Tag: groom’s cake

Courtney + Erik: Part 2

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In my last post, I shared the start of Courtney and Erik’s day, including their beautiful ceremony at Holy Name Cathedral. Now I’m excited to share the wedding party as they take photos around the city and their reception at the Chicago Cultural Center!

All photos by Danielle Aquiline.

The wedding party got some great shots on the steps of the MCA – always a great stop for pictures in the city!




They even popped inside the museum for a few pictures. I love this one of Courtney and Erik!

And, of course, you have to take pictures on one of Chicago’s fabulous bridges!



While the wedding party was out and about, I was at the Chicago Cultural Center making sure every detail was perfect.

Botanicals did a fantastic job with the flowers – this large display on the escort card table made an amazing first impression as guests arrived!



Courtney and Erik made sure their guests had plenty of sweets to choose from! Bittersweet created this large cupcake for the couple to use as their cutting cake.

They also made a life sized hockey stick and puck for the groom’s cake – so much fun!

And, to top everything off, Molly’s Cupcakes provided plenty of delicious cupcakes for guests to sample!

After all of the guests had been seated for dinner, it was time for introductions!


Courtney and Erik opted to do an East Coast style reception, which meant guests were encouraged to dance in between courses. They also enjoyed their first dance and dances with their parents in between courses.



Finally, it was time for the couple to cut their cake! Who wouldn’t want to cut right into a huge cupcake?

The Jeff Stitely Orchestra did an amazing job keeping the guests dancing throughout the night.


Courtney and Erik made sure they were on the dance floor as much as possible, which is also a great way to ensure your guests keep dancing. Guests want to be wherever the bride and groom are!


Courtney and Erik, your day was so much fun – thank you for letting me be a part of it!

Scott + Noopur Part II

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On Tuesday, I featured Scott and Noopur’s wedding which is in the current issue of New Wedding Essentials.  They were also featured on Maharani Weddings…more on that tomorrow!

Yesterday, I posted about their morning.  Today will post about the couple’s ceremony and reception at the Harold Washington Library.



All photos by MonicaZ.


As guests entered the room, there was a non-traditional guest book: a card catalog with faux old fashioned library cards.


The room set-up for the ceremony


The gorgeous mandap; I love the lush roses!


The bride and groom during the ceremony.


The room during the ceremony…


…and then transformed for the reception!


Scott and Noopur set their sweetheart table on the mandap.


We added little touches like the Mr. and Mrs. signs to the back of their chairs.


These lush roses were on the front of their sweetheart table.


The lush centerpieces looked gorgeous on their long tables.


An example of one of their table numbers.


The table arrangements varied by each table.


The flowers on this simple cake turn it into a work of art!


Noopur surprised Scott with a groom’s cake highlighting Purdue University.


Noopur rented these gorgeous light up bars.  They were topped with a floral arrangement along with a photo of the couple (drinking of course)!


Scott and Noopur also rented furniture, creating a lounge, near the bars.


The couple during dinner.


After dinner, everyone was dancing the night away.


Good night!

Royal Wedding, The Cakes

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The wedding cake was a big disappointment for me. I felt that the design was a little dull and not nearly as stunning as I would have

hoped. Not that I was able to taste it, but I wasn’t excited that they stuck with tradition and served fruit cake. If you are not a long time reader, click here to read about that tradition. (I’ll give you a hint: First comes love, then comes marriage…)


Prince William requested a biscuit cake using a family recipie. I have never had a biscuit cake but am obsessed with digestives. Also referred as English biscuits, these cookies are very close to a Girl Scout Trefoil. I would love to try this type of cake sometime in the future!


Stephanie + Andy, the reception

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Yesterday, I posted about Stephanie and Andy’s ceremony. Today, I’m posting all about the reception.

All photos by Paul Yamashiro.

For the escort card, the bride chose some flowers emerged in water with floating candles on top.


A DIY Queen, Stephanie made all of the escort cards. I loved the flowers attached to the corner of each card.


Guests enjoyed the cocktail hour on the balcony.


The couple made their guestbook with photos from their life together.


The ballroom looked stunning, as always.


The room is all set before the guests arrive.


Stephanie DIY her menus using a similar paper to the programs.


A view of the room from one of the tables.


An aerial shot of a table.

The couple’s Sweetheart Table was so cute!


I love all of the details.


The bride looks down and waves to guests that are arriving.


The Cake Girls made a stunning modern fondant cake.


I have to admit that although the wedding cake was beautiful, it was the groom’s cake that stole the show.
The groom trades corn, so it was the PERFECT cake and a huge hit.


Dancing all night! The guests filled the classic black and white dance floor.

Everyone remained energized by the late night snacks!


Guests took home a bag of Garrett’s Popcorn as their favor!


Congratulations Stephanie + Andrew!! I had so much fun working with the both of you!

DIY: Colts Letters

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While I know that those “I Do” letters were all the rage a few years ago, I wasn’t a fan of the trend.  Instead, I bought some wooden letters to get the point across for our Groom’s Cake table. I bought a can of primer and a can of spray paint.  Denton sprayed the letters during commercials while watching some TV.

Traditionally, the Groom’s cake is supposed to be something all about the groom.  It isn’t supposed to match the look or feel of the wedding.  (Trust me, it did not!)
Buying and spray painting letters were the easiest DIY project we did.

M+D: Everyone Loves Cake

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The cake in all it’s glory. We are so thankful that Amy Beck took us on at the last minute.

It was so exciting to cut the cake. I can’t really say why, it just was.

Denton serves me cake.  We had a definite No Smash rule.

I have to admit, this was a lot more fun that I had anticipated.

My master plan was to take a super large piece of cake since I know most couples don’t get to eat cake at the wedding. I am glad that I did. I ate the leftovers as well as the piece at my seat. Ha!


Although we didn’t cut the Groom’s cake, we had it on the right side of the Head Table. 

The Groom’s Cake. Denton loved it!

 Surrounding the cake was cake to-go boxes.  Since we ordered 2 slices of cake per person, we figured that most guests would opt to take a slice home.

Groom’s Cake Tasting

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The cake tasting was, by far, one of the best parts of wedding planning thus far! We decided to tryTipsy Cake. I met the owner, Naomi, at a Vera Wang bridal event a few months ago. Plus, the bakery is in my neighborhood and has great reviews on yelp!

My fiance and I were not disappointed. The cakes were delicious. Naomi took the time to look up some items to make our cake even more realistic. She gave us pricing to for both a buttercream or fondant version. She is the most cost conscious vendor that we’ve met!

Our cake is going to be a surprise…but here are some pictures of her excellent work.