We present designer cakes and beautiful wedding flowers inspired by the art of glassblowing. Glass artist Jean Pierre Canlis, better known as J.P., is passionate about his work. "Through my artwork, I have a strong desire to push both my technical and conceptual abilities. My technical background in glassblowing allows me to push the traditional boundaries of the material to the point where it takes on a new identity," says Jean Pierre. After college, he honed his craft at Dale Chihuly's famous studio in Seattle, where he experienced Chihuly's practice of using teams to create amazing large scale sculptures composed of multiple parts. J.P. enjoys the challenge of both large residential installations and smaller, precious sculptures. His desire to share his talent and art led to a new line of wedding glass. 

J.P.'s wife Leigh works together with him in Honolulu at their eponymous studio Canlis Glass. "Our first wedding favor project was for two dear friends. We created 375 hand blown glass flowers to match the bride's yellow diamond. The couple displayed the pieces at the entrance of the ballroom with tags tied to each indicating the guest's name and table number. They were glorious!" says Leigh. Since that first wedding, they have created many more favors and champagne flutes for weddings, always catering to the personal tastes of the bride and groom. 

Two of Honolulu's most talented floral designers, Debbie Hemingway and yvonne Chapman, collaborated with J.P. and Leigh to create a contemporary version of the tussie mussie. This Victorian bouquet holder is traditionally sterling silver, but J.P. reinvented it in vivid orange blown glass. The smooth matte finish is a result of an acid etch the artist applies once the glass is blown. Dedicated to the smallest details, J.P. created a discreet hole on the back side of the tussie mussie, so the bride and her attendants can enjoy it as a vase for years to come. It means a great deal that each of his glass pieces becomes a wonderful momento of the occasion. "I love to think that the pieces I design will be appreciated and used to celebrate the marriage of two people," says J.P. 

Yvonne Chapman carefully arranged yellow cymbidium orchids around the table in a pattern to mimic the waves of the opaque red hurricane lanterns. The waves on the hurricanes are a sand-carved design amber in color, which glows beautifully when the candles are lit within. To accompany the hurricane lanterns, J.P. created smaller asymmetrical vases in copper ruby to grace each place setting. The vases can be presented to wedding guests as extravagant wedding favors. 

A whimsical wedding cake of bright yellow rolled fondant is playful and yet elegant. The candy-colored blown glass flowers are a striking contrast to the fondant. Carmen Emerson-Bass designed this cake using tools to cut out the subtle flowing shapes as a complement to the flowers. The intense colors of the blown glass reflect the tropical flowers so abundant in the islands. These same flowers can be designed in a larger size for bridesmaids to carry in lieu of a traditional bouquet. The stem is curved to wrap gracefully around the wrist and opens into a beautiful flower that won't fade over time. 

Cake designer Carmen Emerson-Bass was called upon to create one of her extraordinary masterpieces to complement blown glass leaves in striking orange and chartreuse. The smooth-as-silk white fondant cake is detailed with woven lauhala at the bottom of each tier. Ever the master of detail, Carmen carefully sculpted each piece of lauhala out of rolled fondant and imprinted the details to mirror its genuine counterpart. She then wove the individual strips together to look like a basket. J.P. created hand blown champagne flutes in a more subtle shade of green as a lovely accent to the cake. 

Glass by Jean Pierre Canlis

Cakes by Carmen Emerson-Bass

Flowers by Yvonne Chapman + Debbie Hemingway