Dessert Meets Design: Sweet Birdie Birthday Party and Dessert Table

You know I L-O-V-E a good party, but I was determined not to go overboard planning, decorating, and designing stuff for my girl's third birthday. So, instead of inviting over a million of her tiny friends or renting out a bounce house venue, I temporarily converted my office into the perfect party spot for her birthday party. Her only request was that her closest little friends and a cake be in attendance at her soiree, which photog Sydnee Bickett captured beautifully. 

After I designed the hexagon and faux bois invites and found a great cake recipe, I planned a bash that was full of bright, spring-y colors offset by lots of white and gold accents. I created DIY faux bois color block placemats to bring color and warmth to my white desk for the girls to dine in style. 

Along with sliders, powdered donuts, and popcorn, the girls devoured vanilla ice cream and my strawberry cake. I customized labels with each girl's name to decorate the paper ice cream cups from Sweet Party Shop. I also designed faux bois labels for the milk bottles to add a natural element to the all-white room. Land of Nod's birdie garland and cupcake kit added a bit of whimsy to the dessert table that really kicked up the color a notch. 

The birdie garland also added a fun touch to the faux bois backdrop I made for the photo booth. Lila smiled happily with her sister and friends as she wore the a DIY starburst birthday crown I made for her. Sydnee even managed to snap a picture of us all smiling, which is basically a small miracle.

Credits

party concept, styling, and dessert table: Shauna Younge

images: Sydnee Bickett

birdie garland and cupcake kit: Land of Nod

ice cream cups: Sweet Party Shop
my projects: DIY starburst birthday crown and DIY faux bois color block placemats

Dessert Meets Design: Ruffles with a Side of Star Wars Dessert Table

It's been forever since I touched based on this ole blog. Hopefully, you've been following along on Pinterest and Instagram, because I'm loving both those platforms right now. But, it's been a while, so it's good to get back to my blogging roots. I love working with Kirsten of Fab Event Design, and this time was no different.

What better way to say, "Hey, girl heeeey!" and get back in the swing of blogging than with a pretty dessert table I designed for Katharine & Tim's wedding? It was photographed by Melissa Oholendt and dressed up with Munster Rose blooms all set in beautiful Aria Minneapolis.

My clients, Katharine and Tim, wanted the table's vibe to match the femininity of the bride's blush pink dress (It was ah-mazing!) and the elegance of the invite's soft silver, ivory, and champagne palette. As pretty as the table was, it was also really important to the bride and groom that we incorporate a little Star Wars into the design. Gateaux added a tiny Princess Leia and a lil' Chewbacca for the topper on their ruffle cake. I was so obsessed with the cake frosting, that I had to try to recreate it at home weeks later. The kids were all over that. Here's another close-up of these two when they came out from behind the bow.

This sophisticated design wouldn't be complete without some macarons, custom monogrammed petit fours, and shooters. I designed custom favor boxes for the kids and custom bags for the chocolate potato chips and bacon brownies. Because let's face it, it wouldn't do to just have them sitting in a bowl on the table.

The sweet display wouldn't have been complete without the R2D2 groom's cake. Not only was he made following a very specific blueprint, he also made the robot's trademark sounds and lit up! Want to hear for yourself? Check out this video I posted from the wedding. 

Check out the noises this R2-D2 grooms cake made. Amazing, right?!?

A video posted by Shauna Younge (@shaunayounge) on Mar 8, 2014 at 9:36pm PST

Loved this couple, loved the vendors, loved it all!

venue: Aria Minneapolis

photographer: Melissa Oholendt

planner: Fab Event Design

dessert table, custom favors, custom labels: Shauna Younge

florals: Munster Rose

cakes, petit fours, shooters: Gateaux

macarons: Cocoa and Fig

chocolate potato chips: Sweet Chocolat

Kiddo's Winter Wonderland Birthday and Dessert Table

Hey sugar addicts! I'm so jazzed to share kiddo's 5th birthday party with you. The ladies of 100 Layer Cakelet were kind enough to share some images with their readers, and I wanted to highlight the dessert table here. I designed this invite, and it inspired everything else, so I guess I should give you a glimpse of that first. And, before you zoom in all close, just know that this isn't my real address. It's not that I don't trust each and every one of you, but…

I wanted to keep the dessert table pretty simple. It is for children, after all. But, I still wanted to add enough custom details to delight my girl. Let's just say, this is probably the first time in history anyone has ever squealed about a milk bottle label. She was like, "That says, 'Averie! It's fabulous, dah-ling!'" She has flair. If you follow me on Instagram, you're well aware.

Check out this gold confetti plate and that little owl! So fab. Both of those beauties were contributed by Land of Nod. They're a perfect fit this white and gold, wintry theme.

Shop Sweet Lulu kindly let me pick some products from their shop. I designed wrappers for the white ice cream cups to match the back of the invite and labels for the milk bottles with each girl's name. I also put a faceted 5, like the one on the invite, on top of each milk bottle. 

Candy Warehouse hooked us up with plenty of candy to fill up the gold faceted piñata I made.

This is one of my favorite pics of me, Darren, and the kids. So cute!

Pop on over to Confetti Pop to see the rest of the party and the DIYs I designed to create my girl's modern, wintery bash.

dessert table, invite, custom labels & wrappers, piñata, cake topper: Shauna Younge for Confetti Pop
Photography: Angela Rose Photography
candy: courtesy of Candy Warehouse
gold confetti plates & animal ornaments: courtesy of Land of Nod
white ice cream cups, plastic milk bottles, biodegradable spoons: Shop Sweet Lulu

Sweet Idea: Neon Geometric Ombre Cake

It doesn't get much more awesome than this when it comes to wedding cakes. It manages to encompass three trends, geometric shapes, neon colors, and ombre gradients, while remaining sophisticated and beautiful. It's easy for a cake to get so trendy and colorful that it looks more like something in a fun house.

 

But this one from 100 Layer Cake is just fab, don't ya think?

images: Ceebee Photography, cake: Salt Lake City

Dessert Table: Starry Night Baby Shower

I love a co-ed baby shower, because let's face it, there isn't a lot for the father-to-be to do while the bun's still in the oven. A sophisticated, but fun, co-ed shower helps get dad excited and geared up for the little one's arrival. 100 Layer Cakelet featured this Peter Pan dessert table for a baby shower designed by Sugar & Fluff. Photographer Richelle Dante's pictures make the sweets look delicious.

That starry cake is a great compliment to the gold stars hanging from the ceiling. Cupcakes, macarons, and chocolate chip cookies are yummy companions.

I love that each guest had a mint green macaron waiting at their plate. What a sweet way to start a meal.

Swing by 100 Layer Cakelet to see the entire event.

Dessert Table: Gorgeous Gems

Ever wonder what a geometric bride and groom look like? Well, wonder no more. This modern dessert table on 100 Layer Cake is full of faceted details, including geometric cake toppers. Gem-like truffles, cookies, and candy vessels make this table amazing. Talk about working a theme, the Indie Wed crew left nothing un-gem-ified. That's a word, right? Right? Ok, probably not, but I know you get me.

Don't you just love this whole design?

images by Amanda Megan Miller Photography via 100 Layer Cake

Dessert Meets Design: Sequins & Champagne Dessert Table

A couple of months ago, Jen, Sarah, and Tara invited me to join them and some other talented ladies for a fun, graphic bridal shoot. I brought the sweets, of course, and we got to work. Today, Ruffled featured our shoot so I can finally share it with you.

Bold black and white was accented with gold ribbon and a tissue tassel garland. I used the Armato stationery's champagne bubble motif to inspire the custom popcorn boxes and chocolate wrappers I designed. Here's are the paper goods. 

I also created a cake topper of gold, glitter that was reminiscent of the invite's champagne bubbles. White chocolate truffles were customized with gold sanding sugar, while gold gum balls added youthful fun to the table.

I worked with such a fab group of ladies. Please be sure to give them some love in the comments and visit their sites as well. Want to see even more? Check out the full gallery on Ruffled.

Thank you for inviting me to join in the shoot, Jen, Sarah, and Tara! It was great to meet everyone.

shoot concept: Jen Meneghin, Sarah Tillges, Tara Bailie
images: Jen Meneghin
jewelry: Sarah Vonne
florals: A Day in Provence
makeup: Romeny Chan & Alice Bernman of Castor & Pollux
hair: Ashley Haley of Bang Bang Salon
dress: Sixpence Boutique
desserts: Shauna Younge Dessert Tables
stationery: Armato Design
model: Anne Murphey