In doubt of a colour palette? Laduree for inspiration March 3, 2009

The start of the wedding season is soon upon us.  Brides, grooms and their wedding planners will be frantically making last minute decisions to ensure every charger is laid straight on the table, every petal is in full bloom and every favour is standing ready in its basket. 

For those of you who are commencing the planning process and have some time on your hands to sit back and digest all the upcoming decisions over your breakfast tea, I urge you to check out Laduree’s (Paris) website for colour palette inspiration.  If you read this blog regularly, you know I have a thing for macarons.  Laduree’s products are so stunning that they cross over from afternoon treat to event palette inspiration.  That’s right, I said that a dessert can inspire an entire event.

Here are some of my favourite colour combinations:

Pink and brown with an accent of lime green

Laduree Macarons (photo from Tartine Gourmande)

 Peach, creme with an accent of turquoise/bright blue

Laduree Macarons (photo from Such Pretty Things)

Earth Tones: Green, brown with an accent of orange

Laduree Macarons (photo from WenDaLicious)

For more posts on Laduree, the store, the macarons, the colours, the flavours and everything else wonderful about the Parisian brand click here, here and here for inspiration.

Les Macarons- not to be confused with Macaroons January 3, 2009

Pronounciation differences have been the brunt of many jokes and the source of much amusement- potato/potato/tomato/tomato.  However, there is one pronounciation difference that I would like to clear up for event entertaining and design purposes- the difference between macaron and macaroons.  Macaron and macaroon are not the same thing.

Macaroon: North American coconut macaroons are dense, moist, sweet, and often dipped in chocolate. They are piped out onto a baking sheet with a star tip to create a Hershey Kiss type shape.  Today, coconut macaroons are most commonly associated with the Jewish holiday, Passover, and has convoluted multi-cultural roots (Italian/French) dating back to the 16th century. Very yummy, sweet, good with tea and I limit myself to eating them once a year.

Here is a picture of a Macaroon: 

Macaron:  Traditional french pastry made of egg whites, ground almonds and icing sugar dating back to the 18th century France.  Macaon are colourful, round, sandwich pastries often filled with chocolate ganache, flavoured buttercream or fruit puree.  They are delicious, creative, little treats that can beatifully enhance an event.

Here are a few pictures of macaron:

Now for the creative element- whether you are hosting an afternoon tea, bridal shower, product launch, wedding or any themed event, macaron can be flavoured or coloured to accentuate any party.  Think of accessorizing a room with pillows to give a certain feel/warmth to a space, macaron can do the same for a party.  Only, they are tastier than pillows.

Here are some beautiful event usages and ideas for macaron.

from Martha Stewart Weddings magazine

Where to find macaron around the world (some of my favourites):

Le Gouter Bernardaud (Hong Kong), Paulette (Beverley Hills), Miette (San Francisco), Pierre Herme (Paris), Laduree (Paris), La Bamboche Patisserie (Toronto)