The Couture Cakery

I Do In Style...Vintage Glam

2012-01-27T00:10:00.001-05:00

This is a display Lori Witmer with Wildflowers by Design and I created for our vendor area at the I Do In Style bridal show presented by Planned Perfection. Vintage is hot right now, so a great dresser with some beautiful pops of fuschia, purples and silvers created this vintage glam look.

Loving the candlelight and I just noticed the coffee cup under the table

that I guess we forgot to remove :-)

Cupcakes are still a very popular option for weddings and can look glamorous too!

The "LOVE" banner I created looked perfect on the mirror Lori picked up

on our thrift store shopping spree.

Lovely vintage frame from TJ Maxx.

A little bling is always appropriate on a sweets table.

A beautiful bouquet of tulips peaking out of the drawer.

Delicious gourmet Oreo by Sweeties by Kim.

A special thank you to Leslie Gilbert Photography for taking these beautiful images.

Vendors:

Florals: Wildflowers by Design

Wedding show: I Do In Style by Planned Perfection
Venue: Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum

Photography: Leslie Gilbert Photography

Cake and cupcakes: The Couture Cakery
Gourmet Oreos: Sweeties by Kim

Dresser: Thanks to (mattnnatt) for letting us borrow it!

This stunning floral wreath Lori created hung on the vault door. Yes...we were in the bank vault.

Published in Susquehanna Style Magazine

2012-01-24T23:45:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to share that I have two weddings featured in the current issue of Susquehanna Style Magazine. I was also invited to research and write an editorial piece called "How Cute is That". You can pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.

The cover photo is just precious.

Sarah and Kevin's wedding which took place at King's Gap is featured.

Click here to see my blog post on the wedding.

Jessi and Jason's beautiful wedding is also featured. I designed the cake along with a

sweets table which included gourmet doggie favors. Click here to see my blog post.

Here's my editorial piece! I had the opportunity to find amazing details from

weddings in the area. The selections were organized by season. It was so much fun

working on this piece.

Spring inspirations...

Fall inspirations....

Winter inspirations...

Be sure to pick up a copy to see more amazing weddings and inspiring ideas!

Click here to view the Susquehanna Style Ezine online.

I Do In Style -- Post #1

2012-01-24T00:57:00.000-05:00

It's bridal show season and I had the honor of participating in the I Do In Style show presented by Planned Perfection this past fall. I especially adore this show because I get the opportunity to collaborate with the most talented wedding professionals in the area. The show took place at the beautiful Lancaster Quit Museum. Lori Witmer with Wildflowers by Design and I had the opportunity to create our vendor space together in what used to be a bank vault...very cool. We designed three different vingnettes and here is the first one.

The cake I designed was inspired by the beautiful mustard colored couch. We also decided to incorporate browns and greys which I worked into the cake design.

The gown from In White look beautiful draped over the vintage sofa.

Lori created the most beautiful florals including this bouquet which included shades of yellow, orange and pale green accents. I also created some designer cupcakes to match the cake. The amber glass cake stand from Home Goods looked amazing on Lori's vintage sewing chair.

I found this color board on Pinterest today which was a reflection of our color palette. Inspiration boards and color boards are very helpful in planning your wedding. It's a great way to collect your ideas and really see how things will look together.

A special thank you to Leslie Gilbert Photography for taking these beautiful images.

More to come tomorrow :-)

Vendors:

Florals: Wildflowers by Design

Wedding show: I Do In Style by Planned Perfection

Photography: Leslie Gilbert Photography

Wedding Gown: In White

Cake and cupcakes: The Couture Cakery

Sofa: Thanks to (mattnnatt) for letting us borrow it!

Fieldtrip to Maggpie Vintage Rentals

2012-01-16T23:40:00.002-05:00

Today I took a field trip with the Weddings by JDK design team to visit Maggpie Vintage Rentals. They are located in the Wilkes Barre area, so it was about a two hour drive, but so worth the trip. Maggie and her fiance Jason started a vintage furniture rental business which is the only one of it's kind in the tri-state area. If you want vintage mismatch chairs and china for all of your wedding guests, this is the place to get it!

Their current showroom is in a magnificent old home with spectacular architectural detailing. Maggpie has a wonderful selection of beautiful sofas, upholstered chairs, vintage suitcases and much more. Really...everything you would need to create the perfect decor for a vintage style wedding.

Below is a beautiful vanity that I could totally see a cake and sweets on.

Here is just a partial collection of their mismatch chairs. You can view their entire selection on their website.

Their two adorable dogs are certainly an important part of their business!

We know who's in charge :-)

As you can tell, I'm a huge fan of Maggpie. If you are looking for pieces for a vintage, shabby chic or farmhouse glam wedding, stop by and take a peak at their site.

I'm super excited that I will be featuring some of Maggpie's pieces in my exhibit area at the AACA Wedding show in Hershey on February 19th, so please stop by. Click here for show details.

What a great day of inspiration with Amanda, Emma and Erika. (Thank you Erika for driving.)

Ducky & Onesie Baby Shower Cake

2012-01-13T15:50:00.003-05:00

Today I finished this baby shower cake. The invite included a ducky and grandma-to-be wanted to included onesies on the cake, so I incorporated both in the design.

The cake flavors included red velvet with lemon buttercream filling (super yummy) and chocolate cake with Oreo buttercream filling.

Liz & Lucas's Wedding at the Lancaster Country Club

2012-01-12T00:10:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Liz and Lucas were married in Lancaster and had their reception at the Lancaster Country Club. I actually never met the bride or groom...kind of hard to believe. However, I did develop a great connection with Liz's mom Mary Lou. She drove to see me three times during the planning of the wedding. It wouldn't be a big deal except she lives 2 hours away! What a wonderful mother who did a beautiful job planning her daughter's special day.

I just loved the floral arrangement on the cake.

The groom's mother did all the florals and they looked amazing.

The cupcake display included 225 cupcakes.

The cupcake flavors included Nutty Monkey (banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting), Chocolate cupcake with Oreo frosting, Red Velvet, and Lemon Drop (white cupcake filled with lemon curd and topped with vanilla frosting). In addition to the cupcakes, I created a dairy free cake topper for the bride, which was a vanilla cake with a delicious dairy free chocolate mousse filling provided by Mary Lou. It was made by Country Butcher in Kennett Square.

Instead of the traditional flower blossoms I usually do, the couple opted for fresh raspberries and other fun sprinkle toppings for the decorations. Mary Lou found the black cupcake wrappers at Oriental Trading.

Pretty linens from Special Occasions always transforms the reception room into something extra beautiful.

Just one of the many floral arrangements created by the groom's mother.

Congratulations Liz & Lucas on your beautiful wedding!

Pretty Pink Christening Cake

2012-01-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

Today's cake is a christening cake for Alexandra. The cake design included delicate blossoms in shades of pink and white. The celebration took place at the West Shore Country Club this afternoon. I had the benefit of some beautiful natural morning light when I shot these photos.

The cake flavors included marble cake with vanilla and chocolate buttercream fillings.

Polar Bear & Penguins Sweet 16 Cake

2012-01-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today I delivered a wintery topsy turvey cake for a sweet 16 party. Here it is...hope you like it!

The birthday girl provided me with the sketch she drew for her cake. Inspired a bit by a cute cake by Pink Cake Box plus incorporating her own design ideas too.

The cake flavors were vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream filling and chocolate cake with Oreo buttercream filling.

I think I had a little bit too much fun with this one!

Lots of sparkle on the cake, especially on the snowflakes!

This was such a fun cake to create!

Pinch me..I'm in Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine!

2012-01-05T14:12:00.002-05:00

I am thrilled to be published in the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine. It is truly the most high end wedding magazine available showcasing the most stunning weddings.

There are only seven wedding cakes featured in the magazine by six designers from the United States and Canada. I'm honored to be included with some of the country's top designers including Maggie Austin and Vanilla Bake Shop. Mine is the square black damask print cake with the green peony.

I'm on page 175 and you can pick the magazine up at Barnes and Noble and CVS beginning Jan 7th.

I created the wedding cake for Melissa and Dan for their wedding at the Cork Factory in Lancaster this summer. Along with the cake I did a sweets table.

Unfortunately, I didn't get pics at the venue, but please click here to hop on over to Planned Perfections blog post to see some of the beautiful details from the wedding.

What a way to start the year!

Sallie & Joe's Winter Wedding

2012-01-03T23:00:00.003-05:00

This past Friday I had the pleasure of creating a cake and cupcakes for Sallie and Joe's wedding. They were married and had their reception at my favorite venue, Moonstone Manor (formerly Conewago Manor). Usually wedding receptions there take place under their beautiful tent, but Sallie and Joe had an intimate ceremony and reception in the gorgeous manor.

The lovely invitation set the tone for the wedding and reception.

Sallie decided to have a small wedding cake and cupcakes for their guest.

The cupcake flavors included Nutty Monkey (banana cupcake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with peanut butter buttercream frosting) and a chocolate cupcake topped with caramel buttercream frosting.

The cake included sugar gardenias and the flavor was white cake with chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream fillings.

The florals, event design and catering were provided by Weddings by JDK. Everything looked just stunning.

Instead of placecards, Sallie made these adorable stir sticks which were placed in champagne glasses.

Congratulations Sallie and Joe on your new life together!

Vendors:

Venue: Moonstone Manor

Florals, linens, rentals & catering: Weddings by JDK

Event Designer: David Everett, Weddings by JDK

Joy to the World Party

2011-12-24T10:17:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share some photos from a recent party I hosted at the beautiful private room at the Cornerstone Culinary Kitchen in Camp Hill. It's really a wonderful venue for a party. The beautiful photos below were taken by Thomas Beaman and the team at The JDK Group helped with the styling and catering and tunes by Mike Miller with Mixed Up Productions. I hope you enjoy!

The theme was Joy to the World. The look was rustic with a little sparkle.

The globe was a great touch decorated by Erika with The JDK Group. I used a gift tag I saved from last year to decorate the jar.

I created the bunting with a map design to tie the theme together. I love the wooden tree I purchased at West Elm.

I also made some small map flags for the cupcakes.

The display that Erika designed for the food was just beautiful. I love the green and blue together.

Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas and New Year!

Thank you to all the wonderful vendors and friends who helped :-)

Venue: The Cornerstone Culinary Kitchen, Camp Hill (Thank you Susan Pera)

Catering, linens, event design: The JDK Group (Thank you...Erika, Steve & Amanda)
Music: Mike Miller with Mixed up Productions

Photography: Thomas Beaman Photography

Amy & Mark's Christmas Wedding

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to share Amy and Mark's festive wedding at Riverdale Manor in Lancaster. Gold, silver and red ornaments were the perfect decorations for this elegant Christmas themed wedding. The beautiful photos below were photographed by the very talented (MattnNat) Photography.

A special ornament was the topper on the cake which was designed to reflect the style of Amy's gown.

The cupcake flavors included Chocobutter, Red Velvet and Vanilla Vanilla. The decorations on the cupcakes included red, silver and gold flower blossoms to coordinate with the wedding colors.

So pretty!

Riverdale is such a beautiful venue and the red, gold and silver accents looked so elegant.

Love this ring shot :-)

The perfect holiday photo to end the evening.

To see more amazing photos from the wedding,

click here to hop on over to (MattnNat)'s blog post.

Congratulations Amy and Mark!

Vendors:

Photography: (MattnNat) Photography

Venue: Riverdale Manor

Tips to Making Pretty Royal Iced Holiday Cookies

2011-12-19T16:43:00.005-05:00

Every year at Christmas time, I love making cookies for my friends and family. This year I tried a new recipe from Fancy Flours that is fantastic. The recipe is below or you can click here to go to their website.

Here are some of the final cookies. Read on for some helpful tips to make these yummy cookies.

Use a stand mixer to get the best results with your dough. The consistency of the dough will be pretty soft.

Here's a tip that I loved from their recipe. Plop a large dollop of dough onto a piece of parchment paper and place another piece of parchment on top.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough between the two pieces of parchment paper. OMG...no flour all over the place! I recommend purchasing parchment paper in sheets from your local restaurant supply store versus buying it at the grocery store. It is much less expensive, you get about 100 sheets per pack and it's flat which is the biggest benefit.

I placed the rolled out sheets in the freezer. After chilling for a bit, I pealed one sheet off of the dough, then flipped it over the pealed the other sheet off. I then placed the dough back on a piece of parchment. I did this to prevent any sticking to the paper when cutting. It worked great! I did roll my dough pretty thin, and would suggest rolling to about 1/8 inch thick or a bit thicker. Make sure the dough is chilled when cutting.

I placed the cut cookies onto parchment paper and baked them on cookie sheets. I never bake cookies directly on the trays...they tend to stick and baking on parchment will prevent sticking, plus your trays don't get dirty. I love this recipe because the cookies did not spread at all. It's the worst when you bake cut out cookies and they look like unidentifiable blobs when they come out of the oven.

I used Martha Stewart's royal icing recipe which turned out very nicely. I'm not big on piping and flooding...mainly because it takes so long and I don't really like the outlines on the cookies. I just use a very small spoon (like a baby spoon) and place the icing right onto the cookie and use the spoon to spread it around. I also use a small brush to move the frosting around for detail areas. To create the pretty line pattern, all you have to do is pipe straight lines horizontally in red and get a toothpick and drag lines vertically from bottom to top. You will get this pretty pattern very easily.

Yes...these cookies are a bit of work but so much fun to make and a holiday tradition I love!

The recipe for the cookie dough from Fancy Flours is below.

Happy holiday baking! It's still not too late to start :-)

Delicious Sugar Cookie Recipe

from Fancy Flours

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

This is a great recipe when using cookie cutters. It doesnt spread! Your cookies will be the same shape after you bake them as they were before.

Note that this recipe makes up to 4 - 6 dozen.

Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and flavoring. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well.

Put a handful of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to desired thickness. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Put the rolled dough, including the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes or longer. Your dough will be chilled and ready to cut and bake with no wait and no added flour! Repeat the process with scraps after cutting cookies.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on rack.

---------------

Royal Icing

From Martha Stewart

1 box confectioners' sugar (1 pound)
5 tablespoons meringue powder or 2 large egg whites

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle.

A Beautiful Winter Wedding

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's December, so a winter wedding theme is the perfect touch for a beautiful reception. I had the pleasure of creating a sparkly wintery wedding cake for Alison and Miso's wedding reception at the Hershey Lodge along with a super sweet dessert table. The beautiful photos below were captured by Klose Photography...thank you Cyndi!

The wedding cake included sugar snowflakes, a quilting pattern with silver accents and a blingy rhinestone band.

The cake flavors were carrot cake with honey cream cheese filling and chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut buttercream filling.

The sweets table included Alison and Miso's favorite treats including gourmet Oreos from Sweeties by Kim and some Serbian Kiki's and much more.

Alison and Miso were married at our beautiful State Capitol. What a stunning couple. Alison's make-up was done by the very talented Carmina Cristina.

This photo is just priceless. The reception did look pretty spectacular.

The floral arrangements created by Jeffrey’s Flowers and stationery by Love Jessica were just gorgeous.

A bonus of having your reception on a Hershey property is that a Kiss and Reeses Bar may just show up for a quick dance.

Congratulations Alison and Miso!

Thank you again to Cyndi Klose with Klose Photography for providing these beautiful images.
Click here to hop over to Klose Photography's blog to see more photos from the wedding.

VENDORS:

Ceremony: Capitol Rotunda
Photography: Klose Photography
Reception: Hershey Lodge
Flowers: Jeffrey’s Flowers

Stationery: Love Jessica
Cake and Sweets Table: The Couture Cakery
Videographer: Sugar Leaf Films
DJ: BRP Enterainment
Ceremony Music: Seasons Trio
Trolley: Unique Limousine
Photobooth: Wink! Photobooth
Hair: Moxy Day Spa
Makeup: Carmina Cristina

Wedding Coordinator: Susan Moran, That’s It! Wedding Concepts

Gingerbread Man Decorating with Blake

2011-12-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

On my last visit to Trader Joe's I bought their "Really Big" Gingerbread Man Kit. My four year old had a blast today using his impeccable decorating skills to create this beautiful cookie.

Yes...I am plugging Trader Joe's with the hope they will put a store in closer to me!

It all begins with the hair, eyes, nose and mouth of course.

Here is my son displaying the piping and decorating skills I have been teaching him.

Yes, as a professional 4 year old decorator you must sample the royal icing directly out of the piping bag.

Lots of sprinkles are a must when decorating a giant gingerbread man.

Lots of perfectly placed M&M's too!

The final result is this beautiful gingerbread man we will all enjoy eating!

Happy Holidays from Blake :-)

50th Birthday Cake

2011-12-17T14:45:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I receive calls from people who have seen something I have done in the past and want something similar. Recently, a lovely couple called and said they were celebrating the husband's 50th birthday and wanted a cake similar to one I had done previously. It happened to be one of the very first cakes I did for a friend and told them I have learned a lot since then and could do something much nicer now :-) Here is the result. It was so much fun to create.

The four tier cake was marble cake with chocolate buttercream filling and marble cake with chocolate hazelnut buttercream filling.

Large purple sugar peonies added a nice touch. Special thanks to Ron Ben Israel for teaching me how to create them.

Here's the inspiration...I couldn't find a bigger version.

This was such a fun cake to create and I have certainly come a long way in 2 years!

Farmland Glam Styled Shoot

2011-12-06T15:48:00.001-05:00

Late October, I had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing styled photo shoot conceptualized by three talented wedding professionals...Matt and Nat with (mattnnat) Photography and Lori Witmer with Wildflowers By Design. Matt's vision was to find the perfect tree in an open field for a beautiful bridal shoot. Matt and Nat went in search of "the tree" and found it on a farm in Lancaster. The owner probably thought they were a little strange when they asked to use the tree, but it really was the perfect location. The day started with gusting winds and we wondered how we were going to glue everything down, but when it came time for the shoot, the weather was just right. I hope you enjoy our efforts in creating something beautiful just for the sheer pleasure of doing it.

I created this sweets display incorporating purples and silvers. Mixing modern with rustic was a lot of fun. The vintage dresser was the perfect piece to display all the goodies.

Mixing the cool metals with the warmth of the wood was the look we were going for.

Lori created the hanging flower balls which looked amazing above the sweets table. Nat really wanted French macarons for a fun ring shot, so I made some just for her. The wedding cake incorporated modern white flowers and ruffles. There were lots of other sweets that tied all the colors together.

Yummy mini tarts with fresh blackberries and a signature cocktail rimmed with purple sugar.

I love the florals peaking out of the drawer. We used crocheted pieces Lori's grandma made which added a touch of charm.

Denae and Andy were just married a month before our shoot. They were so sweet.

The stunning florals in deep purples looked amazing against the white linen.

The modern and elegant stationery was created by the very talented Love Jessica.

The beautiful linens were provided by Special Occasions. This rosette pattern is one of my faves.

The to die for vintage couch was a Matt and Nat find. How cool does it look in the middle of a corn field! Denae's beautiful ruffly gown was from In White Bridal Boutique in Lancaster.

Aren't they just adorable?

"The Tree"

What an end to an amazing day!

Click here to hop on over to MattnNat's blog to see more photos.

Thank you to all the amazing vendors who
made this beautiful shoot possible:

Photography: (mattnnat)

Florals: Wildflowers By Design

Sweet's Table: The Couture Cakery

Bridal Gown: In White Bridal Boutique

Stationery: Love Jessica

Groom's Suit: Filling’s

Bridal Jewelry: Finch Jewelers

Hair and Makeup: Lani from Plum Salon and Spa

China: Radel & Stauffer

Linens: Special Occasions

Models: Denae & Andy (real life newlyweds)

Maddie's Blingy Birthday Cake

2011-12-05T10:33:00.001-05:00

On Saturday I had the pleasure of creating a fun cake for Maddie's 15th birthday. She and her girlfriends celebrated by participating in a private hands on cooking class with Terri McClay at the Cornerstone Culinary Kitchen in Camp Hill. How fun is that!

Maddie plays soccer and requested a cake with a bit of bling.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Ashley and Erick's Wedding Cake...bows & lots of ruffles

2011-11-26T10:11:00.001-05:00

I had the tremendous honor of creating Ashley and Erick's wedding cake. Ashley and her mom were such a joy to work with. The very elegant wedding reception took place at the beautiful Hershey Country Club. The theme of the cake was lots of ruffles. Ashley wanted to incorporate a bow and their monogram while keeping the design very elegant. I loved how the cake turned out.

The florals by Blooms by Vickery included beautiful large silver bowls filled with white hydrangea and pink roses. Tall silver candelabras were also included on some of the guests tables for a nice variation of high and low designs.

The elegant escort cards were designed by Love Jessica.

The cake flavors included white cake with peanut butter buttercream filling and chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry chambord buttercream filling.

It was such a pleasure working with Ashley. I wish you and Erick a wonderful new life together :-)

Vendors:

Venue: Hershey Country Club

Florals: Blooms by Vickery, Camp Hill

Stationery: Love Jessica

Wedding Planner: That's It Wedding Concepts. Susan Moran

Cake: The Couture Cakery

Thanksgiving 2011 Sweets Table

2011-11-25T20:08:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is the one holiday my husband's entire family tries to get together for. With five brothers and sisters and lots of kids young and old, it's a crazy but fun day. It all began yesterday with the annual Turkey Bowl (football game) and finished off with dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful home in Princeton, NJ.

My contribution was a sweets table for everyone to enjoy and a special way to celebrate my wonderful mother-in-law's birthday.

Treats included chocolate dipped pretzels, puppy chow, whoppers and more.

Beautiful Oreos by Sweeties by Kim added a special touch to the table. The gold swirl print on the milk chocolate was so pretty.

Cupcake flavors included Lemon Drop, Strawberry shortcake, Oreo and Chocobutter.

What a great day with amazing family and friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year too :-)

Mommy to Bee Baby Shower Cake

2011-11-23T16:00:00.001-05:00

It seems like baby shower season is in full swing. This is a fun cake I made recently for a shower at the Colonial Country Club in Harrisburg. The theme was "mommy to bee" including a black and yellow color scheme and bubble bee accents.

The little flying fondant bees looked so cute hovering above the cake.

Just a pop of of color with a bright yellow peony was the perfect accent. The cake flavor was spice cake with caramel buttercream filling.

Jessica & Jarred's Charming Fall Wedding

2011-11-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

Jessica and Jarred were so much fun to work with. They were married and had their reception at the charming barn at Wind at the Willows in Grantville. Jessica and Jarred found their invitation design and coordinating stationery pieces on Etsy. The dangling vines of hearts and rustic theme inspired the cupcake, cake and table design.

I incorporated the dangling vines from the stationery on the cake. The cupcake tower was placed on a low wooden stump and the additional cupcakes were placed on stumps surrounding the tower. Each cupcake was decorated a with a sugar blossom that coordinated with their wedding colors. The adorable wooden bird cake toppers were the perfect touch.

The charming burlap bunting looked perfect with the rustic decor. Like I always say,

it's all about the details.

The florals were designed by Queen Bee Floral Design. I've had the opportunity

to work with them quite a bit this year and I really love their work.

Here is the adorable couple. I love the red bridesmaid's dresses and the colorful bouquets.

Congratulations again to Jessica and Jarred!!

A special thanks to Valerie Newman Photography for letting me share her photos.

Vendors:

Venue: The Barn at Wind in the Willows
717.469.0887, Dave and Pam: graybill4@hotmail.com

Florals: Queen Bee Floral Design

Photography: Valerie Newman Photography

Thanksgiving Dessert Table Ideas

2011-11-22T11:09:00.000-05:00

I'm sharing a sweet's table I designed last Thanksgiving for our family get together to give you some inspiration to do something fabulous for your holiday get together. I downloaded Posh Pixels Design Studio's free So Thankful printable collection for inspiration for the table design.

It happens that my wonderful mother-in-law's birthday is celebrated as well, so I made a ruffle cake for her birthday. Click here to learn how to make this adorable cake from Martha Stewart's website. I also incorporated some of my favorite cookies... French Macaron's...yum!

Chocolate dipped marshmallow pops are fun and easy to make, plus a treat your kids can help make. Just dip the marshmallows into melted chocolate, decorate them with sprinkles and insert a candy stick.

The collection of tags with just perfect. I loved the fun combination of colors and modern design.

You can incorporate apothecary jars and containers with goodies like Puppy Chow or any sweets you like. I added lemon candy to compliment the colors theme.

The harvest spice popcorn from the local farmer's market was delicious! Plus, cupcake are a must :-)

The printable designs from Posh Pixels Design Studio were just perfect. Please visit their website for more of their fabulous designs.

Here are some other wonderful printables you can use for your

Thanksgiving sweets table from some of my favorite vendors:

Hostess with the Mostess:

Modern Thanksgiving Collection (FREE)

Tomkat Studio:

Sunflower Thanksgiving Collection (FREE)

Ander's Ruff:

Harvest Party Collection by Anders Ruff (for purchase)

Happy Gobble Day Collection by Anders Ruff (for purchase)

Whitney & Robert's wedding at Stone Mill Inn

2011-11-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

Whitney and Robert were married and had their reception at the beautiful Stone Mill Inn in Hellam.

The wedding cake flavors were carrot cake with honey cream cheese filling and white cake with caramel buttercream filling.

The fresh flowers were a lovely accent.

Congratulations Whitney and Robert!

Lindsey & Paul's Fall Cupcake Wedding

2011-11-13T22:50:00.001-05:00

Lindsey and Paul had their tented reception at the beautiful Lime Springs Farm in Lancaster.

What an amazing venue.

Since it's fall, maple leaves make the perfect edible cupcake decorations. The beautiful florals were created by the very talented Sandra Porterfield.

The cupcake flavors included Vanilla Vanilla, Chocobutter and Red Velvet.

I love this floral design...very creative.

Dinner was provided by Hess's Barbeque Catering.

The staff at Lime Springs Farm was amazing.

Congratulations Lindsey and Paul!

VENDORS:

Venue: Lime Spring Farms

Photographer: Todd Spitler

Flowers: Sandra Porterfield

Caterer: Hess’s Barbeque Catering

DJ: Top HatEntertainment, Roger Campbell

Cupcakes: The Couture Cakery

Erin & Daniel's peacock inspired cupcake tower

2011-11-07T23:05:00.001-05:00

I fell off the blogging wagon last week...lots to post. Here's the first one :-)

Erin and Daniel selected a vibrant and rich peacock color theme for their wedding. Their reception was held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Harrisburg.

Each of the cupcakes was decorated with a pretty bright blossom. I also used peacock feathers to decorate the square cupcake stand.

The cupcake flavors included Chocobutter, Chocolate Oreo, White Almond and Vanilla Vanilla.

Erin ordered her table number to coordinate with the peacock theme.

The beautiful florals designed by Hammaker's Flower Shop included the most amazing vibrant orchids.

Congratulations Erin & Daniel!

Melissa & Justin's Booo...tiful Halloween Night Wedding

2011-10-31T09:25:00.000-04:00

Last year on Halloween night, I had the best time designing the most boo...tiful sweets table for Melissa and Justin. Their wedding was at Casa di Fiori at Leola Village Inn. The wedding was so much fun with tons of fantastic details to tie in the Halloween theme in an elegant way.

Guests were invited to change into costumes for the reception. Mr & Mrs. Shrek :-)

Melissa and Justin made this awesome photo booth background.

All I can say is amazing!! Happy 1 year Anniversary Melissa and Justin!

Vendors:

Florals & sweets table centerpiece: All Things Beautiful
Photography: Jeremy Hess Photography
Venue: The Inn at Leola Village
Linens: Special Occasion

All photos in this blog by Jeremy Hess Photography.

Lindsey & Jayson's Snowy Halloween Wedding

2011-10-29T22:54:00.000-04:00

Lindsey and Jayson were married today at the Blue Ridge Country Club. It's hard to believe, but instead of a beautiful fall day, there was a huge snowstorm. The weather didn't damper the the wedding festivities at all. A fun Halloween theme was incorporated in the reception decor since it is Halloween weekend!

Their wedding cake included a drippy ganache and the ghoulish cupcakes were decorated with cute Halloween decorations.

The cupcake tower sure did look fun and festive!

The cupcake flavors included Red Velvet with honey cream cheese frosting, spice cupcake with caramel buttercream frosting and a vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting.

The escort cards were displayed in a vignette of pumpkins and spooky Halloween decor.

That's a fake hand :-)

You can't have Halloween without candy corn and candy pumpkins.

The florals and centerpieces were designed by Nancy at Queen Bee Floral Design. They do wonderful work.

Congratulations Lindsey and Jayson on your spooktacular wedding!

Vendors:

Venue: Blue Ridge Country Club

Florals: Queen Bee Floral Design

Cupcakes: The Couture Cakery

Karistan & James' Fall Leaves

2011-10-27T11:25:00.000-04:00

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. The air is crisp and nothing is more spectacular than watching the foliage turn into beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow. Karistan and James were married on a perfect fall day this past Saturday and their cake reflected the beauty of autumn.

The cake was simple and elegant with delicate cascading sugar leaves.

It's perfect when you can just go to your front yard and grab a leaf for inspiration.

The cake flavor was vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream filling.

Congratulations Karistan and James!

Monica & Jesse's Autumn Barn Wedding

2011-10-26T19:01:00.000-04:00

Monica and Jesse discovered me at a friend's wedding. Love it when that happens. Their wedding reception took place in a beautiful barn on a private property in Hummelstown. The setting was just stunning. When I meet with clients I try to draw inspiration from what makes their wedding and reception unique. Monica and Jesse drew inspiration for the colors and design for the beautiful jewelry her sister created for the wedding party.

Click here to go to Jessica's site where you can see the beautiful jewelry she creates for brides and bridal parties.

The cupcake tower incorporated the colors of the jewelry.

This wedding included tons of amazing DIY details. Some of the cupcakes were also plated on mismatching china.

It's fall, so incorporating some haybales as part of the decor was fun.

Five different cupcake flavors were part of the menu. Lots to choose from.

The cake topper included some flower designs to reflect the style of the jewelry design.

I love these adorable favor bags which also tied in the jewelry design.

The barn was a real barn...lots of amazing architectural elements.

It was a stunning fall day for a wedding. The sheep pasture was right outside the barn...ready to greet all the guests.

Congratulations Monica and Jesse!

Katlyn & Adam's wedding at The Stone Mill Inn

2011-10-19T18:18:00.001-04:00

A bit of Irish and a lot of beautiful describes this wedding. Katlyn and Adam were married and had their reception at the Stone Mill Inn in Hellam. All of the beautiful photos on this blog post were taken by very talented Thomas Beaman.

The wedding colors included greens and purples and the cake reflected with beauty of the natural setting at The Stone Mill Inn.

One of the elements that Katlyn wanted incorporated on the cake was a celtic knot, so I incorporated it on the band. The cake flavors included vanilla cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream filling and chocolate cake mocha buttercream filling.

The gorgeous florals were designed by Hammaker's Flower Shop. I love the moss covered table number frame.

Katlyn looked amazing! Patricia Solis did her make-up and she looked flawless. Her beautiful gown was from Taylored for You Bridal Boutique.

What a beautiful group!

Congratulations Katlyn and Adam. You make a stunning couple!

Vendors:

Ceremony & Reception: Stone Mill Inn

Photography: Thomas Beaman Photography

Florals: Hammaker’s Flower Shop

DJ: Mixed Up Productions (Mike Miller)

Wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses: Taylored for You Bridal Boutique

Make up: Patricia Solis

Cake: The Couture Cakery

Special thanks to Thomas Beaman Photography for the amazing images!

Carolyn & Andrew's...bicycle made for two wedding

2011-10-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

Carolyn and Andrew had them most stunning wedding reception at the Hershey Lodge recently. When Carolyn told me that Todd Spitler was their photographer, I knew their photos were going to be spectacular. Todd was kind enough to share all of the photos on this post with me. Get ready for some serious eye candy!

When I met with Carolyn and Andrew they had selected a bicycle made for two theme incorporating deep purple and chartreuse. Their invitation had an adorable tandem bike illustration on it and I suggested trying to find a cake topper with would tie in the theme into the cupcake tower display. Carolyn found their bicycle cake topper on Etsy and it was the perfect addition. Little details make everything just a bit more special and personalized.

The sweets display covered an 18 foot serpentine table and some of the cupcakes were plated along with chocolate dipped pretzel rods, marshmallow pops and cake pops.

The cupcake flavors included chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling and peanut butter frosting, Red Velvet, vanilla cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting and white cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting.

Marshmallow and cake pops are always a yummy addition to a sweets table.

I love this stunning photo and I want one of those delicious looking cocktails :-)

The beautiful florals were designed by Flowers by Cherylann. The table numbers incorporated the tandem bicycle image from their invitation...just adorable. The reception room was pretty dark, but Todd came prepared with the right lighting to make sure every photo looked perfect. Here's a tip...make sure your photographer is prepared to shoot in any lighting situation...especially a dark room.

When designing your centerpieces, mixing high and low arrangements on the tables creates a beautiful visual effect. Isn't this arrangement is just gorgeous?

The eggplant colored bridesmaids dresses were so pretty.

Here is the beautiful couple...they look so happy together.

Congratulations Carolyn and Andrew! It was so much fun working with you.

Here's a special note Carolyn's mom emailed me right after the wedding...so sweet of her!

Dear Jasmine, I want to thank you for the delicious wedding cake display of cupcakes and other goodies at Carolyn and Andrew's reception. Everyone was commenting on the artistry in which everything was displayed and the "best cupcakes they have ever had". Again, many thanks for adding the special touches to the celebration!!

Vendors:

Photography: Todd Spitler Photography

Venue: Hershey Lodge

Florals: Flowers by Cherylann

Cupcakes and Sweets: The Couture Cakery

Special thanks to Todd Spitler for the beautiful images.

Kate & Nick's mocha and guava wedding cake

2011-10-17T08:05:00.000-04:00

Kate and Nick had their wedding reception at the beautiful Hershey Lodge. The wedding colors included mocha and guava. Delicate scrolling and pearls were also included in the cake design.

Earlier this year, I had the honor of taking a 3 day class with the sugar flower maestro Ron Ben Israel. He's currently the host of the Food Network show Sweet Genius. He's sooo amazing. I got to use a bit of what I learned on this cake, but look forward to practicing more sugar flower creating this winter.

Congratulations Kate and Nick!

Kristin & Oliver's elegant wedding at Conewago Manor

2011-10-16T09:55:00.001-04:00

I had the honor of being a part of this stunning wedding at Conewago Manor Inn in Elizabethtown. It's an amazing property that is just breathtaking. Kristin and Oliver chose to have cupcakes for the guests and a small cake for cutting. The cupcake display looked so elegant with various cake stands I provided and the beautiful arrangement that C&J Catering designed. The purples, silver and crystals are a lovely combination.

The cake was simple and elegant to tie in with the entire look of the reception.

Melissa Pearl with C&J Catering designed this amazing escort card table. Fresh orchids, crystals and the cards hung from a beautiful white branch structure she created.

The floral arrangements were so romantic and elegant.

What a beautiful wedding at one of my favorite venues.

Vendors:

Venue: Conewago Manor Inn

Catering, event design, linens: C&J Catering

Cake and cupcakes: The Couture Cakery

Photos provided by C&J Catering.

Rebecca and Mason's Fall Inspired Cupcake Tower

2011-10-09T21:58:00.001-04:00

Mason and Rebecca were married and had their reception at the beautiful Box Hill Mansion at Regent's Glen Country Club in York. The stand base was covered with paper that Rebecca provided that she used in her reception decor.

The cupcake flavors were Lemon Drop (white cake with fresh lemon curd filling and vanilla buttercream frosting), Red velvet with honey cream cheese frosting and Mocha (chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache filling and mocha buttercream frosting).

I loved the centerpieces they created. The books tied together with the mason jar flowers was just charming.

Box Hill Mansion is an elegant property with a beautiful area for an outdoor ceremony. It's perched high atop a hill in York with stunning views.

Congratulations Mason and Rebecca!

Vendors:
Photography: Melissa McClain Photography

Super Mario Groom's Cake

2011-10-06T17:57:00.002-04:00

Tonight is rehearsal dinner night. Rebecca ordered this special groom's cake for her soon to be husband Mason Davenport. I had to put his whole name in because it's such an awesome name. Super Mario with a little Zelda and his dinosaur avatar thrown in too.

Here's Mario made of fondant popping up from the cake.

The cake flavor was spice cake with caramel buttercream filling which is super popular in the fall. Wedding day is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to creating their cupcake tower at Regent's Glen in York.

Now I'm off to deliver Mario!

Not your ordinary wedding cake

2011-10-05T14:59:00.002-04:00

Kayla and Jonanthan were a hoot to say the least. When I met with them to discuss the wedding cake design for their reception at the Hershey Lodge, they said they wanted bright and colorful. I think they actually said Italian Tropical. When I saw their flowers, I decided that this was going to be a really fun cake.

Their bridal bouquets consisted of rainbow roses. Yes...these are real roses. They are actually really beautiful...I've never seen anything like them before.

The cake flavors were red velvet with honey cream cheese filling and vanilla cake with strawberry filling.

Hey, sometimes it's fun to go out of the box.

Congratulations Kayla and Jonathan!

Elizabeth & Ryan's Beautiful Wedding at the West Shore Country Club

2011-10-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Engle family has a special place in heart. I had the honor of creating Elizabeth's sister Erin's wedding cake, cupcake tower and candy table almost 2 years ago. It was a stunning winter wedding and Elizabeth's reception was just as spectacular. The wedding cake was inspired by Elizabeth and Ryan's wedding invitation. Purple and chartreuse were the main colors for the wedding.

The wedding cake flavors were vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream filling and red velvet cake with honey cream cheese filling.

The beautiful florals were designed by the very talented Stacia with Petals with Style.

I loved these whimsical wishing tree tags for guests to write a note on. The absolutely gorgeous linens were provided by the premiere linen company in Central PA...Special Occasions.

I didn't get a chance to get a photo of the cupcake tower and candy display, but I did get a shot of the adorable candy bag. I can't wait to see the wedding photos by Epic Photography.

Mike Miller with Mixed Up Productions kept the crowd moving and provided some incredible lighting, plus a custom dance floor logo.

Congratulations to an adorable couple. I can't wait to do all the baby showers in the future for this amazing family!

Dream Team of Vendors:

Venue: West Shore County Club

Photography: Epic Photography

Linens: Special Occasions

DJ & Lighting: Mike Miller with Mixed Up Productions

Florals: Petals with Style

Cake, cupcakes and candy buffet tags and design: The Couture Cakery

Nicole & Brandon's Wedding...Modern Elegance

2011-10-03T09:04:00.000-04:00

Nicole and Brandon had their reception on the 12th floor at the Harrisburg University. Stunning views of downtown Harrisburg really added a spectacular touch to this wedding. The cake design was modern, elegant and chic. Silver, gold, peonies and edible broach accents decorated the cake. The window frames really complimented the geometric lines of the cake.

Nicole graduated from Notre Dame and Brandon from Penn State. At the tasting, Brandon loved the combination of banana cake with vanilla mint icing. Nicole had me make these jumbo cupcakes with that special combination with a little tribute to their alma maters.

The cake flavor was banana cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream fillings. I really loved the flavors together.

The wedding was photographed by one of my very favorite photographers Jen Baltgalvis. She is just incredibly gifted and her photography is just amazing. All of the photos on this blog post were provided by Jen.

David Everett with Weddings by JDK worked his magic and transformed the wide open empty space into a stunning reception area. The bar area was enclosed in shears and looked so elegant with the romantic uplighting.

The beautiful floral designs and catering were also designed and provided by Weddings by JDK. Mercury glass tied the gold and silver theme into the table designs.

What a stunning photo with the Capitol in the background.

Congratulations Nicole and Brandon! You are an amazing looking couple.

Vendors:

Venue: Harrisburg University

Photography: Jen Baltgalvis Photography

Event Design: David Everett, Weddings by JDK

Catering, florals, and linens: Weddings by JDK

Wedding Planner: John Hanks Jr., Make it Happen Events

Hannah & Mike's Wedding...Eclectic and Charming

2011-10-02T16:41:00.004-04:00

What an amazing wedding. Just a little background...Hannah is incredibly creative. She's attending art school and just returned from China to study pottery design. She's unique..beautiful and I was honored to create their wedding cake. She and Mike had a vision for their wedding that reflected their personal style to a "T". I love the sign that was placed at the entrance of Blue Hound Farm in Lewisberry.

Blue Hound Farm is a real farm. Cows, sheep, horses and more surround this beautiful property.

The outdoor ceremony took place in a silo frame next to the amazing barn where the reception took place.

Hannah was just glowing. Vintage, elegant and so happy. They are not your traditional couple and you will see their cake wasn't either!

The wedding cake was inspired by Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. The topper was created by Hannah.

The wedding invitation was designed by Hannah's mom. The cake sparkled under the twinkle lights with all of disco dust sprinkled over it. The cake flavors were spice cake with caramel buttercream filling and red velvet cake with honey cream cheese filling.

Each table in the barn was whimsical, unique and so creatively styled.

I loved the sign on stone next to the bar. Catering was provided by Ginger Babies.

Creativity was everywhere. Love the eco chic cutlery.

Chickens and even a peacock roamed the property. How cool is that!

Congratulations Hannah and Mike!

Here's a sweet note from Mike and Hannah:
The cake was a huge hit. Everyone was very complimentary of how awesome it looked and more importantly, tasted. Again, thank you for helping to make our wedding day everything we hoped it would be.

Vendors:

Venue: Blue Hound Farm

Catering: Ginger Babies

Wedding Cake: Couture Cakery

Danelle & Jeffrey's Red and Ivory Wedding Cake

2011-09-28T13:56:00.001-04:00

Danelle and Jeffrey were married this past Saturday and had their reception at the beautiful Hershey Lodge. I had the so much fun creating this vibrant and elegant wedding cake inspired by the design on their wedding invitations.

The cake flavors were marble cake with chocolate buttercream filling and vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream filling.

Congratulations Danelle and Jeffrey!

Vendors:

Venue: Hershey Lodge

DJ: Mixed Up Productions

Mandy & Dustin's Sweet Cupcake Tower

2011-09-27T10:02:00.001-04:00

Mandy and Dustin had their wedding reception at the Harrisburg Hilton and I had the honor of creating a music inspired cupcake tower for them.

Instead of flowers, I did embossed circles in their wedding colors to resemble the shape of a record album. They tied the theme into their reception by naming the tables after their favorite albums.

The beautiful photos were taken by Carisa with CK Photography. They are really sweet!

I love this photo. What a wonderful couple. It was a joy working with them and I wish them a happy new life together!

Here's what Mandy had to say:

We were so lucky to have The Couture Cakery's cupcakes at our wedding! Jasmine did an amazing job of a design concept that fit our music theme... and let's be honest, I've never had better cupcakes in my life.

Vendors:

Reception Venue: Harrisburg Hilton

Photography: Carisa with CK Photography

Cupcakes: The Couture Cakery

Couture Lego Wedding Cake

2011-09-18T14:03:00.001-04:00

WARNING: If you show this to any boys under 10,

they may request this for their wedding cake.

When I met Lisa and James for our initial consultation, they said they wanted to incorporate a Lego theme in their wedding cake. My first thought was "awesome!". Legoland is my favorite theme park and with two boys, Legos are all over my house.

They wanted to keep the look of a pretty wedding cake, but incorporate Legos so it looked like the cake was under construction.

The purple and grey blossoms and vines were inspired by their wedding invitation. I also learned the correct terminology for Lego people. They are called "figs". The baker fig is checking out the wedding cake.

James provided all the actual Lego figs and vehicles from his collection. Don't you just love the Lego limo :-)

Dump truck with a load of fondant is arriving.

I added a few of my own comical elements. Flour is being scooped by the construction fig.

Uh oh...there was a sugar spill. The road cleaner has come to help clean up the spill.

A cleaning crew is on site with brooms to sweep up all the sugar.

I just love the adorable bride and groom. All the figs are working hard to construct the cake.

Baker fig is ready to place the flower on the cake.

Catering, linens and floral design were provided my the talented team at C&J Catering. The wedding took place at the Antique Auto Museum in Hershey.

The huge crane was constructed by James. I seriously should not have this much fun with a wedding cake!

Congratulations James and Lisa!!

Here's what the groom had to say :-)
Lisa and I can't thank you enough for your work on the cake. It exceeded our expectations, to say the least. "Awesome!" would best describe it. We received so many rave reviews about the attention to detail and the overall Lego theme. Expectedly, folks also found the cake to be delicious. Many people commented about the painstaking details on the cake, as well as the diorama with the Legos. Kids and adults alike enjoyed the small vignettes of cake-construction (i.e. the sugar spill).

Vendors:
Venue: The Antique Auto Museum
Catering, linens & florals: C&J Catering
DJ: DJ Klock Entertainment

Abbie & Jonanthan's Fuschia and Damask Theme Wedding

2011-09-13T13:10:00.001-04:00

Abbie and Jonathan were married this past Saturday in Duncannon. The theme included fuschia and black and white damask. What a fun combination.

I always love adding a monogram to the cake topper. More height and they just look great.

The cupcake flavors included Chocolate Chocolate, Vanilla Vanilla and Chocolate Oreo.

The edible flower decorations matched their wedding colors and I added a damask print to the cupcake stand base.

What a cute couple!

They incorporated tons of great DIY details. I loved these fun napkins.

It was beautiful wedding day. This is a shot I took outside the church.

Congratulations Abbie and Jonathan!

Kristin & Oliver's Elegant Wedding Cake

2011-09-09T10:14:00.003-04:00

Kristin and Oliver had their wedding reception last Saturday at the breathtaking Conewago Manor Inn. I have to say, it is my favorite venue. The manor, grounds and setting are just spectacular and I feel like I'm in heaven when I'm there. The photo above was taken inside the manor in the beautiful room overlooking the river.

The small 2 tier cake was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream fillings. In addition to the cake, I styled and created a cupcake display for the guests.

Congratulations Kristin and Oliver!

Jodi & Rob's Pink and Bling Wedding Cake

2011-09-07T09:07:00.000-04:00

Jodi and Rob were married at the Hershey Lodge on Sunday. It was a beautiful wedding incorporating hot pinks and a little bling. Their wedding cake was decorated with hot pink sugar blossoms and rhinestone band on the base of each tier. The cake flavors were dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream filling and vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream filling.

Congrats to Jodi and Rob! Best wishes on your new life in SoCal.

Casey & Steve's Wedding at King's Gap Mansion

2011-09-05T12:20:00.009-04:00

Casey and Steve were married this past Saturday at King's Gap Mansion in Carlisle. The views from this venue are just spectacular. The couple loves nature and Steve actually proposed on a hike at King's Gap. As I recall, they said "wouldn't it be fun to get married here" and they did!

The cupcake display incorporated their love of nature. The original design changed a bit after they saw the stumps that were created by Joe from Heidi and Joe's wedding. They were so kind to give them to me and I was excited for the opportunity to use them for this wedding.

The cupcake flavors included white cake with lemon buttercream frosting, chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and red velvet with lemon buttercream frosting (yum).

The yellow calla lilies were sooo pretty!

Loving the cupcake stand placed on the stump :-)

The cupcake decorations included sugar blossoms in red, yellow, brown and orange.

There were so many beautiful and colorful DIY details.

The escort lollipops were awesome! They saw a post I did for Lauren and Jeremy's wedding with cake pops in a bed of M&Ms. They adapted the idea to create this amazing display.

Love it! Who doesn't love candy.

The favors were various homemade jelly jars. So charming.

What a great wedding. It was such a pleasure working with Casey, Steve and Linda.

Congratulations!

Ohh...just got this email from the bride's mom :-)

"WHAT AN AWESOME JOB YOU DID with not only the cupcakes but the original cake topper! The entire table display was amazing and Casey started to cry when she saw it. She said, "It is just so incredible!" EVERYONE commented on how wonderful the cupcakes were and LOVED them!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the time and effort your part in making this a perfect day for Casey and Steve.

Abby & Wesley's Wedding at Hunter's Valley Winery

2011-09-03T19:19:00.007-04:00

Abby and Wesley were married today at Hunter's Valley Winery. Pale yellow and hydrangeas were the theme of this cake.

A white shimmery band and flower were on one tier which I loved.

The cake flavors were white cake with strawberry and lemon buttercream fillings and white cake with madagascar vanilla buttercream filling.

The centerpieces included pretty pale yellow and blue hydrangea.

A sweet email from Abby:
"The cake was amazing!! Everything I was hoping for and delicious too! You did a wonderful job! You are amazing, and I coulddn't ask for anything more! I wish I would have gotten to see you and give you a big hug to thank you for all your work. You have been so great to work with. Thank you so much!! "

Congratulations to Abby and Wesley!

Vendors:
DJ: Mixed Up Productions
Venue: Hunter's Valley Winery
Photography: Melissa Engle Photography
Catering: Commonwealth Caterers

John & Kristina's Elegant Skull Cake...yes I said skull.

2011-08-30T14:49:00.006-04:00

John and Kristina were married on Saturday at the Hershey Lodge. When I met with them for their cake tasting, we talked about the colors...black...sunflower yellow. We decided to do a pretty damask cake with yellow roses. It sounded just perfect. At the end of the consultation, John said...could you put a skull on the cake? I kind of thought really? But I aim to please, so I added the requested skull and crossbones to the middle tier. It was a great addition :-)

The cake flavors were vanilla cake with rapberry buttercream filling and chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream fillings.

The five yellow roses on top represented John, Kristina and their three children.

Kristina is the one who loves skulls, so it was a special request to make the cake special for her. It was really funny when an older lady came into the room, saw the cake and said "is that a skull?". A wedding cake uniquely special for the couple!

Congrats John and Kristina!!!

Cam's Cleat Cake

2011-08-29T15:03:00.002-04:00

This Saturday I created these edible cleats for Cam's birthday. They are replicas of his own cleats. It was my first attempt at a shoe like this, so it look a little figuring out, but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

The cake flavor was red velvet with Oreo buttercream filling.

The grass was made out of piped buttercream.

Happy Birthday Cam!!!

Donut making with sous chef Blake

2011-08-28T13:45:00.007-04:00

I was at Kohl's purchasing my 3rd Artisan Kitchen Aid mixer a few months ago (with my additional 30% off coupon), and since I can't leave there without spending several hundred dollars, I saw this donut maker on sale too. With my 30% off coupon it ended up being about $15...so I bought it along with a cotton candy making machine...which I'm sure will stay in the box longer than the 3 months that this donut maker sat for. Sunday is my day to relax and regroup and my assistant Blake really wanted to make donuts today so I broke open the box and here are the results.

Blake's choice was the chocolate buttermilk donut. I pulled out my finest cocoa to make the gourmet mini donuts. Special thanks to Anna at Hershey for keeping me stocked with a supply of Scharffen Berger!

Blake was originally hired to be my official "putter inner" of cupcake liners into the tins. His compensation is cupcakes of course and seems to be pretty happy with that for now. He is trying to climb up the ladder at The Couture Cakery, so I thought I'd give him a little more responsibility by putting him in charge of the donut making. Here he is putting the sugar into the bowl...didn't spill one bit :-)

After combining the dry and wet ingredients, Blake tried to manage holding the mixer without batter flying everywhere...it's pretty big and heavy for a 4 year old you know.

The batter went into the Babycakes donut machine and in just 4 short minutes voila! Donuts!!!

After Blake made the icing, he carefully spooned it onto each donut.

Of course, lots of sprinkles are necessary to make a tasty donut.

Mmmm they actually looked yummy!

Blake inspects the donut...and the result is....

YUM!!!!

Chocolate donut with white icing and sprinkles. Love the bit of icing on his lip :-) He was so proud of himself.

Want one?

Here's mine...it was delish!

I highly recommend the Baby Cakes donut maker for a fun and easy family activity. I guess if your kids are going to eat a donut baked is better than fried...but I'll take a hot crispy fried donut any day!

Ashley's Zebra Theme Bridal Shower

2011-08-25T07:55:00.002-04:00

Ashley is getting married this fall and had her bridal shower last Saturday at Events Etc. in Hershey. It's actually affiliated with the Hershey Pantry...one of my favorite breakfast spots. It's a wonderful venue for a shower or rehearsal dinner. I had so much fun designing this sweets table for her shower.

The theme for the cake I'll be designing for her wedding will incorporate ruffling so we brought a little of that into her shower cake with the ruffle rosettes.

Pretty invite!

Jessica with Love, Jessica Handmade Invitations designed the invitations, table numbers and menus. I love her work and everything looked amazing.

The menu.

Kim with Sweeties by Kim made her beautiful chocolate covered Oreos with a zebra print.

Chocolate cupcakes with raspberry Chambord buttercream frosting...one of my faves :-)

The shower colors incorporated purple and black, so these Hershey Bliss candies were the perfect find.

I also created all the tags and labels for the candy jars.

Here's Ashley, the lovely bride to be (2nd from right) with her three sisters and mom.

What a fun shower! Cant wait for the wedding :-)

Vendors:
Venue: Events Etc
Designer Oreo Cookies: Sweeties by Kim
Invitation, name cards and menu: Love, Jessica Handmade Invitations
Table Linen: Essential Party Rentals

Leaves Wedding Cake

2011-08-24T15:10:00.001-04:00

Christine and Mike were married this past Saturday at the Susquehanna Valley Country Club. They fell in love with a wedding cake designed by Ana Parzych and this is the cake I created inspired by it.

The wedding cake flavor was marble cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry buttercream fillings.

Here's the email I received from Christine after the wedding.
"The cake was wonderful! Thanks so much for everything!!!"

Congratulations Christine and Mike.

Heidi and Joe's Fall Sweets's Table

2011-08-22T00:19:00.024-04:00

I had so much fun creating Heidi and Joe's sweets table for their wedding reception. The rustic theme with a touch of autumn was just charming.
The small wedding cake incorporated the tree theme on their wedding invitation.

The sweet treats included our popular marshmallow pops.

I love the bags they ordered for guests to take some goodies home.

The color theme included orange and brown.

The cupcake selection included chocolate chocolate, chocobutter (chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting), nutty monkey (banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting) and vanilla vanilla.

The edible flower decorations coordinated with their wedding colors.

The ceremony took place right outside the reception tent. Orange blossoms dangled from the gazebo. It looked so pretty.

The florals were really beautiful too.

Joe cut tree stumps from the property to create the stands for the cake and cupcakes. They really added the perfect touch to the table design. Bonus...I got to keep them :-)

Everything was just perfect. Rustic, charming and elegant!

Congratulations Heidi and Joe!

In White Couture...Q and A with owner Shari Kendall

2011-08-17T09:20:00.004-04:00

There is now a bit of Beverly Hills in downtown Lancaster with the opening of In White Couture. I had the pleasure of attending a vendor open house recently and fell in love with the designer gowns being offered by Shari Kendall's 2nd couture bridal salon.

Here's an informative Q&A I had with Shari.

Question to Shari: What trends do you see for 2012?
Shari's reply: Designers are using layers to create texture and interest in both skirts and bodices. Layers are being shown in different fabrics and at many different angles and shapes - from traditional horizontal layers to more unique diagonal layering and they are even being used to create flower and shell shapes. The other significant trend in bridal is that beading is back! The 2012 collections are showing lots of beaded bodices, belts, and appliques.

Question to Shari: What is the difference between the collections at In White Couture and the contempory salon.
Shari's reply: Both collections have beautiful gowns that are designed with the utmost attention to detail, but there are a few differences in the two salons, the most obvious being price. The gowns in the contemporary salon range from $750-$3000 and the couture salon gowns start at $2500 and go up from there. The gowns in the couture collection, since they are made directly under the designer's supervision are completely customizable; however, in the contemporary collection we are are more limited in what we can do for customization. Also, there are fabric differences, the couture gowns are generally 100% silk (from petticoat to outer layer), with the exception of just a few; however, the contemporary gowns are made from the highest quality synthetic fibers, with a few exceptions having an outer layer (the one that everyone sees) made from silk. The contemporary gowns are made to the bride's size, but the couture gowns are made to the bride's exact measurements - any alterations for a couture gown that may be needed are free, but there are fees for alterations to a contemporary gown.

The gown and headpiece above are from the contemporary salon collection. I had the pleasure of providing the cakes for this photo shoot styled by Carmina Cristina who also did the dramatic make-up. The beautiful photography is by Scott Davis Photography.

Another stunning photo...

This was a gorgeous gown at In White Couture. The detailed beading was amazing.

Here's Shari with my very favorite gown. I think it would be the perfect inspiration for a wedding cake :-)

Last question to Shari: What trends do you see for bridesmaids dresses?
Shari's reply: The designers are introducing more social occasion looks and fewer "bridesmaids" dresses, so we are seeing even more short dresses (many of which can be made long if the bride prefers) than last season. And although strapless still rules, more designers are introducing a cap sleeve or v-neck to bridesmaids dresses this season. The color palettes are starting to become more muted. Designers are offering more silver, softer yellows, muted purples and oranges - more earthy, less in your face colors than we saw last season - gone are the bright fuchsias and in are the muted pinks. Plum is still a strong favorite among designers and brides for its versatility and contrast with bright flowers.

Hillary was a bride I had the pleasure of working with this year. Her romantic gown was from In White and I asked her about her experience. Here's what Hillary had to say.
"I loved my dress! I fell in love with the dress online.. I felt that it really reflected my personal style. In White was wonderful to work with- made me feel so comfortable and were very helpful throughout the whole process. When I called In White, they didn't have the dress in their shop, but they carried the brand. They ordered the dress just for me, so that I could try it on!

The photos of Hillary are by the talented team of Sam and Ben with Essential Sunshine. Their wedding photos are amazing, here's a link to see more on their blog.

Be sure to visit In White's website for more information about their wonderful salons located in downtown Lancaster across from F&M College.

Thank you Shari for all the great information!

Vendors in this blog post:
In White Couture Bridal Boutique
Carmina Cristina - Make-up
Scott David Photography - Bridal Shoot
Essential Sunshine Photography - Hillary's wedding

Tenley's 1st Birthday Ruffle Cake

2011-08-16T10:01:00.004-04:00

Tenley has a special place in my life as a cake designer. I did a cake and cupcakes for here mom Megan's bridal shower, then her mommy and daddy's wedding cupcake tower, then her baby shower and now her 1st birthday! I feel so lucky to be a part of the important events in their family's life.

I love ruffle cakes...just so pretty.

If you would like to make one yourself (it's not that hard), here is a wonderful tutorial by one of my favorite bakeries My Sweet and Saucy in California. Click here to view.

Michele & Scott's Wedding

2011-08-15T09:04:00.004-04:00

This past Friday Michele and Scott were married and had their reception at the West Shore Country Club. Michele had the amazing experience of purchasing a truly couture gown in Milan. I decided to design their wedding cake to reflect some of the elements of her gown.

Romantic folds and a poof around the top tier to emulate her gown along with a single flower helped to create this couture wedding cake. The cake flavor was white cake with raspberry buttercream and fresh lemon curd fillings. In addition to the cake, I also provided cupcakes for the guests too.

The country club was transformed into such an amazing space. David Everett with Weddings by JDK incorporated succulents, stone, moss and florals to created an elegant outdoor feeling.

This display of frames was one of my favorite design elements.

The room was completely transformed when the custom lighting was turned on. The room was subtly washed with a beautiful aqua color.

Since the reception did not incorporate a sit down dinner, heavy hors d'oeuvres and cocktails were the feature. There was a combination of high top tables and dining tables for guests to sit at throughout the room. It was just a relaxing lounge feel.

Chiavari chairs always elevate the decor to another level.

The linens from Special Occasion were to die for. Browns, greens and blues accented the room. I love their linens.

The beautiful florals were also created by the team at Weddings by JDK.

Congratulations Michele and Scott! It was an honor being a part of your wedding day.

Here's what the bride had to say:
"First and foremost, I wanted to thank you again. The cake and cupcakes were absolutely beautiful! Not only beautiful, but I have to say the best wedding cake I have ever tasted! Thank you so much for everything. I was so happy with the design. Absolutely stunning."

Vendors:
Reception Venue: West Shore Country Club
Event design: David Everett, Weddings by JDK
Florals and lighting: Weddings by JDK
Linens: Special Occasion
Wedding planner: Light Hearted Events
Wedding cake and cupcakes: The Couture Cakery

Lauren & Jeremy's Wedding at the Peter Allen House

2011-08-07T09:14:00.002-04:00

Lauren and Jeremy were married and had their reception at the beautiful Peter Allen House in Dauphin. I had so much fun designing the cupcake display for their wedding. It all started with the concept of using silver cake stands with dangling crystals. Lauren's mom Joan found the beautiful cupcake stands which matched perfectly with my cake stands.

In addition to the cupcakes, I created a small cake for the cake cutting and Joan made lots of her beautiful cookies which were displayed on the table too.

The cupcake flavors included Vanilla Vanilla, Chocobutter and white cake with lemon buttercream frosting.

Lauren fell in love with the beautiful laser cut cupcake wrappers. They are so beautiful and added so much to the look of the entire display.

The cupcakes included sugar blossoms on lime green, yellow and fuschia which tied in with their wedding colors.

I also made chocolate cake pops. I tried to come up with a creative way to display them and ended up displaying some in a bed on white M&Ms.

Other cake pops were plated pop side down. I even custom colored with sprinkles so they would match perfectly :-)

Gotta love all the bling on the table.

The beautiful florals were designed by Queen Bee Florals. I've had the pleasure of working with them quite a bit and they do stunning work.

The wedding was photographed by the very talented Matthew Tennison. Here is just one of his stunning photos from the wedding. Please click here to go to his blog to see more photos from the wedding.

Congratulations Lauren & Jeremy!!

Vendors:
Venue: Peter Allen House
Photography: Tennison Photography
Florals: Queen Bee Floral Design
Linens & runners: Essential Party Rentals
Cake, cupcake and cake pops: The Couture Cakery

Hope & Adam's Vintage Chic Wedding

2011-07-29T09:44:00.001-04:00

Hope and Adam were married at the beautiful Peter Allen House. Hope did not miss one little detail in her planning and put together the most stunning wedding. It looked like it came right out of a wedding magazine. Starting with the the bureau she decorated. Guests were invited to select a tag and write their happy wishes.

After the guest filled in the blanks on the vintage tag, they were asked to tie it to a wooden ladder next to the bureau. The note in the frame on the bureau requested the advice from their friends as they climbed the ladder of life (click the photo to enlarge to tag). The adorable flower pot of lavender even had a strip of fabric tied to it with their names printed in it.

Catering, florals, wedding coordination and event design were provided by the talented team at C&J Catering. Everything looked just amazing.

The sweetheart table was so cute. I loved the shabby chic, vintage and romantic look of the whole vignette.

The sweetheart table had a beautiful tray of tiny vases in various colors with pretty flowers in them. Champagne on ice and like I said all the details were fabulous.

The escort card display was so pretty. Guests names were written on purple tags attached to a fabric sachet of lavender with Hope and Adam's names and wedding date printed on them.

The framed note for the guests said, Find you seat and take some time to smell the lavender. How cute!

Hope and Adam were engaged in Maine, so in honor of that, they had a lobster basket with candy lobsters lolipops for the guests to enjoy. The centerpieces and DIY table numbers were just perfect for the look of the reception.

They even had doggie treat favors from their dogs :-)

The wedding cake was a buttercream covered cake. It was a white cake with raspberry buttercream filling. Delicate scrolling and pearls decorated with cake along with the beautiful fresh flowers. I just love ranuculus. Melissa Pearl with C&J Catering went above and beyond and refinished the vintage vanity that the cake was placed on. I may have to borrow that sometime :-)

I stayed with the cake like it was my baby because it was about 98 degrees outside. After all the photos were taken and guests got to take a peak at it after they entered the tent, I put it in the caterers refrigerated truck until cake cutting time. Just a tip, if you have an outside wedding on a hot day or humid day, make sure you have a plan. Either cut the cake early or keep it refrigerated until the cake cutting. The last thing you want is a melted cake.

Hope surprised Adam with a groom's cake too. He's a huge Phillies fan and was so excited when he saw it. It was red velvet with cream cheese filling.

Like I said, Hope did so much herself in making this her dream wedding. She styled this beautiful candy display. I did the tags for her, but she did a great job with the props and design. Here mom made the pretty "sweets"bunting.

What an amazing wedding. I didn't even post all the other details she incorcorated. You'll have to wait and see (mattnnat) Photography's photos :-) They are so talented.

Congrats Hope and Adam!!!

Dream Team of Vendors:

Venue: Peter Allen House
Catering, event design, wedding coordination & florals: C&J Catering
Photography: (mattnnat) Photography
Make Up: Carmina Cristina
Pre-Wedding Day Spa: Polished Day Spa
Bridal gown: Tara's Bridal
Band: Smooth Like Clyde
Cake and Groom's cake: The Couture Cakery

24 Hour Sugar Rush Adventure in NYC - Day 2

2011-07-28T08:48:00.003-04:00

After completely stuffing ourselves on day one, we got up early to visit as many places as possible before heading home so Emily could get to class that evening. We first went to Grand Central Market in Grand Central Station. I wanted to stop by my favorite spice company Penzeys Spice to pick up cinnamon (they offer at least 4 different varieties) and some lemon extract. There are some wonderful fresh fish, meat and fine food vendors in the market too.

In the Grand Central Station dining area, we enjoyed a delicious New York bagel and had cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery...the breakfast of champions. We tried the Red Velvet with a buttercream frosting (not sure if there was really butter in it) and a devil's food with cream cheese frosting. The consensus was the cake was awesome. but the frostings were just okay. A little too sweet.

I wanted to take Emily to Eataly (another favorite spot of mine) and on our walk over we passed through the Union Square Greenmarket. The beautiful displays of local veggies and fruit were amazing. Yummy looking breads and florals filled the square. I loved these sunflowers. Bees were buzzing all over them.

The vast selection of vegetables and fruits were so colorful. I especially loved the purple hues of the eggplants in the basket and the stacks of radishes and carrots.

We next went to Eataly. If you are in New York, it's a must go to spot. Amazing fresh pasta, breads and much more you can purchase, plus several delicious dining areas. Check out the $227 small bottle of balsamic vinegar! I'd be afraid to use it :-)

My favorite thing at Eataly is getting a cup of espresso. Watching it pressed out of the enormous espresso machine is worth the trip there. Love it!
We had about an hour left before heading home, so we jumped in a cab and headed to Chelsea Market. In addition to the Food Network shows being filmed there, the market has the most amazing shops. Pretty cupcakes at Eleni's.

The theme cookies at Eleni's were pretty amazing too!

We also tried some of the delicious chocolates at Jacques Torres Chocolate. Decadent and delicious!

If you want the best preserves, stop by Sarabeth's. Their restaurant near Central Park is another favorite spot of mine. As our trip was coming to an end, I spotted the very cool looking il Laboratoria del Gelato near the hotel. I have a total weakness for gelato and tried the buttermilk and the green tea flavors. They were very good.

A couple of slices of Ray's Pizza for the car ride and we were ready to go.

What an amazing 24 hour foodie trip...so much fun, but I'm not eating for 2 days!

24 Hour sugar rush adventure in NYC...Day 1

2011-07-27T18:39:00.035-04:00

So, I think many of you know that I have had a summer intern helping me this year. Emily is almost done with the pastry arts program and I wanted to do something special to thank her and congratulate her on her upcoming graduation. We left yesterday for our whirlwind 24 hour foodie and cupcake adventure to NYC. I seriously can't believe all we did in such a short period of time. I booked our stay at the East Houston Hotel. It's a lovely, modern, boutique hotel close to, Soho, Little Italy and China Town. I really loved it and would highly recommend it. There is a beautiful rooftop lounge and the view was pretty awesome. I had a blast taking all these pictures while we ran around NYC.
So, after we made it into the city without getting side swiped (yes I drove) and parked the car, we had a short walk to the hotel and happened to pass Bisous Ciao Macarons. I'd never been there before and it was a beautiful shop, so of course we had to stop in and make sure the macarons passed inspection. They were absolutely delicious and we actually went back to get more before we went home.

After we checked into the hotel, we decided to grab a bite to eat before a very important appointment at 3 pm. One of my favorite spots in NYC is Le Pain Quotidein. Just the most delicious fresh food with great atmosphere. I always get their giant meringue cookie...light, airy and yummy.

The restaurant was just around the corner from the most wonderful part of our trip to New York..a visit to Ron Ben-Israel Cakes. I was so excited when Ron said he would have time to give us a tour of his bakery and sugar flower studio. He's truly my biggest inspiration as a cake artist. I had the opportunity to take his 3 day sugar flower course earlier this year in Savannah at Minette Rushing Custom Cakes. Ron greeted us with his infectious smile and a big hug. He looked adorable in his pastry jacket and plaid bermuda shorts. Visiting his bakery is a memory I will always cherish. Oh...we actually got to sample the delicious vanilla cake with lemon buttercream filling he created for Martha Stewart's birthday party. For a great read, Ron's right hand person Rebecca writes a fantastic blog about the adventures of working at Ron Ben-Israel Cakes. Here it is: http://nyccakegirl.wordpress.com/

We were two very lucky girls! Thank you Ron and Rebecca :-)

Ron helped develop and is teaching a new cake design program at the French Culinary Institute just down the street. He arranged for us to get a tour of the amazing school and also have dinner at the chef and student run restaurant L'Ecole later that night. All I can say is that the 5 course dinner was one of the most wonderful meals I have ever had. If you are in town you should definitely go...you won't be disappointed.

Before dinner we walked around Soho and stopped into my favorite paper store...Kate's Paperie. They have the most beautiful papers and stationery.

Down the street was Dean and Deluca. A must stop spot for any gourmet food lover.

We then made our first cupcake stop. One of my favorite spots is Billy's Bakery.

The decor in the shop was retro and adorable and the cupcakes did not disappoint.
We had the red velvet with a sweet vanilla buttercream frosting and a banana cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting. They were both yummy. Moist cakes with sweet traditional buttercream frostings.

Ron suggested we stop by two of his friend's shops, so we went on the hunt for Francois Payard Bakery and Jacques Torres Chocolates. Did I mention we walked about 10 miles yesterday?? Maybe it was a little less but it felt like it! Yes...we found Francois Payard Bakery on our journey.

He is an amazing pastry chef and has several beautiful books out. We tried the Eclair Caramel...OMG...super delish..very rich, but the salted caramel filling... just decadent.

After gobbling down the eclair, we went on the hunt for Crumbs Bake Shop. Yes! we finally found it too. Unfortunately, I could not stuff another cupcake into my body, but Emily could :-)

Crumb's offers mostly jumbo cupcakes, but some regular size versions too. They are not fancy, but just fun. Oh look...the cupcake above is only 870 calories :-)

Emily went with the red velvet. It was probably only 800 calories. Crumbs was voted #2 cupcake shop for the day after Billy's.

After all the cupcakes, sweets and walking we went to dinner!

Day 2 on the blog tomorrow!

Sarah & Kevin's beautiful wedding at King's Gap Mansion

2011-07-24T23:28:00.010-04:00

Sarah and Kevin had the most beautiful wedding at King's Gap Mansion high in the mountains overlooking the Carlise area. The JDK Group, coordinated by Amanda Savory, did a spectacular job from event design, florals to the catering.

Here's the amazing view from the mansion's stone patio. It seemed like you could see forever!

The guest tables looked so elegant and the food and presentation looked delicious.

Erika Hegedus created the most beautiful floral designs including tall vases with branches and lemons...

to pretty lower designs with florals including yellows, ivory and hints of purple.

The romantic ivory buttercream wedding cake was decorated with fondant lace accents which complimented Sarah's gown.

The flavors included white cake with fresh lemon curd and vanilla buttercream fillings and a spice cake with caramel buttercream filling.

The very talented Mike Miller with Mixed Up Productions provided the DJ services for the reception and there's no doubt he kept the party going all night.

Saran and Kevin looked just stunning and so happy together.

I also created a surprise groom's cake for the rehearsal dinner. I was so happy Kevin loved it! I'm guessing the Superman cake was because he looks pretty much like Clark Kent :-)

Congratulations Sarah and Kevin!

Vendors:

Catering, Event Design, Linens, Florals:
The JDK Group
(Amanda Savory - event designer, Erika Hegedus - floral designer)
Venue: King's Gap Mansion
Photography: Krisha Martzell Photography
Wedding Coordination: Susan Moran - That's It Wedding Concepts
DJ: Mike with Mixed Up Productions
Wedding & Groom's Cake: The Couture Cakery

Loni & Jay's Wedding at the Harrisburg Country Club

2011-07-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

Loni and Jay were married at the Harrisburg Country Club and I had the honor of creating a cupcake tower incorporating sunflowers and their wedding colors or purple and yellow.

Fresh flowers were incorporated on the cake topper.

Cupcake flavors included vanilla cake with lemon curd filling and strawberry butteream frosting and chocolate cake with mocha buttercream frosting.

The beautiful florals were provided by Hammaker's Flower Shop.

Loni customized the vases. They looked adorable.

Melissa with Made to Keep designed the table numbers to coordinate with the wedding theme.

Instead of favors, couples are donating to charities which is so nice.

Congratulations Loni and Jay!! I loved working with you.

VENDORS:
Stationery: Made to Keep
Florals: Hammaker's Flower Shop
Venue: Harrisburg Country Club

Jessica & Nathan's Wedding Cake

2011-07-21T08:32:00.001-04:00

Jessica and Nathan were married on Saturday and had their reception at the Hershey Lodge. Their wedding colors included clover green and white which looked very pretty together. I used several different techniques including quilting, stenciling and scrolling. The cake flavors included vanilla cake with chocolate hazelnut and almond buttercream filling and chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream filling.

A present bow on top and tiny flowers decorated the top tier.

Congratulations Jessica & Nathan!!

Kate & Mark's Irish Inspired Wedding

2011-07-20T08:03:00.000-04:00

Kate and Mark were married and had their reception at Kate's parent's property in Palmyra. A stunning setting with a celebration rich in tradition. The wedding colors included lavender, purples and apple green. The wedding theme incorporated their Irish and English heritage. The cake topper was an Irish claddagh as the cake topper which is a symbol of love.

The cupcake flavors included chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream frosting, vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

The decorations on the cupcakes included white, lavender and white sugar blossoms.

Floral design was created by the very talented Melissa Pearl with C&J Catering. The purple irises were so pretty on the shimmery lavender linens.

The beautiful memorial and escort card table designed by C&J Catering was a wonderful tribute to their families. The fabric draping, dangling crystals, photo frames and floral balls were so pretty.

Pretty escort card presentation.

The sweetheart table included a stunning floral arrangement and I loved the way the shear overlay was accented with the satin rosette.

A shot of one of the bars.

Pretty vases on shepherd hooks accented the inside of the tent.

The team at C&J Catering really did an amazing job.

Congratulations Kate and Mark!

Vendors:
Catering, event design, florals: C&J Catering
Photography: Grace Lightner Photography
Cupcake tower: The Couture Cakery

Sharon & Aaron's contemporary white wedding cake

2011-07-19T09:00:00.002-04:00

Sharon and Aaron had their reception at the Hershey Lodge this past Saturday. They wanted something clean and elegant with a modern touch. The tone on tone of whites looked so pretty. Some of the flowers were dusted with luster dust so the cake had an elegant shimmer.

The cake flavors were red velvet cake with lemon buttercream filling and white cake with fresh lemon curd and vanilla buttercream fillings.

Congratulations Sharon and Aaron!

Heather & Shawn's Wedding at Riverdale Manor

2011-07-18T09:22:00.006-04:00

Heather and Shawn had their wedding and reception at the beautiful Riverdale Manor in Lancaster. One of my very favorite team of photographers was there to capture these amazing photos. MattnNat are not only incredibly talented photographers but the nicest people you'll ever meet.

The wedding colors were hot pink, light pink and black. The florals included gerbera daisies which were incorporated on the cupcakes as decorations. The cupcake flavors were chocolate cupcake with Oreo buttercream frosting, chocolate cupcake with peanut butter buttercream frosting and vanilla cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. Heather did a great job creating her candy display too!

The black linens with the pink napkins looked fun and elegant.

Heather was such a stunning bride. I love this shot.

Pretty programs and florals.

What a beautiful couple!

A stunning shot of Riverdale. Love it.

Congratulation Heather and Shawn!

Click here to jump over to MattnNat's blog post of the wedding with more amazing photos.

Vendors:
Venue: Riverdale Manor
Photographers: MattnNat
Cupcake Tower: The Couture Cakery

Jacque & Dan's Fun Summer Wedding

2011-07-17T22:18:00.009-04:00

Jacque and Dan had their wedding and reception at the beautiful Colonial Country Club. The decor of the reception was just fun. Bright pink and orange accents with pink uplighting created a festive and beautiful reception room. I had a blast creating a sweets table including cupcakes and wedding cake for the guests.

The wedding cake was chocolate cake with Oreo buttercream filling and white cake with strawberry buttercream filling. The cake design included a swirl design that was part of their invitation design.

I love the special sign that Persnickety Invitation Studio created for the sweets table.

Sweets included marshmallow pops, Hershey kisses, Whirley pops, rock candy, pink gummi pigs, orange slices and more. I also created the tags that incorporated their wedding invitation design.

The cupcake flavors included red velvet with cream cheese frosting and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

It was such a fun sweets table to design for an amazing couple.

Congratulations to Jacque and Dan.
Click here to see Allenaim Photography's blog post of the wedding.

VENDORS:
Photography: Amy Kauffman of Allenaim Photography
DJ & Lighting: Gerry Spear of Burning Spear Entertainment
Venue: Colonial Country Club
Dessert table sign: Persnickety Invitation Studio

Jessi & Jason's Beautiful Wedding at the Peter Allen House

2011-07-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Jessi and Jason were married and had their reception at the beautiful Peter Allen House in Dauphin. Sometimes you meet a couple and you know it's going to be an incredible wedding and they did not disappoint. Details galore and when they requested a special area on the sweets table dedicated to their dog Riley I got really excited!

Their cake incorporated their wedding colors of eggplant, charcoal grey and silver.

The stunning photos of the day were captured by Thomas Beaman Photography. The beautiful florals, event design and catering were provide by Weddings By JDK. Jessi's make up was done by the very talented Carmina Cristina. Chris Garrett with Mixed Up Productions kept the party going. What an awesome team of vendors.

The sweets table was so much fun. The eggplant linen from was the perfect base.

I created the "Sweet Love" banner incorporating their colors and swirl design.

Riley was an important part of the wedding. Rhinestone leash...bow tie...tuxedo and all.

Riley's area on the candy table included doggie truffles, gourmet raw hide treat, doggie biscuits and more...

Peanut butter cups.

Special doggie treat bags to take some goodies home to their pooches.

As part of the table design, I created the tags and framed signs. The candy table included grape and silver gum balls, M&M's, black and white gummi penguins, kettle corn...

Designer Oreos

Rock candy, mini lavender jaw breakers...

whirley pops...

The color looked amazing and the touch of damask added just the right amount of pattern.

Jessi ordered a stamp from Etsy and customized the candy bags.

What a stunning wedding for an amazing couple. Like I always say...details details details :-)

Special thanks to Thomas Beaman for sharing these photos with me. Be sure to stop by Thomas Beaman's blog to see more amazing photos from the wedding. Click here.

Vendors:
Photography and Photo booth: Thomas Beaman Photography
Ceremony and reception: Peter Allen House in Dauphin, PA
Wedding design & planning: Weddings By JDK (David Everett)
Florals, catering, linens: Weddings By JDK
Cake and candy/dessert table: The Couture Cakery
DJ: Mixed Up Productions (Chris Garrett)
Make up: Carmina Cristina

Lindsay & Eric's Tiffany Blue Wedding

2011-07-11T23:53:00.010-04:00

I'm a little behind posting this sweets table which was so much fun to create. Lindsay and Eric were such an amazing couple to work with. Their reception was at the Holiday Inn in Grantville and incorporated Tiffany blue, white and silver accents.

Part of the sweets table included a cupcake tower which included Chocobutter, Red Velvet and Vanilla Strawberry cupcakes.

I always love it when couples incorporate a monogram on the cake topper.

Candies included non pareils, pock candy sticks, M&M's, Hershey Kisses and more.

As part of the dessert table I also designed the tags that were on the jars.

Lots of sugar and so much fun!

Congratulations again to Lindsay and Eric!!!

Cori & Andrew's Hershey Wedding

2011-07-06T23:38:00.004-04:00

I'm a wee bit behind blogging, but wanted to share the cupcake tower I created for Cori and Andrew's wedding recently. The wedding colors included a beautiful indigo blue and ivory.

The cupake flavors included Lemon Drop (white cake with fresh lemon curd filling and vanilla buttercream frosting), Cafe Mocha (chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with mocha buttercream) and Chocolate Mint (chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate mint buttercream).

I love this shot because I can see a tiny bit of chocolate ganache oozing out of the cupcake in the middle :-)

Cori and Andrew are an absolutely adorable couple and requested mini replicas of them on top of the cake. They are both trolley operators at Hershey so I created little fondant figures of them in uniform.

I'm sure you are thinking...wow these photos look much better than what's usually posted. Well, that's because the very talented Thomas Beaman was the wedding photographer and took them all :-) Please click here to visit his blog to see more stunning photos from the wedding.

Vendors:
Wedding Ceremony: Founders Hall
Reception: Purcell Friendship Hall
Cupcake Tower: The Couture Cakery
Flowers: Annie McGinley
DJ: Occasions DJs
Photography: Thomas Beaman Photography
Transportation: Hershey Trolley Works