Sep 24, 2014

Ahhh...weddings...

by Claire Baxter

Happy sighs. We all love weddings, don’t we?

When my son and his fiancée set their August wedding date in January this year, it seemed like ample time to prepare, but I have to say, those months sped by and the bride and I spent almost every waking moment working on the wedding (apart from edits for my May and July books). They wanted a vintage-themed wedding which was a new concept to me in the beginning, but once I’d researched it, I became very excited about it and, I would even say that I became a bit of a vintage wedding expert. Together, the bride and I collected all the items we needed to create the look, and many of them, we made by hand.

I thought I’d share with you some of the main elements of the wedding, starting with...the dress, of course! Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m biased, but I think she was a beautiful bride.



Secondly, the cake. I know all about the cake because I made it. To suit the vintage theme I decided that the cake should look like a stack of ‘vintage’ boxes. I wanted flowers to spill from the top box and cascade to the bottom of the cake. The top tier was traditional dark fruit cake, the middle tier white chocolate mud cake, and the bottom tier dark chocolate mud cake. Except for the string of pearls, all of the cake decorations were edible.

I devoted most of the last month before the wedding to the cake, but I was satisfied with the result, and the happy couple loved it.



The tables and decor. Every place setting was unique. We collected mismatched vintage china, made mismatched floral napkins and hessian cutlery holders, and our centrepieces were old books with vintage sewing paraphernalia because we had a vintage sewing machine that formed part of the decor.




It all came together perfectly and was a beautiful day. Happy sigh.



Have you been to a wedding recently? Or been involved in one?

19 comments:

  1. Claire

    What a beautiful wedding that cake is awesome I have been to a few weddings in the last year my son got married last September one of my daughters in March I have a close friends wedding in June and another of my daughters is getting married in April so we have been busy and still are planning they are lots of work but fun as well :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Thanks, Helen! All those weddings in such a short space of time...you must know all there is to know about weddings.

      You're right about the fun. We did have fun.

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  2. Claire, the pictures are gorgeous!! The last wedding I went to was for two close friends back home in Australia. I did the makeup for the Bride since I'm a qualified makeup artist so it was a long day, but we had a great time :)

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    1. Thanks, Stefanie! I had my make-up done professionally for this wedding. First time ever. I loved it. The make-up artist worked a miracle on me. Of course it helped that she plied us with champagne and strawberries.

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  3. OMG - she looked gorgeous and that cake!!! You are one talented woman, woman! :-)
    I went to a wedding weekend before last actually. Second marriage for both, found their soul mates finally, lots of sunflowers - it was just heart-squeezingly lovely!

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    1. Thanks, Amy! Oh, sunflowers, how lovely. I bet that was a gorgeous ceremony.

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  4. OMG, Claire, you made that cake? It's awesome! And all of that beautiful vintage china…it's just so pretty. Mind you, the Bride, of course, is the star of the show, which is as it should be. :-)

    It sounds as if you had a wonderful time. I haven't been to a wedding in an age. I hope there's one on my horizon. They're so much fun. Wishing your son and his bride every happiness.

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  5. Your daughter in law looks stunning, Claire. as for that cake, wow. Lovely photos. you'll treasure them forever.
    We went to a wedding last month and everything about it was beautiful. The dancing lasted till the early hours and I didn't want to leave.

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    1. Thanks, Sue. The photographers were great. There aren't too many outdoor pictures because the it was cold and wet, but those they did take are lovely.

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  6. OMG Claire, I am completely blown away by your cake making abilities. And that vintage theme, just fantastic, such incredible attention to detail. Love that each setting was unique.

    And yes, gorgeous bride and groom!!!

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    1. Thanks, Jen! I'm completely in love with the vintage theme now. I've rediscovered my love of pretty things.

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  7. Claire, I'm in breathless awe over your cake decorating and making skills. That cake is stupendous! How you found time and energy for that while writing books, I don't know. Well done!

    I'm glad you enjoyed the wedding after all that hard work. There's nothing like a wedding between special people who are truly in love, is there?

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    1. Thanks, Annie!

      The day went by so quickly. I wish I could have slowed it down and savoured each moment, but at least it went smoothly.

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  8. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, Claire!
    Like the others I am completely in awe of your cake! It is a masterpiece!
    The whole wedding idea is amazing and it obviously came together so well.
    Sounds like you have a great relationship with your new daughter-in-law too so that's lovely! I hope they'll be very happy together!

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    1. Thanks, Sharon. Yes, we bonded over pretty vintage china. This has been a male dominated household for too long, so it's good to have another female in the family, and she's lovely. :)

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  9. That cake is THE most wonderful thing I have ever seen. Truly magnificent. And I love the whole theme and attention to detail. Brilliant!

    I love weddings almost as much as I love cake! We have a special one in a month's time -- our eldest son's. I am looking forward to it but wish I could be involved. The downside of the all-male household I am also a part of.

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  10. Thanks, Bron. Oh, I feel your disappointment at not being involved in the prep for your son's wedding. I am very lucky that my help was needed. I hope you have a wonderful time when the day comes around.

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  11. Claire, I love those photos! The cake is amazing - no, you're amazing!

    I'm going to a wedding in a few weeks of two dear friends. I'm not involved in organising, but I will be taking lots of photos. :)

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