Finding the perfect wedding flowers is a huge part of planning a wedding. Flowers are needed for the bride, groom, mothers and certain members of the wedding party as well as for centerpieces that will grace the tables during the wedding reception.

A wedding without flowers is like a root beer float without the vanilla ice cream or cake without the icing, it just isn’t the same.

You want your floral arrangements and adornments to be beautiful and breathtaking to all who view them but there are a few things that you should know before you begin to make your selections.

Consider those who will be attending your wedding and reception. Unfortunately some are allergic to flowers or are fragrant sensitive and could be affected by a strong scented flower. If any of your guests have sensitive noses they will truly thank you for considering this very important detail because it can mean the difference between them enjoying themselves or not during your reception.

Having sneezing fit after sneezing fit or watery itchy eyes isn’t the way you want a guest to remember their time spent, with tissues in hand, at your reception. Ask one who specializes in selling flowers to help you pick out a less fragrant variety.

Next you will want to consider the colors of the flowers that you will choose. You probably will want to get flowers that compliment the bridesmaid’s and groomsmen’s outfits.

When it comes to non wedding party guests that you will need flowers for like mothers and grandmothers you will need to ask them what color dress they will be wearing and purchase flowers that will  compliment their dresses to avoid a clashing of colors.

You will also need to pick out the bridal bouquet which could be comprised of your favorite colors and matched to the flowers that you will wear in your hair. If you have a flower girl you will need flower petals for her to toss from her basket as she walks down the aisle as well as flowers for her headpiece.

Once you know how to select your wedding flowers it makes it a lot simpler to purchase entryway arrangements, centerpiece decorations and all of the other pretty flowers needed to make your wedding and reception florally beautiful.

Planning for your martini party will be extremely easy. Martinis are some of the easiest drinks that you will ever fix and some of tastiest too.

You’ll need to send out invites to all of your friends. Once they attend your martini party and tell all of their friends you’ll probably need three times as many invitations the next time.

Make sure that you have the martini ingredients on hand so you don’t have to leave during the party to pick anything up. Also, make sure you have some cute martini glasses on hand. It’s best to have a different martini glass for each guest that way they won’t get there glasses mixed up.

Here are some common ingredients for different types of martinis:

Gin
Vodka
Dry vermouth
Scotch
Angostura bitters
Maraschino Liquer
Olive brine
Bar Sugar
Orange Bitters
Mint Sprigs
Lemon Twist
Orange Twist
Grapefruit juice
Benedictine
Olives
Kiwi slices
Peppermint Schnapps
Cherry Brandy
Ice
Orange Juice
Sake

There are so many more ingredients you can choose so take a minute to think about the types of martinis that you would like to create and buy ingredients accordingly for those martinis.

Be sure to purchase napkins, several cocktail shakers and fancy martini glasses if you don’t own any, to serve your wonderful concoctions in.

Before hand prepare appetizers or light finger food dishes to serve with your martinis in case your guests are hungry.

Foods that go great with Martinis:

Salad made with romaine lettuce, bacon, apples and a vinaigrette dressing.

London broil topped with horseradish.

Large Olives

Hummus

Smoked salmon

Salted nuts

Goat cheese on crackers

Melon slices

Pickle spears

Keep in mind that your appetizers shouldn’t compete with your martinis, they should instead compliment them. For example, if you decide to serve a spicy dish then a citrus based martini would be the perfect accompaniment to help cool down the palate.

Try adding a label to the appetizer dishes that you serve that will tell your guest which food to pair with which Martini or you could create a menu that pairs each dish with a martini.

Cocktails are alcoholic drinks that contain two or more ingredients and one of those ingredients is usually gin, brandy, whiskey or vodka. Martinis are tasty, easy, versatile cocktail drinks because there are literally so many different quick combinations that you can come up with in just a few minutes.

Just by switching a couple of ingredients you can create a whole new taste. This makes it really easy to create more than one type of martini when serving others. Just omit this or switch that and you have an entirely new drink.

Most martinis start off with gin and then add a wide array of different ingredients to create all type of martinis. Some martinis require scotch and dry vermouth while other martini recipes may call for white chocolate liquer, Benedictin, orange bitters, maraschino liquer, bar sugar or grapefruit juice.

You can get as creative as you like when making the perfect martini because the perfect martini for one can be a totally different ingredient combination for another. Ask ten people for their favorite martini and most likely you will receive ten completely different answers.

Here are just a few different martini types.

1. Purple Martini
2. Saketini
3. Silver Streak Martini
4. Nightmare Martini
5. Naked Martini
6. Ulanda Martini
7. Rolls Royce Martini
8. Octopus’s Garden Martini
9. Paisley Martini
10. Queen Elizabeth Martini
11. London Martini
12. Russian Martini
13. Dirty Martini
14. Hollywood Martini
15. Seventh Heaven Martini
When partying with friends you could easily whip up one, two or ten of these exotic named martinis and really wow your friends. They’re so quick to prepare you’ll be done in no time at all.

Serve your martinis in one of my fancy martini glasses if you’d like to enhance the wow factor. Garnish wish kiwi slices, orange and lemon splashes or mint sprigs and enjoy your tasty concoctions. You just might end up designated bartender at all your friends gatherings check out our Martini recipes I’m sure you will find one that you like.  I like the Purple Martini:)

Martinis are very versatile gin based drinks that come in many combinations sure to please. With just the swap of one ingredient you can make a totally new exciting taste. When serving martinis you can make an impression with engraved martini glasses.

If you have never had a martini before, gin, vermouth and an olive are the basic martini ingredients that you can drink as is or add other ingredients to it so you can create other tasty martini concoctions.

Etched martini glasses come in handy for all sort of parties, weddings and celebrations, adding a touch of elegance, uniqueness and class to the occasion. Engravings can be added to either the base or the bowl of the martini glass.

Occasions you can use your etched  martini glasses for:

Bachelor parties
Bachelorette parties
Weddings
Anniversaries
Dinner parties
Martini parties
Family get togethers
Banquets
Gifts

Instead of plain boring glasses why not give personalized etched martini glasses to commemorate moments like graduations, job advancements, baby showers, marriage proposals and vacations.

Martini glasses can be etched with large or small initials, words, phrases or even small pictures.

Say happy anniversary to a lovely couple with a pair of matching martini glasses, you could include their wedding date somewhere on the glass, it’s guaranteed to become a treasured gift of theirs.

Memorialize a great vacation on the bottom of a martini glass. You could include the date and vacation spot and give one glass to everyone who attended the trip.

Etch the birth date of a new born on a martini glass and present it to the new happy parents.

Present matching engraved martini glasses to your whole wedding party with an extra special set for the best man and maid of honor.

Those who receive your well thought out etched martini glass gifts they will treasure them for a lifetime.

Have a friend who loves sipping on delicious martinis? Why not get them a hand painted martini glass as a gift. There are so many different designs to choose from. Some are painted only on the bowl of the martini glass while others are painted on the base and stem as well. These glasses are true works of art.

Hand painted martini glasses can be given as gifts for all occasion or just because. Do you know someone who loves golf? A golf themed hand painted martini glass would make the perfect gift.

A hand painted martini glass decorated with purses all over it would make a great gift for the woman who can never have enough handbags.

Hand painted martini glasses themes can really show off the personality of the one receiving it as a gift.

Unique hand painted martini glasses themes:

Little Black Dress
Happy Anniversary
Bubbles
Ribbons
Neckties
Cake
Olives
Neon
Princess
Shopping bags
Sports
Money
Music
New York
Candy
Cherries

There are so many different themes you can choose from when giving hand painted martin glasses as gifts. Use one of  these recipes combined with one of our  beautiful hand painted martini glasses will become a much treasured gift.

Lolita never disappoints.  What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a glass that celebrates mommies everywhere!

Mommy’s Time Out is a beautifully hand painted martini glass that is decorated with all of the things a mommy needs to get a little “me time.”

Imagine a quiet evening on the sofa, with a movie and her favorite martini.  Kick back and give Mommy a time out!  Who needs an expensive restaurant?  Just peel off the recipe at the bottom and enjoy!

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Trophy Wife

Smart husbands who really want to gain some serious brownie points won’t let this glass slip by.  Show your foxy mama what a prize she is with Lolita’s Trophy Wife martini glass.

Watch your wife’s eyes brighten when she discovers that this martini glass isn’t the only thing on a pedestal.

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Lolita Diva

Is the mommy in your life a royal diva?  Then this glass is for her!  Celebrate your queen with this hand painted martini glass is accentuated with a sizzling purple evening gown.   With this glass your diva can sashay and have a night on the town without ever leaving the living room!

These are just a few awesomely hand painted works of art that are sure to get the Mother’s Day celebration started right.

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So what will your New Year’s Resolution be for 2011?

a. Lose weight again
b. Stop smoking again
c. Stop gossiping
d. Stop serving martinis in boring old glasses (more…)

Lolita and Asta glasses are not for the meek, the mediocre, or the monotonous.  There’s just too much concentrated pizazz for the average.

No, these glasses are for the trendsetter – for those who want to make a statement; for those who want to set the bar high when it comes to hosting the most memorable social gatherings in town.

After all, anybody can invite some people over for drinks, but only the bold and fearless will do it in style. They understand the difference between pouring a drink and creating an experience.

It’s about the experience.

These martini glasses are for hosts who want their guest post to experience New York,  Cleveland and Indianapolis -  even enjoy an out-of-this world experience with Neptune – all without ever leaving the room.

It’s about expression.

These are indeed, glasses with attitude – guests can have a drink with Carmen or Flora – or they can take it to the next level even pretend they are Carmen and Flora, for that matter.  Why not escape and be someone else for the night?

These glasses are not just a creative way to help your guests keep up with their drinks.  No, they are not your average drink holder.  Instead, they are classy, fun and bold works of art.

Cleveland-tini Rocks!

Lolita’s Cleveland-inspired martini glass brings this awesome city to you.  No airfare or bags required, just fill this glass and party your way to the Home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Fun Facts about Cleveland:

• In 1879, Cleveland became the first city to be lighted by electricity.  Cleveland also had the first traffic light in 1914.
• Cleveland is spelled differently than its founder’s name Moses Cleaveland.  In 1832, the editor of the Cleaveland Gazette  newspaper dropped the first “a” to fit the title on one line.  The new spelling caught on.  (http://www.thingstodo.com/states/OH/facts.htm)

If you’re ever in Cleveland, check out some of these Martini Bars:

806 Martini & Wine Bar
806 Literary Road, Cleveland, OH 44113-4439

2020 Martini Lounge & Cafe
2020 Center Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Fairmount Martini & Wine Bar
2448 Fairmount Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106-3131

Clifton Martini & Wine Bar
10427 Clifton Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44102

Kevin’s Martini Bar
2035 East 4th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44115

A sexy wink and a smile

Carmen wants to have a drink with you.  She told me to tell you that your next martini is on her.  So pull up a chair and take a sip.

The name Carmen means fruitful garden, or orchard – it’s no wonder she’s wearing mouth-watering fruit shaped earrings in this beautiful Asta Martini Glass.

How creative is that?

In addition to being inspired by tantalizing oranges, grapes and pears, this glass was probably also hinting at Bizet’s Opera – the passionate story of a beautiful girl who captured the hearts of two men who rivaled tragically over her.

It was probably this seductively hypnotic wink that got it all started.

You, too, can capture the hearts of your guests at your next social gathering, but you’d better be careful, you might find your mezmerized guests fighting over this beauty.

Everyone at your party will want to have a drink with this pretty lady.  Better keep their martini glasses filled.

Want to see this glass really come alive?

Try filling it with a strawberry or cherry red martini and watch it glow.