Chronicles of a DIY Bride

It didn't take me long to realize I was a do-it-yourself bride and every once in a while I have to keep my DIY personality in check. DIY projects are not always easy and more often than not they take a lot of time so I am constantly trying to narrow down my never ending list of DIY projects. Rather than make the entire wedding DIY I figured it is be best to focus on a few of the most important aspects and leave the rest to either professionals or chance. Below is my progress report of DIY projects:

Save the Dates and Invitations (complete)

Envelope Liners (complete)

Table Runners (fabric has been ordered)

Decorations (work in progress)

Dessert (finally narrowed down what I will be making)

DIY Checklist via 100LayerCake

Dessert

Having just graduated from pastry school and choosing Love is Sweet as the theme for our wedding makes dessert a big deal! I have always been more drawn to dessert displays over traditional tiered wedding cakes but selecting the perfect sweet treats to adorn our dessert table has not been easy and finding someone to make them has been even more difficult. I am amazed at how many Cake decorators are in the bay area, but none of them specialize in providing an entire dessert display. I've decided to prepare some of the desserts myself and enlist the help of a few of my fellow pastry school graduates to bring our wedding dessert display to life!

Wedding Inspiration

{Dots and Stripes Wedding Inspiration}

{Hugs and Kisses Wedding Inspiration}

{Confetti Wedding Inspiration}

I spent my entire weekend talking, dreaming, and embracing all things wedding! All of my bridesmaids were in town for a bridal brunch hosted by my mom and we spent the rest of the weekend dress shopping (for them, I already have mine!). I am still recovering from all the festivities but thought I would share some wedding inspiration with all of you. I am always inspired by Martha Stewart Weddings and if my wedding looks half as put together as her magazine shoots then I'll consider myself blessed. A few of my favorites are pictured above and despite being the exact same colors they all turned out totally different. It's amazing how following a theme through to the end can produce a totally different look. The sweet simplicity of the hugs and kisses wedding is in stark contrast to the modern confetti wedding yet both are absolutely flawless in my eyes.

We hit the 5 month mark yesterday and are well on our way to the wedding of our dreams (or maybe more my dreams with Ian's mixed in here and there)!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I don't currently have much green in my wardrobe, which of course I realized while trying to get dressed this morning. Above are a few green pieces I wouldn't mind adding before next St. Patty's day in order to avoid being pinched. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

1. Chanel Nail Polish

2. Marc by Marc Purse

3. Old Navy Scarf

4. Ariel Gordon Necklace

It's All in the Details

1. Lanterns

2. Vintage Silverware s

3. Ornate Mirror

4. White Picture Frames

In order to put a personal touch on our wedding I decided to focus on all the little details. I started collecting things shortly after we got engaged and my list of vintage collections has continued to grow exponentially. A few of my favorites are above although my favorite detail for our wedding has to be all the mismatched milkglass vases we have collected (seen here). With 5 months to go I still have a lot of collecting to do but fortunately my vision is taking shape more and more each day!

Lemon Drop Bake Shop

I can't believe that Pastry School is actually over, we graduated yesterday after what felt like the quickest 6 months ever...I guess time really does fly when you're having fun! As part of our graduation each student prepared a dessert display based on a theme of their choosing. I picked lemon partly based on my love of yellow and partly based on lemon meringue tarts which turned out to be my favorite dessert learned in school. It's hard to imagine how I'll spend my time now that I won't be balancing work and school, but something tells me it will still be spent with lots of butter and sugar!

Daisy Surprise

I had so much fun making this daisy inspired dessert display for a co-workers birthday and I love the pop of white daisies on all of the chocolate! She couldn't decide if she wanted cupcakes or a cake so I made both and I even used the leftover cake remnants to make cake pops which was so easy and fun. I figured if Starbucks sells them I better try making them and I now see why they are such a trend. I was pleased with how the final product turned out and I hope the birthday girl is too!

Happy Birthday Kerstin!

Yellow or Grey?

I've checked most of the big to-do's off my wedding checklist, but one thing I have yet to tackle is what my ladies will be wearing. It has been the topic of discussion lately as we scour the internet to find the perfect dresses. The first item up for debate is color; my entire wedding is yellow but there is something so unflattering about yellow dresses. I found a few cute examples above but I think we are strongly leaning towards grey. The second item up for debate is style. I guess you could call me an untraditional bride because I hate the look of matching bridesmaids dresses. I thought I was doing the wedding party of favor by asking them to pick whatever style or dress they like as long as it fits with the overall color and styles of the other dresses. I've come to find out that this mismatched approach is much more difficult than it seems and this is probably why most brides just pick the dresses for their bridesmaids. I'm still determined to find 4 mismatched dresses that perfectly reflect each of my bridesmaids personalities so that they aren't stuck matching the tablecloths at my wedding...any suggestions on where I should start?!?

Lots of Lemon

I baked these lemon chiffon cupcakes filled with lemon curd and lemon buttercream in preparation for my culinary school final. It's so hard to believe it is actually coming to an end, but with this being my last week I suppose it's time to face the facts. We have our final written exam tonight and then we spend the rest of this week and weekend preparing for our practical exam and graduation party. My theme for the party is lemon so you'll be seeing more and more lemon inspired desserts as the week progresses.

Morning Muffins

Ian and I were both working from home this morning and with an empty fridge I was forced to get creative. Fortunately I always have a large supply of flour and sugar and we had failed to eat an entire carton of blueberries which were now past their prime. I decided to make a batch of blueberry muffins which turned out moist and delicious. Sometimes it doesn't take much to start the morning off right!

Envelope Liners

I recently purchased a DIY envelope liner template from Paper Source and I must say it was worth $11 and then some. I was amazed at how effortlessly I was able to transform solid envelopes into the perfect addition to any invitation or letter. I love the way envelope liners can express your creativity without distracting from the contents inside. I will definitely be putting my envelope template to good use in the future!

Images via PaperSource, 100 Layer Cake, Indigo Bunting, Say Yes to Hoboken, HipHipHooray, Its a Brides Life, and Martha Stewart

Unexpected Rainbows

The weather in San Francisco has been unpredictable; raining one minute and sunny the next, it's been the type of weather that you might expect to produce rainbows except I haven't seen any. So instead I started looking for rainbows in unexpected places like floral arrangements, baked goods, and even the bookshelf. All these beautiful rainbows have me day dreaming about sunnier days ahead!

Rainbow Floral Arrangement via OneCharmingParty, Rainbow Cake by WhiskKid, Straws via SweetLulu, Soda via Project Wedding, Colorful Bookshelf via Say Yes to Hoboken