Boho Chic Styled Wedding Shoot

I love making new friends in the wedding industry because they are such fun people, not only do they know how to party but they know how to throw a party. But more importantly, they are also some of the most hard-working people you will meet and that is because they take so much pride in their work - which I can totally relate to.

One of these new friends is the talented Amber Hayes from Rock and Stone Weddings. She is an event coordinator, stylist and master mind behind this whole Boho Chic wedding styled shoot and I was honored when she asked me to be apart of it. 

 Our Stunning Bride and Groom 

The shoot took place this past summer at Rattlesnake Ledge in North Bend, Washington. This summer we faced a lot of wildfires and unfortunately had to deal with smoke that took a long time to clear out. While there was smoke present for the shoot, it did not inhibit the beauty. It almost added to the Pacific Northwest beauty and style.

Boho Bride 

How adorable is her hat? It's like Coachella meets wedding! Let's talk about this stunning photography for a minute. Marnie Cornell of Marnie Cornell Photography was the photographer for this shoot. Her passion for photography started in a high school dark room - man I miss photography class! I also took some photography classes in high school and loved working in the dark room. Now in the world of DSLR camera, students don't even use the dark room anymore which is half the fun! Breaks my heart to hear that - but I digress - back to Marnie! Marnie has been in business for 7 years and she is a true talent. Be sure to check out her photography portfolio on her website.

Pacific Northwest Boho Chic Wedding Table

 The details of this wedding shoot were top notch. I loved the table place settings. Simply stunning and very Pacific Northwest. I love the wood mountain name tag with the tribal table cloth. I'm not cool enough to pull off the boho chic style but if I could...this is the wedding I would have wanted!

That cake though...wow

Now that cake is a show stopper, but I can't take credit for this one. This beautiful macrame cake was made by the talented Natalie Dehaven from Natalie Dehaven Cakes in Ellensburg, Washington. I could stare at this cake admiring all the hard work, skill and details that went into making this cake. Not to mention transporting it! That would be the scariest part. I love how the bottom tier is extra tall and the macrame hangs down, not to mention that "tie die" effect - so hippie right?! Great job Natalie!

Sweet moment with the Bride and Groom

 Oh! And I must also acknowledge the talent make up artist Shyn Midili of Pacific Brides mobile make up and styling. She did an excellent job on these people people! Check out her website portfolio to see all her beautiful work! Also the stunning gowns worn by the brides from Sarah Varca Bridal are amazing!

Succulent Cupcakes

Boho Chic Wedding - Succulent Cupcakes

Ok and now the moment you have all been waiting for - my turn! For this shoot I made some succulents using fondant and my Wilton succulent kit, for $15 it is totally worth it and so much fun to use. These little mini succulents I made for a wedding early in the summer so I am always excited when I get to use tools over again. And again, that table cloth! I totally want one! Here you can really see the design and detail - I just can't get over it!

 Another really fun element that Amber incorporated into this wedding shoot was the use of these really cool woodland animal masks! In fact I am pretty sure she based the whole thing from these masks. Now I am partial to the fox mask because it reminds me of my dog - she is a Shiba Inu and everyone says she looks like a little fox. I like how they used these masks and not just as a photobooth prop. I think it really adds to the feel of this "wedding."

Woodland Animal Masks - Boho Chic Wedding

 The flowers on this stunning table were styled by Amy of Brier and Ivy and she is a Pacific Northwest Native. Her work has been featured on JuneBug, Style Me Pretty, Oregon Pride Magazine and Magnolia Rouge. If that doesn't scream talent, I don't know what does!

A pretty model eating a pretty cupcake

Initially when I was looking through all the photos from the shoot, I missed these last two. I didn't know about them until another vendor posted it on their Instagram page, so that was a nice little surprise! I was also happy to hear that everyone loved eating them at the end of the shoot too. hehe.

A Bride and Her Cupcake

Again it was such an honor to be apart of this shoot, unfortunately I couldn't be present during the shoot but what a great opportunity. Some of the other vendors that were also involved in the shoot are as follows below as well as the complete list of vendors. Please be sure to follow them on social media and look at their beautiful work. 

Photography: @marniecornellphotography
Styling/Planning: @rockandstoneweddings
Cake: nataliedehavencakes
Cupcakes: @seatownsweets
Florals: @brierandivy
Hair & MU: pacific_brides
Sarah’s dress: @sarahvarcabridal
Kitty’s dress: BHLDN
Stationery: @rjcalligraphy
Menu: @tablecatering
Groom’s tie & pocket square @vknit.london
Models: @saririh @thomasdasmeep @thewildmeowmeow @jayseph_wells

Alex & Brie's Wedding

Simple and Elegant Buttercream Wedding Cake 

The beautiful thing about weddings is that even though the core elements are the same, they are all so unique. Upon arriving to the venue to deliver the cake for A+B's wedding, I was instantly taken back by the beauty of the property, and shocked to find the bride outside helping set up "what are you doing out here?!"

This wedding was all about the beautiful details and hand made with love. The strings of cafe lights, the little wooden signs to the gorgeous fern wall (you'll see it behind the cake) all contributed to the beauty of the day. And while these things are not required to have a wedding, it definitely adds romance if you ask me. I feel like Pinterest is a blessing and a curse these days...same with Etsy.

The Bride is a sister of a friend who I grew up playing soccer with, so I was honored that they chose me to make their wedding cake. We had a tasting consultation back in the spring to play around with flavors. We decided to go with a vanilla cake with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream for the cutting cake, but they also loved the chocolate frosting so we did the same thing with chocolate frosting in a sheet cake.

As a little take home favor from the tasting, I also gave them one of my signature sugar cookies. I was delighted to get an email from Brie that not only did they love them, but they wanted to incorporate some cookies for dessert as well. 

Let them eat cake!

Now I mentioned something about a fern wall... do you see it in the background?! Absolutely stunning. Brie saw it at a wedding show and she said she just had to do it too. It was a gorgeous background for a simple and elegant wedding cake. 

 

The cake! And that Fern Wall - Stunning

Signature Sugar Cookies

The hardest thing about being a baker for weddings, is you don't always get to see the end result or have an opportunity to take photos. So I am extremely grateful to photographers Events by Heather and Ryan for taking some gorgeous photos.

Congratulations Alex and Brie! We hope your day was everything you wished it to be and more! May your marriage be blessed.

Circus Themed Birthday Party

I have noticed that with baking there will always be certain trends that come up throughout the year. Sometimes they are centered around the latest Disney movie, wedding style trend or seasonality, but every so often some will completely catch you off guard. This little theme came up several times this summer for birthday parties. 

Circus Tent Smash Cake

The first was a 1st birthday party for a friend of mine. Her son Landon was turning one which means you have to have a fun smash cake! To go with the theme I made a circus tent smash cake for him. It was absolutely adorable! 

Circus Tent Cake 

To accompany the cake, I also did some really cute assorted cookies. This was such a fun theme to do I just couldn't decided on a select few shapes - I had to do them all! 

Circus Themed Cookies

 The cutest little birthday boy ever! Look at him eat his smash cake! I think he likes it! With his friend Lauren at his side. Happy 1st birthday little man!

The Birthday Boy! 

Circus Theme Cake and Cookies

 The popcorn cookies I would say were my favorite ones to make. But of course it is not a circus with out cotton candy, elephants, circus tents and of course your tickets!

 Later this summer when I did another circus birthday party I changed the colors slightly and did the blue more royal, than navy. But I think either of them are super cute! And who says you are too old to have a circus party when you turn 21?! The party was even complete with a bounce house! Now that sounds like fun!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and as always, please feel free to reach out with any order requests!

Hawaiian and Tropical Themed Weddings

I had a really fun opportunity this summer to provide desserts for Seattle Bride Magazine's "Best of Bride 2017" party! The theme was Hawaiian which was a very popular wedding theme this year, I wonder if it had anything to do with the movie Moana...

Me and my dessert table!

The event took place at a new venue in Belltown called Block 41. My favorite part about it was the open patio area that they had in the back. It was a really cool space, 2 levels and would definitely be fun for a wedding. 

Seattle Bride Magazine Hawaiian Dessert Table

The event was a huge success and so much fun. I met a lot of great industry professionals (over 400 people came!!). Making the desserts for the event was quite a feat. Not only was the weather in Seattle that weekend on the *warmer* side, making the kitchen itself and oven, but some of these little shapes were giving me some grief to roll and cut...mainly the palm trees and the flamingos.

Flamingo Cookies

Flamingo's I know are not technically "Hawaiian" but they still are cute and go with the overall tropical theme! Flamingos and palm leaves are very "in" right now. And boy were these little guys the hit of the party! Everyone was loving them!

Wedding Dress Cookies

 I got a couple comments from people that they though the wedding dress cookies were martini glasses? Really ?!?! Give me a break *eye roll* Put your cheaters on LOL.

Palm Tree Cookies

I actually did have a request for some Moana themed cookies this summer so I am just throwing these little guys into this blog post because they are just too cute! I love the tiki head cookies, they were my favorite and the best part about them? - I used my popcorn box shape cookie cutter to make them! It is always a little mental *win* when I get to use a cookie cutter shape that is a bit out of the box.

Hawaiian Moana Themed Cookies

Ok but back to the party! The hibiscus cookies were definitely a favorite and a hit at the party too. I loved how these little beauties turned out which I was a little unsure of using buttercream to get the detail in the flower but I think it worked out!

Hibiscus Cookies

And just in case you didn't believe me that this was a popular wedding theme - I actually did a cute assortment of wedding and tropical cookies for a bridal shower! So much fun!

Hawaiian Tropical Themed Bridal Shower

Quick shout out to my friend and wedding officiant Rev. Mary Calhoun, a childhood friend of my Mother-In-Law, she married us and won her 7th year in a row as Best Wedding Minister by Seattle Bride! Congrats Mary you are amazing!

My Friend and Wedding Minister

Lots of wedding celebrations this summer both personally and professionally this summer. I just love weddings though. 

Graduations Galore!

At last! June is here which means school is almost out for the summer (although summer in Washington tends to just make cameos throughout the month) and I am busy in the kitchen cooking up lots of fun graduation treats. From high school graduations and excited future freshman to mature seniors ready to take on the "real world," I think I have covered just about everyone this year! 

Washington State University Graduation and Football Cookies

Graduation cookies are one of my favorite assortments to make because I love seeing all the school colors and mascots come together like in this picture below! So much fun to make and to celebrate, and this wasn't even all of them!

Assorted Graduation Cookies

 I had some new school requests that I haven't made in the past, special shout out to Gonzaga University, Arizona State University, Mercer Island High School and University of Southern California (USC)!

Gonzaga University Graduation Cookies

 I thought these Arizona State graduation cookies turned out pretty cute! Especially the pitchfork which was a bit tricky to do in buttercream.

Arizona State University Graduation Cookies

  And yes I had to make some (more like many) graduation cookies for the University of Washington - I have to give the huskies a hard time being a coug and all (GO COUGS). But I guess they do deserve some special recognition. Good job Huskies.

University of Washington Graduation Cookies

My cookies have made their way up to the Sammamish plateau to the beautiful Skyline High School community. I am so proud of my cousin who graduated this year and decided to go to Washington State! Her brother broke my heart when we switched and decided to go to Arizona instead...but actually I don't blame him and I probably should have done the same so I could wear shorts and tank tops all year versus Ugg boots and North Face fleeces...oh well!  I am super excited to go and visit her though and she is going to rush!

Skyline High School Graduation Cookies

 University of Arizona graduation cookies! BEAR DOWN! I am really hoping to make it down to the Arizona vs. Wazzu game this year but we will see. I have never been to Tucson and some nice sunny weather in October sure doesn't hurt.

University of Arizona Graduation Cookies

 University of Colorado graduation cookies! Colorado is on my bucket list for traveling. But I can't decide if I want to go in the summer and hike or in the winter and ski more? Tough decision because I hear it is beautiful either way.

University of Colorado Boulder Graduation Cookies

 University of Southern California....again why couldn't I have picked a sunny and warm place to go to school. I haven't been to SoCal in a long time, I think the last time I was there was when I was 15 and I convinced my mom to get my belly button pierced on the Venice boardwalk...she ended up getting her's done too. hehe. Good times! Maybe a trip is in order and a little visit to Disneyland!

USC Graduation Cookies

 I love the Mercer Island High School logo with the overlapping MI. Shout out to all the MI peeps!

Mercer Island High School Graduation Cookies

Congratulations to all the graduates of 2017! If you would like to order graduation cookies please send me an email to info @ seatownsweets DOT com. 

Watercolor Fish Cake

My in laws came into town the other weekend to celebrate my father-in-laws big 66 birthday. That's the retirement age and a "big" deal. They live in Eastern Washington about 2 hours away, so it is always fun for them to come over to the "big" city and play. We lucked out weather-wise fortunately.

 My mother-in-law asked me if I would make a special cake for him for his birthday and of course I said yes! He is very much into fishing and so I started brainstorming ideas for the cake. Obviously I wanted it to be watery. I have seen a lot of techniques using fondant to make the waves or a ruffle in buttercream around the cake. I love the ruffle look but I thought maybe a bit "girlie"

Watercolor cake- Top of the cake

Naturally, I started my research on pinterest. I looked up "fish themed cake" and I saw this really cool one of a fish (made from fondant or gum paste) jumping out of the water...BINGO! That is what I wanted to do. 

The "Big" One Fish Themed Cake

 If you haven't noticed my quotations around "big" in this post then I am pointing them out now because this indeed is a "big" birthday. I loved the play on word of "big" as it relates to fishing.

For dinner we went to Ivar's on the piers to even suit the fish themed birthday even more. Unbeknownst to him as it was a bit of a surprise cake. I love the look on his face in this picture! He is thinking of his birthday wish but is just so tickled with joy at the same time! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!