Wedding Cake

As much as I love to bake and be creative, wedding cakes are not my most favorite part of a wedding. Its just a cake. There is so much more to your wedding day then flour and sugar... there are a lot of people that completely disagree with me, but I just don't get it. Because of that I suggest that if your venue offers to include your wedding cake in your package, go with it. Why spend the extra thousand on a cake?

 I do however think that you should get creative with it!! There are so many more flavors to a cake then just yellow & chocolate. A friend of mine did hers with confetti cake. Why not try red velvet, or a cheesecake? Ive seen peanut butter & jelly centers, canoli, raspberry & mousse & strawberries. My coworker had her wedding last weekend and had chocolate ganache on the outside (the picture above) how cool is that!

Fondont tastes like crap. Fondont is basically the thickest form of sugar & bakers use it so that the outside of the cake can look as perfect as possible. They are able to smooth out the lines and hide imperfections using it, and it definitely gives off a more finished look than buttercream, but tastes awful. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Some things to avoid on your cake.... 1, dark colored icing. Your guests WILL leave with green teeth if you have hunter green icing all over your cake. 2, playing it safe. How boring is a cake when its all ivory, round, and has not pa-zaz. Put some jewels, ribbon, exotic flowers, fireworks (yes i have seen fireworks before) or a unique design on your cake. 3, choosing a design that does not reflect your theme. Your cake should always bounce off your color scheme or theme in general.

A great way to show off you and your finances personality is by choosing a cake topper. Please, do not go to Michael's and buy the $12.95 bride and groom in the plastic box. You can put whatever you want on top! Maybe let your fiancé put in his personality? Here are some examples... Your fiancé is a huge car guy, buy match box cars for the top. Your fiancé is a surfer, buy mini surf boards. Your fiancé is Chinese, put fortune cookies or chop sticks on top. The ideas are endless, just have fun with it.

Table Numbers

A great way to bring your theme or color scheme into your wedding is by dressing up the table numbers! Venues should always have table numbers for you to use, but they are usually very simple and should not stand out by any means!

If you are having a garden party theme, heres a way to bring in your theme...

If you have engagement photos done you can always add text to a photo like this...

Some couples like to use names instead of an actual number. When I worked in Newport couples liked to use different islands that they had sailed to as their table names. Now that I am back in New Jersey, Ive seen a lot of couples use the different beach towns as table numbers too. Maybe you and your fiance are world travelers and want to use each table name to show people where you've been. The ideas are endless, here's one idea...

The most important part of a table number is to 

make sure the number or name is in a BIG font! 

Your guests will be overwhelmed when they walk into the room for the first time so finding their table should not be a difficult task. If you use a font that is really tiny, it can stress some people out. 

Make sure it stands out and is easily readable from across the room. 

Amazing Bouquet

I have never seen a bouquet like this one! This was the brides bouquet, and her bridesmaids had the same size, just all yellow. It was very different & cool!!!

Drop Off & Pick Up

When you are ready to drop off all of your items for the wedding, do everything in your power to label EVERYTHING! Some venues can do 5+ weddings over a weekend so it can be tricky to remember where every little detail belongs. Over organize yourself! Write both last names, the date & the day on a piece of paper and attach to everything you are dropping off.

Example

Jones/Smith

Saturday August 6th, 2011

If you want centerpieces done in a very specific way, or a candy bar to be setup in a certain color coordination,= dont assume the staff knows what you're thinking. Take a picture of it and include it with your drop off items. The more information you hand over to the staff the better! 

One bride I worked with gave each bridesmaid and groomsman a job at the end of the night. They each were in charge of finding an item included in their drop off. It may sound anal or bridezilla-ish but when she left that night she knew she was not leaving a single thing behind.

Bridal Shows

Whats the purpose of going to a bridal show?
Bridal shows are a showcase for local vendors to show you what makes them stand out in the crowd. There can be anywhere from 10 - 50 vendors there! If you are just starting your planning process or only looking for one type of vendor its still good to go and see whats out there. Go with your mom, your whole bridal party, or just your fiance. No matter who you bring you're sure to leave with new ideas everytime.

Something else to consider is the venue the show will be at. Typically, the people signing you in will ask if you already have a location picked out. If you dont they can set you up with a sales person from the venue to give you a personalized tour. Its a great one-on-one experience to learn more about the location too.

The American Bridal Show will be hosting a bridal show at The Mill on Thursday August 18th, come check us out!