We were so inspired by this little letter from one of our favorite illustrators, Anna Emilia, created that we thought; “hey! that would make an adorable handmade wedding invite!” You could totally do it! (just paint more paper than you think you’ll need and only use your favorites.)
Stay tuned tomorrow for a beautiful table-scape just in time for Spring!
Here’s a simple, sweet way to help keep your guests toasty at an outdoor affair…and lets face it, warm hands, warmer heart. Here we’ve wrapped the rather unsightly hand warmers in little woolen envelopes. Its so easy to do! We bought our wool from this etsy seller or you could just as easily recycle old sweaters or whatever else you might find. Just lay the hand warmer on the fabric, cut out the front and back pieces leaving a little extra length in the back for the flap, stitch around the three sides, cut a slit in the flap and add a button. easy peasy.
photos by Tec Petaja
I have been completely head over heals for Nikole’s work over at forty-sixth at grace for quite some time now. She makes these amazing wooden cake stands and adorable flag toppers that are just to die for, so I was thrilled when she agreed to put together a little guest post about wedding cakes for Once Wed. Isn’t there just such a simple sweetness and grace (!) to everything that she touches?
When I think of late summer I think of the space between seasons, the beautiful that happens from late August through until middle September. I think of bright days, dusky sunsets, and nights at the lake. I think too, of just how great a late summer wedding would be.
In Ontario where I live, wild blueberries are in season then, they’re smaller than the conventional ones, tiny and sweet and filled with all kinds of flavor. In fact it’s those that inspired the wee wedding cakes we show you here; tiny blueberries paired with the tart of lemon curd and the faintly sweet of french buttercream. We’ve also put together a dessert table that is simple to prepare, one that suits most any setting well, but particularly we think, fits just right at the shore of a lake, the sand of the sea or the edge of a forest.
We’ve paired up with Shanna Murray to make recipe cards for you to follow, since she makes the loveliest of things. She also illustrated a monogrammed sweetheart garland for us, which makes us swoon because it reminds us a little of initials carved into trees and we really love that. We adhered the garland to pretty pieces of salvaged wood found up at the cottage. The two paired together complement the rustic, simple feel of our sweet table just perfectly.
While making your own wedding cake is somewhat of an undertaking, I think after a little practice it’s altogether possible. Practice makes perfect as they say and I’d suggest getting familiar with making the recipes and assembly a few months before, but otherwise I think you’ll be surprised just how well you can do at these cakes. When you’re finally ready for the big day, spread the work over three days; sponge and curd the first day, buttercream and assembly the second and serve on the third. They’ll easily last overnight and on that big day, when all is set and ready to go all you’ll have to do is place them gingerly on cake stands and then equally carefully carry them out to your table, wherever that may be.
We think of them as a simple and sweet alternative to traditional stacked cakes, a do-it-yourself twist on the classic cake and perfect ending to a most perfect of days. And in saying that, we’re quite sure they’ll be a last slice of summer before your blissful new fall.
Don’t forget to check out the adorable recipe cards Shanna and Nikole put together for us!
Photography and story by Nikole at forty-sixth at grace + Shanna Murray
This DIY includes styling and presentation ideas for ‘Message in a Bottle’ guest favors with a twist. Enclosed is a little scroll that not only contains a message to your guests but also some extra blank notepaper so that they can write a little message back to the bride and groom and drop it in a jar labeled “Love Letters” incorporated in the centerpiece design of each table. Click “read more” to see more images and instructions for this delightful project.
- Amy of Eat Drink Chic
If you like the presentation ideas shown here you can download the various elements below and re-create the look for yourself.
Love_Heart_Doily_Label - Print onto white textured card and cut around border with scissors. Stick onto bottle with double-sided tape.
Loveletter_Heart_Doily_Label - Print onto white textured card and cut around border with scissors. Stick onto bottle with double-sided tape or punch a small round hole at top, slip some twine through hole and tie to jar.
Notepaper_Template - Use the PDF template to write your own message (IMPORTANT: You must download and install this free Travelling Typewriter font from Dafont to be able to use the template) then print onto paper of your choice. (I would recommend kraft paper for this design) Two of the sheets in the template can be edited to create your message, two are blank for your guests to use.
If this motif is not for you but you still want to utilize the idea then find or create your own labels that are more suitable for your wedding theme.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- Cheap small bottles, one for each guest.
- Large jar- one for each table.
- Attractive pens for guests to write their messages.
- Decorative twine or ribbon to tie around the neck of each bottle.
- Double-sided tape.
- Labels for each bottle and for centerpiece jar. Source, or create your own or download my designs above.
- Colour Printer for labels.
- Scissors for cutting out the heart labels.
- String, twine or ribbon to tie around each scroll.
- Notepaper - Source your own or download my design above. If you use my template, make sure to download and install this font first.
- Cutting board, scalpel and ruler to cut out notepaper designs.
- Rounded corner punch for corners of notepaper. (Optional)
MORE STYLING IDEAS:
- Present bottle as part of each guest table-setting.
- Include some colored confetti and/or small candy at the bottom of each jar.
- Personalise by attaching a mini gift tag to the neck of the bottle with the date and bride and groom names.
- Include a little sticker inside the bottle so that when guests write back to you they can seal their scroll.
- Instead of using the same type of bottle for all guests, mix and match different shaped bottles.
Project created by Amy of Eat Drink Chic
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