They say the magic is in the details and I could not agree more. You do not have to spend a lot of money to make things look classy or expensive...just a bit of time. For those of you who will be enjoying a summer wedding outside, I stumbled upon this great idea that I just thought was too good not to share.
Martha Stewart and Jamie Holiander, two entertaining magicians had this novel idea in their volts. And although some of their ideas are tricky and complicated, this is not one of them.
Summer is a wonderful time of year to enjoy a wedding but it can also be warm and sometimes a little hot. Why not offer your guests a refreshing ice cold vodka drink to sip on during the reception? One of my pet peeves...and I have many... is liquor bottles. It is true that there are many pretty bottles now available but a wedding shouldn't look like an open bar-even if you are having one. In my opinion the bar area should be clean and even festive looking. That is why I love this idea.
A few days before the wedding purchase the vodka you will be having at the wedding. Even though you will not be serving anything from the outside of the bottle it is a good practice to wash the bottles since you might have a guest who thinks it is a good idea to rip an orange off the bottle to nosh on.
You will need to start saving 1/2 gallon paper milk cartons so enlist the help of family and friends if you don't drink enough milk to make enough bottles.
Place the vodka bottle into the milk carton and proceed to run water into the carton.
When the carton is filled with water to the base of the neck of the bottle...stop. Then take your decorations and place them around the inside of the carton. Some ideas are lemon, lime and orange slices, strawberries, various flowers, herbs, fern leaves. Have some thought of what you would like the bottle to look like before placing too much. If you are serving pomegranate martinis pomegranate seeds might be a nice touch. 
Place the bottle in the milk carton in the freezer over night making sure that it is firmly placed inside. You want the water to be even so make sure it is on a steady and even shelf. After 24 hours you are ready to remove the paper carton. Place the bottle in the sink and run cool water over it. If you run hot water it will cause severe cracking and cause the ice to start aggressively melting. There will be slight clouding of the ice and some hairline cracks that will form from the differences in temperature. Place the bottle back in the freezer and remove as needed for the wedding. 
Enjoy! Kisses, Deborah Stilettoswww.Facebook.com/MyDaughterIsGettingMarried 
