Category Archives: Cakes

Nov 29, 2017

For today’s wedding Wednesday post, I’m sharing a special wedding that while small in size, it packed a pretty punch. Martha worked for me for years- first as my planner and cohort at Soiree, and then at Lettered Olive. She married her love, Jon whom she met through the event world, as he is a manager at Snyder Event Rentals. They married on a winter afternoon at the French Huguenot Church. Guests joined them for dinner at one of my all time favorite Charleston restaurants, La Fourchette (now closed). Liz Banfield took all the pretty photos.

Individual calligraphied invitations were sent to every guest. Simple welcome boxes welcomed each guest to their hotel room. Miniature programs detailed the ceremony.

The bride wore a simple tea length dress as a nod to Audrey Hepburn, her favorite style icon. A simple all white bunch of gardenias, tulips, and ranunculus provided a delicate bouquet, and a red satin clutch brought in the pop of red seen in the wedding palette. The bride and groom saw each other for photos before the ceremony, so were able to walk together to their ceremony at the French Huguenot Church.

The intimate ceremony was accented with a gospel choir, and a stunning alter of blooming pear blossoms, and tall tulips en masse glowing by candlelight.

Guests enjoyed a perfectly Parisian dinner at La Fourchette restaurant. The simplicity of the white dinner linens and exposed brick provided a perfect backdrop for the glowing red florals and candles. Calligraphed names added to the menu cards doubled as place cards. Take home treats hand tied with red silk ribbon thanked guests for attending.
Individual miniature cakes by Jim Smeal were served to each guest for dessert. Our sweet Martha and Jon departed at the end of a lovely evening via rickshaw… sometimes the smallest and most simple weddings can be the most memorable.

11.29.17 | TARA GUÉRARD
Cakes, Charleston, Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, J'adore!, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, Weddings | Comments >>

Oct 18, 2017

Wedding at the Woodlands

Summerville, SC is a town steeped in Southern tradition and history. After moving to Manhattan, and becoming celebrity dermatologist and skin care consultant for Elizabeth Arden, Dr. Oz, People Magazine, etc Dr. Dendy Engleman met her dream man. He popped the question, and they headed South where she wanted to share her hometown with her nearest and dearest. Thank you Gayle Brooker for the gorgeous photos.

The ceremony took place at her childhood congregation, a classic Episcopalian church outside the Historic district.

The bride really wanted to bring in a modern perspective representing her life in New York to play against the traditional feel typically seen growing up in Summerville. A bold green and warm chocolate color palette was selected and lots of natural elements like greenery, branches, dried lentils, mosses, and berries were used throughout.

Orchids in the greens and browns used throughout compliment the bridal bouquet cascading and lush with branches, berries, and orchids in different varietals.

Simple potted phalenopsis orchids in moss covered pots were the perfect centerpieces for the cocktail tables covered in green and chocolate silk scattered amongst the lawn.

Signature drink for a couple living in New York but marrying in South Carolina? Manhattans, obvi.

The wedding cake by Jim Smeal was a stunning centerpiece in the tent. The tiers were accented by hand made samples of lace from the bride’s dress, and a custom icing monogram designed by Soiree and Lettered Olive.

The dance tent and lounge were modeled after some of the couples favorite Manhattan clubs, but with wedding elegance of course! My favorite is a clear top tent which allows the space to feel bigger and more open but the temperature has to be just right (can you say greenhouse chic??)

Had to make one of our signature bars, of course. Tops were custom wood to keep in line with the fall design and the couples monogram designed by Lettered Olive was used on banners to decorate large spaces like this bar, pillows in the lounge, printed items, and the cake. The most important thing though is that it’s accessible from many angles for many people- NO LINES!

The Woodlands Resort was a classically elegant 5 star resort with amazing architecture and equally amazing food (it’s since closed and become a private home). We added some draping and lighting to the exterior for some drama which kinda ended up being a scene stealer.

The knockout couple ended their evening (after a quick change by the bride into a going away shortie dress) with a traditional rice toss before heading off into married life together.

10.18.17 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, New York, Reception, Weddings | Comments >>

Oct 03, 2017

Planning a Fall Fete

Now that it is truly officially fall, I wanted to share some of my favorite fall wedding details, which will also help me get in the mindset for designing for the season’s weddings!

We used seasonal fruit and flowers for the decor on this cake, mini pears (purchased through a local produce distributor) and seeded eucalyptus were the perfect accents for the spiced carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

I love the deep rich colors and multitude of textures that you can get in fall foliage. Lots of grasses, blooming shrubs, and heartier plants are perfect for filling in on flower arrangements. Of course, many roses are available year round so they add the needed softness for wedding arrangements. I also like to play with the different types of containers to give that seasonal look- we used stained wooden planters as our centerpiece containers on the tables.

Shrimp and grits have become a staple at Southern weddings, but in the fall quail shows up on many menus throughout Georgia, and North and South Carolina.

For this wedding, the mother of the bride is famous for her banana walnut bread, so as favors she made mini loaves for all of the guests. Along with her famous apple butter. Packaged in peach baskets, these were the picture perfect fall favors.

For this seated dinner wedding in late October, the pale pinks and peaches were warmed up for the fall season with moss greens, and golden hues. I also anchored the tables by using a heavy suede material for the linens. They were so soft and luxurious to sit against!

What I look forward to the most for fall weddings are the food options. I love love love soup, so passing individual versions for cocktail hour is a great option, or here we served a trio of soup “shots” plated beautifully as an appetizer course.

I think this detail always makes for fantastic photos, and if it’s a simple dinner party that you are hosting, this is a great way to give your guests a special touch. Hollow out a small pumpkin and place the soup vessel in for serving.

Red wine will definitely be a favored drink at the bar in the fall. We used the couple’s personal wine collection here for guests to be able to sample new varietals throughout the evening. Or, you can talk with your caterer about pairing different versions of reds throughout the dinner.

Something else to think about is instead of passing a “speciality drink” you could set up a speciality bar or station. Decanting the drinks and setting them out with identifying tags is perfect for a self serve station..Or having a bartender serve a few chosen cocktails is a great way to keep it simple.

photos by Velvet Raptor, Gayle Brooker, Liz Banfield, and Elizabeth Messina

10.03.17 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Reception, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>