your potluck wedding reception, I can guarantee you will have two dishes that everyone will enjoy.

But if you come from a long line of relatives who live in the Land Of The Bland, this might not be the way you want to go. You will end up giving Aunt Edna anxiety because now she has to bring a dish and your young cousins will just end up bringing something they grabbed in the prepared foods section of the closest grocery store.

If your guests can't cook, you might want to think of something else.

Hire a server or two.
Does your maid of honor have a young brother who might want to earn some cash? Hire him and a couple of his friends to be servers. Let them be the ones to do clean up, make sure there are enough plates and utensils, and have them constantly on garbage duty.

The last thing you want is to turn your friends into vendors ... which is my new favorite word: friendors. Your friends are coming to your wedding to spend your special day with you. They're not coming to dish your macaroni salad.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you plan a potluck wedding?

Homemade Meringue Cookies Wedding Favors

If you love this Homemade Meringue Cookies Wedding Favors recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

I've said this before, and I'll say it another thousand times: Edible favors are the best. People don't need a wine glass with your wedding date on it as much as they need a sweet treat for the car ride home. Plus, if you can make that sweet treat, they're not that expensive. Like these Homemade Meringue Cookies Wedding Favors.

I used three eggs and was able to make 90 meringues. That was a single batch. Three is a good amount for a favor, so that's about 30 favors for only three eggs. A dozen eggs would make 120 favors, so for the cost of a dozen eggs and some sugar, you'll have plenty of favors.

Homemade Meringue Cookies Wedding Favors

Now, small aside since everyone seems to be on a diet: These are actually really diet friendly. They're a great gluten-free dessert. Plus, they're a low carb dessert. And, you can have 5 for only 2 Weight Watchers Freestyle Points. Honestly, I have two and my sweet craving is satisfied.

What You'll Need:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla (not extract)
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 drops food coloring
•  Sprinkles

What You'll Do:

Preheat the oven to 250.

Separate your eggs. Put the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and leave the yolks for another time.

Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla on high for two minutes until the whites start to get foamy.

Add in the sugar and beat on high for 10 minutes until super stiff peaks form.

The stiffer the better.

Add two drops of food coloring and mix in, very carefully. You want to spread the coloring around gently.

Put some of the mixture into a prepared piping bag (I used a 1M tip).

If you don't have a piping bag, you can cut the tip off a storage bag and use that. Without the tip though, you'll end up with round blobs instead of star-shaped meringues.

Pipe on to a silicone baking mat on top of a cookie sheet. I got 90 meringues out of the entire recipe.

If you don't have a silicone baking mat (but you should, they're amazing!), you can line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

At the very last second, I decided to sprinkle some of them with sugar sprinkles and it just made them a million times prettier. So definitely do that.

Bake them for 40 minutes. Turn off the oven after 40 minutes and let them sit for an hour.

After they've sat, you can remove them from the cookie sheets and put them in an airtight container. When you're ready, put four in a small treat bag and affix a thank you tag.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make these Homemade Meringue Cookies Wedding Favors?

DIY Wedding Popcorn Bar

I love cooking. I really enjoy coming up with delicious ideas and creating them in the kitchen. It's something that I've grown to really enjoy and want to share with people. Not too long ago, though, I was terrible at it. I could make popcorn and cereal (because I don't put milk in cereal) and guacamole, and I was good at anything that came out of a box. So when Pete would tell people his favorite thing I cook is popcorn, I would laugh. We should have had a DIY Wedding Popcorn Bar because he loves it so much, but we didn't.

Even though I can actually cook now (and cook well, thank goodness), Pete will still tell you that my popcorn is the best. In fact, he invited my parents over for movie night recently and said "And Lisa is making her world's famous popcorn."

I make it in the pressure cooker, on the stove, with some salt and butter. Sometimes I turn it into bacon caramel popcorn (for blog posts only). If the latter appeals to you more, you'll love the idea of a Wedding Popcorn Bar at your wedding.

We put together this post with the help of Gifts.com (they provided us the photos, popcorn recipes, and inspiration).

DIY Wedding Popcorn Bar

You won't need too many popcorn bar supplies for this. Your venue may actually have a bunch of things that you can borrow for it. That's always my suggestion. See what you can use that your venue already has, then purchase the rest.

What You'll Need:

• Popcorn *See recipes below
• Containers (for holding the popcorn)
• Plastic scoops (for serving)
• Popcorn containers
• Toppings
• Popcorn Bar banner

What You'll Do:

Make the popcorn. You'll want to pop it fresh (because that's so much better than microwaveable popcorn or purchasing bulk popcorn, and makes it world's famous if your significant other really loves you).

Then, turn that popcorn into something special with a variety of popcorn flavors.

Easy Popcorn Recipes:

For every recipe, we suggest popping one cup of popcorn kernels in two tablespoons of oil to make 20 cups. Coat with four tablespoons of melted butter and two pinches of salt. Then, toss with the recipes below.

Rosemary & Parmesan Popcorn Recipe: 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary, 1 to 2 tablespoons grated parmesan, and a pinch of garlic powder.

White Chocolate & Sprinkles Popcorn Recipe: 1/2 cup white chocolate chips melted with 1/2 teaspoon of shortening and 2 tablespoons sprinkles.

Cinnamon & Sugar Popcorn Recipe: 1/2 cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Coconut & Curry Popcorn Recipe: 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon toasted coconut flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon curry powder.

Wasabi & Cayenne Pepper Popcorn Recipe: 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon wasabi powder, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Matcha & Chocolate Popcorn Recipe: 1 melted chocolate bar, 2 tablespoons matcha powder, and 1 tablespoon coconut oil.

Bacon & Caramel Popcorn Recipe: Get the full recipe here.

Popcorn Bar Setup: 

Figure out where in the venue this will fit. We had a lounge area across from our ballroom and that's where we had our candy bar set up.

When you figure out where you are setting up, start with a long table. Put each of your different popcorn combinations in a huge glass bowl. Stick with glass because they are food safe. I love the look of galvanized buckets (we used them for our wedding candy buffet), but you can only put wrapped food in those.

Create labels to mark each of the different combinations. Chalkboard labels with clothespins are perfect for this.

You'll also want to pick up glass salt shaker bottles and label them with your popcorn bar seasonings: chocolate powder, salt, sprinkles, cinnamon, etc.

Then, at the start of your table, set up your popcorn bar containers.

You can even leave a permanent ink market at the start of the table in case your guests want to write their name or decorate their containers.

Finally, put your popcorn bar banner behind the set up.

Set this up at the end of the night so that your guests can grab a container of popcorn on the way out of your wedding. Everyone loves a late night snack. It's just a lot of fun. And who isn't hungry after dancing all night long?

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you put together this DIY wedding popcorn bar for your guests?

DIY Wedding Bruschetta Bar

I'm a big fan of action stations at weddings. They give guests something to do. And that's important because your cocktail hour can get a little boring. You and your bridal party are off taking photos while the rest of your guests are quickly running out of small talk and crudités. An action station gives them both something to do and something to talk about. This DIY wedding bruschetta bar is perfect for your big day.

DIY Wedding Bruschetta Bar

The really fun thing about bruschetta is you can top it with pretty much anything. Your limit is your imagination. You can create spreads, top it with meat, or (my favorite) a nice piece of cheese.

Now, I'm writing this with the notion that you are creating this for your own wedding, shower, or rehearsal dinner. We had three types of bruschetta at our wedding, and our venue handled it. This post, though, is if you are planning on handling it.

And a big thanks to Gifts.com for help with the post. The site provided the photos to us and helped with the pairing ideas. You can check out the site's blog for other how to posts or the site itself for gift ideas (I have a few that I just put on my Things I Need list).

What You'll Need:

• Italian or French bread
• Bruschetta spreads:
• Tapenade
• Hummus
• Pesto
• Tomato salsa
• Bruschetta meat pairings
• Bruschetta cheese pairings
• Additional toppings (beans, olives, almonds, fruit, etc.)

What You'll Do:

Slice your bread into 1/4 inch slices and toast it. Bruschetta is known for its crispy toast, so you want to crisp yours up.

Create your spreads. Make whatever you like best, but if you need examples, I have recipes for my four favorites. Put each in a separate bowl and label it so your guests know what each spread is.

Bruschetta spreads recipes:
Tapenade:
In a food processor, combine 1 cup olives (pitted), 1 tablespoon capers, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. You can also add salt and pepper to taste.

You can choose any kinds of olives you want. Make it half green and half black, make a batch of each, whatever you like.

Hummus:
In a food processor, combine 1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed), 4 cloves garlic, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. This is your base. After this, you can stir in anything your guests might like: hot sauce, chopped olives, red pepper flakes, etc.

Personally, we roast our garlic first to give the hummus a little bit of a smoky flavor. It does add a little more time to your hummus, so it might be something you want to do for yourself but not for your wedding.

Pesto:
My favorite pesto is Pete's kale and walnut pesto. I think it's a lot better than pesto made with basil and pine nuts, plus it's a lot more cost effective because kale is a lot cheaper than pesto.

To make it, put 2 cups kale, 1 clove garlic, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus salt and pepper to taste, in a food processor until combined. With this one, we toast the walnuts first but you can skip it.

Tomato salsa:
This is the most common bruschetta topping. And it's the easiest. Okay, they're all pretty simple, but this one doesn't even need a fancy food processor. Just some knife skills.

Finely chop 6 Roma tomatoes, 1 small red onion, shallots, and your favorite herbs (I suggest fresh parsley). Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a splash of lemon. Combine them.

Bruschetta meat pairings:
Gifts.com suggests coppa, pancetta, prosciutto, salami, and smoked salmon.

You'll want to set these out on platters or serving boards and be sure to label them. People may not be exactly sure what each meat and what it pairs with. Create cute flags with the name of the meat, affix them to toothpicks, and stick them into the meats.

Bruschetta cheese pairings:
Gifts.com suggests brie, burrata, feta, goat cheese, Gorgonzola, mascarpone, mozzarella, Parmesan, and ricotta.

Personally, I would buy a large chalkboard slab and write the names of the cheese on it.  You can also make our DIY chalkboard serving tray.

What you'll want to do is give your guests suggestions on what spreads, meats, and cheeses to pair together. Sure, they can do whatever they want, but suggestions are helpful.

My favorite suggestions: pesto, mozzarella, and panchetta; tapenade, salami, and Parmesan; and tomato salsa and prosciutto.

To set up your DIY Wedding Bruschetta Bar, start with a long table. Put small cocktail plates and napkins on one end of a table. In the middle, put your spreads, meats, and cheeses, plus serving spoons. Everything will be served buffet style, which is a good way for your guests to get up and move around.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you add to this DIY Wedding Bruschetta Bar?

Banana Nut Muffins (perfect for a bridal shower brunch)

If you love this Banana Nut Muffins recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

I am the biggest fan of the discount produce rack at my local grocery store. I check it every time I go shopping. Mostly, I'm on the hunt for ripe bananas. I found a ton last time I was in the store, too many to make banana bread. So instead, I made banana nut muffins.

As I was making them, I kept thinking how perfect they would be for a bridal shower brunch. If you're planning on throwing one, you need to add these muffins to your menu.

Banana Nut Muffins

What You'll Need:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

What You'll Do:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Peel and mash your bananas until they are complete mush. I use a potato masher to make this a little easier. Melt the butter and stir it into the bananas. Add the milk, egg, and vanilla and stir until it is all completely incorporated.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugars, and half the walnuts. Stir very gently until everything is incorporated.

Fill a cupcake-lined muffin pan about 2/3 of the way full, then top each with a generous amount of leftover walnuts.

Bake for 25 minutes, then cool the muffins on a wire rack.

If you have a nut allergy, you can substitute the nuts for mini chocolate chips. If you are, double the chocolate chips to 1 cup instead of a half cup. Then, instead of splitting them between the batter and a topping, stir all the chips into the batter itself.

If you're looking for other recipes for a bridal shower, I have a few you will love:

• Bacon-Wrapped Crackers
• Mint To Be Muffins
• Mini Pudding Cups

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make these banana nut muffins for a bridal shower?

Planning a bridal shower?

Check out our tips for throwing the perfect bridal shower.

DIY Hot Chocolate Bar

We had a summer wedding because it just made more sense. Almost all of our wedding guests were traveling, so it was just easier for them to travel during summer vacation. We had a candy bar because I love chocolate and thought a bag of chocolate and candies on the way out was so much fun. If we had a winter wedding, though, we would have done a DIY hot chocolate bar on the way out.

See, I love hot chocolate. I drank it every day before school, and it's a treat I even drink now. So it would have been so much fun to put together a hot chocolate bar with personalized cups, signs, and toppings.

If you're having a winter wedding and want something special, this DIY hot chocolate bar is exactly what you're looking for.

DIY Hot Chocolate Bar

If you're having this at your wedding, you need to put together all the DIY elements yourself, then hand them off to your venue coordinator. If you want to make sure it looks the way you intended, set it up at home and take a photo. Tape that photo to the top of the box containing the elements so you can assure it's the way you want. If you don't have the ability to take a photo, you can always draw one.

Also, big thank you to Shutterfly for helping us with the images and printable for this post. Shutterfly created neutral printables that will match your wedding colors no matter what they are. That's absolutely perfect and means you don't have to design your own.

What You'll Need:

• Hot chocolate mix
• Hot chocolate spoons
• Paper cups and printables
• Toppings (whipped cream, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, crushed peppermint candies, caramels, etc.)
• Syrups (caramel, chocolate, etc.)
• Skewer sticks and printable labels
• Spoons or stirrers
• Baker's twine
• 2 large pitchers
• Chalkboard

What You'll Do:

Make your hot chocolate mix.
My mix is an equal ratio of sugar to unsweetened cocoa powder, plus one pinch of salt. Two tablespoons of mix is one 8oz. cup of hot chocolate. Store your mix in a glass jar to bring to your venue.

You can have them either leave the mix in your glass jars or combine it with hot milk and add it to a pitcher. If you have them mix it, be sure to tell them two tablespoons of milk per 8oz. of milk.

Put together your cups.
Purchase paper cups in your wedding colors. Cut out the printables and glue them to one side of each cup. Let them dry completely.

Assemble your printables.
Head over to this link for a variety of printables. You'll find one that says hot chocolate (this will go on the pitcher with the hot chocolate) and another that says hot milk (this goes on a second pitcher).

There are also flag printables for items like marshmallows, peppermint, and more. Put a small bit of glue on the back of each, then affix them to the top of skewer sticks. Get a glass jar for each topping, then stick the skewer in each jar. Print out the larger tags for things like the syrups, then affix them around bottles with baker's twine.

Make your hot chocolate spoons.
Some of your guests may prefer hot chocolate spoons instead of using a powdered mix. The spoons are easy to make (find our complete tutorial here). Your guests can stir the hot chocolate spoons into the hot milk.

Create your chalkboard.
You'll want to give your guests a little direction with the hot chocolate bar. A fun way to do that is to write out a chalkboard for them. Writing something like "Pour hot cocoa & pile on toppings or pour hot milk & dunk choco sticks" is a big help.

Think about snacks.
I'm a big fan of not baking anything for your wedding yourself. There's just not enough time. I promise you. But talk to your caterer or your cake vendor. Explain to them that you're planning a hot chocolate bar and see if they can create any sweet treats (hot chocolate mini cupcakes, maybe) to compliment your hot chocolate bar. Put them out on the table with your hot chocolate bar items to finish the night perfectly.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What toppings would you add to your DIY hot chocolate bar?

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Wedding Favors

If you love this Chocolate-Covered Strawberries recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

I love chocolate. It's actually what I give up for Lent every year because it's the hardest thing for me to sacrifice. So if you're planning a wedding, I'm going to push you in the direction of chocolate favors. So now sounds like a good time to give you a DIY for chocolate-covered strawberries wedding favors ... because yum.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Wedding Favors

Now, I'll be honest. It's infinity degrees here right now. Like seriously, so hot. So these are definitely not a North Carolina-in-the-start-of-fall favor idea. But maybe more of an up north idea. Or winter idea. Or just stop being me and turn on the AC.

What You'll Need:

• Strawberries
• Melting chocolate
• Toothpicks
• Wax paper
• Favor boxes

What You'll Do:

Melt the chocolate according to the package. Depending on the type of chocolate, you may have different options to melt it. Many are okay with you using the microwave, others expect you to use a double boiler.

Stick the strawberries (washed and cleaned, of course) with a toothpick.

Dip them in the melted chocolate and let them cool completely on wax paper.

When they're solid, put them in the favor boxes. Close the boxes and add a thank you tag if you choose.

The best part of these, of course, is that you get to eat the extras.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make these chocolate-covered strawberries wedding favors?

Wedding Diet Friendly Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

I had bananas ripening for banana bread. It's one of my favorite things to make. As I was talking to a friend about it, she said I should use the bananas for banana ice cream instead.

Banana ice cream is so popular on Pinterest, but it wasn't something I had made before. I have such a sweet tooth, especially for ice cream, and I couldn't imagine how bananas would be a substitute.

Oh my gosh.

Banana ice cream is so amazing. I actually made chocolate banana ice cream. It was so healthy and so indulgent. The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't make more of it! If you're on a wedding diet and craving sweets, this is perfect for you. Trust me.

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

What You'll Need:

• 4 bananas
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey
• Pinch of salt

What You'll Do:

Slice the banana and freeze it overnight.

Put the banana slices in a blender and blend until the bananas are chopped finely.

Add the cocoa powder and honey, then blend a couple minutes until the mix is very creamy.

Pour it into a container (I reused the one the bananas were frozen in), add a pinch of salt, and stir.

Eat it immediately if you prefer melty ice cream; freeze it overnight if you prefer an icier ice cream.

This recipe makes about six cups of chocolate banana ice cream. My mom figured it out to be about 94 calories a cup, which is incredible. You really get a great chocolate taste. There's actually not much of a banana taste. I mean, you know it's there, but I've had chocolate ice pops that were banana based and all I could taste was banana. This wasn't like that.

When I was on a wedding diet, I really was conscious of my calorie intake. I would limit myself to fun sized candy bars so I could have the taste of chocolate but still have a double-digit calorie snack. I wish I had found this ice cream because it would have been a staple for me.

If chocolate isn't your thing (for shame!), you can play around with flavors. Swap the cocoa powder for frozen fruit (strawberries would make a tasty strawberry ice cream). Or, if you want to keep the chocolate, add peanuts for a crunch. Those changes will change the calories, of course, but the swaps might be perfect for you.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would this chocolate banana ice cream satisfy your sweet tooth?

Getting in shape for your wedding?

Check out our Sweating For The Wedding 30-Day Challenge.

Yogurt-Covered Grapes Dessert (perfect for bridal showers)

If you love this recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

I'm a big fan of at-home bridal showers. If you have a large space, it's nice to have all the women over for something low key and casual. Yes, that means you'll have to clean up after company has left instead of leaving a mess behind in a catering hall, but it's actually not that bad. We host a football party here every weekend, and I always feel like I spend more time cleaning up than actually watching football. Our guests all have a great time, though, and that's what matters.

Especially if you're hosting someone's bridal shower. It's not about you and your good time. You want to make sure your bride and her guests have a good time. And if that means you have to spend more time washing dishes than watching the bride open dishes, that's okay.

Preparing food ahead of time will make your life infinitely easier. So recipes that can be made, then refrigerated and taken out when necessary, are best. And super simple recipes are perfect too ... like our Yogurt-Covered Grapes Dessert.

Yogurt-Covered Grapes Dessert

This recipe makes about four servings. Multiply it based on the number of guests you're hosting.

What You'll Need:

• 5.3oz container of plain Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 drops vanilla
• Red grapes
• Green grapes
• Walnuts (optional)

What You'll Do:

Mix together the Greek yogurt, sugar, and vanilla.

Drop in the grapes and coat them.

Using a toothpick, drop the grapes into a mason jar (because everything is cuter in a mason jar). You can also toss in walnuts when the jar is one-third of the way full, then two-thirds full, then on top.

Store them in the fridge (and stack them, if you need) until it's time for dessert.

Super easy and delicious.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you serve this yogurt-covered grapes dessert at an at-home bridal shower?

Want more bridal shower ideas?

Mint To Be Mint Chocolate Muffins

Bridal Shower Word Scramble

DIY "She Got Her Rock" Rock Candy Favor

Red Velvet Pound Cake Hearts Dessert

If you love this recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

When you're hosting a party, you don't get to enjoy it. It's the truth. We hosted a Super Bowl party this year, and I didn't even watch one minute of the first four quarters. I was cooking before our guests arrived, started cleaning up when they got there, and only stopped during halftime to watch Lady Gaga slay. By the time the fourth quarter was wrapping up, the majority of our guests left, I finished the last bit of cleaning, and finally sat to watch the Patriots win in overtime.

That's the reality of your wedding events too. You don't really get to enjoy them. That's why I say your wedding is for other people. You do the planning; they do they enjoying.

So when you're planning your party menus, specifically for an engagement party or an at-home bridal shower, you really want to keep things as simple as possible. Which is why this Red Velvet Pound Cake Hearts Dessert is just perfect.

Red Velvet Pound Cake Hearts Dessert

These are actually perfect for Valentine's Day too, in case you are planning any parties yet but looking for an excuse to make these.

What You'll Need:

• Red velvet pound cake (I found it in our grocery store, but you can order it online too)
• Mini marshmallows
• Two small heart cookie cutters
• Toothpicks

What You'll Do:

Cut the top off the red velvet pound cake, then cut the cake, longways, into layers.

Use the cookie cutters to cut out heart shapes.

Stick a toothpick through the pound cake hearts at a diagonal. In my photo, they're straight across, but I decided diagonal was cuter ... after I took this photo.

Place a marshmallow on each end. Continue until you're out of cake.

Now, yes, in the photo you may notice skewers instead of toothpicks. That's because they were part of my original plan. My pound cake, though, did not cooperate. It was too crumbly to stay on the skewers, so I went to toothpicks. I love how they look, so it was almost a Pinterest fail, but became a success story.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make this Red Velvet Pound Cake Hearts Dessert for an engagement party or a bridal shower?

Planning an engagement party?

Check out some of our engagement party favor ideas.

He Popped The Question Engagement Party Favors

"He Liked It So He Put A Ring On It" DIY Ring Pop Engagement Party Favor

DIY "She Got Her Rock" Rock Candy Favor