One of my all time favorite photographers Elizabeth Messina recently marked her daughter’s thirteenth birthday. They celebrated with a spread of cakes and baked goods, all topped with different candles and icings. Something like this is so so simple and yet so memorable and special. Who says a birthday girl doesn’t deserve more than one cake? And there’s no reason you have to buy the cakes either. Gather up a group of friends, mix, bake and enjoy.
{Photos from Kiss the Groom.}
When Tori and Myka of Sitting in a Tree Events sent over this adorable doggie birthday party it was love at first sight. I’m a dog lover of epic proportions and seeing the cute way they celebrate their beloved furkids has me thinking up lots of ways to spoil our Nina for her birthday later this fall. From sweet doggie cupcake treats to a bucket for bobbing for bones and loads of favorite games like fetch and frisbee, this is any doggie’s dream birthday celebration.
Thanks so much for sharing, Tori and Myka – I hope the kids enjoyed their awesome party!
{Photos from Sitting in a Tree Events.}
When Sophie of Shine Little Light got in touch last week to share a link to a 40th anniversary party she thought I’d love, I knew instantly that I just had to share it with you. Karina and Ed recently celebrated 40 years of marriage with a party filled with so much love and so many sweet personal details I found myself dreaming of all the cool memories I hope my husband and I can share with our loved ones in another 39 years. The party showcased their love of family and travel with vintage globes and maps, tin cans stuffed with dahlias and a framed photo for guests to sign. This is the kind of celebration I just love.
For more details, visit Steep Street. Thanks for the tip, Sophie!
{Photos by Steep Street.}
In honor of the unofficial last week of summer, I am excited to offer a limited time end of summer advertising special! All advertisers who pick up a 3-month ad slot (or who renew their existing ad) between now and Labor Day will receive 1 free month of advertising. The summer months have brought incredible growth and new readership to The Sweetest Occasion, making now the perfect time to consider advertising. Please email advertising@thesweetestoccasion.com for rates and details.
{Photo by Charity.Lynne.}
Happy Monday, friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. To kick off the week I thought I’d share this sweet DIY wedding, shared with me by Sarah Danaher of Ampersand Photography. Kelsey and Ryan were married in July and celebrated with a fun, festive wedding in a vibrant aqua and poppy red color palette. Kelsey’s mom played a huge role in helping with the event planning and coordination and their friends and family came together to help make the day unique, beautiful and full of love.
Vendors -
Photography: Ampersand Photography
Venue: Braeloch
Flowers: Plantation Creations
{Photos by Ampersand Photography.}
Happy Saturday, friends! I’m making a rare weekend appearance because I’ve been rather under the weather the last few days and spent most of yesterday snuggled up in bed and intermittently drinking Theraflu. However, I didn’t want to leave you hanging on Friday link love so I thought I’d pop in this morning to share my favorites from the week. We’re traveling home to spend time on the lake with family this weekend, soaking up every last minute of summer. We’re also going to visit a little Golden Retriever pup who sounds like she needs a good home and might consider adding to our family to be that home for her – we’ll see how Nina (our five year old Black Labrador and the love of our life) takes to her. I’ll keep you posted on the puppy front! In the meantime, have a fabulous weekend!
Super cute kid rooms via Ink + Wit.
I want to wear sparkly stars in my hair.
In l.o.v.e. with these invitations.
An adorable paper airplane save the date how-to.
Loving this studio tour.
Mark Twain would be proud.
Congratulations to Rachelle on her beautiful Princess Piper!
My husband and I are considering becoming foster parents = my latest blog obsession.
{Photo by Amanda Dias.}
Today I am delighted to share this 25th birthday party fiesta sent over by Kallie of Kallie Brynn Photography. Kallie planned this fun, colorful celebration in honor of her husband David’s birthday and I just love all of the vibrant Mexican fiesta details. (Kallie is also the mastermind behind this owl birthday party that everyone loved, which she planned for her daughter Tova’s first birthday.)
Kallie designed the invitations herself drawing inspiration from Mexican papel picado and then used her Gocco to screenprint them. I love how they look paired with kraft paper envelopes and Roy Rogers stamps.
Their favorite local taco truck catered and for drinks Kallie put out a selection of sodas and sangria served in stout mason jars. Festive striped paper straws were the perfect finishing touch.
Centerpieces were simple and colorful – miniature potted cacti, clusters of hot pink flowers and a handful of mangoes and limes provided the perfect amount of color and interest.
Of course, the adorable Tova had to make an appearance at her dad’s big birthday celebration. She showed up wearing a dress with a dash of Latin flavor and took a few whacks at the pinata.
From the papel picado to the sombrero to the fun Mexican masks, I just love everything about this celebration. For even more photos of David’s birthday fiesta, check out Kallie’s blog. Thanks so much for sharing, Kallie!
{Photos by Kallie Brynn Photography.}
If you’ve been reading along for a while now, you’ve probably noticed that my obsession with calligraphy is no real secret. Well as of today neither is my love for the work of Patricia Mumau of Primele. Patricia is a fellow Upstate New Yorker and a wonderfully talented calligrapher. I’m currently working on a new project (stay tuned for details!) and found myself playing around on the Primele website last night for inspiration. Sure, you’ve probably seen Patrcicia’s work before. She seems to be everywhere these days and rightly so – her work is amazingly modern, fresh and spirited. But have you ever really stopped to think about all the ways you can incorporate calligraphy into your wedding or event? Calligraphy is so much more than just invitations and envelope addressing these days. From favor to tags to return address stamps to thank you notes, Patricia’s portfolio showcases it all and does so brilliantly.
{Photos from Primele.}
I admit that the last couple of days of cooler rainy weather have me thinking about fall. We’ve had a beautiful, hot and sunny summer, but any local will tell you that fall in Upstate NY is just undeniably breathtaking. Which brings me to today’s real wedding, a gorgeous fall celebration photographed by my good friends at Clark + Walker Studio. The bride and groom, Lucy and Ben, cast tradition aside and planned a beautiful and personal wedding full of cute DIY touches that Lucy handcrafted herself. I love everything from the vibrant fall-inspired color palette to the cute stuffed animal table numbers that Lucy sewed for each table. For me, this wedding is the definition of a fun, festive celebration full of charm and love.
Lucy and Ben got married at her parents’ home in Germantown, NY. During the ceremony, Lucy and Ben stood on an oriental rug that was a wedding gift from Ben’s mother; that rug now plays a starring role in their new home. A woman after my own heart, Lucy asked her two best friends – both men – to be her men of honor and skipped a maid of honor altogether. Ben, the men of honor and groomsmen all wore jeans, Chuck Taylors and ties from Cyberoptix Tie Lab.
Their caterer used family recipes to create their menu and, in honor of Lucy’s well known affection for Pez dispensers, a pair of Pez dispensers topped their cake. They chose bright colors of red, orange and yellow with bright polka dot linens and vibrant flowers in shades reminiscent of fall. In lieu of music and dancing, they put together a playlist on an iPod and skipped the dancing entirely. Their fifty guests enjoyed dinner and then spent the evening in the tent enjoying intimate conversation and sharing memories and laughs.
Lucy is an incredibly talented crafter and has an Etsy shop, Lucy Blaire Creations, where she sells handcrafted stuffed animals that made an appearance at the wedding as table numbers. Favors were custom beer glasses printed with a little cartoon drawing Lucy made of herself and Ben with their wedding date from Grandstand. To hold the glasses, Lucy bought plain brown bags, a bunch of mismatched gift tags and a bag of random buttons. She then enlisted the help of family labeling each tag to get a variety in writing styles and attached the tags to the bags by stitching them with the buttons.
A big thank you to Luke Walker and Alisha Clark of Clark + Walker Studio for allowing me the great pleasure of sharing Lucy and Ben’s amazing wedding. Anyone else feeling like fall this week?
Vendors -
Photography: Clark + Walker Studio
Flowers: Floral Fantasies
Table numbers: Lucy Blaire Creations
Ties: Cyberoptix Tie Lab
Rentals: Events Unlimited
{Photos by Clark + Walker Studio.}
Good morning and happy Monday, friends! I hope everyone had a nice restful weekend. In our neck of the woods it was rainy rainy rainy (to the point of our pool overflowing) and made for a nice relaxing weekend. As I caught up on email and blogs from the last week, I stumbled upon these cute personalized wedding guest books made with wood covers and blank pages from Bragging Bags. Personalized with your initials and wedding date, I think they’d also make a cute scrapbook or photo album. They are simple, rustic and sweet, which I find just perfect for a guest book.
{Photos from Bragging Bags.}
