Hello gorgeous things!   Today’s post comes with a warning… your week’s about to get a whole lot brighter!!

But before we dive into the deliciousness, it’s time to get serious just for a minute.  A few months ago Reshmi Bennett, macaron Queen at Anges de Sucre, got in touch to tell me about a very special project.  Earlier this year Reshmi’s close friend Nina tragically died of cancer at the young age of 27.  In memory of Nina, Reshmi has created a limited edition collection of macarons inspired by Nina’s fun and vibrant personality and has chosen to support Macmillan Cancer Support with donations and cocktail & macaron pairing events.  What an amazing friend!  I’m sure this is a subject close to many of your hearts too, and hope you’ll all show your love & support in any way you can.

The collection features seven macarons with a playful array of flavours inspired by cocktails such as the Cosmopolitan, Mojito and Pina Colada and displayed in a limited edition giftbox. Each macaron is crafted with fresh fruit and fine liqueurs.  To showcase the collection, and inspire you with unique and colourful ideas for your wedding, Reshmi coordinated this stunning shoot along with a team of fabulous suppliers including Anneli Marinovich Photography, Boutique Blooms, Berinmade and Always Andri.

Reshmi explains more ~

The shoot was inspired by my memories of Nina’s bright sunny personality and our friendship   She was such a fan of cocktails and good times, it seemed befitting to put together a collection that is as fun and colourful as she was.  We enjoyed quite a few cocktails together on which the flavours of the macaron range is based!  We used bright, bold, bountiful colours and a look that could be relevant to any occasion, be it a backyard BBQ or a laid-back wedding reception!

An inviting and playful visual ‘feast’ was what was intended- the colours, the layout, the spread centred around the macaron tower with Posh Pops dotted around. It’s a Casual ‘Come! Don’t be shy and dive right in!’ sort of affair!  I based the bright colours on the various vivid cocktails to which we also added a bit of ‘oomph’ and personal touches through hint of bronze and bold black and white stripes (which came from one of my Halloween costumes as Beetlejuice!).

Jodie completely understood how to let the cocktails and the macarons play centre-stage while accentuating and lifting the scene with the right blooms. It was so essential to have the flowers to make the table look ‘festive’. She also played with the fresh fruit that were used for the cocktails, halved and cut in discs, and added them to the floral arrangements to literally make it jump out all zesty!

Erin is not only a fabulous stationery designer when it comes to all things wedding, she’s also a fabulous packaging designer. Before the shoot, I had a rough play with Pinterest, gathering inspiration, but it was only really when Erin came up with the design of the Limited gift box that the theme took shape: the Beetlejuice stripes, the cocktails, bright discs in ‘watercolour’ effect loosely translating as droplets of cocktails. We also had laser cut lettering signs that work brilliantly as toppers and labels!

Carole Heffernan, Local Fundraising Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support, thanked Anges de Sucre for its contribution, saying, “Macmillan Cancer Support provide emotional, financial, and practical help to the 2 million people living with a cancer diagnosis in the UK today. Last year our benefits service reached 95,000 people across the UK in need of financial advice, our healthcare professionals gave 527,068 people much needed face to face support and we gave £10.7 million in grants to over 31,716 people affected by cancer. 97% of our income comes from loyal and committed supporters, such as Anges de Sucre and without their support we would not be able to continue the work that we do.”

Macarons are a perfectly pretty addition to any wedding or event, whether a tower or favour, favour or gift, and an extra-special way of honouring anyone who’s lives have been affected by this devastating disease.  #MacaronsforMacmillan is set to be launched in October 2013 and will be available for purchase from www.angesdesucre.com

Join us this afternoon for a few fun DIY & styling tips from floral designer Jodie of Boutique Blooms