Wedding Recap: Our Cake!

Chicago had it's first snow of the season today, and this event is making me nostalgic for my winter wedding! It's hard to believe that our 2 year anniversary is quickly approaching! I have yet to share pictures of our lovely wedding cake, and decided it was high time to do so, in case any other winter brides are looking for inspiration.

My husband and I knew we wanted a traditional round cake, though square was our second choice, and even that minor detail was a tough decision! We met with Dottie Lovely, aka "The Cake Lady," and she helped turn my vision of a winter-themed cake into reality. I loved that she used snowflakes and pearls, while combining the gorgeous silver, blue, and white flowers we had in our wedding.

I could not have been happier with the final result, but the best part was that the cake tasted amazing! We chose buttercream because it tastes far superior to fondant, and had layers of red velvet, marble, and carrot cake, so there was something to please everyone.

And on to the best part: Cutting the cake!

All photos by Seth Kammueller

Shabby Apple Giveaway

November is a very exciting month for me because I have more giveaways to host! I love using this blog to gift free merchandise to my readers, so I'm excited to announce that I have partnered with Shabby Apple to give away a free dress!

Shabby Apple is an online boutique that specializes in vintage-inspired women's dresses. They also sell adorable frocks for infants and little girls, and flattering maternity wear at their Mama Apple store. I love that their dresses offer a modern spin on the vintage dresses of the 1950's and 60's. Their conservative style makes the dresses appropriate for work or play, yet their very feminine shape shows the world that you do not have to bare all to be sexy. Finally, I like that the website offers a quiz to learn about your body shape and provides recommendations to suit your figure!

 Without further ado, here is the dress that one lucky reader will win:

I love this dress because it is elegant and feminine, while still being fun and flirty. The flower applique detailing is gorgeous, and makes it unique from many other dresses. I also like that the dress appears to be two separate pieces, since I think that makes it very versatile. This is a dress that could easily be dressed up to attend a bridal shower, for example, or dressed down to attend a weekend brunch.

Here are the details on how to enter the giveaway: You get 1 entry per item. Make sure you leave a blog comment below for each entry!

1. Leave a comment stating where you would wear this dress if you are the winner.
2. Follow A Cape Cod Bride blog with Google Friend Connect.
3. Subscribe to A Cape Cod Bride's RSS feed (on the right side of the page)
4. Follow A Cape Cod Bride by email (enter your email on the right side of the page)
5. Follow @CapeCodBride on Twitter.
6. Follow @shabbyapple on Twitter.
7. Like Shabby Apple on facebook.
8. Tweet this giveaway using the following statement: I just entered to win @CapeCodBride's #giveaway to #win a gorgeous dress from @shabbyapple! Enter here: http://acapecodbride.blogspot.com/2011/11/shabby-apple-giveaway.html

You have until 11:59pm CST on Monday November 14th to enter, and the winner will be announced on Tuesday. This contest is open to U.S. residents only. 

Finally, while there can only be one contest winner, Shabby Apple is offering an exclusive discount to all Cape Cod Bride readers! Simply enter capecodbride10off at checkout and you will receive 10% off your purchase. 


Happy shopping!

Wedding Inspiration: Love Birds!

Lately, I've been obsessing with love birds as a wedding theme. The great thing about this idea is it can be customized to your wedding colors, and offers so many different decorating ideas. Plus, the birds are simply adorable!

Since this theme is becoming more popular, there are plenty of affordable ways to incorporate love birds into your big day. From customizable artwork (top left), to cake toppers (center), to personalized stamps for your invites (top right), there are tons of creative ways to use this theme. Searching the term "love birds" on Etsy will offer you a slew of ideas, or come up with your own!

What do you think of love birds as a wedding theme? Would you considering using this for your big day?

Wedding Jewelry on a Budget: JewelMint

Since I started this blog while planning a recessionista wedding, I wanted to get back to my roots with this post and focus on wedding jewelry that is truly budget beautiful. I love browsing JewelMint, which recently celebrated it's 1st anniversary bringing you fab accessories. In case you live under a rock, JewelMint is an online jewelry club. For $29.99 per month, you can purchase a piece from their exclusive collection, designed by Kate Bosworth and stylist Cher. They introduce new pieces each month, and provide recommendations based on your personal preferences after you take their style quiz.

It's free to join, but the only catch is that once you purchase a piece of jewelry, you become automatically enrolled in their club. So if you are making a one-time purchase (like for your wedding) make sure to cancel your account immediately afterwards. If you want to remain a member, you can skip being charged $29.99 for that month as long as you select to do so within the first 5 days of the month. Needless to say, this club is best suited for those with good memories (or iPhone alerts), to ensure you don't get charged each month unless you intend to purchase a piece!

While some may find it to be too much of a hassle, I guarantee that it is worth the effort if you want a piece of statement wedding jewelry for a bargain. So without further ado, here are my top picks this month, based your your bridal style (categories created by me!).

Join JewelMint through my personal link by clicking here!

For the classic bride, I love the Forever Audrey earrings, which are glamorous yet simple:



Forever Audrey Earrings



A romantic bride would look wonderful adorned with the nostalgic Gatsby bracelet:

Gatsby Bracelet

I absolutely adore the Versailles earrings, which are perfect for the bride who loves to be the center of attention, and wants to look like a princess on her wedding day!

Versailles Earrings

For the retro bride, my pick is the Savoy bracelet, inspired by the art deco designs of the 1920's.

Savoy Bracelet

Finally, for the outdoor bride looking to incorporate the beauty of nature into her ensemble, my pick is the pearl Calla Lilly earrings.

Calla Lilly Earrings

What type of bride do you identify as, and which piece would you choose to wear on your big day?

Daisy Days Giveaway Winner!

Hello all,

Thank you so much for entering the my contest to win a $25 gift card to Daisy Days! I had a ton of entries and comments, which I always love, on here as well as on Twitter, Wedding Chicks, and Get Married!

I put all of the entries into an electronic list randomizer, the modern day equivalent to drawing a name from a hat. Believe me, I was excited as you guys to see who would be the winner of this awesome gift card!

Since you've been waiting all day for me to announce the winner, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Let's all give a big congrats to . . . Cynthia Lucero!!!

Thanks again to all those who entered and I hope everyone has a great week!

Daisy Days Giveaway!

Hello blog readers! I'm very excited to announce that I'm hosting a new giveaway, starting today. One lucky Cape Cod Bride reader will win a $25 gift card to Daisy Days!

Daisy Days literally has everything you need to plan your big day, from bridal shower goods to bachelorette party favors to reception essentials. I'm so upset they were not around when I was planning my December 2009 wedding! I especially love that this site offers a plethora of wedding items that are eco-friendly, since nothing is more chic than a green wedding!

So you can get an idea of what Daisy Days has to offer, I've perused the site and made an inspiration board for y'all.

Now onto the best part: Here's how to enter:

1. Comment on this post stating how you would spend the $25 gift card if you are the winner.
2. Become a follower of A Cape Cod Bride blog.
3. Tweet this giveaway using this tweet: I just entered @CapeCodBride's giveaway to win a $25 gift card to @DaisyDaysFavors! Enter here: http://acapecodbride.blogspot.com/2011/09/daisy-days-giveaway.html
4. Post this giveaway on your own blog.

Each response will yield you one entry into the drawing, for a total of up to 4 entries. Be sure to comment on my blog, stating which steps you took to enter (e.g. followed my blog, posted the giveaway on your blog), so I give you the correct number of entries.

Finally, act fast, as this contest will only be open until Sunday, September 25, 2011 at midnight CST. The winner will be announced on Monday September 26th!

Good luck to all and have a great week!

BHLDN On A Budget!

Like many women, my heart swoons whenever I step inside Anthropologie. Sadly, I cannot afford to shop there regularly, especially on a grad student budget in the middle of a recession! However, I was thrilled to recently learn that the team behind Anthropologie decided to venture into another one of my passions, the wedding world, with their new store, BHLDN.

A great feature of the BHLDN website is that it offers more than just a shopping experience for brides. It includes free interactive experiences to help inspire you while planning your wedding, and provide another great way to procrastinate ;-) For example, I took a fun quiz called "What Kind of Bride Are You?" and discovered that I am a Romantic Nostalgic bride, which was a very accurate portrayal of my vintage Cape Cod wedding. The website also offers MoodBoards, aka inspiration boards, where you can view their products based on themes or color palettes, or even create your own board!

Disclaimer: I guarantee you will love everything BHLDN offers, but like it's sister store Anthropologie, products from here do not come cheap. Since one of my goals is to provide wedding inspiration for brides on a budget, I have scoured the site and chosen the best wedding attire and accessories for budget-minded brides.

Here are 2 boards featuring my favorite dresses, that are all an amazing steal at $1600 or less!

Finally, another great way to incorporate the romantic, unique, and vintage products BHLDN offers while not breaking the bank is to carefully choose more affordable accessories for your big day. Here are my top picks:

Images from center, then clockwise from top left: Choose a lovely silk hat/birdcage veil for a vintage vibe ($120); Love coasters provide a romantic touch ($14 for 10); Don polka dot gloves for a unique look ($40); Brighten up your fete with colorful straws ($6 a pack); Eat your cake with a pair of engraved love forks ($24 a pair); Serve treats on lovely pedestals ($68-$88); Statement earrings are great bridesmaid's gifts ($66); Accessorize your cocktail hour with love stirrers ($22 for 24); Use adorable mini teapots as escort card holders ($52 for 6); Glam a simple pair of shoes with colorful pom poms! ($25 per pair); Choose simple but sophisticated letterpress invites ($26 for 8); Chalkboard vases make unforgettable table numbers ($18); Faux flowers are a great way to save money without compromising on style ($32 for 5).