Beautiful Dessert Table

Merci New York and Poppies & Posies created the most beautiful wedding inspiration design. Their creativity and thoughtful attention to detail was celebrated today on Design Sponge. Congratulations Ladies!



It is so refreshing to see a new take on a dessert table! I am beyond thrilled to share these sweet treats:







Be sure to check Design Sponge for the rest of the amazing images.

Photography by Oh, Darling! Photography
Florals & Tablescape Design by poppies & posies floral and event design
Couture Gift & Dessert Table by Merci New York
Catering by Stuart & Welch
Cupcakes by tu-lu’s bakery


Sierra and Juliet of Poppies and Posies were also featured on Daily Candy Weddings today, what a day!

All this recognition is so well deserved, I am happy to help my friends spread their good news!

Ice Cream Truck

We had ice cream appreciating temperatures, yesterday so it's only appropriate that the Good Humor man and his dessert truck be my pick for favorite new (to me, at least) vendor at the New York Magazine Wedding Show last night.

It was a great event, crowded, congested but in the best way possible. I heard there were 900 rsvps this year vs. 500 last year, great news for the wedding industry and a sign that the economy is improving!

This ice cream service would add a whimsical element to a summer, beach, tented, barn or outdoor wedding. Want a chipwich? No problem, they are happy to personalize the presentation, too. Imagine having this as a surprise to guests as they leave your reception? What a sweet ending!

Stay tuned for more from the event, soon!



Photo credit: Jen Huang Photography

Bridal Event at BAM

On Sunday, my business was represented amongst the finest Brooklyn wedding vendors at the first ever Here Comes the Brooklyn Bride at BAM. I collaborated with amazing businesses to create a table that offered couples sophisticated and sweet; something for all their senses.

Brooklyn Academy of Music is a stunning venue, for those interested in getting married in New York. Great Performances is their exclusive caterer. Shaun did an amazing job coordinating this event.

My table showcased many of my fabulous weddings via slide show and photo books on a table dressed in chocolate and lilac linens.

Baked in Red Hook provided the sweetest aspect of my table. The chocolate cloud, chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies were as good as they look here.

Kerry of Root, Stock and Quade was so kind to provide me with this beautiful flower arrangement that brought my table to life. There were two kinds of tulips, false aurelia and stock in dark and light plum in a bamboo cylindrical vase.

There was a suite of Ana Dolan's design work on hand for couples to see. Her elegant invitation, program, table name and place card which were displayed in a bowl of rice were admired by many! Ana created all the signs for the table and the thank you cards that we sent home with visitors.

Brilliant wedding photographer, Robert Wagner, was so very kind to come and document the details for me.

It was a great day! I loved talking to newly engaged couples, saw some old friends and met excellent new vendors.

Thanks to all the vendors who were so incredibly generous with their talents, products, skills and time. They helped me create a classy yet comfortable table that represented my company well.

Special thanks to Gabrielle, Beth and Jessie. Gabrielle helped me develop the vision of this table, she has an incredible knack for bringing it all together in a matter of minutes. Beth helped me manage the logistics and her presence at my table on Sunday allowed me to spend more time talking to couples. Jessie was there at the end and helped me wrap it all up. I am so grateful to you all!

Tomorrow, I'll share more beautiful details from the day.

The Wedding Party Recap

The Wedding Library did not disappoint. The Wedding Party at the spectacular Palace Hotel was lovely and offered the New York bride-to-be excellent resources for planning her wedding.

Here are some highlights from the day:


Sweets by One Girl Cookie! The next time you're Brooklyn bound, a visit to this shop is in order, it's one of the prettiest stores on the street. For the sake of the blog, I tried the caramel bar, which was of course delicious.



I met Matthew Robbins, who has been featured as part of Martha's "A Team." His designs are well known and highly regarded in the wedding industry. I am happy to report that he couldn't have been kinder. I am thrilled when people's personalities match the quality of their work.



Colin Cowie is an event genius, he always delivers the best information. Vera Wang's gowns gave me goosebumps. I was thrilled to see so many new vendors showcasing their work. I'll share more as I follow up with the talented individuals I met today, but Jen Huang was so gracious to send these images in such a timely matter, I wanted to share them with you right way.

In case you can't tell, I love my job, i do, i do, i do!

I hope you're having a great weekend!


Photo Credit: Jen Huang Photography

Happy Valentine's Day

I love that I am still enchanted by the treasures of New York City. After ten years of exploring, I am still surprised to discover new streets.

After a great morning, I met the Luscious Diva at Madeleine Patisserie. What a divine Chelsea locale. It's precious, the coffee is served on silver trays with a french accent and then you are left to enjoy your conversation in a warm and cozy living room area. Their selection of macarons is phenomenal. After an insightful and inspiring discussion about dating, life and love we parted ways. Headed to the Meatpacking District, walking south on Ninth Avenue, near 20th Street I was stopped by unfamiliar storefronts that oozed with charm.


Three Tarts is great for shopping- they have darling and unique gifts . It is an excellent stop if you want to bring something sweet home, too. Their treats are beautiful and perfectly packaged. Want to sit? Their handcrafted miniature parfaits (pictured above) maybe provide incentive to stay.

Like charming French décor, qui? Check out La Cafetiere. They celebrate the values of elegance, tradition and finesse. They have cutlery, linen, lighting and more.

Remember the furry and loyal friend waiting for you at home. The folks at The Barking Zoo were wonderful and threw in extra heart shaped dog treats for my furry valentine!

Cocoa V is a vegan chocolate boutique and wine cafe. Vegan or lactose intolerant individuals will appreciate all the dairy free options like signature "milk" chocolate truffles, almond toffee, chocolat covered caramel popcorn and pillowy marshmallows.

What a sweet strip of the city. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon of window shopping.



Whether you are in love, looking for love, loving the one you're with or simply just love love, i hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day.

xo

Tammy




Photo credit: Images courtesy of Three Tarts and text courtesy of: Chocolate Bar.

Valentine's Day Dessert Table

Amy Atlas's dessert tables offer me and so many others a source of inspiration. I am happy to share her very sweet Valentine's Day dessert table. Amy was featured on a local television program yesterday walking viewers through the items she chose and offering some secrets to well designed dessert displays. You can see it here.

I was co-hosting a bridal bling party a few weeks ago and wanted all the desserts to sparkle. While shopping at the infamous New York Cake and Baking on West 22nd Street, I was fortunate to find an excellent sales person to help me. I told her I was planning to create edible bling. I asked her if she had heard of Amy Atlas, because I wanted to design a table with her in mind and was looking for the right elements. The sales women asked my name and said why would you want to be anything but yourself. Such wisdom in an unexpected place, with that said, it's great to get inspiration from all over, but when planning your next party or event, be true to yourself, your guests will appreciate it.

Photos are courtesy of Amy Atlas's blog Sweet Designs.

International Eye Candy- A Brazilian Wedding

Brazilian weddings are very similar to weddings in the United States. They are more formal than some and tend to go on later into the evening.

A dear friend is Brazilian by marriage and recently attended the wedding of her brother-in-law. Knowing how I appreciate the details, she asked her husband to take these pictures. What inspiration! While there are many similarities between the cultures, I absolutely appreciate the different look to this event. I love the rustic elegant decor showcased in these photographs.



The table setting. I love the wood table, no linen look.






The dessert table.







The wedding cake reflects the couple, her Louis Vuitton Bag, his law books (in Portuguese, of course) The couple honeymooned in Paris.

Congratulations to Denise and Alexandre!

Best Kid's Party of 2009

As I look back on 2009 with enormous pride and joy, I am grateful for the abundance of professional opportunities I have had in the last twelve months. I also realize while I have offered bits and pieces of some of my most memorable events, I have not thoroughly shared the beautiful images and details of them. As we begin to bid farewell to the year, please join me as I showcase some of the best events I have had the privilege to plan and coordinate in 2009.

Andrew’s Third Birthday Train Party

There was never a question of what the theme of this party would be, as this three year old boy is deeply committed to his train tracks, engines and play regime. While Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite, his mom wanted the party to be personal, creative and thoughtful.


The information on the invitation was thorough, yet presented in a creative verse. This set the tone for the party and gave guests an idea of what to expect.


The wooden train glued to the loot bag was purchased pre-cut at a craft store (they have many other non train options) and gives the bag a clean and natural look. Painting them at the party was an activity on my rain plan alternative in the case of inclement weather. Each bag had a pin stripped conductor hat, a red bandanna, a wooden train whistle (sorry parents!) an individual box of train shaped cookies and candy.


The play list of train themed songs we created for the party was burned to blank CDs for guests to take home. This is an inexpensive favor or filler for any type of party. The CD cover was customized to coordinate with the invites, loot bags and over all concept of the party.


This activity book was made special for Andrew. It featured trains and his birthday. It was filled with pages to color, mazes, puzzles and photos.


I used Martha Stewart's train punch to make the cardboard trains resting on each miniature cupcake. The cupcakes sat on wooden train tracks surrounding the cookie bouquet. They took main stage so no traditional cake was needed. The birthday candles rested in a deep glass of m&m's. Train lollipops and railroad gum adorned the table. When entertaining in a client's home, I try to use their service pieces when it's appropriate. It seems fitting, but in this case the client's beautiful crystal vases would have been a classic contradiction to this casual kid's birthday party. Instead I found Pellegrino bottles in their recycling. The colors coordinated perfectly!


These are Brigadeiros, traditional Brazilian candies. The young guest of honor is half Brazilian so in honoring his culture these were served with dessert. Made with sweetened condensed milk, they are beyond delicious!

The activities were a train pinata, Put the Conductor in the Train Game and swimming.

Good luck planning your next birthday party!


************************************************************************

Thanks to Andrew and his family for allowing me to help them celebrate this special day. Thank you to fabulous Michigan photographer, Jen Kroll for capturing the details of this birthday party.


What are the fondest birthday memories from your childhood?

Holiday Shopping in New York

New York has answered my holiday shopping woes.

If you do not live here or only visit New York infrequently, I recommend you visit the holiday markets at Bryant Park (they have ice skating, too!), Union Square or Columbus Circle. They offer beautiful, quality and interesting gift items. But for those of us who have lived in the city for a while, we tend to see the same merchandise annually. Of course there are always a few exceptions, for example I know Angela Jia Kim of Om Aroma & Co. has debuted at Bryant Park this year. Over all I was looking for something new, and new is what I got. First I was delighted by the crafts made by Martha Stewart's staff. Then I was equally impressed by the selection of items offered at the Brooklyn Flea. My aim was holiday shopping, the result was more directed by my appetite, but a successful exploration regardless.

Consider yourself a cupcake connoisseur?


Kumquat Cupcakery is another beautiful, delicious and interesting cupcake company that offers bite size sweets decorated with care. They offer wildly out of the box flavors. I brought home a maple bacon and yes there is a big piece of real bacon resting on top of the icing, bourbon caramel and pumpkin. The lemon and lavender cupcakes are stunning and I looking forward to ordering them in the future.



Other tables that got my attention: Bicycle Paintings. The owner is a biker who draws and in combining her passions. The end result is original and creative artwork.



I "invested" in some Liddabit Sweets. They had me at salted caramels and I thought the pretzel beer caramels would make a great gift. I resisted the pumpkin pie candy bar out of principal. $6.75 seemed a liddabit decadent for a small sensation but as you can tell, it's stuck with me and I may need to figure out who is going to get it for Christmas.



Lastly, Moontree Letterpress showcased work at both craft fairs I attended last weekend, the stationery and prints are clean, creative and well designed.



You can check out all the vendors who participate in the Brooklyn Flea here.

Tonight is an after work shopping party from 6-9pm! Other Music is providing the music and beer is compliments of Brooklyn Beer Shop

Pumpkin Pie Alternative

Not so much into the pie?

A dear friend and loyal reader recently asked me for a dessert suggestion to make for Thanksgiving. I thought I'd share the recipe here as well. It's a family and personal favorite.

Pumpkin Roll

Prep: 45 min - Cook: 15 min - Cool: 60 min

CAKE:
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts (optional), chopped

FILLING:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)


FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Makes 10 servings

Note: Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

You can certainly make this in advance and freeze it until you plan to serve it. It's also great if you need to bring a dessert, as it travels well.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

Unforgettable Desserts with The Party Goddess

Last week was a book party celebrating Dede Wilson's "Unforgettable Desserts"! How sweet it was! It was hosted at a precious room in Magnolia Bakery's new Upper West Side location.


Such a classic New York City storefront.




The Nutella sandwich cookies were a huge hit!


Thanks for Laura Baddish (r) of The Baddish Group for inviting me to this delightful party. She introduced me to Marley Majcher (l), THE Party Goddess who was in town planning a celebrity event. She was so lovely and gracious!

Photo Credit: Peter Doyle