The Sweetest Occasion

An Irish Blessing

cyd — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:15:53 +0000

In memory of a dear friend who was laid to rest today, an Irish blessing…

Wishing you a rainbow,
For sunlight after showers.
Miles and miles of Irish smiles,
For golden happy hours.
Shamrocks at your doorway,
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through…

{Photo by chara*choco* via sfgirbybay.}

Vintage Puppy Themed Birthday Party

cyd — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:07 +0000

Lately I have been finding myself endlessly inspired by beautiful birthday parties, and this pretty vintage puppy themed birthday party photographed by Jeremy Harwell is no exception. Jeremy’s wife planned and designed the party in celebration of their daughter Kitty’s eighth birthday and I absolutely adore all of the handmade vintage-inspired elements. As a dog lover none of the adorable puppy details are lost on me and I love the assortment of buttons, ribbons and pretty patterned fabrics.

{Photos by Jeremy Harwell via decor8.}

Owl Themed First Birthday Party

cyd — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:00:49 +0000

My oh my. I am so excited to share Tova’s owl-themed first birthday party with you, because it’s far and away the prettiest party I’ve seen in a long time. All of the details were thoughtfully pulled together from the owl pinata to the world’s cutest cake topper, from the peachy pink color palette to the spread of IBC cream soda and root beer – this party is just amazingly cute. And Tova? She’s the cutest of all. With spring quickly approaching these colors and flowers are like a breath of fresh air – I’d love to see this look translated to a gorgeous spring bridal shower or even a pretty Easter celebration.

{Photos by Kallie Brynn Buckmaster via party perfect.}

Lemon Zest Cupcakes

cyd — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:23 +0000

Good morning, friends! I thought I’d start the week with something sweet and uplifting, because if I’m honest, I’m still recovering from an incredibly tough week and could really use a pick-me-up. Perhaps you can, too? Even just the sight of these lemon zest cupcakes, spied over at Lanalou recently, does the trick for me. Now, if I had one to go with my morning coffee today that’d be even better, but I’ll take what I can get right now. While checking out the recipe for these cupcakes, spend some time today exploring Lana’s gorgeous blog, it’s fast becoming one of my favorites and I know you’ll love it, too.

{Photos from lanalou.}

Boxcar Press Seeks a Blog Intern

cyd — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:00:29 +0000

I wanted to take a quick moment before the weekend to issue a little PSA. We’re looking for a blog intern at Boxcar Press so I wanted to spread the word. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions and I’m happy to fill you in on the details! Here’s the official info:

Boxcar Press, a nationally recognized letterpress print shop located in Syracuse, NY, seeks a creative, inspired, stationery-loving individual to join our team as a blog intern. We are looking for someone with passion, incredible writing skills and the ability to contribute approximately 3 – 4 blog posts a week. This is a six month unpaid internship offering an unparalleled opportunity to gain an intimate working knowledge of a cool letterpress shop and our two stationery lines, Bella Figura and Smock. You’ll work closely with and have the opportunity to be mentored by our blog editor and get awesome experience researching, prepping, and writing for blogs with national readership.

Candidates can live anywhere in the world, but a reliable internet connection and access to email is a must. For more information please email press@bellafigura.com with your resume, a brief description of why you’d like to work with us, a writing sample, and a short list of your favorite blogs and why you love them. We can’t wait to hear from you!

p.s. While I am a full-time employee of Boxcar Press/Bella Figura/Smock, this is not a sponsored post.
p.p.s. The aforementioned blog editor is none other than yours truly.

{Photos by Boxcar Press.}

DIY Gift Wrap Cupcake Wrappers

cyd — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:58 +0000

By now I think my love for sweets and yummy baked goods has been publicly acknowledged a good few dozen times. (Um, I really really love sweets.) So, needless to say, I kind of fell in love when I saw these adorable DIY cupcake wrappers on the Snow & Graham blog. You can download the cupcake wrapper template from Snow & Graham and then use it to cut out wrappers from your favorite gift wrap or other paper. Use pinking shears or scissors with a decorative edge and they’ll be even more adorable. From birthday parties to weddings, I can think of dozens of perfect occasions for gussying up your cupcakes with a little color.

{Photos from Snow & Graham.}

Real Wedding – Christie + Bernie II

cyd — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:00:18 +0000

There were just so many gorgeous photos from Christie and Bernie’s wedding that I couldn’t resist a second post so I could share as many as possible. This party looks like more fun than I can even express in words so I’ll let Emma and her gorgeous photos do the talking for me.

Instead of a wedding cake Christie and Bernie had a ‘pig’nata (pinata) and for the evening entertainment ‘Gabby Young & Other Animals‘ played their socks off – EVERYONE was dancing! Finish it all off with about 3 hours of the photo booth which had me literally in pain through laughing too much and you have all the ingredients for one hot wedding.

I will be honest and say that I was petrified pretty much all day and it suddenly dawned on me what a huge responsibility the job is but I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I am absolutely loving this journey and am meeting the most wonderful people and actually making friends whilst taking photos…what could be better!

Thank you so so much for sharing Christie and Bernie’s wedding, Emma! I love everything about their celebration. From the gorgeous venue to her beautiful gown to the pianta to the nonstop dance party all night long – this is one wedding I’d have loved to attend!

{Photos by Emma Case Photography.}

Real Wedding – Christie + Bernie

cyd — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:00:52 +0000

It is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to share Christie and Bernie’s wedding with you today. Emma Case, the couple’s amazing photographer, made my entire week by sharing these gorgeous images. Would you believe me if I told you this was the first wedding Emma ever shot professionally? She’s an incredible talent and I look forward to many beautiful things coming from her in the years to come. I asked Emma to share a little bit about working with Christie and Bernie and her first experience as a “professional” wedding photographer…

Christie contacted me back in November and straight away I knew just how ace she was. Not only did she mention fake moustaches and knee-sliding as part of the wedding plan but she was funny and honest and completely on my wavelength. We emailed back and forth in a ‘know each other already’ type of way and by the time we were driving up to Devon on the 30th January I was a little nervous but so excited to finally meet her (we didn’t get the chance beforehand) and her soon to be husband… the Berninator!

The wedding was held at the most amazing Huntsham Court…oh man the bathroom in the bridal suite was AMAZING, oh and the library…and the…well you can see for yourselves, the whole house is stunning! The ceremony was beautiful with a really heartfelt speech from both Christie and Bernie’s sisters and then food was served followed by a wonderfully proud speech from the father of the bride and a particularly funny song by the best man and his guitar!

More to come from Christie and Bernie’s gorgeous fun-filled wedding in just a bit!

{Photos by Emma Case Photography.}

Sugarcoated Pink and White Candy Buffet

cyd — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:00:01 +0000

When I saw this gorgeous pink and white candy and dessert buffet designed by Brie and Karon of Sugarcoated Events, I was pretty much giddy. I love sweets and I’m on a major pink kick lately so it really just made my day. The beautiful photos were taken by Brie’s sister Nicola of Concrete & Honey, one of my favorite recent blog finds, and the whole look is just pretty and fun. While this spread was designed for a wedding, it would be also be lovely for a baby or bridal shower or even a fabulous birthday party. Sweets are good any time for any reason, I say.

{Photos from Concrete & Honey.}

DIY Vintage Hollywood Oscars Party

cyd — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:47:13 +0000

I am popping in quickly this morning to share some photos from last night’s Oscars party, as promised last week. I will, however, be taking a short break from blogging this week, at least for a few days. Something happened over the weekend that has completely rocked me to my core, made me think long and hard about the things in life that matter most and how important it is to tell everyone you know that you love them, that you appreciate them and that they mean to world to you. And, if I’m honest, I just don’t feel like pretending everything is ok right now, because it’s not, so I’m not going to…I’m going to take some time, regroup and hopefully come back in a few days feeling a bit more upbeat. But, before I run off on you, here are some photos from last night’s Oscar festivities with my lovely friend Carolynn from Two Brunettes.

I’ll share more details from the party when I’m back, but in the meantime visit Two Brunettes for more of the goods. And make sure to hug the ones you love today and let them know you care. You never know when it might be your last chance to tell someone how very much they mean to you.

{Photos by Carolynn Giordano for Two Brunettes and The Sweetest Occasion.}