A Dessert To Remember

We’ve all been there. You’re at a wedding and it’s time to cut the cake. You turn to see the bride and groom, knife in hand, slicing through a six-tiered cake with white frosting.

Not your style? We didn’t think so.

If you want your reception’s dessert to be as personalized as the rest of your wedding, it’s time to break away from the mold and give your guests one more thing to remember you by.

Cupcakes have been a much buzzed-about trend recently, and provide an easy solution if you’re looking for that “wedding cake” feel without the price tag. A tiered dessert platter and frosting to match your wedding colors make these an exciting end to the reception meal. You could even have a matching mini-cake, to cut and share with your groom!

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Speaking of mini-cakes…

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These cakes definitely make a statement. Give a beautifully decorated cake, in miniature form, to each of your guests. Later, they can brag that they ate an entire wedding cake by themselves.

If ornate mini-cakes are out of your budget, consider something like these simple fruit tarts, or a dessert bar with an assortment of items to choose from. Added bonus: Instead of sitting at tables, guests can stand and mingle while they indulge themselves.

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If you’re open-minded, the possibilities are endless when it comes to wedding desserts. One kid-friendly option: an ice cream sundae bar with all the trimmings. Or if you have an evening reception, serve your crowd assorted small cookies with a shot glass of milk before they head home. Not sure where to start? Call your favorite local bakery and ask for a sampling of what they recommend for a wedding – no cake allowed!

Introducing.... Liz to the Bustle Team!

Hello friends!

As Bustle continues to grow, certain things (ahem... this blog) have had to be put on the back-burner, especially as Bustle's first wedding season kicks into high gear. So... I have decided to recruit some assistance and fresh perspective on weddings and hired an assistant blog writer! Liz Bryant is a fabulous, cheery, wonderful person, and I'm sure you will love her style! [Liz will also be assisting at some Bustle weddings, so keep an eye out for her!] I'm one lucky duck to have her on the Bustle team.

Without further procrastination, here's LIZ!



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Liz graduated from DePauw University in 2006 with a degree in Creative Writing, and currently works in business development for an interior design and architecture firm. She enjoys walking her bulldog through her neighborhood close to downtown, spending time with friends and family, and antique shopping. She is learning a lot about the design industry through her job and now through Bustle Event Design. One of the reasons she loves weddings is because when everything comes together, everyone experiencing the event is fully present in the moment - and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Free Typefaces for DIY Projects

I have always been kind of obsessed with typefaces (most people call them "fonts", but my graphic designer husband always cringes when I say the "f" word, so I'm trying to train myself to use "typeface" instead...).

Example: When I was in high school or college and I had to write a paper, I would spend a good 15 minutes highlighting everything I wrote and changing the typeface a million times, just so I could see what my paper would look like in each style.

I really like "Tahoma"... or maybe "Georgia" looks better... but to be safe, maybe I should just change it back to "Times New Roman"...

Fast forward a few years and I STILL DO THIS on a regular basis. Choosing my default typeface for my e-mail messages in Outlook is like a 2-hour task! :)


If any of you are like me - you know who you are (you're probably the same person that pilfers cool pens at the doctor's office) - you will LOVE the many many FREE typeface options over at DaFont.com.


I am sharing this on the Bustle Blog because you might be undertaking a DIY wedding project that involves words of some sort and you might be looking for a non-standard typeface to use that tells your guests, "Maybe she hired a designer to create this..." A non-Microsoft-Word typeface gives your program/invitation/place cards a more custom look & feel. And they are FREE! It can't get any better than that.

Here are my favorite typefaces from DaFont.com:


Honey Script (for obvious reasons!)




Chopin Script (Sweet & romantic...)





Outlaw (How great at a western/country-themed wedding?!)






Type Keys (Super-cute if you are using a typewriter or typewriter keys anywhere at your wedding!)





My advice is to head on over to DaFont.com and check out all of the categories of typefaces - you can even type in a word (like I did with "Bustle") or phrase so you can "test" how it will look for whatever project you are working on. Have fun!!

UPDATE: My husband schooled me a little bit on what NOT to use these free fonts for. He said that although you can definitely use them to make one/a few words stand out, they should not be used for lots of text (i.e. a long quote, directions, etc). The reason is because most of the font designers over on DaFont.com are not professional designers and don't give consideration to the spacing between letters and other technical things that only a true preofessional would know how/take the time to do. AND, can you imagine how difficult/annoying it would be to read a paragraph of Type Keys (above)??? :)

Bottom Line: Use these special fonts sparingly to make key words stand out. Stick to standard, professionally-designed fonts for longer phrases/paragraphs. Got it? Good.

Etsy Bridesmaid Dresses

I am getting more and more comfortable with the idea of purchasing custom clothing from the craftspeople on Etsy. I mean, I buy things without trying them on ALL THE TIME from online shops. With Etsy, I can even get something custom-made for my measurements - what's not to love about that??

After reading this post from Something Old, Something New on Sarah Seven bridesmaid dresses, I am convinced that every bride in search of the perfect bridesmaid attire should scour Etsy for the perfect dress. Here's what you might find:

Sarah Seven

{Tulip Dress + A Peaceful Afternoon Dress}

Ouma Clothing

{Striped Carnival Party Dress}

Desira Pesta

{Wine Circus Dress}

Amanda Archer Collection

{Pleated Collar Dress}

Unexpected Inspiration

I always love stumbling across pictures, articles, ways of thought, etc, that make me do a double-take. It's those moments that make me realize how rooted we become in tradition and how closed our eyes can be to new ideas. It's funny that such a simple picture can make me "get all philosophical" on you readers, but I think it's important to remove the blinders occasionally. Here's some Monday inspiration for you:





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Sweet Wedding Hair

When I saw this picture over on WeddingBeePro's blog about "Lovely Hair", I just had to share:

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I love how her hair is softly wavy and tied up in a simple, sweet bow. And it's not "perfect" - see the bumps?? I think this adds to the prettiness of the hairdo. This style would be so fitting for a casual outdoor picnic or beach wedding. Or even for a formal wedding - I'm not a huge fan of saying "this style is perfect for this, but not that" - it's your wedding and if you want to wear this style to a formal wedding, then DO IT!

Here are some other related styles that I love (all found on Brides.com's hair style picture gallery):

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I love this bride's curly, wispy hair - and her fabulous double-stranded headband. You can find a similar hair accessory over on the Handmade Lovelies Etsy shop!

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Again, I ADORE these loose waves! If only my hair would stay curled, I could one day achieve this look... but for those of you whose hair does hold a curl - this would be a super-sweet wedding hair style and I'm insanely jealous that you have the option to wear your hair like this. :)

Here's one more for all of you short-hair brides:

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How great is that fascinator?! What a perfect hair accessory.

Simple, Modern Cakes

Lately, I've been doing a lot of cake tastings with my clients and looking at BUNCHES of potential cake designs. Luckily for me, researching cake designs is quite possibly one of my most favorite things to do in life! :) My personal philosophy on cake design is that an understated cake design is timeless and the real star of the cake should be its flavor. However, that's just me. You might be more of an overstated kinda couple and want a fabulous, Ace of Cakes-like cake... and that's cool! Do what works for you and what is reflective of your wedding style.

When I look through pictures of cakes, my eye is immediately drawn to the simpler, plain styles that look slightly modern. This type of design will probably end up being less expensive than more elaborate, heavily-decorated designs - so if your budget is limited, go with a simply-designed cake!

Here are a few of my favorite cakes from ProjectWedding.com (click on image to enlarge):



{Top row: White modern cake with satin ribbon, White whimsy cake with rosettes, Light green & white textured cake; Bottom row: White smooth cake with rose topper, White square cake with brown ribbon, White square pink poppy cake}