Weddingbee

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At first I wanted our invitation pattern on 2 layers of the cake and then a quilted design on the third layer (option 2). Very simple yet elegant. But then a weddingbee reader sent me a link for a chandelier inspired cake and I truly fell in love.

This is the cake… isn’t it stunning? I think there are too many chandeliers for my liking, so I modified it a bit. Obviously this cake is the inspiration for Option 1.

Cake designed by: I Dream of Cake
Image source: Zenadia Design blog

Which one would you go with? Would you make any modifications?

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We saw cake, and were the first ones to the table…

“hmm… which one to eat first?”
(Note the penguin mug I chose- Hi Peng! )

After being momentarily mesmerized by all the cake, I looked up at Mr. Toucan, and he’s doing this:

Mr. T looks hungry.

“Guys, hurry up. Mr. Toucan’s about to do a face plant into all the cake!”

Finally, everyone comes to the table, and Mr. T gets his cake and eats it too!

“OM NOM NOM NOM”

Mr. T’s plates on top, mine on bottom.

They were all sooooo good, but can you guess which cakes we liked best?
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But then when I thought about it, for an extra $1 a slice I could get the most amazing mango cake, made with those Phillipine atafulo mangoes (which should be considered an entirely different fruit than the run of the mill Mexican mangoes). It is the tastiest cake in the world, however, my only concern is that it is the birthday cake of choice for everyone’s summer birthdays on his side of the family (that’s me cutting my fab cake at my 21st birthday). So in a way it screams Chinese birthday cake, and while most Chinese birthday cakes are fabulous (I think it’s all in the real whip cream), a mango cake isn’t necessarily your run of the mill Chinese birthday cake I guess….

If they covered the whole cake in whip cream, so I just had a nice white cake on a retro milk glass cake stand…. maybe that would make it less birthday-y?

Another option, for just pennies more than the regular sheet cake would be tiramisu! What are your thoughts on untraditional wedding cakes? Did you/will you have one, or have you been to a wedding with one?

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One thing I know is that the generic cake topper isn’t going to work for us.

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And while I appreciate that there are cake toppers for two brides, they don’t quite fit us either.

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So back to those cute animal cake toppers…I searched the ever popular Etsy for options. Here are some of my favourites.

Cotton Birds Design has these cute little birdies and lots of others in different patterns.

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Mykonos has some really cute ones too.

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Rainsend also has some cute bird cake toppers.

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What are you putting on top of your cake? Do you have any other cute animal themed cake toppers to share?
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Floral patterns, lines, dots, embellishments… I love them all . -source

Having edible lace on a cake is such a great idea. It looks stunning too.
I also love the mixture of simplicity paired with a bold piece. -source

You’ve probably seen all these cake designs before. source

I love the idea of having shapes made with fondant. source

Do I want a round cake or a square one? A pattern or simple? Embellishments or no? 1 flavor or 3? 

In order to get all the elements I like into one cake, I think I will attempt to design the cake… wish me luck

Did you design your cake? For those of you who are married, did it come out like you envisioned?

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I see a lot of the same cake designs over and over again from our favorite magazines and blogs (I’m guilty of stealing my own cake design from a photo that Miss Milkshake first posted), and this one is just completely different from anything else I’ve seen. I love all the little details. How adorable are the little shrubs and trees sitting on the tiers? How cute is the bridal shoppe on the bottom tier, and the bakery on the middle tier? It’s like a little mini bridal village dollhouse-turned-cake!

Where are some other hidden gem cake designs that you have come across online?
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(”for sale”)

(”magical cupcakes”)

(”tea with Chris”)

(”extra cheesy with salami and mushrooms”)

(”tea and toast“)

(”nostalgia”)

If there is a weddingbee reader out there in South Africa, book Zalita, stat…and tell her I will worship her and her magical frosting geniusness.

FOR-EVER.
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She’s very popular in my area and I am so happy to have booked her. She has done a cake for the famous Celine Dion and other local stars, so you’d think because of it she would charge accordingly. Well to my surprise, her prices were the best I had found and her cake… so yummy.

She’s also the master behind this beautiful black and white cake which was featured on Style Me Pretty’s DIY contest. This is the design that first caught my eye - I love the simplicity and the design elements. And could you believe this cake is only 2.95$  slice, and a pretty big slice might I add.

The patterns, like she explained, are “spray painted” on, which allows them to have intricate designs for a fraction of the cost. Since our cake will be served at midnight with the sweet table, there is really no need for an expensive cake. She’s done lots and lots of cakes, but unfortunately the pictures on her site don’t do justice to the beauty of her designs…

Did you hire a vendor not only because they were good, but because you were touched by their story?

Next up … images and images of cakes…. mmm mmm mmm

{Image source}

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There were some questions in a previous post about why we didn’t use our custom couple cake topper on the cake. Truth be told, as it got closer to our day, I thought this other one was sweeter:

Also, the little groom had already undergone surgery: a thumb and his nose had fallen off weeks before the wedding, and though super-glued, I wasn’t looking forward to a scenario where Mr. Petunia’s avatar fell apart atop our wedding cake.

One thing I’ll share about cutting into a fondant cake: it’s tough going! Took us quite some time to find a good spot where the knife would go in, thereby ensuing this hilarity:

I was still in stitches when feeding time came!

Thank goodness catering took care of cutting the rest!

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He’s been generally ambivalent about wedding-related decisions so far; simply content to offer his feedback and support when needed. But on the subject of desserts, he enthusiastically declared his support for pie. As for me, I could give or take cherry pie in general, but because it’s so beloved to my sweetheart, I greenlighted its use as a wedding dessert. I want Mr. CP to be able to include things that are special to him, too. And, really, nothing says “American summer” like Cherry Pie! ( Except maybe bottled Coca-Cola.)

But to be honest, I would still rather cut a cake together than a pie. And serving slices just seems messy. So we’re having a compromise!

For the cake purists (and for the photo-opportunity), we’ll have a small wedding cake. To honor Mr. Cherry Pie and for our less cake-loving guests, we are going to offer cherry and huckleberry tartlets!

We’re expecting between 70 and 120 people at the wedding, out of the 180 we’re inviting. How many desserts we order will depend on the number of guests who RSVP, but we’re planning for a cake that serves between 50 and 70 people and mini-tarts for the same number. There will be a bit of overlap to give some guests the opportunity to sample both.

Before we decided on Polebridge as our venue, we talked to a few bakers in the Whitefish/Kalispell area. At the recommendation of our Montana wedding planner, we met with Mikie of Mikie’s Cheesecake in Kalispell.

This was back in August of 2007 and I was nervous to talk cake so early in the game. We had no idea what our colors or “theme” would be, or if we even wanted a cake for sure. In a way, our flexibility ended up being a good thing because we set up an appointment with Mikie at such short notice that we weren’t able to sample anything.

What excited me about working with Mikie was her unique approach to wedding cake. Her cakes (reputedly) are delicious amalgamations of sponge cake and cheesecake with flavored fillings. I was particularly intrigued by the “Perfect Celebration” cake:

“A rich indulgence of Classic cheesecake between two layers of sponge cake brushed with Grand Marnier syrup, then put together with a dark chocolate ganache and a bright, tangy raspberry layer (optional). The cake is then finished in a light, silky buttercream.”

Mmm-MM!

We also talked with another local bakery about making tartlets after eating a few delicious samples. We thought we were good to go!

Unfortunately, once we decided on Polebridge as a venue, the whole issue of dessert became much more complicated: It’s a little difficult to transport a delicate wedding cake down 15 miles of very bumpy dirt road. This roadblock ended up not even being an issue because not long after we talked to her, Mikie called us to tell us she couldn’t make our cake after all. Her son had gotten engaged and had chosen to be wed on the exact same day!

Thankfully, the Polebridge mercantile is renowned for their baked goods. We were very impressed with the tarts, croissants, cookies, and sandwiches we ate while visiting during last year’s Aurorafest.

The mercantile does make wedding cakes that are reputedly very delicious, and they offer them at a very affordable price. So, on blind faith, we have agreed that they will bake both our wedding cake and the tartlets. I have neither seen nor tasted a wedding cake from their bakery, but considering the merc’s upstanding reputation and unparalleled convenient location, how can we go wrong?

We will talk more with them about our cake design after they finish freeing their town from this year’s record snowfall. For now, I’d like to share with the hive my inspiration for cake designs:
Which of the cake designs above do you think suits us? (Remember, we can change/combine colors and decorative elements!)

I imagine that our cake will be small, probably 3-tiered, with white buttercream frosting and a single flavor of vanilla cake with chocolate ganache throughout. Simplicity is delicious! As you can tell by the cake designs above, I’m fond of live flowers, white icing, and colored bands separating the layers. I don’t even require “smooth” icing. I think the “stucco” look of natural buttercream can be quite attractive, too!

Have any of you decided on a baker based solely on a recommendation or the location of your venue? What do you think is most important… flavor or appearance?
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