100 Layer Cake

Before Don Draper hits the screen this Sunday night in the return of Mad Men, we thought we’d let Bird Dog Weddings take us deep into a retro, mod-inspired world where bright colors, daisies, jello molds, flower crowns, and records are totally happenin’. Who knows, maybe you can whip up some of these looks come Sunday to have yourself the best Mad Men screening party. Or you can call up your gals, dust off the record player, channel your inner Twiggy, and have the cutest bachelorette party. All of the above? Sounds good to us.

The happiest table setting we’ve ever seen. Instant good mood right here!

The Creative Parasol created perfect paper goods in groovy fonts and colors.

Trophy Boutique styled the bride and bridesmaid in the perfect mod fashions (with a little inspiration from the ever-so-fashionable, Twiggy), Lo Boheme provided the fun, whimsical headpieces, and Nisa Nicole and Erica Rae brought the 1960s icons to life via makeup and hair.

The Byrd Collective made sure there were plenty of retro flowers, like daisies and tulips in various bright vessels. They even wrapped the bouquets in vintage ribbon!

Neon jello circles! When will those cuties make a comeback? Now, please.

Instead of opting out for matching table linens, how about using some bright patterns? It gives you the opportunity to play around and have fun – you can even mix & match a variety of flowers to go with each pattern.

Emily of Bird Dog Weddings on how she came up with such a fun concept:

This shoot was inspired by everything early 1960s – a period I’ve always been very drawn to fashion and design-wise. Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, The Beatles, and swingin’ London were all great sources of inspiration. The colors and graphics were bright, bold, cheerful, and fun so I focused on using aqua and yellow as the foundation of my color palette. Authentic props were a must. I gathered various vintage pieces to recreate the mod era for each set and used a plethora of 1960s goodies that my aunt and uncle had (including that awesome selection of records). I wanted the shoot to show a bride and bridesmaid relaxing before the wedding day, baking, listening to records, then enjoying the dinner table and dessert reception. 

So hard to pick our favorite bit about this shoot. So much inspiration – we just want to eat it all up in a jello mold!

We’ll end this colorful shoot with a few tips from Emily as you plan your next soiree:

- Save money by exploring homes of friends and family for decor items – you might be surprised at the vintage treasures you find.
- When designing within a theme, stick to your vision as much as possible, it will keep your event super cohesive and well designed.
- Be as creative as possible – fresh ideas make for the best eye candy!
- Have fun and never take anything too seriously!

Styling: Bird Dog Wedding / Photography: Paige Newton / Videography: Ava Baird / Flowers: The Byrd Collective / Desserts: Bake Sale Austin / Paper goods: The Creative Parasol / Fashion styling: Trophy Boutique / Headpieces: Lo Boheme / Makeup: Nisa Nicole / Hair: Erica Rae / Rentals: American Party Rental / Models: Liz and Colin