Orange and Chocolate

So it definitely doesn't feel anywhere close to fall yet for us, but it seems like after Labor Day everyone is in the mood for fall. While we are not huge fans of orange and black for a Halloween-inspired wedding, we do love this combination of orange and chocolate, in cakes as well as flowers. The bouquet and table centerpieces of orange dahlias and chocolate-brown cosmos are just a perfect color combination for a modern fall wedding. Also check out the orange dahlia wreaths worn by these flower girls (photos by Liz Banfield).

{L to R: bouquet from Brides, cake from InStyle Weddings, reception from The Knot}

White Wedding Cakes

Some of the best white wedding cakes incorporate texture and a level of detail that really make an impact. Although I still love bright and colorful cakes, these are refreshing to look at, and for brides I think a white cake can be a relief- it goes with everything!

{Clockwise, L to R: Dogwood cake from MS Weddings, cake by The Cake Girls, Appliqué cake from MS Weddings,
Danish modern cake by Lovin Sullivan, Pleated cake on Brides, Button cake from MS Weddings}

Mushroomy Things

Lately Faye and I are loving mushroomy things! These invites and cakes would be perfect for an outdoor wedding in the fall, and the Mushroomy Compliments card by Pearl & Marmalade (far right) would be a sweet card for your groom the morning of your wedding.

{L to R: Greenwich Letterpress, Heatherjeany, Pearl & Marmalade}


{L to R: Meringue Mushrooms from MS Weddings, Marzipan Mushrooms from MS Weddings, Woodland Cake by The Cake Girls}

Martha Stewart Photo Galleries

This might be old news, but over the weekend I noticed these little photo galleries from Martha Stewart Weddings where the pictures are not so itty bitty! Some of the content of their website is so small you can't see the painstaking details (which MS is all about), so we are happy to have these slideshows to browse since we are the unlucky few without back issues to sift through. They are a little difficult to navigate though, so we thought you might like links.

A Slice of Heaven- includes couture cakes, china cakes, and cakes decorated with flowers
All in the Details- includes guest books, seating cards, and place cards
Bridal Bouquets- includes roses, pink bouquets, colorful bouquets, and ribbons, wraps & details
Take One, Please- includes cookies, other sweet treats, and pretty packages
Style & Substance- includes tea length dresses, ball gowns, and slim sheaths
Gorgeous Gowns- includes photospreads Portrait of a Lady, Fashion A to Z, The Dress Atelier, and In Perfect Shape

These are non-wedding focused, but cute none-the-less...
Cutest Cupcakes
Summer Parties

Minimalist Cake

I keep looking at this cake and I can't quite describe why I like it so much because I'm generally not a big fan of monogram cake toppers, but I think this cake design is modern, understated, and elegant.

{photo by Paul Johnson Photography}

More Love for Sullivan

One of our favorite cake designers, Kate Sullivan, recently updated her website, and we were happy to see several new cakes in her portfolio- especially these from InStyle Weddings "Sweet Inspirations" cake feature.

Acara Cake


Calligraphy Cake


Blossoms Cake


Cane Cake


Boontje Nature Cake


And more new cakes...(also see mod cake below)

Danish Modern Cake


Red Bird Cake

{photos from Lovin Sullivan}

Modern Reception

This is Brides' version of a contemporary reception, with bold patterns and bright colors. Some of it is a little over the top, but I still think Kate Sullivan of Lovin Sullivan Cakes can do no wrong. I especially like the octagon luggage tags from Decorative Things (pattern no longer available, of course!).

{photos from Brides}

Bake Me A Cake

I got lost yesterday looking at the weddings cakes by Bake Me A Cake, a pastry shop and bakery in Orlando, Florida. I especially love the quilted details on some of their fondant cakes, and their authentic looking sugar calla lilies.


{photos from Bake Me A Cake}

Confetti Cakes

We love these cake designs by Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes. She is a former textile designer for Ralph Lauren, and incorporates interesting textures and patterns into her hand-decorated cakes. Browse through her website, especially the specialty section, for more amazing cakes!

{Top, L to R: China Pattern from Brides, Hummingbird from Brides, Dolce from Confetti Cakes;
Bottom, all cakes from Confetti Cakes: Golden Elephants, Embroidery cake, White Hydrangea}

New Uses for Brooches

{(L) from Brides, (R) from Brides}

Vintage brooches have always been a beautiful finish for the bride's gown or bouquet, but we really like these decked-out cakes as well- what a great way to use your grandmother's vintage jewelry! If you don't have vintage brooches from family, you can purchase some pretty crystal and pearl brooches at White Aisle.

{Top: cake by The Cake Girls; Bottom: photos from DJ76 planning bio on The Knot}

Surf & Sand Inspired Weddings

We are getting ready for vacation ourselves, but it seems like everyone else we know is already at the beach! Here are our favorite beach wedding details:

Cakes (find more of our favorites by The Cake Girls and April Reed here, browse our favorite Lovin Sullivan cakes here)

{(L) coral cake from Martha Stewart Weddings, (M) Asian-inspired wave cake from Martha Stewart Weddings; (R) starfish cake by The Cake Girls}

Paper- We love the combination of cork and sea glass by Two Paperdolls. The sea glass could also be used to prop up escort cards. (More sea-inspired paper products here)

{all photos from Two Paperdolls}

Boutonnières (more choices here)

{all photos from Brides; clockwise, L to R: seashell, yellow freesia, hot pink calla lily, hydrangea and orchid with sea glass beads}

Something Blue...to Eat!

Who would have imagined that pastel blue cake would look so mouth-wateringly delicious?

{Top (L to R): garlands and wreath from Martha Stewart Weddings, robin's egg blue cake on Brides, gift box cake on Brides;
Bottom (L to R): something blue from Martha Stewart Weddings, cake with silk corded closures from Martha Stewart Weddings, individual cakes on Brides}

Milk and cookies

{photos from La Tartine Gourmande}

Is there anything better than milk & cookies? Just looking at these pictures makes me want to curl up in a warm blanket with my own little plate like Santa Claus. It seems like weddings are catching on to the comforting idea too- the summer issue of Martha Stewart Weddings included milk & cookies as a "good thing" and we definitely agree! Their version used pumpkin whoopie pies from One Girl Cookies in New York.


{photo from Martha Stewart Weddings}

Here are some examples of real weddings on Brides that offered milk & cookies as a wedding favor. On the right, the bride and groom wrote "It is a delicious moment, certainly. That of being nestled in bed and feeling that you shall drop gently into sleep. Sweet Dreams." Mmmmm....

{(L) milk and cookies: a perfect match!; (R) wrapped cookies were handed out with shot glasses of milk}

Black, white, and pink all over

We love black and white combined with pale pinks. Powdery pink anemones are perfect all by themselves, tied with a simple black and white polka dot ribbon in a bouquet and bunched together in a low black vase. I'm sure black fondant wedding cake sounds a little dreary, but call it "onyx" like one of our favorite cake designers, April Reed, does and trim it with silvery pink mokuba ribbon and no one will mistake it for a Halloween cake. The place setting here is one of our favorites: the black and white polka dot ribbon around the napkin looks casual, but the lacy tablecloth adds a little fanciness.

{Clockwise, L to R: bouquet by Artfool; cake by April Reed; table setting from Brides; centerpiece from Vine Floral Design}

Matthew Mead Style: Weddings made simple

Yesterday, Holly at Decor8 posted about Matthew Mead Style, whose new summer site is up with some really beautiful ideas. But last summer, there were a lot of amazing ideas for weddings:

{photos from Matthew Mead Style}

And these sweets look amazing!

{photos from Matthew Mead Style}

Check out the rest of the Weddings made simple archives- beautiful pictures and step by step directions for how to do everything!

Cherries

Jordan from Oh Happy Day recently reminded me of this simple party or wedding favor from Martha Stewart Weddings:

{photo from Martha Stewart}

That picture gave me a cherry craving, but when I saw these pictures from my favorite food blog, La Tartine Gourmande, I was forced to pick up some fresh cherries for myself!

{photos from La Tartine Gourmande}

Her classic cherry clafoutis recipe looks pretty involved, but well worth it. Unfortunately, it calls for 4 cups of cherries, and after my fiance and I got our paws on them last night we definitely don't have enough to try the recipe- guess I'll have to go get more!

{photos from La Tartine Gourmande}

Brown Paper Packages...

...tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things...don't these look delicious?

{Top L: Miette, R: Alice's Tea Cup; Bottom: both photos from La Tartine Gourmande}

Love the idea of little brown paper wrapped cupcakes for a wedding, or just for a Friday! If you want to try some yourself, you can find the recipe for the berry brioche puddings pictured on the bottom row at La Tartine Gourmande- but if you do try them, you must let us know how hard they were to make!

Hand-picked oranges

We love the idea of fruit centerpieces, so we wanted to share our favorite orange ideas:

{photos from Brides except for bottom left from Hostess Blog}

The Hostess Blog recently posted about hosting a citrus-themed bridal shower, and we think these ideas are perfect for that or just for everyday using oranges, tangelos, clementines, and kumquats. And the cake by Kate Sullivan of Lovin Sullivan Cakes is perfect!

Lovin Sullivan

I know we already did a huge post on how to pick a wedding cake and showed our favorite designs, but we couldn't talk more about cakes without mentioning Kate Sullivan. Her designs are always original, modern, and cheerful drawing on inspiration from Preston Sturges, Andy Warhol, Frieda, and even Pucci prints. Here are our favorite Lovin Sullivan Cake designs:

{1 & 2: photos from Lovin Sullivan; 3: The Knot; 4 & 5: Lovin Sullivan; 6: Brides}

Fondant Favorites

I think choosing the wedding cake was probably Faye & I's favorite part of wedding planning. We found ourselves leaning towards the smooth finish of fondant (which some say they don't like the taste of, but our cake lady's fondant tastes like rich buttercream icing!) and clean lines with simple accent flowers. If you are at all like us, you had no idea what fondant even was before all this, so study up on some common cake terms before embarking on choosing a cake baker. Some of our favorite designs have come from The Cake Girls in Chicago and April Reed in New York:

{Top: The Cake Girls; Middle: April Reed; Bottom: L by April Reed, M & R by The Cake Girls}
{For more browsing, check out Abby's cake gallery on Style Me Pretty.}

Once you have an idea of what type of cake designs you like, then you should start shopping for cake vendors. Don't forget to ask each vendor about the freshness of their ingredients (maybe it is important to you that the filling is made from fresh rather than frozen berries), their timeline for baking a wedding cake (you don't want it to be made too far ahead of time and then frozen!), and if you want fondant be sure to ask if they use pre-made fondant or if they make it from scratch (totally different, and the latter is tastier). Also ask about their price per slice of cake- generally, $3 to $5 per slice is considered an average low-end range, depending on the complexity of the cake design and the flavors, with $5 to $8 per slice as the upper-end range. If you pick a well known cake designer such as Wendy Kromer, Kate Sullivan, The Cake Girls, April Reed, etc., you can expect to pay around $10 to $15 per slice.

One thing we learned is to bring pictures with you! We forgot to bring some to our first consultation and ended up wasting a lot of time thumbing through our cake lady's library of wedding books and magazines. After you give your cake designer an idea of what you want, she should draw a sketch for you to show you what she is envisioning to make sure you guys are on the same page.

{image from April Reed}

Remember to think about the actual display of the cake at this point; I forgot and realized later when I met with my florist that our cake was going to be on a board (see the first row of pictures above). Boards are fine and can often be very pretty, but if you love the look of cake stands and pedestals like I do (see the second row of pictures), then you may be disappointed if you forget to discuss this detail. Luckily, my florist has a beautiful silver cake stand for me so all turned out well in the end. Finally, after all is said and done, you will probably need to write a check for a deposit to hold your wedding date, but be sure to discuss contract points such as delivery and set-up the day of the wedding before signing off.