Winter wedding cakes are among some of my favorites. While I do love a delicate flower, or the bright pops of color that adorn spring and summer cakes, it’s the sophistication and whimsy of a winter cake that I adore most. For a winter cake you can choose how “wintry” you want it to be, whether it has subtle hints to the season or it is the theme of the cake.

One of my favorite winter wedding cake looks is white on white. Seeing detail on the cake, but it being in the same color as the cake, looks so sophisticated and it evokes the memories of snow. I love the simple additions of the deer and tree as well as the hanging orbs that make you think of the ends of a wooly hat.

Learn How to Make Ice Shot Glasses Inspired by Quebec’s Hôtel de Glace

I’ve always wanted to go to the Hôtel de Glace in Quebec. In fact, my husband and I had reservations there 11 years ago, but had to cancel because my dad was in the hospital. Thankfully my dad made a full recovery – but we never re-booked. Every winter I gaze longingly at online photos of the Hôtel de Glace. “Maybe next year,” I tell myself. (My six-year old can’t quite understand how we wouldn’t freeze to death  while sleeping on a block of ice.)

I decided to use the hotel’s notorious ice bar as inspiration for this tutorial. I always thought it would be ultra cool to swig back a shot of Grey Goose in an ice shot glass (even though vodka straight up usually makes me shudder.) Hell, even 7-up out of an ice shot glass would be cool.

Making a shot glass out of ice is a cinch. I actually used two flavors of a Kool-aid-like beverage to make these glasses; blue raspberry and blueberry pomegranate. Not only do they make the ice shot glasses a lovely shade of blue, they taste good too. However, they do leave a bit of residual stickiness on your hands. If you don’t want your hands to get sticky, but you still want color, simply add a bit of food coloring to the water.

(You can also purchase molds to make ice shot glasses here.)

Ice Shot Glasses Tutorial

You will need:

• water or Kool-aid like beverage (if you go with the Kool-aid, water it down so it doesn’t end up too sticky)
• 3 oz Dixie cups
• 1 oz plastic cups or Dixie cups
• small rocks
• duct tape

If you are a UK bride  looking for wedding stationery, Bride & Groom has you covered! Bride & Groom’s themes, styles and colour collections make finding wedding invitations for your big day simple.

Having an evening reception, check out Bride & Groom evening wedding invites.

Feeling patriotic? I love this Cool Britannia wedding invitation.

How lovely is this floral invite?

This pocket of love invitation is clean and elegant.

The fuchsia ribbon in these Bride and Groom wedding invites is such a nice touch!

With Bride & Groom, you can feel confident that the items you order are exactly what you want. Not only will you be able to discuss your requirements with experienced staff, you can also see and feel the invitations before you order, choose exactly the wording you want and check the layout and wording online.

Along with wedding stationery, Bride & Groom also offers personalised serviettes, cake boxes and bags, photograph albums and guest books, wedding cameras, balloons, bridal gifts and favours and much, much more!

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Intimate Weddings readers are pretty keen on DIY. In fact, 8 out 10 of our most popular posts in 2011  involve DIY wedding projects! I am an artsy fartsy type, so I’m thrilled that our DIY projects are so well-received. It’s great to have an excuse – and an incentive to jump from one creative project to another.

I’ve rounded up the top ten most popular posts of 2011. Here they are:

1. Glow Jars Tutorial

2. Easy Wedding Program Fans Tutorial

3. Free Wedding Templates: Program Fan

4. Cupcake Wrappers Made from Doilies

5. Tissue Paper Pom Poms for your Wedding

6.  Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups

7. 15 Unique Ceremony Ideas

8. Wedding Table Numbers With Illuminated  Numbers and Monogram

9. 10 Reasons to Have a Small Wedding

10. 25 DIY Wedding Programs

DIY bath salts are probably the easiest and most economical DIY favors known to man, er woman – especially with this bath salts recipe. Talk about bang for your buck! Which of your female guests wouldn’t love a luxurious soak in a tub filled with gorgeous aromas and pure, skin-softening salts?

I especially loved this DIY wedding project because it gave me an excuse to open my potions cupboard. You see, way back when I used to be a soap maker extraordinaire and I still have all of my luscious essential oils tucked away in a cupboard. I jump at any chance to unscrew the lids and inhale deeply:) Aromatherapy indeed!

I think this would be a fabulous shower gift. You could even make up a bunch of different varieties (I made pink grapefruit, bergamot, lime and mint) and have your guests fill their own containers with their desired fragrance. You could call it a ‘spa station’ and offer up other spa goodies, like handmade soap and DIY bath bombs. (This could get expensive, so if you are on a tight budget, the bath salts would be just fine on their own.)

Bath Salts Recipe (Fills two 150 ml containers)

3/4 cup Epsom salts

1/2 cup coarse sea salt

1/4 cup baking soda

8 drops essential oil

food coloring