Barbara and Kai – October 27, 2007
Barbara and Kai were literally giddy with excitement about their wedding cake. We met back in May (2007) along with Barbara’s mom Debbie. I had made Barbara’s cousin Lisa’s wedding cake last year so they already had an idea of what to expect of my work and were ready to taste more! =)
A day or so before we met I had gotten the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings (collectors edition) which has some gorgeous contempory designs. I happened to throw it in my bag as I was out the door to meet with Barbara. When we sat down I asked her and Kai what their style was… what they had in mind for the look of their cake. They showed me the colors ~ chocolate brown and a soft blue. They described a few cakes they’d seen and said there was one in particular, but they forgot the magazine clipping. They wanted something striking and elegant, modern and unique. Barbara said “I’m all about the cake… the cake has to be IT!”
I thought to myself… hmmm, wasn’t there a picture in Martha just like that? I pulled out the magazine and was flipping to the page while she spoke. Then, turned the magazine around and her eyes zero-ed in on the cake and sparkled! That was the one they had left behind. 
She told me later that she know then and there that I was the one to make the cake! It was like sparks flew from there… we nailed down all the details and adjustments, choose the flavor (“Pucker Up” – a luscious lemon and almond combo) and everything just fell into place.
Kai and Barbara were the sweetest couple! They were almost child-like with the fun they were having making the decisions and were so careful of the other’s opinion and preference. It was a nice insight into how their married life might play out!
Kai’s dad, Bill, made a gorgeous stand to place the cake on. It was custom designed to suit the color and scale of the cake and made a precious gift to the couple because it was also a treasure box to hold mementos and keepsakes. It made the cake a real focal point of the room by making it about 6″ off the table and literally “placed on a pedestal”. Bill has great woodworking talent and I was so pleased to share the cake table with his creation!
Here is the final cake design – adjusted to 4 tiers, with a monogram “B” added, and placed on the custom stand…. Pale blue fondant icing with piped chocolate medallions and scrolling.
An additional medallion was placed on the center of the top to finish it off, since there would be no flowers, no topper ~ very modern and chic!
Other wedding details:
Bill’s custom designed cake stand/treasure box. The dark espresso stain complimented the chocolate design on the cake and the rich brown satin linen. The box also has beautiful antique gold metal trim at the corners (which you can’t see in the picture)
Gift table/card box – I love how this pattern and the cake are similar -but different!
Guest sign in book – nice that the colors are reversed here and the graphics nice and simple. Makes a nice balance with the ornate details of the other elements
Welcome Table with display of invitation – I think this idea is inspired! I love it!! What great way to add decoration and continue the theme without additional expense! A Flickr friend of mine http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbietabbie/ noticed that the ceremony was held at “The Little Brown Church”!! Too cute ~ even the building matched the decor!!
Sweetheart Table – Perfectly placed between the guests, the cake and the dance floor! A lovely table for two!
Ceiling Treatment – The ceiling at the Sunol Valley Golf Club has these gorgeous chandeliers, and there were ooodles and oodles of sheer yardage draped with twinkle lights across the whole ceiling. It looked like a fairytale room!
It was such a pleasure to create this dream cake for Barbara and Kai! I got such a thrill and inspiration from their enthusiam. Of course, all couples are excited about planning their wedding and choosing the cake ~ But, there is something extra special about this couple. I wish them all the happiness in the world!
Ann and Brent – at Garre Martinelli Event Center
I met with Ann and Brent back in June 2007 to start planning their cake for November 2, 2007. The ceremony and reception were to be held at Garre Martinelli Event Center in the Livermore, Ca wine country.
They live in Houston, TX and were here for only a short time. We were able to get the consultation/tasting in during their visit. They chose a design called “Filagree Scrolling” from the portfolio and went with a unique, modern presentation of soft blue icing with dark chocolate decoration. Pretty, pretty!!
As for flavor, they chose TWO! On the bottom tier they selected “Black Tie” (white cake with vanilla custard and dark chocolate truffle) and for the other two tiers “Irish Cream” (white cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream and a mint-milk chocolate mousse). As luck may have it, the icing and decor sort of mimiced the second flavor choice so it was very appropriate!
Later Ann sent a copy of her invitation and inquired if the fancy scrolling from it could be done on the cake instead of the original scrolling design… YES!! It’s a very, very ornate filagree and I thought it would fabulous ~ so it was changed.
As the wedding approached we firmed up the plans to have LOTs and LOTs of white flowers to fill in between the seperated tiers and Ann sent me the invitation for the scroll as well as a swatch for the blue… which she appropriately called a “carribean” blue ~ so true! Coincedentally, the couple’s honeymoon is in the Carribean, so it’s no wonder she had that color on her mind! =)
Ann and Brent’s cake cake to life on Nov. 2, 2007. Elegantly displayed on a silver cake stand, with a HUGE quantity of perfectly bloomed white roses and a fantastic contrasting fuschia linen ~ the cake made quite a presentation!
The scrolling was changed only as little as possible to fit into the cake dimensions and make a nice repeating pattern.
The ceremony was onsite on the vineyard lawn. There were lovely streamers, crystals and floral arrangements that decorated it beautifully. The wind was gently blowing so there was a lot of soft swaying and movement in the decor.
This is the “alter” ~ what a great idea!
I love the crystal accents that caught the sun light!
pretty fall detail!
On the other side of the building the reception was held in the hacienda style courtyard. Rare that a November wedding can be held outdoors, but the weather was perfect and the cozy fireplace would ward off any chills! The rich and warm colors of the centerpieces and arrangements also kept a cozy atmosphere!
Fantastic! I love the brances in the centerpiece, with the hanging crystals!
Very artistic presentation of the menu and place-setting… i love the colors!
I think this just might be one of the prettiest floral arrangements I’ve ever seen! Those bright pink “squigly” flowers(in the center of the photo) are so cool! My mom and I saw a garden in Italy with those! What are they!?! I love them ~ great texture!
The couples table.. with places for their maid of honor and best man I presume? Great idea!
How cool to have an outdoor fireplace and groovy lounge at your wedding reception!
The vases on the tables are sooo chic! Look how the cake looks with them!
Extra special applause to Minie, owner of Wish Flowers, for her amazing floral talents. As the bride’s aunt, she was able to make Ann’s imagination of the perfect wedding day become a reality in full-bloom!! And many thanks to Minie for the absolutely perfect roses for the cake! =)
It was a great pleasure to work with Ann and Brent! I wish them all the best for a long and happy marriage! Check out their wedding site for more details :
http://www.mywedding.com/brentandann/index.html
And Vendor info:
Event Coordinator: MB Wedding Designs and Events
Photographer – Jennifer Skog Photography
Videographer – Justin Fone Video
Florist - Wish Flowers
Lighting & DJ – Elle Music & Events
Cake – Glass Slipper Gourmet
Furniture – Blueprint Studios
Pipe & Drape – Enhanced Lighting
Make-Up/Hair – Lux Agency
Quartet – Exeter String Quartet
Photobooth – Photobooth Interactive Works
Officiant – Robert Dittler/White Robed Monks
Paper Luxeries – The Card Girl
Virtual cake today… real cake tomorrow!
I got this cool software that I can use to create virtual images of cakes for my customers. This is one I did a while back… and the real cake order is tomorrow ~ so I am excited to see if the real one is anything like to virtual one. We’ll know it about 12 hours!
And ~ ta-daa! This is the real life version. The original scrolling was chosen from a design in my portfolio. Later they decided to go with the design printed on their invitation.
Why I started this business…
I am the owner and Chef of Glass Slipper Gourmet ~ a business I created to join the two hemispheres of my culinary world. I graduated from California Culinary Academy in 1998 (gasp…almost 10 years ago!) and have worked in both the hot-line/restaurant field and in the pastry field. I could never decide which one to “pick”…. so I started my own business where I can do BOTH!
I spend about 3 days a week cooking for clients in their homes… preparing nutritious, delicious and convenient food for busy families and individuals. Then, I usually have at least one, if not two weddings per weekend ~ so the rest of the week and part of the weekend are spent working on cakes.
I adore my job! I can’t believe I get paid to do this for a living! It’s the best of both worlds!!!
Here we go!!
So I am totally new to the blogging scene….ya, ya I know! I’m a little slow on the technology scene and I don’t have a whole lotta spare time to play around with this stuff ~ but I’ve got to keep up with the times. Plus… maybe it’ll make me rich and famous and I can retire to Tuscany! HA! So, friends… please bear with me as a poke my way around this strange blog world!
Talk to you soon ~ as soon as I figure out what else I want to say I guess….
k
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