SWEETLY SWING (above)
Floral and Design: Lilla Bello Floral Artistry and Event Styling
Cake: Jin Patisserie
For this light and airy cake display, Toby Kassoy of Lilla Bello in Santa Monica took inspiration from the blush-hued cake by Jin Patisserie in Culver City. The three-tiered butter confection features delicate handsculpted sugar camellias, roses and bellflowers for a sense of romance. Kassoy balances this sentiment by keeping the display clean and contemporary with metallic lacquer trays suspended from the ceiling by vibrant velvet ribbons in shades of turquoise, aquamarine and smoky blues. Sea glass vases on the upper tier, accented with brightly hued pansies, poppies, cyclamen and tulips, add a subtle hint of color and whimsy. A beautiful green flint glass cake stand is the final touch.
Metallic trays and sea glass vases: West Elm, Ribbons: Lilla Bello, Cake stand: Sur La Table
GARDEN SONG
Design: Event of the Season
Cake: The Butter End Cakery
Flowers: Flora Vida
“While I love a good antique, it’s special pieces that give the design warmth and have meaning,” says Kelly Clark Leonard of Santa Barbaras’ Event of the Season. To illustrate this goal, Leonard suggests including beloved items and cherished heirlooms such as vintage books sourced from the couple’s bookshelves, pretty pickle jars or an antique cake stand. “I love marrying metallic pieces that have a history and an interesting story with nature,” adds Leonard. “I love lush garden flowers, vines and draped greenery.” A rose and pepper berry-swathed chandelier hangs atop the collection of smooth-coated cakes covered in white rolled chocolate and hand-painted with edible gold dust and handmade sugar gardenias. “When I do a collection of cakes, I always think of pleasing Tim Gunn,” explains Kimberly Bailey of Santa Monica’s The Butter End Cakery. “I want each cake to stand on their own, but together add up to magic.”
Cake stands: The Butter End Cakery, Marble table: Triunfo Creek Vineyards, Chandelier: Lighten Up, Vintage books: The Butter End Cakery and Santa Monica Flea Market
The main cake features lyrics from the Johnny Cash and June Carter duet “As Long as the Grass Shall Grow.” The collection of mini cakes feature a hand-painted finish created from four edible gold luster dusts mixed with lemon extract. Each cake is set atop a unique stand, including an antique cake dome, gold candlestick, rustic wood and vintage books. The tall gold mini cake boasts a knifed buttercream and handmade sugar gardenia. Florals in soft hues of pink scabiosa, white lavender with pink and white spray roses are punctuated by chocolate cosmos and burgundy dahlias.
VINEYARD GLAMOUR
Event Design: Sterling Engagements
Cake: Fantasy Frostings
Flowers: Celadon and Celery
“I wanted to create a cake with a view,” says Alexandra Rembac of Los Angeles’ Sterling Engagements. A wooden canopy asymmetrically draped with sunset-hued peonies and eucalyptus sets the scene for the black-and-floral cake designed by Fantasy Frostings in Pasadena. Rustic vineyard accents such as a wine barrel cake table and peony-filled vintage bottles and vases suspended from the structure mingle with a glamourous mirrored tabletop, crystal cake stand and chandeliers. The poem “Love is” by Amanda Hill, printed on a sunset-hued canvas and angled in the corner, adds a romantic touch.
Chandelier and canopy: A Rental Connection, Custom designed scroll: Prim and Pixie, Cake stand: Fantasy Frostings, Vintage bottles and vases: Pretty Vintage Table, Mirrored Tabletop: Sterling Engagements
