My sister gave me free reign for her bridal shower, so apart from collaborating on the menu, I made the most of the opportunity and did all my favorite things - crafting, baking and styling - with the dessert table. The theme? I was inspired by the opening sequence of the FOX show, New Girl. I loved the concept of a set being built. It was playful and fun. I was also influenced a bit by Kate Spade because like Zooey Deschanel’s character, the style is all about glitter, polka dots and stripes.
MENU:
SWEET: Strawberry Patch Lemonade / Green Grape Bunches / Grapefruit Macarons / Mini Cheesecakes / Lemon Curd Tartlets / Madeleines
SAVORY: Proscuitto Wrapped Dates / Caprese Stacks / Cucumber Mint and Chicken Tarragon Tea Sandwiches
The color scheme was gold with a pop of red, a popular color worn by Zooey’s character that was established in the opening with the red dress. I created the photo frame that comes down at the end of the sequence by spray painting and glittering a trifold science display board.
I love these mason jars with gold daisy cut lids. They were filled with strawberry lemonade. The strawberries were hand-picked by me and my sister and after pureeing, we added it to freshly squeezed lemon juice. The red and white striped straw finishes the look.
For more of the red theme, I got bright red gerber daisies and used a large mason jar as a vase. The mason jar not only ties back to the lemonade jars but for fans of the show, it represents the famous “Douche Bag Jar” that Schmidt puts money into.
My sister loves green grapes and we wanted to have something fresh alongside the desserts so we served them in little bucket cups. The “Don’t Be Sour” tag was a nod to one of the most creative wedding receptions, that of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. I drooled over every detail of their food and dessert table shown in their Martha Stewart Weddings magazine feature.
Citrus was a running theme so along with lemonade and grapefruit macarons, we had Meyer lemon curd tartlets with the lemons from our backyard. When there are a lot of food options on the table, I like to incorporate citrus because it’s fresh, palette-cleansing and not too heavy.
More gold decorative accents included these little antique frame place cards that I used to label the food and tie back to the larger hanging frame over the table.
I used gold glitter paint to add color to the wooden utensils.
After the snacks, games and gifts we finished with a little photo shoot using the New Girl hanging photo frame. Guests left with a Kate Spade dot-inspired tote that I hand-painted in gold and scripted in black. The bottom snapshot shows the dotty invitation garland that I sew together. It has a little bit of everything- sparkly gold, red poms and dots.
More how-to’s for the tote bag and invitation to come in my next post later this week! Also check out my inspiration board for the table on Pinterest.
Credits:
Food by Jenn Yee, assisted by Valerie Lu and Olivia Lau
Styling by Jenn Yee
Crafting by Jenn Yee, assisted by Valerie Lu
Photography by Jenn Yee, Marie Fang and Valerie Lu
Deliciously Noted is a food blog documenting my life in San Francisco - eating, baking, meeting artisans and chefs, and my getaways to New York and Paris. Enjoy and leave a comment or two!