Eksquisite Design Blog

Photo by Rochell Mort

The cake stand is one of those little wedding details that for me was a pain to figure out. I wanted something cute and custom, but all of the options I found online were WAY more than I wanted to spend. I looked into renting one, but the ones available to rent were not my style – too ornate and blinged out.

This is one of the details that is the perfect DIY project, since the odds that you will use it again are probably pretty slim (especially if you had a rather large cake, like I did). I found my inspiration via this tutorial from The Martha.

I wish I had some better photos of our process, but this is basically how we did it:

Tory’s dad got us a hunk of 1/2″ plywood and used a jigsaw to cut it into a circle 1″ or so larger than the base of our cake (the bottom layer was 16″). We then primed and painted it white. I found some really cute knobs at Anthropologie that I wanted to use as legs to give the stand a little height. Tory pre-drilled some holes in the bottom (5 of them) and screwed the knobs in. I hot glued a ribbon around the edge, and viola! A cheap, cute, custom cake stand was ours!

Here’s another really cute DIY cake stand option, from Design*Sponge, especially if you plan on having several smaller cakes, or a selection of desserts:

I love the rustic look of this cake stand made from a lazy susan, an Ikea planter and twine from Brick City Love:

Here is another (adorable) DIY rustic cake stand idea from Once Wed:

I also like this idea using wooden finials and furniture parts from the hardware store to make an elegant cake stand, from the kitchn:

Or, if cakes are not really your thing, here is an adorable DIY tutorial for a wedding cupcake stand from Once Wed:

There a ton of ideas out there for DIY cake stands. Get creative, save some dough, and get the look you want by making your own!

One of my favorite things about receiving my issue of Real Simple every month, is checking out the AMAZING paper sculptures by Matthew Sporzynski that accompany it. In honor of the magazine’s 10th Anniversary (yay!), Real Simple has put together a gallery of these amazing works of paper art. Here is a sample of what’s to be seen:

Isn’t it amazing how he takes everyday objects and turns them into art? Many more photos of the sculptures here.

Photos by Monica Buck

I could look at these photos of beautiful cupcakes ALLLL DAY! (until I get really hungry, that is)

I want to try: Banana Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting (Cupcake 6), Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Marshmallow Frosting (Cupcake 8), and Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and Meringue Frosting (Cupcake 23). YUM!!!

Which one would you make first?

Photos from Ming Makes Cupcakes

Well, folks…this is it! My final post of wedding recaps/photos. Goodness gracious, me oh my, it has taken me forever, and I apologize about that. Tory and I have been married almost 7 months! Unbelievable. Without further ado….here are our parting shots!

Here’s a pic of my mama fixing my hairdo

My brother, the wonderful and talented Isadore:

He and his dad (Dale) played a live version of a Band of Horses Song (I Go To the Barn Because I Like…)

Husband and wife.

Tory and I love to play board games and trivia, so we decided to do a version of ‘The Shoelywed’ game. The game entails the two of us sitting back to back with one ‘his’ shoe and one ‘hers’ shoe. Our DJ then asked us a series of silly questions, like “Which one of you is the better driver,” “Which one said I love you first,” etc. and you hold up the corresponding shoe. It was fun and our guests seemed to enjoy it

We were on the same page with most of the questions…

Prepping for the toasts…

My mom went first. You can read her entire toast here.

Here’s the best man, Sean giving his toast.

The Maid of Honor, Sandra wishing us a wonderful honeymoon….OPA!!!

Tory gave a lovely toast about love and thanked our guests…

He and his mother had the first dance. They danced to The Beatles “In My Life.”

Tory and I having our first dance. We began with Etta James’ “At Last” (a classic!).

Then, because we both LOOOOVE Pulp Fiction, we surprised everyone by segueing into a John & Uma style version of Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.”

And everyone danced…

I lOVE this shot!

It was basically the best day ever.

All photos in this post by Rochelle Mort.

My BFF Sandra and I drove down to Berkeley on April 17th to catch the premier of a fascinating documentary about street art, Exit Through The Gift Shop. We didn’t know too much about the film other than that we were intrigued by the trailer.

Here’s an excerpt from the review by Rolling Stone:

Exit Through the Gift Shop, a title that tilts wittily at the commercialization of the underground, only sounds nuts. The wild ride of a film, narrated with mock seriousness by Rhys Ifans, sees the art world as a circus, taking in the nut jobs and the celebrated likes of Shepard Fairey, Neckface, Swoon and Banksy himself. We watch in shock and awe as Guetta reinvents himself as the artist Mr. Brainwash, fooling the media and himself in the process. Or maybe not. The line between making guerrilla art and selling out has never blurred more provocatively.

If it’s playing in a city near you, definitely check it out…it was well worth our drive (great music, too)!