I officially have a new favorite flower, the ranunculus! The bride sent a photo of the flower arrangement for the cake and although simple in design these delicate flowers are high impact! What I also loved about this cake design is the fact that it is mini, perfect to fit on any gorgeous cake stand (like this milk glass stand), and can be a beautiful accent for the couple's home.
When I asked this bride what was her favorite design element of her wedding, she quickly answered this print. She used this paisley print she found on ETSY from Two Yellow Shoes on her invitations and other stationery. After some amateur graphic design getting a 1" x 3" triangle shaped image into a solid band.....I printed the design on edible paper with edible ink. I wanted to incorporate the sugar gardenia as a topper because this bride along with many others always confess they really want gardenias and magnolias in their wedding flowers. Good florists always recommend against this because of the rapid browning of these flowers...... so a sugar gardenia can capture a dash of Southern charm in the style of the wedding.
Black and White Damask is the love of many brides.... and when a bride brings me an invite or tear sheet with this pattern I know she likes the contrast of the two colors, and her wedding is sophisticated. This particular cake was made with buttercream and the piping was also done with a black tinted buttercream. Flowers by Lee Forrest..... a super-creative and quality driven florist,who is also such a joy to work with!
There are wedding professionals that think cupcakes are too informal for a wedding... but I think that cupcakes have come SO far from the grocery store shelves that the idea of a fun and individual dessert is just perfect for some weddings! Neatly piped buttercream, brown liners and a fondant accent add style and presentation. This bride wanted pretty (but not too cutesy) bows on the top of each cupcake. Her colors were brown, light pink and ivory... so we alternated the buttercream and bow colors to give a variety to both the flavor and look of the towers.
I love referrals! I met this client while delivering the previous post (Strawberry Blonde Bridal Shower). She has two daughters 1 and 3, whose birthdays are weeks apart. She sent me the invitation above, and I knew it would be a fun project! We made the cupcakes below along with two crash cakes (no photo sorry :( ). Crash cakes are typically for first birthday parties that the baby can dive into! I add extra buttercream for extra cute pictures!
When my friend, and super-suitie Jen Isham called to book her best friend's strawberry themed bridal I knew I was in for a fun project! We made strawberry blonde cupcakes, of course, which are vanilla cupcakes with strawberry buttercream (which has a naturally pink color). The cupcakes were accented with graphic strawberries made of fondant and royal icing. We made a little 6"tier to match the cupcakes of pink fondant with a sweet white eyelet reminiscent border. When she said the invitations read "How Sweet It Is" I knew this border was a definite. Jen, who was a contestant on The Next Food Network Star, and now has her own blog created an entirely strawberry themed menu.
MENU
Welcome Strawberry Milkshake Shooter ( non alcoholic )
Mini Strawberry and Brie Grilled Cheese on Raisin Bread
Shrimp with a Strawberry, Kiwi, Shallot, Lime and Mint Salsa Fresca
Strawberry, Cucumber, Mint Bruschetta with Chardonnay Smoked Fluer de Sel ( salt J )
First Course
Chilled Strawberry Soup with
( hints of cinnamon and black pepper )
Main Course
Mixed Baby Greens Salad with Poached Chicken Breast, Balsamic Macerated Strawberries and Candied Walnuts
Dessert
Cake and Coffee
Oh, doesn't that sound heavenly??? PS the first picture is the bride, Shannon, who will also be The Sugar Suite's bride in April.... can't wait!
I felt moved to write this post to tell my clients and readers about the people and companies that I admire... in this case it is BOTH a person and a company. I have been very fortunate to meet Carley Roney,CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Knot on a couple of occasions through Engage! and what I take away from every occurrence fuels me and illuminates for me what I want MY business to look like. The following is 5 Reasons why she is a remarkable individual!1.) Woman Entrepreneur Carley is not only a successful entrepreneur herself, but she mentors women entrepreneurs around the country through speaking engagements. She is at the top of many nationally circulated lists that recognize her success at such a young age. As a graduate of NYU (in filmography, ...I know), she is sharp, and an elegant speaker. She once gave me seriously scary advice about my business in its infant stage "just jump in!".... and she was right.
2.) The Knot, The Bump and The Nest
The Knot first graced newstands in 1997, and currently draws 2.1 million unique visitors a month (source: MPA). She credits their success and abundant creativity to connecting their vendors to their brides (affectionately called Knotties). The sense of community and loyalty created by The Knot keeps brides coming back to their site even after they are married (hence The Nest and The Bump). When I was a bride I also felt this strong brand identity to The Knot, and used it almost exclusively as my wedding resource (2005-2006) to find what all brides are looking for: quality vendors, information, objective reviews from other brides and inspiration.
3.) Family Woman
When I first met Carley Roney, we both had 6 month old babies and she excused herself to go breastfeed. I was stunned to learn that while running an empire with her husband David Lui she sometimes breastfed in board meetings, brought her children to work and overall incorporated her family into the company culture. She told me the great thing about having your own company is that you can build it the way you want it to look. At that time in my life I felt a conflict between having huge dreams for my business and also a thriving family and marriage at the same time, unsure of how both are possible. If Carley Roney can run a publicly traded media conglomerate all the while being a loving mother and wife.... it IS possible! She also shared how the dynamics of her marriage are reflected in their business, saying that "the highs are high and the lows are low" and referring to the their hectic schedule as "you just have to like your life that way".... words that have reassured me over and over again.
4.) She hearts brides
Carley has a true affinity for brides, and understands what they want. Her and her husband David decided to quantify what they were hearing from brides, and came up with The Knot Survey. The Knot Survey is designed to collect information FROM BRIDES about the planning experience, from info about budgets to vendors to color combinations. In the end, it was also a way to recognize outstanding vendors through their "Best of" recognitions, an honor which we one day hope to achieve from our brides. Before this survey, no one had every taken a bride-focused approach to wedding industry statistics. We can add "trailblazer" to her list of attributes :)
5.) She is a great person.
Aside from enjoying much success, Carley is pointedly unpretentious (even though she is a New Yorker! hehe!). At conferences, she is never too busy to talk to vendors large and small alike and boasts of having all IKEA furniture in The Knot headquarters.
This woman is someone I wanted to recognize as outstanding, and her words encourage and inspire me in many different facets of my life!
