100 Layer Cake

31 Jul

Romantic Chinese wedding: Lillian + Eric

categories Real Weddings

romantic modern chinese wedding

Peonies blooming in bouquets and in the middle of centerpieces. A ceremony toast. Dapper bow ties. Jenga guestbook. Lollipop escort cards. Romantic movies as table numbers. Those are some of the ways Lillian + Eric mixed in bits of their quirky personality to their wedding. They gave the traditional Chinese wedding a new twist while honoring their heritage with hints of reds and golds peeking through their soft peachy pink palette.

custom wedding dress hanger

toms wedding shoes

groom's black and white polka dot bow tie

floral hair accessory and elegant chignon

coral peonies bouquet

patterned groomsmen bow ties

tan bridesmaids' dresses and peach bouquets

outdoor family portraits

romantic modern chinese wedding

custom graphic wedding ceremony accents

outdoor modern chinese wedding ceremony

outdoor modern chinese wedding

romantic outdoor wedding ceremony

wine ceremony

outdoor wedding ceremony

beverage bar

rustic message table

This is the first for us. A Jenga guest book! Guests were instructed to grab a block & a marker and write a little note and place it back in the tower.

escort lollipops cards

custom wedding graphics

casual seating area

pastel peonies centerpiece

wooden cake topper

romantic outdoor wedding reception

white table settings with pops of color

love actually themed table

Their tables corresponded with their favorite movies (ones that represented parts of their life together, like a movie from the year each of them were born and from their dates together!). They had each mini poster printed and placed in modern white frames from Ikea.

passion fruit and nutella chocolate jar favors

peach-colored wedding cake

outdoor dance-floor

Congratulations L + E!

Photography: Ashley Rose / Venue: Franciscan Gardens / Florist: The Vine’s Leaf / Event design & planning: In The Now Weddings / Graphic design & Details: In The Now Weddings / Wood programs, favor tags: Creative Media Print / Videographer: Son of Sharkpig / DJ: Chris at California Sounds / Catering: 24 Carrots / Bakery: Sweet and Saucy Shop / Linens: La Tavola Fine Linen / Dance Floor: Barker Decor Services / Lounge area + specialty rentals: Found Vintage Rentals / Plateware: Baker Party Rentals

31 Jul

Modern garden styled shoot

categories Details + Decor, Flowers + Greenery

spiceman's garden shoot

The Bell Jar is a collective of some of Texas’ most creative talent (Apryl Ann Photography, Bows + Arrows, Southern Fried Paper, and After Yes). When they get together pretty things happen, and when they walked across the street from their antique studio space in Dallas to discover a local garden, sparks flew. It’s the perfect setting for an intimate, romantic garden wedding. Once you’ve seen how they’ve styled it, you’ll fall in love too, and want to recreate that amazing floral wreath chandelier and alter installation. So pretty!

floral crown

Part boho and part chic with her flowing prairie skirt, the “bride” looks adorable in a leopard print corsette and floral head wreath. Ah, but that organic bouquet steals the spotlight using herbs from the garden and farm fresh blooms.

lush florals by bows & arrows

bow tie and suspender groom's wardrobe

garden wedding

modern leopard corset and prairie skirt

man and woman silhouette invites

garden-themed paper details

Aren’t these seed packet escort cards by Southern Fried Paper great?

outdoor garden wedding

A b & w striped table runner is a quick way to add a modern touch to your decor.

floral garland overhang

Or an amazing floral wreath made of magnolia leaves, artichoke foliage, peony, tulips, lilies, and fern!

dessert bar

pink ruffles and floral cake

orange cocktail beverages

A few signature cocktail ideas that sound extra yummy right now: Peach Keen Cooler & Passion Fruit Mimosa, Meyer Melon Drop.

garden party reception

fresh garden salads

Even the organic beet, shallot and blood orange salad matched the color palette!

vibrant floral centerpiece and striped linens

flower adorned archway

Floral & design: Bows & Arrows / Photography: Apryl Ann Photography / Stationery: Southern Fried Paper / Coordination: After Yes Weddings / Cake: Layered Bake Shop / Venue: Spiceman’s / Caterer: Natalie Jacocks / Hair: Ladonna / Makeup: Stephanie Potter / Catering: Natalie Jacocks

30 Jul

Amanda’s bachelorette party

categories Amanda + Tim's wedding, Bachelorette + Shower

Good morning, Cakelets! Hope your weekend was wonderful. Thought it would be a fun way to start off the week with photos of my bachelorette party! And what a fun one it was!

bachelorette weekend activities

I always knew my gals were the best, but they truly blew me away with a weekend I will never forget. There was a big delicious dinner cooked, plenty of dancing, champagne cupcakes and custom “Triple AAA” cocktails on Friday. Saturday consisted of pool time at the Mondrian’s outdoor living room on a big bed, reading tabloid magazines, drinking pineapple mojitos and gawking over the Hollywood scene together. And Danielle from The Why We Love was there to capture all the girlie fun!

bachelorette party

The fun didn’t stop there (of course)…my gals had lots of other plans in store. Come late afternoon, they brought me up to our hotel room, gave me a cute nightie to wear and some pink lipstick. Then we scurried off to our other room, which was decked out in pink feather boas, cute signs, a food spread and champagne. How fun are those signs that my friend Jenna made?

burlesque bachelorette party

I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on until I was greeted by a cute gal welcoming me to our group burlesque lesson! I’ve always secretly wanted to take one of these, and no better time than with my gals!

burlesque bachelorette party

Our Hells Belles instructor, Jaime, gave quite the lesson.. we learned all the tricks.

burlesque bachelorette party

Lady Catherine and Miss Kendra, strutting their stuff above.

burlesque bachelorette party

During the lesson, we paused for a fun little game where the ladies wrote down their tips on how to keep things spicy with a honey, and I had to pick my favorite. I had a huge laugh over the saucy things they came up with!

burlesque bachelorette party

bachelorette party

After our dance lesson, I heard my name and looked over to see my friend Jenna standing in front of the open door to the bedroom holding a big sign. All I remember is the gals running into the bedroom, tossing me a pillow (which Jenna made, stuffed with pink and white feathers) and the rest was a blur of pink and laughter.

bachelorette party

pillow fight

bachelorette party

The evening continued with cocktails at the Chateau and dinner at my favorite restaurant, where they gave me a box filled with memorabilia and hand-written notes from each gal about our rich friendships together (which had me pretty teary eyed). It all ended with a dance party in our limo, which extended to our hotel room, and we fell asleep amidst feathers and giggles.

Ok, now tell me that isn’t one of the most fun bachelorette parties you’ve seen. ha!

I’m truly one lucky gal..

{photos by The Why We Love}

You can see even more photos of all the fun over at our Facebook page!

27 Jul

Paris engagement session

categories Engagements

In our attempt to get you as close to London as possible to celebrate the official start of the Olympics, we’re taking you to Paris. That should work, yeah? After all London did kind of play a role in this shoot (you’ll read how in a sec). We asked Olivia Leigh Photographie how this special shoot came to be, and here’s what she said:

Nisse + Matt are an amazing couple. I was so fortunate to photograph the couple in Paris, a fitting experience for a couple known collectively as “Matisse.” I had booked a wedding in London and knew Nisse would be in London for part of April for a rotation as part of her medical degree. Upon running into her at the opening party at BHLDN in Chicago, I suggested that we might do their engagement shoot in London before I returned home. Enthusiastic about the idea, we began talking more and I randomly suggested, “Why not go to Paris?!” Little did I know, they had had the same thought, and before I knew it, they switched plans and had me come to Paris. The city is one that they had both spent much time in, and was truly the perfect backdrop for a couple that loves art, history, and culture as much as Matt and Nisse do.

paris engagement session at the louvre

vibrant yellow floor length dress

paris engagement session

eiffel tower engagement session

louvre engagement session

streets of paris engagement session

The shoot was a dream shoot that felt more like friends hanging out in Paris — we started near their adorable hotel in the Marais and went to the Pont des Arts and Ile de la Cite for more casual shots. A torrent of hail (!) sent us to a cafe for crepes and cafe creme before Nisse changed into a magnificent marigold gown, and Matt, into a suit. We then shot around the Louvre, Tuileries and finally, the Champs des Mars to incorporate a bit of the requisite Eiffel Tower.

paris restaurant engagement

streets of paris engagement session

paris engagement session

streets of paris engagement session

street art engagement photo

pont de arts love lock bridge

engagement along the seine river

engagement session along the seine

seine river engagement shoot

Magical! Thank you Olivia Leigh Photographie for taking us to Paris for a day.

Happy weekend, Cakelets!

27 Jul

1960s bridesmaid luncheon shoot

categories Bridesmaids, Cocktail + Dinner Parties

southern charm bridesmaid luncheon

Ok, so remember last week when we shared a bohemian styled shoot that was inspired by The Princess Bride? Coordinator, Ashton Events and photographer, Jordan Weiland were also inspired by a film when they came up with the concept for this 1960s shoot. Without us telling you, can you guess what it was? We’ll let Jordan dish the deets.

I was talking with a friend about how fun a styled shoot would be inspired by the movie, The Help and my wheels just kept turning. I met with Laura Helm, the coordinator for this shoot, and she took the idea and ran with it. She also thought it would be fun to do it as a bridal luncheon instead of a reception inspiration just for something different for the summer. Plus the look correlates really well with the bridge lunches and pool deck scene in the movie. All of our vendors did an AMAZING job of making this shoot even better than what I could have hoped for. It was a really fun collaboration.

floral-themed bridal shower invites

floral wrapped poolside table

gold-plated vase centerpiece

table card trellis display

Such a great idea to use vintage playing cards as escort cards.

vintage bridal shower

vintage bridal luncheon

With the same gold marker they used to write on the escort cards, they personalized each placemat.

poolside vintage bridal luncheon

vibrant dessert table

vintage sweets

cupcake tower

vintage bar cart

No luncheon with your bridesmaids is complete without a fancy bar cart.

camilyn beth dress

Classy Camilyn Beth dresses. Can’t decide if we like this one better in white or blue. The blue with those sunshine daisy earrings is adorable. Definitely bridesmaid material. The white, perfect for a chic bride going for a little vintage look. Love ‘em!

50s luncheon fashion