Baby’s breath.  The mere mention of those two words is enough to send you running with images of sad little grocery store bouquets in mind.  But I will never see these unassuming little flowers in quite the same way after pulling this post together. 

The trick:  use them in mass and solo.  Adding other flowers to the mix immediately downgrades them to “filler” status.  Using them alone keeps them the unabashed star of the show.  I love the idea of using mounds and mounds of them in a Winter wedding, all billowy and ethereal.  But these images prove they are equally gorgeous at a Spring affair. 

Look for it under its more “official” flower name of gypsophia (and bonus, it comes in other colors, though white is still my favorite).  Best of all, you can achieve a really lush, over the top look without killing your budget.  20 bunches are less than $200 and each bunch consists of 6-9 stems, more than enough for a beautiful, full bouquet. 

{Photo credits: Top row: Leigh Miller Photography, Second row: Christine Chang Photography via Style Unveiled, Third row: Stephen Karlisch Photography, Cinderella Project, Fourth row: Justine Ungaro, Fifth & Sixth rows: Leigh Miller Photography}

I fell in love with Nicki’s Cakes after seeing their work featured on a fabulous Style Me Pretty “Inspiration to Reality” challenge that showcased all North Carolina vendors.  You might recall, I blogged about it here? Yes, of course I’m biased but I have to say it was my favorite Inspiration to Reality feature they’ve done yet.  I just love the whole look of this wedding (kudos to the gals at Salt Harbor Designs!)

Today’s post is a all about the women behind the gorgeous cake in that feature, Nicki McRae of Nicki’s Cakes.   Nicki grew up in South Africa and moved to the States in 1985.  She’s a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and has lived in Wilmington with her hubby for the last 15 years.  She was gracious enough to entertain a few questions which I hope will be helpful to all you planning brides-to-be out there still looking for a baker.  But first, a look at these beautiful cakes!

How did you get started baking?  Was it always something you loved to do?
Nicki:  “I started decorating cakes after taking a cake class at Michael’s craft store.  I loved it and ran out and bought books on cake decorating.  I would practice all the time.  I started making simple cakes for friends and slowly started working my way into wedding cakes.  My love of decorating came first and then the baking.”

And how long have you been in business?
Nicki:  “I’ve been in business for 5 years now.”

How many cakes, on average, are you doing a week?
Nicki:  “I do one or two wedding cakes per week during wedding season and  I work out of my home so I can spend time with my children after school.”

Do you have some favorite flavors that get requested again and again?
Nicki:  “My most popular flavors are plain vanilla pound cake and my chocolate fudge cake.  My chocolate icing is really good- it has ganache and Godiva liqueur in it and folks just love it.”

Lastly, I have to know…with all these cakes, do you have a favorite that stands out?  One you thought, “wow, I can’t believe how good that looks?” or a really fun request?
Nicki:  “I think for my most ‘fun’ cake request, I would say the surf board cake.  It was for a very cute couple who loved surfing and wanted to reflect that in a more original wedding cake.  I made a woody car toting surfboards and surrounded it with surfboard crowned cupcakes.  They loved it!”

And for your “favorite” cake?
Nicki:  “That would probably be my white chocolate ‘plastic’ cake.  It’s not really plastic of course!  It’s rolled out strips of white chocolate that I hand ruffle in layer upon layer upon layer to achieve this totally decadent and over the top look.”

OMG, all that chocolate!  That has to take forever!  Have you had any requests to make it again?
Nicki:  “Yes!  I’ve done it 4 times since the first one.  I think brides love that not only does it look unique and very special, but of course it tastes divine.”

Mmmm…and isn’t that just the holy grail of wedding cake aspirations?  I hate when a pretty cake tastes like cardboard…what a let down!

Thank you so much Nicki for sharing some time with White Thread!  I am absolutely in LOVE with the modern, minimalistic aesthetic that Nicki favors on many of her cakes.  They’re gorgeous without being gaudy, “about to crash under the weight of sugar flowers” creations.  And I also love that she’s still a small shop, giving personal attention to each bride and really focusing on every cake that goes out that door personally.  That kind of attention to detail is so wonderful to have.  One of those “must consider” things when picking vendors!

…and now, I’m starving!

Happily sharing photos of a letterpressed wedding invitation I designed over a year ago for friends and former co-workers.  This is a perfect example of work that has sat in a sad little pile in the corner of my home office before it was re-organized (promise to share more details and photos of that adventure in a later post).  Now it’s wonderfully at my fingertips and begging to be photographed.  So here it is!

The happy couple had settled on a Portland, Maine wedding – perfect since the bride grew up there. The groom’s family, all from New Jersey, had never been to Maine.  They wanted the invitation to present iconic Maine imagery that would get all their guests excited about the idea of traveling north for their nuptials, but also wanted the overall look to remain classy and a bit more traditional.

A stately lighthouse image graced the invitation, while cute sand pipers and of course, the ubiquitous lobster were used to tie the whole “Maine” theme together on accompanying cards.  To keep the overall look subtle and more traditional, I used a soft gray and sharp black color palette against thick cotton paper.  Even the simplest design looks regal in the letterpress printing medium, don’t you think?

Perhaps my favorite part of this invite though was the quote provided by the couple.  Emblazoned right across the top of the invitation, it reads “You work, you play and then one day…love just happens!”  – the perfect sentiment for a couple who’d been friends and worked together for years before Cupid struck!

You might recall a few weeks ago I posted about an event I was taking part in called Bubbles & Bling.  It turned out to be a super fun, intimate evening with some great area vendors, brides-to-be,  yummy champagne at Solas and to die for bridal fashion from TreBella Bridal.  I was flattered to be asked to style the private dining room at Solas into a chic, modern rehearsal dinner space.  Thanks to the fab Martha Manning, the whole thing was captured to share with you today.

The evening started out on Solas’ new, retractable roof covered deck (so awesome…now you can have cocktails up there all winter long!)  Some of TreBella’s new dresses were on full display as the models weaved their way in and out of the roof top cabanas.  I loved this set up.  It let you get right up close to the dresses and even touch them if you wanted.  So much better than looking longingly from afar like at most fashion shows.

After some yummy champagne cocktails and dress gawking, the party moved downstairs where Bailey’s Jewelry had a gorgeous display of bling for everyone to “oooo” and “aaaah” over.  Cinda’s Creative Cakes provided an equally bejeweled and delicious cake.  A few more models floated through the party, even stopping for a minute to pose in the rehearsal dinner space your’s truly pulled together for the event.

In keeping with the very modern aesthetic of the space, I really wanted the room be pretty, not overly “done” and utilizing as much of Solas’ existing inventory as possible.  Anyone can design an over the top space using all rented pieces but since the goal of the event was to display the space to brides-to-be as a chic alternative for your private dining events, I wanted to use as much of what they already had on hand as possible.  Two long 12′ tables provided seating for 24 guests with plenty of room left over for a loungey seating area.  You could easily nix this area in exchange for more tables if your party required more seating. To work with the existing black, white and red colors in the room, I decided to make jewel toned purple my main inspiration.  Simple white satin linens, crystal beaded chargers and purple napkins were all provided by CE Rentals.  I love the pop of color that the purple napkins give the table. Everything else was provided by Solas and available for use at any event you host there.

I collaborated with TreBella Flowers on the floral elements of the table design.  Simple white and purple orbs of the ever budget friendly carnation look modern and chic in this setting, adding just the right amount of texture.  I added a bit more “bling” with some crystal-encrusted tea light and candle holders throughout.

This was such a fun event!  A huge thank you to the folks at Solas for letting me get involved and to the lovely ladies at TreBella for pulling me into the mix.  I loved meeting so many brides-to-be and hearing first hand what they’re looking for, what challenges they’re running into, etc.  Writing the blog is great but actually talking to you ladies is 100x better!

And of course, this whole post wouldn’t exist without the phenomenal work of Martha Manning.  Not only is she super talented but she’s honestly so stinkin’ nice, it hurts.  If you are still on the hunt for a photographer or have just recently gotten engaged, do yourself a favor and call Martha.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

You already know White Thread is all about celebrating the incredible weddings that take place throughout the Carolinas AND the uber-talented vendors that make those events possible.  Which is why I was so excited to see the fantastic duo of Millie Holloman Photography and event designers extraordinaire Salt Harbor Designs featured in a drop dead GORGEOUS series of posts on Style Me Pretty yesterday.  I mean seriously, take a look at these images and try not to swoon…not possible, I swear.

This was part of Style Me Pretty’s new Inspiration to Reality series and I am SO happy that some fantastic Carolina vendors get to show their stuff on a national stage.  Maybe I’m biased, but this is definitely my favorite resulting “reality” yet.

Ladies, you outdid yourselves on this one!  There is so much eye candy here, I can’t stand it.  Get over to Style Me Pretty for the full series of posts, including many more pictures and a full listing of the awesome vendors that made this shoot possible.