Wedding Cake 101 27 comments

Planning a wedding is a lot of work. There are so many details to remember, arrangements to make, and to orchestrate it all sometimes seems like an impossible feat. Some brides want to honor family traditions while others want to start one of their own. With all these ideas and more whirling around in your head, what do you do when it comes time to plan your wedding cake?

Here are just a few of the most popular wedding cake trends to consider which may make one aspect of your wedding planning a little easier and a lot less work.

Designer Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes today are more than just butter cream layers with pretty rosettes. If you can imagine it, talented pastry chefs can turn it into reality in the form of decadent cake. Some brides opt for an elaborate cake to make a statement at their wedding reception.

Wedding Cake Flavors

This is the tasty part of the cake planning. Many couples decide to choose their favorite flavor, or even a flavor that is native to the state in which they reside. You can be creative here too with checkerboard layers, or different flavors for each wedding cake tier.

Topping the Cake

The easiest way to add your own personalized touch to your wedding cake is with a wedding cake topper. Cake toppers have come a long way from the traditional plain bride and groom atop the tallest tier of the cake. Wedding cake toppers now range from the elegant to even whimsical. Some couples choose fresh flowers, a photo cake topper, entwined hearts, lovebirds, or even a monogram. Toppers can fit a seasonal wedding theme and may be a starfish or a snowflake. There is much variety, including whimsical brides and groom toppers playing golf or on their cell phone!

Everyone loves a delicious cake, so let your imagination run wild and have fun with the wedding cake planning. Just don’t forget the cake serving set for the cake cutting ceremony! Wedding cake serving sets can range from simple sets with petite white bows with pearl handles to sets that are adorned with rhinestones that add sparkle and beauty. Add personalization of your names and wedding date on the serving pieces for an everlasting wedding memento.

Cake Toppers Make the Cake 48 comments

Wedding cake toppers have been a tradition for over a century. The original wedding cake topper was typically a bride and groom atop a white wedding cake to symbolize purity and togetherness on their wedding day.

Through the years the symbolism remains the same; however a new twist has been given to the traditional bride and groom. Many couples are putting whimsical figurines on the top tier of their cake. The figurines often represent one of their hobbies, a glimpse of their personality, their occupation, or even some of their habits. Even comical cake toppers featuring the couple using a cell phone have become increasingly popular! There is no longer a standard for the bride and groom cake topper, or any cake topper for that matter.

Cake toppers have evolved. The bride and groom cake topper is no longer the norm. Brides are opting to top their wedding cakes with fresh flowers, engraved hearts, jeweled monogram letters, and even their own photo. Cake toppers also fit nicely into a themed wedding. If the wedding takes place at the seashore, a starfish would look beautiful on a wedding cake. Winter or autumn weddings also will find cake toppers to fit their theme.

The cake topper is the simplest way to add one of the last personalized touches to your wedding day. So go ahead, be creative, and have fun. With the many different types of cake toppers available today, you will find the perfect one to top your wedding cake.

Move over Cupcakes! Cake Pops are Taking Over! 9 comments

This fun way to indulge your sweet tooth can be found on gift girl’s new blog. You can also follow her on twitter @girlywedding.

Move over Cupcakes! Cake pops are taking over! Cake pops are everywhere. Even Starbucks is selling them. And it is no wonder. Who doesn’t love cake on a stick?

Check out the cake pops recipes from Bakerella, if you are up to making them yourself. And if you aren’t ready to trade in a traditional cake consider cake pops wedding favors or evenbirthday cake pops! And why not do cake pops martha stewartstyle and build a lollipop stand that I swear was intended for cake pops anyway!

So what’s it gonna be cupcake or cake pop?

Let Today’s Modern Love Wedding inspire you! 17 comments

Every September the Today Show on NBC throws a wedding for a deserving engaged couple. As an avid Today Show watcher, Today’s Modern Love Wedding is one of my absolute favorite segments on the show.

The wedding–pulled together in a month–is located on Today’s Rockefeller Plaza and allows viewers to vote on the couple’s big wedding decisions. A national vote will decide everything from the cake to the wedding bands and even (gasp!) the bride’s gown. While this might be a control-disaster for some, Today’s Modern Love Wedding provides an amazing opportunity for couples who can’t afford their dream wedding. It also allows wedding labels and brands to parade out their latest and greatest to be voted on by a nationwide audience.

This year’s lucky couple is Melissa and Jeremy (also selected by a vote), high school sweethearts from Missouri. The young couple (she’s 21 and he’s 22) are particularly deserving because Jeremy serves overseas in the Middle East for the Army. How cute are they?!

Today's Modern Love Wedding couple, Melissa & Jeremy

So far the couple’s wedding bands (Neil Lane) and reception venue (Hudson Terrace) have been selected, and this week America votes on my favorite decision, the bride’s gown! Yes! Let’s take a look at Melissa’s beautiful options and the dress designers themselves…

Choice #1: Modern Romance

Described as modern romance for its feminine silhouette and faint blush color, this Lela Rose dress is a modern take on a more traditional A-line gown.

Dress by Lela Rose

More Lela Rose looks:

Photo collage courtesy of stylemepretty.com

Stunning detail! (Photos courtesy of somethingoldsomethingsnew.com, bridalguide.com & life.com)

Choice #2: Retro Glam

This 1920s-inspired gown stands out because of the intricate crystal motif embroidered beading and a new hot wedding gown trend, ruffles.

Dress by Lazaro

More Lazaro looks:

A flair for the dramatic. (Photos courtesy of jlmcouture.com, kaboodle.com, bridalguide.com & theweddingday.com)

Choice #3: Classic Elegance

This is a timeless look for a bride that wants simple beauty but still wants to stand out. The keyhole back and ribbon embellishment on the waist modernizes the classic style.

Dress by Paloma Blanca

More looks Paloma Blanca looks:

Modern twists on classic style. (Photos courtesy of getmarried.com, weddingbee.com, couture-threads.com & recycledbride.com)

Choice #4: Sophisticated Drama

Look like you stepped right off the runway in this gown. The fashion-forward gown is red carpet ready with rosette detailing and asymmetrical draping across the bodice.

Dress by Monique Lhuillier

More Monique Lhuillier looks:

Red carpet ready! (Photos courtesy of kleinfeldbridalcom, marieclaire.com & bridepop.com)

Worth a stand-alone shot. Monique Lhuillier at her best. Stunning! (Photo courtesy of moblog.whmsoft.net)

There’s only one week to vote for your favorite dress. Melissa will wear the dress that gets the most votes when she walks down the aisle on Sept. 30!

Voting schedule as Melissa and Jeremy’s wedding comes to life:

• Week 1: Wedding bands
• Week 2: Reception venue
• Week 3: Bride’s gown and groom’s tux
• Week 4: Bridesmaid dresses
• Week 5: Cake
• Week 6: Honeymoon location

As a budding bride, consider these gown styles and wedding ideas for your own ceremony. Take notes about what you like and don’t like as they prepare for the big day. And watch Melissa and Jeremy tie the knot on Sept. 30!

Happy planning!

-Stephanie

@wishpotwedding

A classy Halloween wedding that’s sure to thrill 11 comments

It can be considered faux pas to have your wedding fall on or near a holiday. The scheduling can often conflict with vacation plans and you may not want your day to be known as “that wedding that ruined our Fourth of July plans” or “that cliche wedding on Valentine’s Day.”

However, if you and your fiance were already considering a fall wedding and really enjoy Halloween, consider a Halloween-themed wedding.

Don’t go screaming in the other direction before you hear all the details! We’re not talking cheap plastic jack-o-lanterns as centerpieces or fake cobwebs over the doorways. Far from it! Think autumn meets edgy. With your special Halloween touches, your fall wedding could be one for the ages.

Plan ahead: If you plan ahead–up to a year in advance–you can find Halloween novelty items on discount after the previous Halloween holiday. Don’t go overboard on the cheesy stuff like plastic coffins or witch broomsticks, but instead look for leaf garlands, scented candles, glitter pine cones, cute pumpkin bowls for a candy bar, fake fall flowers and berries and even antique-looking glasses for toasting!

Cute objects incorporated into a beautiful display. (Photos courtesy of chillipit.co.za & theknot.com)

Color-coordinated: One of the big questions is about the color palette of a Halloween-themed wedding. It is obviously in fine Halloween tradition to stick with the orange and black combo. However, try incorporating orange as the accent color and have black and white be the main color scheme. Also, don’t be scared to experiment with other fall colors like yellow or a deep red. Here’s some inspiration:

Bring nature inside by using trees! (Photos courtesy of chillipit.co.za & perfectweddingguide.com)

Proof your Halloween wedding can be themed but classy. (Photo collage courtesy of fatosoda.seesaa.net)

Photo collage courtesy of mixmingleglow.com

Gorgeous pumpkin ideas! (Photo collage courtesy of mixmingleglow.com)

Other special touches and ideas to consider:

• Don’t require it, but give your guests the option of dressing in costume
• Antique, classic dress for the bride
• Cummerbunds for the groom and groomsmen
• Wrought iron candelabras for centerpieces
• Serve apple cider and pumpkin cake
• Feature a candy bar with a wide variety of sweets including a Halloween favorite, candy corn!
• Choose historic venues, like an old church or mansion

Happy planning & Happy Halloween!

-Stephanie

@wishpotwedding

Guest Post: Weddzilla – The Wedding Cake: Topping It Off! 3 comments

It’s a bride’s prerogative to change her mind. And I have. About many things. What I haven’t second-guessed? Our wine-themed cake, which we’re having a great time designing with our baker. What I have gone back and forth on? How to top it all off.

Unimpressed with run-of-the-mill ceramic bride-and-groom figurines, we tossed around all sorts of other ideas, from using real champagne grapes, to bringing in fresh flowers, to borrowing my grandparents’ toppers, which are shockingly still in one piece after over 50 years. But it was only after reading about the custom topper dolls Cape Cod Bride found on Etsy, the ultimate home of handcrafted goodness, that I knew we needed to look no further.

Working with photos and descriptions I gave her, Etsy seller Samyii designed the cute dolls to match our wedding-day look, right down to my gown style, headband and planned hairdo. Incredibly friendly, quick, and easy to work with, she did a fabulous job designing the toppers for less than $50.

I love everything about these unique, fun dolls, and think they’ll be the perfect finishing touch to what I hope will be our just as unique and fun cake! What types of toppers have caught your eye?

Guest Post: Relentless Bride – Wedding Cake Inspiration! 18 comments

I’m stressed… and last week when i was stressed, I took a moment to relax and stare at some beauties! What am i talking about? I’m talking about these lovely cakes from EatCakeBeMerry.  So in efforts to release us all of stress and to help beautify the blogosphere, i want to share some more cake inspiration b/c, to be honest, i just can’t get enough… (Click here to read my post on Cake inspiration last week!)

So without further ado… let’s let the pictures do the talkin’…

::Exit Stress:: … ::Ensue Peace::

{All images via EatCakeBeMerry}

Aren’t these cakes so beautiful… ahhh… now i’m reminded again of why i love wedding planning, i get to research THIS!!! Awesome!

Wedding Cupcakes: This Season’s Wedding Cake! 8 comments

Wishpot brings you an innovative alternative to the traditional wedding cake. When planning a wedding, every bride has to decide the kind of cake she wants for her big day. Making this decision is difficult considering the many different options she has to think about. Today brides are looking for ways to spend less money but still have a beautiful cake at the end of the day. A recent trend shows that more and more brides are choosing to have Wedding Cupcake Towers instead of actual wedding cakes.

Wedding cupcakes are more suitable for guests and less expensive. They offer convenience but still have a look of sophistication and elegance. If you’re a bride in the New York area, Wishpot wedding vendor The Hudson Cakery is a custom cake boutique that does many wedding cupcakes including this cupcake tower for a beachy bridal shower!

Having a wedding near Napa Valley? Wedding vendor Penelope Jane creates everything from beautiful cakes to amazing monogrammed cupcake towers. And if you are having that winter wedding in snowy Chicago, vendor Amy Beck Cake Design can create gorgeous cupcake towers with your design in mind.

Brides, grooms, and guests all love this new trend of the cupcake tower. It is affordable, intriguing and exciting. And don’t worry bride to be, cupcake towers have that extra top layer of cake that you can traditionally cut into with your future hubby. So say no to tradition and try something new! These savory treats will without a doubt cause some serious buzz on your big day!

Wishpot is a shop anywhere online wish list service. Find us on Twitter @wishpot and fan us on Facebook.

Guest Blog Post Relentless Bride A Wedding Candy Buffet 4 comments

Guest Blog Post Wedding Collectibles - Find Your Perfect Wedding Cake 8 comments

Trying to find the absolute perfect cake for your wedding?  Check out these fabulously fun and creative cake ideas.  The colors and intricate details of these cakes are just simply amazing.  These days there is no “traditional” style cake.  Just about anything goes.  Some people are even completely doing away with having a wedding cake at their celebration all together.  Instead of a cake couples are using the fun ideas of ice cream Sunday bars, chocolate covered strawberries, and even chocolate fountains.  Your wedding cake is just one of the many ways to incorporate your fun personal style into your wedding.

Cupcake cakes have become the latest popular alternative to having the “traditional” wedding cake.  These kinds of cakes also make it much easier for your guests to share some of your cake with you rather than having to cut individual slices for everyone.

If you do decide to go ahead with the cake, make sure to bring out some of your favorite colors in your wedding throughout the cake.  If your wedding has a theme such as a beach or summer wedding, try incorporating a beach theme in your cake like the sand castle cake above. 

And of course the most important part about your wedding cake is your cake topper!  Your cake topper can be traditional, funny, vintage, unique, etc.  It is always cute to get a picture of the kind of relationship that you and your husband share with one another portrayed through your cake topper.  After all the cake has been eaten, you still have your cake topper left to keep for years to come as just one of the many mementos from your special day!

Check out these gorgeous cakes and let your inspirations run wild!