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7th Annual Cookie Party: Candy Cane Lane + a Peppermint White Russian

December 23, 2015 By Jackie Fo Leave a Comment

If you don’t know, we take our Christmas Cookie Party pretttty seriously around these parts. This years party “Candy Cane Lane” was our 7th Annual and we had a blast!

CookiePartyMantel Bar Cart

If you want to review last years party theme – Gold and Glitter – you can check that out in the link below:

Gold and Glitter Cookie Party

 We had peppermint cocktails, candy canes of all sizes and a very special guest. Let’s review our fun day on Candy Cane Lane!

We stepped our invitation game up this year by hand delivering box-style invitation wrapped with a red and striped ribbon.

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The invitation was designed by Scratch Paper Studio (LOVE Natasha’s work and she’s local for you Charlotte peeps!) and was accented by you guessed it – a candy cane! Party tip: A creative invitation sets the tone for the fun that’s to come!

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Guests were thrilled to be greeted by a fabulously decorated bar cart rimming with festive goodies and the aforementioned Candy Cane Cocktail. More on that later. Thanks to Tarjay for having this bar cart that we added to our party arsenal. We can always count on you. Ridiculously over decorated bar cart below:

Bar Cart

Not only did guests have a choice of the candy cane cocktail or a cranberry Prosecco immediately upon arrival, the drinks were delivered by the one and only Santa Claus! (Note: Large variety of Santa costumes at your nearest Party City.)

CookiePartyMantel Santa

As usual, my mom strung her beautiful garland up and down the stairs in the entryway. We accented the garland with striped bows from Michaels (aka my 2nd home and the reason why I’m constantly covered in glitter during the month of December). We also lined up our cookie tins on the stairs like so:

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The trees and mantels were decorated with extra special Candy Cane Care.

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CookiePartyMantel

The main cookie table (the party has grown so much we have 2 tables of cookies now!) was lined with a beautiful red chevron runner I rented from gals at Party Reflections and a plethora of candy cane trees. It was a real peppermint overload. But in a good way.

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CookiePartyMantel Table

Even the flowers were brimming with candy canes!

CookieParty Flowers

There were 33 cookie contenders this year and they were all winners in my book. Some standouts:

Candy Cane Cookies (you know I love a theme so I extra loved these):

CookiePartyCookie

The winner for Most Creative were these ADORABLE Holiday Hedgehog cookies!

CookieParty Holiday Hedgehog

Due the extreme number of cookies, people had to share cookie plates. Even a Cookie Monster couldn’t eat this many cookies…

CookiePartyPlate

Votes were tallied using the official ballots as we do every year:

CookiePartyBallot

Now that we’ve covered the cookies, let’s talk signature cocktail. Every year at the cookie party we do a signature cocktail and this years was no exception! We also provided wine and cranberry Prosecco (Prosecco + Cranberry Juice = Cranberry Prosecco), but the signature cocktail was our Candy Cane White Russian (really a Peppermint White Russian). Here’s the recipe – there’s DEFINITELY time to whip this up for your Christmas dinner!

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Candy Cane White Russian (Note: Measurements aren’t exact. I just kept pouring the stuff in until it tasted pepperminty and delicious! It was a tough job but somebody had to take one for the team.)

  • Whole Milk (It’s Christmas, don’t use skim milk people)
  • Kahlua
  • Peppermint Vodka – Specialty vodka made by Smirnoff around the holidays. It has a pretty red and white striped bottle. Can be substituted with Peppermint Creamer – creamer for your coffee! It also tastes delicious if you can’t find the specialty vodka.
  • Lots of ice (Warm Milk = Ew)
  • Garnish with a mini candy cane hanging off the side of the glass.

Enjoy! I mixed up a pitcher of these because come on… milk and cookies?

So let’s review: We had cookies, white russians, freaking SANTA CLAUS and good friends and family. We were totally winning…..

Here I am with my hostesses with the mostesses, my mom and my sister in law (and Santa). (Note: Wearing a Panthers Jersey because the game was on during the party – poor scheduling but we won 38-0 that day so cookies must be good luck? Go Panthers baby!)

Cookie party 2015

It was a super successful 7th Annual Cookie Party- here’s the the 8th! I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

Cheers, Peace and Love to all!

Filed Under: Cocktail, DIYs, Party Tips and Food, Holiday, Parties Leave a Comment

Upcoming Weddings and More!

June 9, 2015 By Jackie Fo 2 Comments

Whether it’s fall, spring or even winter, it’s always a good time to have a wedding in the Carolinas. I’ve got some beauties coming up later this summer and fall and I wanted to give you a little preview of what’s been percolatin’ here at Jackie Fogartie Events!

You really can’t go wrong with a beautiful backyard and outdoor lighting, and one of my upcoming weddings is proving it! With an intimate group of about 75 guests, this poolside wedding is what Pinterest dreams are made of. Here are a few inspirational pics for some of my upcoming weddings.

Intimate Backyard Wedding

Stringing (professionally, of course) market lighting over the seating area creates a beautiful ambience.

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As does lanterns with candlelight lining the pool.

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And these rustic but elegant farm tables are going to make great family tables for this backyard beauty!
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Modern Wedding with a Garden, Mossy Feel 
My August bride is getting married at the Foundation for the Carolinas, a beautiful venue complete with floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking downtown Charlotte. I love the whole design but am especially excited about the desserts – and not only because I will get to sneak some, hehe.
The cupcakes and other desserts will be perched on an acrylic display similar to the one below. With votive candles, dripping moss and beautiful confections, I’m beyond excited to see how this dessert display turns out!
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Black and White Wedding

A color combo of black and white will never go out of style. Add in some white hydrangeas, sleek black tablecloths and shimmering silver mercury glass, and a beautiful wedding is just around the corner. My couple this fall is using all of these elements and I know it will be gorgeous!

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Anenomes are the perfect addition to a black and white wedding.

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A champagne toast is never a bad idea! Add a sophisticated element by dropping blackberries into the flutes for a black and white look!

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And this cake…well, it truly speaks for itself!


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Fall Colors and Succulents 

Finally, I’m really loving the color combo of one of my fall brides. She’s bringing burgundy back with this burgundy, gray and navy color combo. After visiting a florist we decided we wanted to bring in succulents to complete the look. These wedding florals are our inspiration! Can’t wait to see the gorgeous florals later this year!

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I can’t wait for these beautiful weddings and more that I have coming up to finish out 2015! I’m planning well into 2016 too so there’s lots of planning and wedding fun in store. In non-wedding planning related news, I’m super excited to be part of a local campaign on behalf of the Marriott Charlotte Center City. I happen to love the Marriott Center City as it is located right in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. I suggest it to clients all the time for their wedding guests! The Marriott is renovating to make the hotel even MORE fantastic and because they are uber smart they are running a social media campaign called #DesignCharlotte. For the next few months you’re going to see me Instagramming, FB-ing, Tweeting and blogging about all the best Charlotte has to offer. Seeing that I love exploring new restaurants and of course love a good cocktail, you can look forward to seeing many pics of local brews and bites, all with the hashtag #DesignCharlotte. The best part is that you too can use the hashtag too and be entered to win some sweet giveaways. So for my Charlotte peeps, show off our city by hashtagging your little heart out (#designcharlotte), okay? I can’t wait to explore my city and of course see the Marriott in all its renovated glory.

 Before I say goodnight, I’d like to introduce you to my newest (and only…) godson, Benjamin. Baby Ben is my (double) cousin Lauren’s first baby  and I was able to meet him this weekend. He’s even cuter than his picture. Much love to Ben and his Mom, who is truly over the moon! XO

I mean how tiny is this little guy? And does he look half Italian? Maybe he’ll grow into it?!

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I hope your week is off to a fantastic start!

Filed Under: Charlotte Wedding Planner, Charlotte Weddings, Cocktail, Uncategorized Tagged With: #designcharlotte, Charlotte Wedding Planner, Charlotte Weddings 2 Comments

Recapping the last few weeks: Weddings, Food and Cocktails

May 26, 2015 By Jackie Fo 1 Comment

Yikes. Forgive me Blog World for I have sinned. My last post was…an embarrassingly long time ago. Without making excuses I’ll say that May has been an insane month with events, weddings and trips. But I’ve got a slight breather until mid-June and plan to get back on the blogging train. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been up to!

I wrote a few delicious articles for Homes.com. Ever had an Orange-Grapefruit flavored Margarita? I promise you will want to – recipe and article HERE for more Margaritas with a Twist!

Traditional Margarita_

Also, I’m basically just skipping spring and fast forwarding to summer with this next article that’s all about grilling. I’m not talking about burgers and dogs, I’m talking about grilling up unusual foods like pineapple and avocado! For these recipes and more check out the full article HERE.

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In other news NOT revolving around food or drink, I had two lovely couples get married in the last few weeks. First up was a beautiful uptown Charlotte wedding at the always gorgeous Charlotte City Club. Here are a few cell phone pics to tide you over until the professional pics come my way!

I loved their dessert table. It was as beautiful as it was delicious! Thanks to Wow Factor Cakes for this beaut!

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The lovely blush and white flowers from Pink Petunia Designs were elegant and beautiful!

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The next wedding I had was at a venue I’d never worked at before, the Laboratory Mill in Lincolnton, NC. This building has plenty of history and has been beautifully redone. With its wooden beams, exposed brick walls and country, elegant feel, I have a feeling this venue is going to remain very popular! This wedding also had gorgeous flowers (again, by Pink Petunia!) and a lovely cake by Cake Couture:

How beautiful are these bride and Maid of Honor bouquets? I loved the color palette which was navy and peach/coral.

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This cake had some bling!

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Did I mention this couple left on a motorcycle? So awesome…..

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In other news my little niece Claire just continues to be cute as can be as she models my new fedora. Some might say it’s “fedorable” …. no?

claire

So there you go, that’s what I’ve been doing the last month. I’ll be updating more frequently I absolutely promise! What have you been up to this past month???

Filed Under: Charlotte Weddings, Cocktail, Dessert Table, DIYs, Party Tips and Food, Uncategorized, Wedding Cake, Wedding Planning Tagged With: Charlotte City Club Wedding, Charlotte Weddings, Laboratory Mill Wedding, Wedding Cake, Wedding Dessert Table 1 Comment

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Meet Jackie Fo

Jackie FogartieJackie Fo is an event and wedding planner, brand stylist and freelance writer/blogger located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Despite her Jersey roots, she’s kind of a softie that loves weddings, parties and people. {READ MORE}

Recent Posts

  • Amy and RJ: Early Fall Wedding at Byron’s South End, Charlotte, NC
  • Rachel and Rob: Spring Wedding at Separk Mansion
  • Michaelia and Clay: Fall Wedding – Ritz Urban Garden, Charlotte, NC
  • Amber and Brian: Charlotte City Club Wedding
  • Gabe and Ben: Late Summer Charlotte Wedding

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