Jamie and Niall's wedding cakescape

Ok, so I've said before, I get some pretty great brides. But Jamie; she takes the cake. (yeah, I went there) And I've also said before that I love it when I get to work in tandem with Erin; that rocks too. Jamie was awesome. One of the most - no scratch the "one of" - she was the most easy going, happy to be getting married, can't wait to party, puts her trust in the ones she's hired brides I have ever had the privilege to design for. And after a year of being booked, when it came time for final confirmations she (like most brides who book me a year ahead) had some changes in mind. She no longer wanted the huge, over the top cake that she thought she had wanted. That's so outdated, now is the time for simple elegance - I'm pretty sure that's what she was thinking anyway.

Well, so how do you do simple elegance on a grand scale? Still be over the top without doing waaaay too much? Let me show you! You do a cakescape. A display of complimenting cakes, tiered or not tiered, making up a beautiful table full of edible bliss. I love this look. And it really is a great way to incorporate several ideas when it's too hard to pinpoint a design.

For example, Jamie loved so many different elements but putting them on one cake would have been so busy. The scroll work would have really clashed with the petite dot to dot replicating the motif from one of her custom invitation suite items. And that would be where Erin comes in. She supplied me with the approved and 2nd choice pieces she designed for Jamie and Niall, and I reproduced them in sugar. The crissy-crossy ribbon straps inspired by her save the dates would have been too much to combine with the angular detail from the bodice of her dress...on one cake, but but doing 3 cakes I could incorporate most of the things she loved and as shown in the shots below, it totally works.

Thanks Jamie and Niall, for choosing me to be part of your memories...it was a joy!

Simply Beautiful

This morning's wedding cake couldn't have been simpler, and isn't it wonderful how sometimes simple is just stunning? I have often had a bride say to me that her tastes are "plain Jane", I prefer the term "simplistic elegance" don't you?

The bride left absolutely beautiful roses with crystals on the table for me to adorn the cake tiers, and scattered petals for the table. The deep, rich red is the perfect contrast to the subtle off-white of my fondant on this red velvet and white wedding cake. I hope to see pictures of the cutting to see the play on red and white just a little more with their first slice removed from the cake.

Thanks to the couple for letting me be part of their memories...Congratulations Janet and Aaron! and Dillon and Caylob too!

Behind the scenes...

Then there were Chandra and Mike. Sigh. The sheer size and majestic magnitude of their reception wowed many a guest I'm sure. The collection of vendors selected were among the best of the best in the area and we were proud to be part of it. We wish this fab doctor duo a lifetime of happiness and we hope they truly enjoyed their cake and truffle boxes; enough for 260 or so...it was indeed a labor of love to maintain the stamina to complete the important task. The florals and centerpieces were done by one of my favorites; Dan McCann of Five Seasons Floral in Fayetteville. Stunning only begins to describe the vision that he turned into a reality that seemed effortless. Having been there during the almost chaotic set up, I can tell you that his team even made it LOOK effortless, though I know it was not. Often even I don't get the chance to see the work behind the scenes, usually I arrive after the room is set but before guests enter - sometimes just before and I get to see the smiles as I leave the venue and the loved ones gather. This time, I got to see the hard work and sweat that is behind the beautiful vision, and was lucky enough to see Chandra's heartfelt reaction to all that work as well.

If you know my preferences for cake design, you know I'm not partial to fresh flowers anywhere near my cakes. I make few exceptions to this rule I have; I have been known to individually wrap the stem of each and every flower that is inserted into my cake. And I do the placement. My cakes are not the canvas for the florist, hopefully the cake plays a large part in your decor and at the very least it can stand on it's own not needing any help from the florist. The other exception is based on the florist you use. One of whom I welcome is Dan. As you can see...Chandra's cake was in fact the towering showpiece it was largely due to Dan. To cut to the chase, at one point after laying each beautiful stem one by one with his direction to get me started I turned and said to him "Dan, I can't see the cake anymore, does that mean I am done?" The cake was just right. Even though you could barely see it. But it was a vision, and hopefully it met Chandra's vision of the perfect cake.

Thank you Chandra and Mike for choosing us to help in making your vision a reality.