It’s like someone flipped a switch and suddenly fall has arrived in Central Illinois… the weather here has cooled off like crazy in the last week!  Our dinners out on the patio have quickly come to a halt and I found myself shopping yesterday for long sleeve tops for my daughter!  She’s been wearing sun dresses all summer and well… little bare arms get cold when the high temp is 68!  So I’m finally, just now, mentally saying goodbye to Summer.  It’s about time I catch up with the retailers and usher in Autumn!

And there’s no better way to welcome the new season than lovely wedding inspiration and a gorgeous cake!!  I love the traditional fall wedding colors of chocolate brown, orange and golden yellow.  But what if you want to spice it up a bit and give one last shout out to the fleeting days of Summer?  When you throw in a touch of lime green, this traditional color palette becomes fresh, modern and chic.  Just look at what a splash of green can do.  And don’t even get me started on the favors… tiny burlap bundles filled with ready-to-plant bulbs!  Such a charming idea that could be used not only for a wedding but any fall event!

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• Give a favor that is beautiful both now and later.  Tiny burlap bundles are filled with ready-to-plant flower bulbs.  Display favors on a backdrop of bright moss.  Get the simple instructions to make your own here.  This charming favor would be perfect for a wedding or any fall event.  I can totally envision these as a Thanksgiving table setting!!
• Define your entrance by lining the aisle with these gorgeous pumpkin hanging bouquets by Martha Andrews.
• Make a first impression on your guest with hanging monograms on the ceremony doors.  Learn how to make your own here on Martha Stewart.
• Carry this breathtaking bouquet, a unique mix of textures and colors perfectly suited for the modern bride.
• Create a warm glow by placing these gorgeous lanterns all around your reception site.
• Treat your guests to a wedding cake that doubles as a work of art.  This stunning creation by I Dream of Cake (sadly, no longer in business) is a perfect combination of fall colors and modern design.  Love it!

I hope this inspires some fall brides to include lime as an accent color.  If you’ve had a chocolate brown, orange and lime green wedding or party, or are in the midst of planning one, be sure to tell us about it!

What little girl doesn’t love to dance?  And as big girls, we all look back fondly on our first dance class… the tutus, the tights, our hair swept back into a neat little bun.  Maybe it’s because of the movie Black Swan.  Maybe it’s because dancers are the ultimate image of elegance and grace.  But girls of all ages are enamored with ballerinas and we see this theme spreading into events everywhere.  From bridal fashion to birthday parties, ballet inspires.  So today we’re oohing and awing over some lovely ballerina inspired sweets.

Vendors & Credits
Ballerina Cake: Intricate Icings (photography by James Christianson)
Rose Cookies: I Am Baker
Ballet Shoe Cookies: The Pastry Studio
Tutu Cupcake Toppers: Jean Knee
Ballet Shoe Cupcakes: Sugar Custom Cakes

Being a huge fan of Half Baked – The Cake Blog, I was delighted and honored to be a guest blogger while Carrie is attending to her newest sweet creation. My husband Rick Reichart and I own a cake design company called cakelava, located in Kailua on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. cakelava is a Top Tier vendor on Half Baked and Rick’s designs have been featured on the site a number of times, including their “Fabulous Cake Friday”.

When I found out the theme for my blog post would be anything related to Fall, I already had the perfect cake in mind! It was a cake Rick designed for an upcoming wedding that drew inspiration from a lovely khaki, dark pumpkin, green, and ivory Hawaiian floral fabric that our couple Allison and Marlon were planning to use in their wedding. The striking cake was a three tier fondant design with each piece of the floral and leaf pattern cut and placed by hand. It was a gorgeous cake and a versatile fabric that could easily be used for other components of the wedding. I started fantasizing
about designing a wedding around the inspiration fabric.

I contacted both a cookie designer and a stationery designer to see what they could come up with solely based on seeing the fabric. Each designer was given carte blanche in their area of expertise and did not see the cake or each other’s work in advance. Faigy of Decadent Cookie Favours in Toronto, Canada makes amazing cookies and was perfect for this project. When Faigy was finished with her cookies, she sent us images that made our jaws drop. It was so perfectly matched to our cake and exquisitely photographed by the wonderful ST Studio in Canada.  Faigy’s spectacular custom designed sugar cookies including this Hawaiian fall themed style may be ordered by contacting her through her website.

Once I had the cake and cookies, it was onto the stationery and I knew an invitation and place card would really finish off the look. I contacted Stacey Emi Shiroma who owns Emi Ink on Oahu. Stacey makes exquisite custom stationery in Hawaii and she always impresses us with her talents. I sent Stacey the same fabric to work with and she wowed us with an incredible invitation and place card that perfectly captured the tropical elegant spirit of the wedding we were envisioning. Emi Ink’s beautiful custom invitations, including this one, may be ordered on her website.

• Cake design by Rick Reichart of cakelava
• Cookies by Faigy of Decadent Cookie Favours
• Cookie images by ST Studio
• Invitation and guest card by Stacey of Emi Ink

{A huge thank you to Sasha for this fabulous guest post and to Rick, Faigy and Stacey for sharing their talents with us.  I love seeing how all three vendors interpreted the inspiration fabric.  The end results are truly amazing! ~Carrie}