wedding dress cake

TRENDSETTING - A Cigar City Inspired Styled Shoot

For this stylized shoot, we wanted to highlight the history of a new venue with an old beginning (a former life as a cigar factory, indicative of the Ybor district of Tampa also known as the "Cigar City"). Our model wore a wedding gown with dramatic ruffles down the back, creating a Flamenco flair. We accented her hair with a Spanish-style rhinestone comb, and styled her makeup with bold red lips and gold-leaf eyeshadow to compliment the event's color palette of moss and gold. To set the tone for our Ybor Cigar Loft shoot, we created old world style invitations set in wooden cigar box 'envelopes'. The table names featured vintage cigar box labels in ornate gold frames. Our escort card display (which doubled as favors) featured mini bottles of whiskey with guests' names written on paper tags. For the cocktail area, we draped tables with tufted champagne linens layered over iridescent moss linens, with cigar boxes of gold mercury glass votives suspended from the ceiling beams as if floating above the tables. The fondant cake featured sugar buttons, a brushed gold fondant ribbon, and a sprig of hydrangea on top. The natural bridal bouquet consisted of ornamental cabbage, seeded eucalyptus, waxflower, palm frawns, and loops of gold wire, which complimented the natural table arrangements aside more gold mercury glass votives and stacked cigar boxes filled with moss and candles. We also uplit the brick walls with amber lighting for extra drama, and created a Cigar Lounge area as well. The result was a gorgeous representation of a historic cigar-themed event.