Link We Love: Rolling Pin Productions

Posted by Katie Hatch, Style Director

Rolling Pin Productions is one of the best sources for custom cookies out there. They can mimic any font in a monogram and create amazing replicas of anything. The weirdest request they've fulfilled: a police- hat-wearing fish carrying a dive flag and using a snorkel! As you can see, the results are always beautiful— and delicious. Check out their work at this link and below:

 

and maybe my favorite:

I don't know how relevant that is for a wedding favor, but I think it does illustrate that the sky is really the limit with them. Go ahead, give them a challenge!

Grace Bonney's Cake

Posted by Shira Savada, Real Weddings Editor

Welcome to the eleventh and final post in our behind-the-scenes series about Grace and Aaron's wedding. I thought it'd be fitting to end on a sweet note, and thus, we conclude with a few words on the cake.

Photo by Tara Donne.

Grace: Cheryl and Katie were two people I always knew would be involved in the wedding in some way. They’re both incredibly talented and the sort of people that are perfect for an event like this: calm, caring, and totally creative.

I pretty much left the cake in Cheryl’s hands. I had so much to do with the other wedding details that it was nice to give her some general direction (I like stitching details, things that feel vintage, green and white) and let her run with them. That way, the final product was a nice surprise. It was so cute that I wanted to freeze it and take it home in one solid piece.

And Katie was so much fun to work with. We'd actually never met in person and got the chance to hang out a few days before the wedding because we spoke on the same panel at SCAD's style week. I love the way she mixes vintage trimmings into her work and thought that would be a fun way to think about the cake decorating and topper. She found a beautiful vintage paper cake topper on ebay pretty quickly, and I loved it right away. When it comes to people like Katie and Cheryl, I trust their taste and enjoy letting them come up with ideas on their own.

Our Color Issue Cake Reinvented

Posted by Jennifer Miranda, Associate Editor

Here at  MSW, we live for hearing about the clever ways brides take our ideas and adapt them to fit your own personalities and parties. So we were thrilled to come across this gorgeous cake, a pretty take on the cake that graced our Winter 2009 cover.

It was created for the August 1 wedding of Laina and Keely in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada. When the happy couple spotted the cake on our cover, they knew the bright colors and bold butterflies were perfect for their casual outdoor affair, so they incorporated those details wherever they could. They even used extra butterflies ordered online to decorate cupcakes and paper lanterns.

It was the bride's mother who generously offered to bake the cake, made from three mouthwatering layers of black forest cake, carrot cake with cream cheese filling, and lemon pound cake with lemon buttercream filling. The butterflies were attached to the cake the night before the wedding with wire.

It looks like they did an amazing job! And word is the cake tasted just as good as it looks.

Here's the inspiration (and how to make it, too) just in case you were curious. Please, keep sending us stories like this one. We love to hear from you!

Sandals Weddings by Martha Stewart

Posted by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director

This morning on the Martha Stewart Show we announced our wedding programs with Sandals. There are six wedding themes you can choose from. Take a peek!

Beautiful Beginning

Flutter of Romance

Vision in White

Seaside Serenity

Chic and Natural

Island Paradise

Check out Sandals.com to see more about each gorgeous package!

Behind The Scenes of The Well-Spent Wedding Shoot

Posted by Shira Savada, Real Weddings Editor

A lot of work went into giving you all the best ways to get the most out of your wedding budgets. Thanks to a lot of amazing vendors and a motley crew on our end, we're pretty sure our well-spent story in the summer issue is chock full of useful tips. Because this story had so many elements, we thought we'd give you a behind the scenes look at a few of the more hands-on ones.

Food Stylist Shira Bocar preps more food while photographer Johnny Miller sets up for the overhead shot. As a result of styling this particular story, and working with the lovely team over at Marcey Brownstein Catering & Events, Shira decided to have them cater her wedding this summer (more on that later)!

Most of the dishes came to the studio with ingredients in their own containers, and were assembled on set. Here's the colorful succotash, still packed up from the short journey over. Marcey Brownstein bases her company out of a building just a few blocks away from our offices. She also has a great little café called Brownstein's from which we frequently order lunch.

Shira took the basic cakes from Whole Foods Market back to our pastry kitchen for assembly. She also went the Whole Foods route at her wedding and worked closely with a local branch of the store to customize her wedding cake.

Sorbet, or It Must Be Hot Outside

Posted by Katie Hatch, Style Director

Could sorbet be a wedding theme? Maybe it's just wishful thinking—it's all I want to eat because it's light and frothy and cool on this hot summer day—but I think I'm on to something. I mean, we've done sorbet cakes (click on the pics for links to the stories).

But here's where we'd take what's known as poetic license. We've done tissue-paper flowers and seating cards in sorbet colors:

And I'm pretty sure cotton candy is the non-ice cream equivalent of sorbet, considering its light, airy texture and pick-me-up spirit.

And then there's Luisa Beccaria's sorbet-like dress:

I'm wondering how far we could take it. Maybe it's just the heat, but I'm convinced. Are any of you using icy treats at your wedding?

Choosing a Cake

Posted by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director

I'm sure by now you've all seen the pictures from Jennifer Lopez's over-the-top 40th birthday extravaganza. What you may not know is that her stunning cake, a yellow cake with coconut and caramel buttercream filling, was created by the famous Sylvia Weinstock. The cake designer to the stars was in my office recently to discuss cake flavors and fillings for an upcoming event, and she was kind enough to share some images with me.

 

 

Isn't it just amazing? Have you chosen your cake yet? If not, check out our guide to flavors, fillings, and more on marthastewartweddings.com. If so, what did you finally decide on?

Popping the Question to Your Bridesmaids

Posted by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director

Everyone always wants to know how your fiancé popped the question, but what I want to know is how you popped the question to your bridesmaids. Did you ask one at a time, in person, did you send each one a special note, or did you do it digitally via email or facebook?

If you do it in person, consider presenting your 'maids with a sweet prelude to your grand question. Flour Pot Cookies makes bridal-themed cookies in a range of colors that can be customized. Oh, and did I mention, they taste as good as they look.

Celebrate With Cupcakes!

Posted by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director

Looking for an affordable and fun alternative to the tiered wedding cake? Then think cupcakes. No, they're not just the stuff of kids' birthday parties. Many bakeries make upscale versions specifically for weddings of every formality. (Check out our fancy cupcakes in the summer issue of MSW.) Here are some ideas for displaying your cupcakes. I just used the tiered wire cupcake stand as centerpiece for a party, and it was definitely a hit!

And if you really love cupcakes, there are lots to choose from in Martha Stewart's cupcake book (if you're registered at Macy's you can add it to your bridal registry).

What do you think of cupcakes in lieu of a wedding cake?

Cake Archives

Posted by Jennifer Miranda, Associate Editor

We've become known for our beautifully designed cakes, all created in-house by our super talented art directors, stylists, food editors, and usually the very talented Wendy Kromer. But ever wonder what happens to those cakes after they've been shot? (Sadly, they don't end up in the editors' stomachs.) Well, wonder no more. They go into our cake archive. Here are some old favorites from previous cake stories that have run in MSW. Though they look good enough to eat, I wouldn't try it—some of them go back years! How they're preserved—well that's for another day. Enjoy!

A Taste For Color: cakes inspired by flavors that are also colors. Here we have a strawberry cake decorated in a Bavarian style with gum-paste fruits.


Pretty Piped Cakes: This seven-tiered traditional wedding cake features intricate buttercream piping over fondant.