“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes…”

 

 

 Let Them Eat Cake!

With a little know-how, brides on a budget can still count on a beautiful cake for their wedding day.

 

Bakers typically charge by the slice.  The more complex the design, the higher the price.  Here’s a few cost cutting tips:

 

            Choose butter cream icing over fondant.  Ingredients for butter cream are cheaper and the frosting is easier and quicker to work with.  Fondant (thin rolled icing to lay over the cake then  smoothed and pressed into place before being trimmed for a perfect fit) requires intensive labor.  As a compromise, you can select a butter cream decorated cake with fondant accents.  Do stick with fondant for an outdoor wedding.  

 

            Think square.  You can typically save $.50 a slice by serving a sheet cake instead of a tiered design.  Square cakes can feed slightly more people than round or hexagonal cakes.  The savings are slim, but if every penny counts, it’s worth looking into. 

 

            Bring outdoor decorations in.  Fresh flowers cost less than elaborate sugar ones.  If you have your heart set on handmade sugar flowers, consider the calla lily, which consists of essentially one petal and is less complex to molds than a rose.  Also use fresh flowers in place of a cake topper.  Pretty ribbons from an arts and craft store are significantly cheaper than a $125 fondant ribbon, which must be customer dyed, kneaded, attached and refined. 

 

            Skip the groom’s cake and add a different flavored tier to the wedding cake or combine two flavors in a single slice, which may deter guests from wanting a second piece.  You don’t necessarily need to have enough wedding cake and groom’s cake for every person.  If the cake cutting happens late in the reception some of your guests may have already left.

 

            Find out about any hidden or extras, such as the cost to set up the cake between the ceremony and reception, when the cost for standard delivery is generally earlier in the day before the bride walks down the aisle. 

 

 

 

Let Them Eat Cupcakes???

In a true cupcake wedding cake, there’s usually at least one cake tier (or separate cake) that is used for the bride & groom to slice through. Also, a cupcake wedding cake is usually a cheaper option than a traditional cake, and since there are so many little cakes, you can actually have a lot of different flavors!

Less is more. Okay, so it was a poet who said it first, and then an architect ran with it, but it’s a good motto for a new trend in wedding cakes, too:

Cupcakes are less expensive than traditional wedding cakes, and because they are in essence single-serving cakes, they are also more flexible. You can have more than one flavor of cake, perhaps indicated by the colour of the icing or the paper holder. You can have a few vegan cupcakes and diabetic-friendly cupcakes on offer for those who need them! They can be served up on a tiered platter, as shown, or as single-serving cakes. Large cupcake stands can hold up to 300 cakes.

You don’t even have to do without the traditional cutting of the cake. Bakers will provide a small cake made which matches the cupcakes (and your color scheme!) for the cutting, and you can use the cupcakes for serving to guests. It’s quick and efficient, and less mess.

This website has Cupcake Stands and tons of Options for DIY Decorating!  http://www.cupcaketree.com/index.html

Or try making them yourselves using Custom Cupcake Caps http://www.cupcakecaps.com/index.html

DIY Kits http://www.coolcupcakes.com/Wedding_Cupcakes/Cupcake_Kits/English_Garden_Kit.html

Consider the cupcake: a trendy little handful.

 

 

 

Your Bouquet!

Flowers are a great way to add color to your wedding day palette, and your gown as well as the season often dictate the type of bouquet.

 

            Classic:  If you wearing an ornate ball gown with a long train, go for classic blooms such as roses in shades of red or apricot and peach, or satiny ivory French tulips.  Other classic blooms include lily of the valley and orchids.

 

            Simple:  for a simple, slim gown, try less traditional blooms such as pink cosmos, calla lilies or gladioli. 

 

            Dramatic:  Go monochromatic – a palette that uses flowers and foliage all in one color family

 

            Bright:  Pick colors that strike your fancy, including citrus hues and deep jewel tones.  Choosing flowers that are in season at the time of your wedding can save you up to 40 percent in costs.

 

How about going all out for ROMANCE!! Think Peonies, Roses, Wildflowers…

How gorgeous are these Magical Miranda -
David Austin Roses placed beautifully with
mini pink calla lilies and trailing amaranthus?
A divine arrangement and divine dress too.

 

Pictures from Trinkets and Roses

Country style bouquet with a hand picked feel – lovely!
I especially like the sweetness created by
placing large pink rose blooms next
to pretty little pink chrysanthemums. 

 

 

What impressions do you bring if you have a certain color of bridal bouquet? Let’s look at the moods of color…

White will give you an impression of winter, snow, purity, marriage, innocence, etc.

Blue ….peaceful, calm, water, sky, cold, etc.

Yellow …cheerful, summer, friendship, joy, etc.

Pink …romantic, sensitive, feminine, sweet, soft, gentle, etc.

Red …hot, passionate, romance, bold, tropical, etc.

You might not realiaze it, but  it’s true. Your personality can be told by the colors you choose.