Never thought I would get tired of cake

So, a couple weeks ago we decided to go with Slice Cake Designs for our wedding cake. Meeting Chris was a huge relief -- she was so personable and ready to take on anything. Plus, the cakes were delightful.

We're trying to decide between key lime with a cream cheese frosting filling or an orange essence cake with strawberry mousse and sliced strawberries. Both were so tasty and very spring brunch appropriate. I didn't want anything heavy and rich. The citrus flavors were perfect and I am super excited.

We are doing a modified version of this cake, which I blogged about in one of my first entries here.

Cake surgery:

1. Chopping that top layer in half.
2. Injecting some white into the stripes to brighten it up.
3. Using a more springy green, as opposed to these wintry shades.
4. No flowers.

My mom and I had some pretty god awful experiences at the first few cake places we went to. Fleur de Lis was afraid to use fondant. Classic Cakes was a tad full of itself and quoted us $10/slice. Tammie Coe was good but the flavors were just kind of boring.

Chris from Slice came to my house, brought us two cakes (while other places charged us for tasting), was fabulous to work with and open to my ideas. Plus, she was excited! She was definitely the baker version of our florist, Jeanne from White Poppy. I'm really excited to work with them both.

And the real reason I opened up the blog browser (believe it or not, I had intended to write a super quick entry)...

Chris mentioned that she can do favors too -- cookies, cupcakes, truffles, candies, whatever. My mom and I loved the idea. In fact, my mom came up with the idea of a bike-shaped cookie glazed with a fun color on top. I love it! We are planning on doing some sort of cute and easy packaging. I just came across this post at Once Wed. I love the little tags with the favors. Such a great idea. I think I may steal it.

Photograph by Kyle Hale

Not really about weddings

OK, so you all know my love for crepes. I told this weird guy I know, Eric, that our wedding cake was s tack of 500 crepes with 499 different fillings. I decided this was actually a good idea and googled "crepe cake."

Here's what I found.

From the Cream Puffs in Venice blog

Eric and I decided to tackle this recipe. Which means, I'll tackle it and Eric will put it in his mouth. That's how it usually goes.

Here are some past (crappy pictures) from my baking adventures. Last night I stayed up until 1 a.m. baking this Pear Pie with Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce for my office's Thanksgiving potluck. In the process Noah stole a stick of butter and I burned myself. This is typical of my baking adventures.

A couple weeks ago, I had some friends over for a dinner party. I made Seafood Arrabbiata Pasta for dinner, and Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting for dessert. They all drank chocolate stout with ice cream too! I really love cooking and entertaining. I wish I could bake all day!

Don't mind the crappy cell phone pictures. I just bought a new charger and battery for my real camera, so I'm going to try to make more use of that instead of my terrible iPhone.

Cake redesign

So, wedding cakes have turned out to be a disaster. I still have a ton of appointments left, but I'm already getting the feeling that my original ideas are outrageous. The woman today quotes us ... are you ready ...

10 DOLLARS PER SLICE.

I nearly crapped my pants. Needless to say, if this keeps up, I'm going to Plan B.

Remember these?

I randomly got the idea to line the tiers with candy sticks. I have yet to find a picture of it, but basically, the candy sticks would be making vertical stripes around the base of every tier. Does that make sense?

Concerns/thoughts:

1. Candy sticks seem to be about 5.5 inches tall. Would the cakes have to be the same height, or would it be good to have some white space above them?
2. Is this going to look cheap? I don't just want to slap some candy on a cake and call it a day.
3. Another thought I had was to break them in half, or maybe use two-thirds and line them up, so it'd be a jagged edge of varying heights. Who knows.
4. What I really like is that the candy would make the cake pop. They are bright, textured, glossy and kind of translucent, so I think it would really add some depth to an otherwise white cake.
5. What about rock candy? Those come in bright colors too...
   

Edit: Here's a really terrible, quick drawing I did to try and illustrate the idea. I'm thinking of doing mostly green and white with the occasional red and green added. Also, I drew the jagged edges because I have a feeling no one knew what I was talking about haha.

Edit 2: I drew the straight-edged cake too. I don't know if the baker could make it where the candy sticks come all the way up to the top, so I'm assuming there'd be some white space above it.

I get these stupid ideas in my head ... and I never know if they're actually cool or if I'm just humoring myself.

Thoughts?

Frustrated and not witty

So ... looks like I've dropped the ball. Guess that's what I get for not doing anything in a couple of months. Here's a very basic checklist from the cute Bride Ideas list book Amanda gave me as a graduation present.

9 to 12 months

• Set a budget
• Make the guest list
• Set the date
• Research and reserve a venue
• Determine the wedding party
  

6 to 9 months

• Choose colors
• Order invites
• Register for gifts
• Interview key vendors (Florist, Photographer, Baker, Caterer)
• Find and secure an officiant
• Shop for and order dress
• Shop for and select attendants' gowns

4 to 6 months

• Meetings with key vendors (Florist, Photographer, Baker, Caterer)
• Plan the honeymoon
• Arrange for passports
• Obtain marriage license and other legalities
• Order rings

What's funny is that every checklist is different and has a different timeline. For instance, TheKnot.com tells me to book the rehearsal dinner site five months in advance, but Bride Ideas says to do it between two to four months.

Here's a list from Real Simple that's a bit more in depth.

Seven to Six Months Before

• Select and purchase invitations. Hire a calligrapher, if desired. Addressing cards is time-consuming, so you need to budget accordingly. They are ready to be addressed.
  
• Start planning a honeymoon. Make sure that your passports are up-to-date, and schedule doctors’ appointments for any shots you may need. We have some options, but haven't decided for sure yet.
• Shop for bridesmaids’ dresses. Allow at least six months for the dresses to be ordered and sized. Chose the dresses but haven't ordered them yet.
  
• Meet with the officiant. Map out the ceremony and confirm that you have all the official documents for the wedding (these vary by county and religion). Need to talk about that.
  
• Book a florist. Florists can serve multiple clients on one day, which is why you can wait a little longer to engage one. Plus, at this point, you’ll be firm on what your wedding palette will be. Got that one done awhile ago.
• Start composing a day-of timeline. Draw up a schedule of the event and slot in each component (the cake-cutting, the first dance). What?! Is this a joke?
  

Five to Four Months Before

• Book the rehearsal and rehearsal-dinner venues. Negotiate the cost and the menu. If you’re planning to host a day-after brunch for guests, book that place as well.
• Check on the wedding invitations. Ask the stationer for samples of the finished invitations and revise them to suit your needs.
• Select and order the cake. Some bakers require a long lead time. Attend several tastings before committing to any baker.
• Send your guest list to the host of your shower. Provided you, ahem, know about the shower.
• Purchase wedding shoes and start dress fittings. Bring the shoes along to your first fitting so the tailor can choose the appropriate length for your gown.
• Schedule hair and makeup artists. Make a few appointments with local experts to try them out. Snap a photo at each so you can compare results.
• Choose your music. What should be playing when the wedding party is announced? During dinner? To kick off the dancing? Keep a running list of what you want—and do not want—played.

My focus right now is to schedule meetings with bakers. I tried to do that the week before last, but their schedules are funky. I am meeting with Fleur di Lis Cakes on November 5th, so at least there's that. Bakers have been kind of frustrating to find. I've noticed that they tend to have terrible sites with terrible pictures. I haven't seen any cakes that I've really been impressed with either. And it's kind of scary ... I have pictures of what I want, but what happens when it's delivered and looks terrible? It's not like the wedding dress that you see it before you buy ... yowza. I've just seen some really terrible cakes and hopefully mine doesn't turn out to be one of them. I kind of wish my mom could just bake it haha. I'd love to have these key lime cupcakes from Bon Appetit. I made them a year or so ago and they are definitely my favorite cake concoction ever.



Ugh, I am feeling overwhelmed again and I haven't even done anything. I understand that your wedding is supposed to be the best day of your life and all, but it just seems ridiculous how much time and effort is supposed to go into it.

I can't seem to get anything done, let alone personalize it and think about the details. I have a feeling this wedding is not going to be very cute or thoughtful. I don't really have the energy to add thoughtful touches, nor do I have any good ideas. And stupid stuff like ... who is going to do my hair? I have never gone to a real "salon." So I guess I have to start going to a fancy hair place so I can find a hairdresser who I trust?

Well, I guess I needed a wake up call at some point. It's just a pain because these next weeks are particularly hectic with crazy deadlines at work and freelance projects. It doesn't help that I have four articles due tomorrow and I haven't started any. I guess I should say ciao to this stupid blog entry and hope the checklist magically gets completed in my sleep.