Georgetown Cupcake & Bethesda Road Trip

This weekend my family took a short roadtrip to Washington DC. A little Smithsonian zoo action, yummy food, cupcakes, baseball and just enjoying the beauty of the city was so nice.

We arrived in DC and went straight to the National Zoo. If you didn’t know, it’s completely free and you just walk in and can visit all the wonderful animals including pandas, gorillas and anything else you can imagine. After our zoo visit, we headed to Georgetown University…what a beautiful campus.

Below is a photo of the bell tower.

We stayed near downtown Bethesda. What a cute little town. Lots of adorable boutique shops and wonderful places to eat.

 Below are just a few of the shops in the area to give you an idea how cute it is.

Yes…even an Apple store 🙂

Downtown Bethesda even had my fave bakery, Le Pain Quotidien. Blake and I had a 

yummy breakfast there.

Just down the street was one of my favorite paper and stationery stores Paper Source. I thought the paper flower below would look pretty neat on a cake made out of fondant.

I wanted to buy all their beautiful paper!

Awesome inspiration on the wall 🙂

 

Had to stop and get a  bagel at Bethesda Bagels since there was a line out the door. 

I figured they had to be pretty awesome.

Main mission accomplished of getting to Georgetown Cupcake. I was there when they opened at 10am and there were already people waiting at the door to go in. The girl in front of me asked me if I knew the secret code word of the day…I had no clue. She said they post it on their Facebook page and give a free cupcake to the 1st 100 people who come in and say it. Yes…I got my freebie!

I ordered a dozen cupcakes in a variety of flavors. The flavors below are chocolate with coconut frosting, chocolate with chocolate ganache frosting and chocoloate with a fudge frosting. I think the coconut was my favorite. The cake was delicious and very moist. The frostings were pretty sweet but yummy in moderation.

 

 I would highly recommend taking a trip to downtown Bethesda. Super adorable…you won’t be disappointed 🙂

http://www.couturecakery.net

Rustic Chic

This is my favorite design that 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. The color palette included blues, greens and browns. The concept was to create a canopy effect using natural elements. I found a tall straight wooden ladder at a local antique shop and Lori had two folding ladders that we used as supports for the tall ladder to lay across horizontally. Branches with blue berries were placed over the  ladder to create a canopy of branches. Boxes with florals were hung with ribbon from the ladder. The distressed window sat on an old black desk that created a nice contrast. This would be beautiful alter for an outdoor ceremony or for a sweets table display too.

 

I created two cakes for this display. The cake below was pale blue with a large sugar peony accent.

  

The second cake included one sugar rose in beautiful shades of green.

Blue mason jars and mismatch vases held a variety of greens and 

florals that sat on the ladder steps.

 This was such a fun display to create. Something creative and unique that would be
beautiful at any outdoor wedding.

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: The Couture Cakery 

http://www.couturecakery.net

I Do In Style…Vintage Glam

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.

http://www.couturecakery.net

Published in Susquehanna Style Magazine

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.

http://www.couturecakery.net

I Do In Style — Post #1

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!

http://www.couturecakery.net

Fieldtrip to Maggpie Vintage Rentals

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.)

http://www.couturecakery.net

Ducky & Onesie Baby Shower Cake

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.

http://www.couturecakery.net

Liz & Lucas’s Wedding at the Lancaster Country Club

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!

http://www.couturecakery.net

Pretty Pink Christening Cake

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.

http://www.couturecakery.net

Polar Bear & Penguins Sweet 16 Cake

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!

http://www.couturecakery.net