Monday, July 14, 2014

Wedding Cake Brooch

In late May I flew across the country to attend a wonderful family wedding in Annapolis, MD.  Now obviously the bride and groom (Ashley and Daniel - love them!) were the stars of the show but look at the wedding cake:
Simple and Stunning: 55 Brooches adorn this cake 
The cake was a perfect symbol of the entire wedding festivities: simple, stunning and full of love.  After the wedding my cousin (her son was the groom) told me a brief story about the pins/brooches which were attached to the cake and how she wanted to share them with special people.  She spent about 10 months collecting 73 brooches total (55 were on the cake and there were even some in the bride's bouquet!) and last week I was fortunate enough to receive one in the mail.  She enclosed a little note explaining how she picked this one for me because she thought it looked like a quilt pattern. Love it!  
Wedding Cake Brooch - mine was on the cake! 
Albert Weiss "Spinning Stars" 1954 
I had a little fun researching the history of Weiss Jewelry. My cousin shared with me that they were designed by Albert Weiss and his company was founded in New York City in 1942, flourished in the 50's and 60's and ceased operation in 1971. These pieces are called "costume jewelry" but I believe that is an understatement.  They are stunning and there is nothing "costumey" (if that's a word) about them.  I found the following Albert Weiss advertisements in Harper's Bazaar and Vogue from the 50's and 60's to illustrate just how hip this jewelry was in the those decades.  I love how the prices are listed on the advertisements.
Albert Weiss "Renaissance" 1954
Albert Weiss "Aurora Borealis" 1958 Harper's Bazaar


Albert Weiss "Big Pins" 1960 Vogue
It was a great honor to receive the brooch from my cousin and I will make sure to honor it with the memory of a truly special couple, Ashley and Daniel.
Now I need to figure out how I'll wear it!
Ciao~
Susan