Blog | Sweet Violet Bride

5 Tips for Making Your Own Wedding Cake

If you love baking and want to add the personal touch of a homemade cake to your wedding day, go for it! Many couples have successfully created their own unique wedding cakes and have enjoyed the delicious satisfaction of their accomplishment as they shared their creation with friends and family. Here are five tips to consider when making your own wedding cake.

DIY No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Be Realistic

Do you hate baking? Are you a natural procrastinator and know that you’ll have a hundred other projects to finish the last few days before your wedding? Be realistic about what you can accomplish and whether or not making your own cake will be a good experience for you.

Practice in Advance

Try out several different cake recipes to find one that you like the taste of and are successful at baking. If you plan on freezing your cake in sections, practice the freezing, thawing, and assembly involved well before you make your actual wedding cake. Give yourself time to perfect your baking and decorating skills so that you aren’t stressed the night before the wedding trying to get your cake ready for the first time ever. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, take a coffee break with one of My Happy Vibes’ inspirational mugs to give yourself a pick-me-up.

DIY Boho Wedding Cake Tutorial via Greenweddingshoes.com

Keep It Simple

Unless you are a professional baker, you probably want plan on a simple wedding cake. When dreaming about all of the possibilities, it can be tempting to want to make something elaborate and complicated. Resist the urge. The most important elements of your DIY wedding cake are that it looks pretty and tastes delicious. These elements are easiest to achieve with a simple recipe and design.

Give Yourself Enough Time

Plan on designating an entire day to baking and decorating your cake or several nights if you plan on baking in batches. If you are going to be too busy the week before your wedding to devote this much time to your cake, then a homemade wedding cake is not for you. The last thing you want is to run out of time and have a sub-par cake (or worse, no cake at all) because of poor planning. You’ll also want to budget enough time for cleanup afterward as you will have a big mess on your hands. We recommend a washing machine from Aj Madison to take care of any tough cake stains in your clothing.

DIY Dark Chocolate + Nutella Naked Wedding Cake via Hellomay.com.au

Plan for Transportation

Most likely, you will have to transport and store your cake somewhere other than where you baked it. Make a game plan in advance for how you are going to move your cake to the venue without letting it get ruined. If your cake is more elaborate or has multiple layers, it may be a good idea to bring it unassembled and assemble it at its final destination.

By Katherine Leave a Comment

4 Ways to Have an Eco-Friendly Wedding

Many couples are opting to go more eco-friendly in their wedding planning. If being environmentally conscious is important to you, there are several easy and cost-effective ways to make your big wedding bash a bit kinder to the earth. Here are four ideas to get you started on the path toward a more eco-friendly wedding.

Choose an Outdoor Venue

If you choose an outdoor venue that already looks beautiful, you can have less decor and therefore create less waste. By choosing an outdoor venue, you will be making use of natural lighting instead of using electricity for artificial lighting for hours on end. When the sun goes down, think about using candle lighting to create a warm and romantic atmosphere without the use of electricity.

Photo Source: Imagemakers Photography

Buy a Vintage Engagement Ring

Many shops offer beautiful pre-owned vintage engagement rings. Because these rings are technically used, they will not only be more affordable but will also save on the waste and destructive mining required to make a new ring. EraGem offers a great selection of antique diamond rings that would be perfect for a couple looking for something unique and earth friendly.

Reuse and Recycle

Do your best to reuse recycled materials when planning your wedding. Maybe you could make your decor out of repurposed jars, wood or other materials. There are so many creative DIY wedding decor ideas online if you are in a rut. If you plan to use disposable dishware at your meal, try to find easily compostable options so that you create less stress on landfills.

Photo Source: Somethingborrowedpdx.com

Stay Simple

One of the best ways to be eco-friendly on your wedding day is to stay as minimal as possible. Use light decor, and serve a simple meal that uses less dishware to decrease the amount of waste created. Brainstorm ways you to have certain items serve double-duty. For example, let your guests take home the table centerpieces as their favors. There are plenty of ways to have a great time at your wedding, without creating a big footprint.

Photo Source: Justine Milton Photography

By Naomi Leave a Comment

Woodland Wedding at Dragonfly Retreat {Maharaj Photography}

Happy Friday, Violets! I am so psyched to share this real wedding with you today! There is so much to love about Kimmy + Garrett’s beautiful woodland wedding. With a relaxed bohemian vibe and natural details (we’re swooning over the earthy bouquet and stunning flower crown by Marigold and Mint!) and things like using their favorite books as their “guest book” for people to sign, their day was uniquely them. These two chose to walk down the outdoor aisle together and honored guests held lanterns during their ceremony. Aren’t these two just about the most beautiful couple you’ve ever seen!? Thanks so much to Maharaj Photography for sharing their day with us.

From the Bride:

The inspiration for the day was based on the interests we have within our relationship. We are very inspired by nature so we loved the idea of highlighting aspects of wild and untamed nature, as seen in the floral arrangements, decorations, and in our venue choice. We are also inspired by simplicity and touch of the hand so all of the decorations were made by us and our closest friends.

We decided that on our wedding day we wanted to walk down the aisle together instead of the more traditional procession of the bride and father. For this reason, our favorite moment was holding hands walking down the aisle and looking around at all of our closest family and friends smiling back at us. Our processional song was ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by the Beatles.

Some of our favorite details from the day: we brewed our own beer as the take away gift for our guests + had guests sign our favorite books as our “guest book” so that we could rediscover their lovely messages throughout our life together.

Three pieces of wisdom:
1. Choose which traditions are important to you and which aren’t. Part of making the day your own is to be truthful to who you are. No pressure, just think about what feels right.
2. Take time before your big day to relax. On the morning of our wedding we decided to participate in our every day yoga practice just the two of us and looking back, this time together was exactly what we needed.
3. Don’t stress – you’re marrying your best friend, what could be better?

Photography: Maharaj Photography / Venue: The Dragonfly Retreat Bothell, Washington / Floral Design + Hairpieces: Marigold and Mint / Wedding Dress: Alhambra, a small women’s boutique in Seattle / Shoes: Madewell / Groom Suit: J.Crew / Paper Goods: friend of couple, Jeremy Sanford / Catering + Pies: Portage Bay Cafe