Dearly Beloved...

This was an exciting spring for our family! We had two weddings, a week apart, as two of our nephews were married!  The first wedding, on June 1st, was in Colorado!  It was a beautiful wedding, overlooking the Garden of the Gods!  The 2nd wedding, on June 8th, was in Michigan.  We were thrilled and excited to be asked to help with the decorations and desserts!  The Bride and Groom decided to use tropical colors for their color scheme.  They decided on six colors, think citrus fruits, or sherbets.  Each table featured one of these colors.  The linens were white, and each table was decorated with a fabric flower centerpiece, chair bows, and large fluffly tissure balls hanging overhead.  It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

 As you can see, the room just lit up with the colors!

I blogged earlier about the fabric flowers we were making for the centerpieces.  They turned out to be perfect for the tables; my husband really does a nice job arranging flowers.

 The room was so festive and inviting.  It was a great evening!

We made 108 fabric flowers, plus a few more to make sure we were covered, for the reception centerpieces.  That's 18 petals per flower, so we made a total of 2,070 individual petals!  I'm glad that I didn't figure that out before we started.  It took about an hour to make each flower, so that's about 115 hours!  But, they were so pretty on the tables, it was well worth it! 

  Soooo Beautiful!!

 A Hot Pink Table!

I really didn't help very much with the actual decorating.  I was very busy with the desserts.  The Bride and Groom decided to have cupcakes rather than a large wedding cake.  And, they asked me to make them..I was thrilled!!!  After a few taste testings, one with the couple and family, and a few trial and errors here at home, they decided on seven flavors. They also asked that the cupcakes reflect the color scheme of the wedding reception....tropical colors...fun!! 
(photograph- info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com)

 I identified the seven cupcake flavors with these color coded tags, to match the frosting on each cupcake.  I think it worked pretty well.  (Photograph- info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com)

 Vanilla Cupcakes

(photograph-  info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com)

 

 Lemon Cupcakes..a little more obvious.  I actually used lemon curd as a filler for these cupcakes, a nice little surprise.  I had fun looking for cupcake papers and toppings.  These toppers are chewy lemon slice candies.
 

I also added candies to the table.  These are "Sixlets," which are a pearlized candy coated chocolate.
I was able to find the Sixlets in all 6 colors, plus pearl white.  The photographer was wonderful and took some amazing pictures of the dessert table and generously shared them with me.  This is one of his pictures.  Photographer:  Carl Bengtsson, Millennium Arts & Entertainment.     info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com

 Chocolate- my favorite!

 Cherry

 

Vanilla- (white chocolate bride and groom from candy molds)

(photograph- info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com)

 Tutti-Frutti

 Cookies and Cream

 Chocolate

It was difficult to find the toppings that I wanted to use to match the theme.  So, I ended up making quite a few of them from candy molds and chocolate, white chocolate, and candy melts.  I put the extra candy toppings in candy dishes on the dessert table.

 Pumpkin Spice

(Candy mold pumpkin topping)

 Tutti Frutti

(Candy Mold white chocolate hearts)

Lemon

(photograph-  info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com)

 A table full of sweetness!

 So pretty!

 The Bride and Groom also asked me to make a "Tasting Cake" for them...cherry!  They love Disney and actually went to Disney World for their honeymoon, so the Cake Topper that they found was perfect!

 The Bride wanted a pink cake with ruffles...

 Which I must admit, was fun to make!

(photograph-  info@millenniumartsandentertainment.com)

The wedding was unique, lots of fun, and a truly great celebration.  I am so honored that they asked for my help with this very special event...one that I'll always remember!

Have a great week...welcome August!

Cookie Cutters.....yes, more Cookie Cutters!

About 2 months ago, on June 11, we traveled to Duluth, Minnesota to attend my niece's wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding in Leif Erikson Park overlooking Lake Superior. 

My niece and her new husband decided to use the colors of the peacock for their wedding colors.  Peacock feathers were in all of the table decorations and corsages.  The arrangements were beautiful; peacock feathers mixed with wild flowers, pink calla lilies, and snake grass.  So unique! 

The colors were vibrant, the bridesmaid's dresses were so pretty with matching shawls, and the bride was absolutely beautiful...all this from an unbiased aunt!  Oh, and yes, the groom was very handsome, too.

Our family always has a "family wedding shower" for anyone getting married.  It is a fun get together where everyone is invited, we have lots of good food,  the  engaged couple opens gifts, and there's lots of talking and catching up.  But, my niece lives a few states away and is a teacher.  She just couldn't get away in the middle of the school year for a trip to have her shower.  Also, she needed her spring break for wedding preparations.  So, she asked if we could have the shower after her wedding, during the summer.  Which is what we did.  Her husband is a baseball fan, so the night before the shower, we included a game at Tiger Stadium, (officially called Comerica Park), and had 35 family members in one of the party suites.  My nephew is a Twins fan, but I think he was able to cheer for the Tigers for one night.  It was hot, but it was lots of fun!!!

The next day, we had their wedding shower at my cousin's home,  the official party house!  My shower duties (that I volunteered for) included:  making the invitations, bringing homemade jam for party gifts (surprisingly, quite a few of us make jam and we had a nice selection), bring 2 kinds of salad, 4 dozen hard rolls, Chocolate Trifle, "Opera in the Park" Raspberry Bars, and sugar cookies.  I really wanted to make sugar cookies and decorate them with the "Peacock Theme" in mind.

My Cookie Cutter collection does not include Peacocks, so I had to purchase a couple of new cutters.  The cutters I used included:  (Top L to R) Paisley or teardrop, bridal gown, scalloped oval, (Bottom L to R)  Bird, and Peacock.

Voila...decorated sugar cookies for my niece and new nephew's wedding shower!

Here is a closeup of one of the Peacocks.  I didn't take pictures prior to taking the cookies to the shower, which I have learned is a mistake.  I would have taken more pictures at home, because I would have had more time.  Oh well, live and learn!

My niece and nephew...looking at Lake Superior. 

I tried to decorate the bridal gown cookies to resemble her dress.  So, when she was looking at the tray of cookies, she said, "Look, it's my dress!!!"  I was very, very happy!!

I saw this Peacock Cookie on-line and just loved it.  I thought it would fit the "peacock theme."  I got the idea from Montreal Confections.  Her cookies are amazing and just prove that I need a bit more practice! 

 

I used the scalloped oval as the center piece for the new husband and wife.

Another peacock..so much fun to decorate!

A peek at the reception...a couple in love...

Ready to begin their life together...

These cookies were a lot of fun to decorate, they were appreciated by the family and new husband and wife, and were gobbled up ....can't wait to make them again!

Have a wonderful week!  Enjoy the hot, wonderful days of August!