The annual heart cake photo shoot has become one of my favorite things about Valentine’s Day! It started out as a fun baking project with my BFF Rebecca, who now lives in London, and it has grown into an awesome collaboration with Garlic My Soul and Studio DIY. I’m so grateful to have awesome friends who work together with me to make this giant (and challenging) cake from scratch every year, and who are willing to get up early on a Sunday morning for the sake of being creative. This year’s Heart Cake shoot stars my dear friends Ellen and Aaron, a ridiculously cool graffiti wall by Curtis Kulig, and a slight twist on the heart cake!
How perfect are these balloons? Studio DIY always makes the best props!

This year’s cake is six layers tall! I had a moment of panic after discovering that the four vanilla layers didn’t rise as I had hoped – so Corelyn came up with this brilliant solution! Kelly created this simple but adorable cake topper, and the garland is from Land of Nod!
I loved doing a quick braided updo in Ellen’s hair!
Want to make your own heart cake? Check out the step-by-step directions here on Garlic My Soul!
Naturally we all had to play in front of the wall once I was done shooting!
Our very serious men. They are the best!

To close, one of my favorite pics ever of Mike and I – a great capture by Jeff!
Want to take a look back at the old heart cakes? See our shoots from 2012 here and 2013 here!
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Concept/Photography: Mary Costa Photography
Concept/Cake: Mary Costa Photography & Garlic My Soul
Food Styling: Garlic My Soul
Concept/Crafts: Studio DIY
Models/Real Life In-Love Couple: Ellen Tremiti & Aaron Waltke
Assistants/Awesome Significant Others: Mike Marsoupian, Jeff Mindell, Jeff Hayford
Shoot Coordination Prep: Megan Roy
A shout out to my friend, Cricket, for telling me about this location!