Great Wedding Cake Hunt

You should begin researching wedding cakes at least five to six months ahead of your wedding date if you have your heart set on a spectacular one. If you have a simpler cake in mind, you can begin your search three to four month ahead of time.


Get recommendations from friends, wedding consultants, caterers, reception site coordinators, bridal fairs, and regional bridal magazines. Review the baker's portfolio so you can see pictures of the cakes they've created. Most bakeries have opportunities for you to come in and have a tasting, so take full advantage of this service. When you're ready to order your cake, make sure you cover the specific terms such as size, tiers, flavors, fillings, colors, decorations, presentation, delivery, date, time, and location.

Your baker will need to know:

• Number of guests
  
• Seasons or room temperature
  
• Overall room size
  
• Final decorations
  
• Address of reception site to which cake is to be delivered, along with clear, concise directions and any specific instructions regarding delivery
  
• Any other dessert being served
  
• Room decor, decorations, and colors
  
• Kitchen logistics (refrigeration)
  
• Name of reception site coordinator, florist, and caterer
  

Wedding cakes have a wide cost range, beginning at around $200 and going up to $1,000 plus. Many of the absolutely stunning ones that you see in nation magazines can be upward of $1,200. Cakes are also priced by per serving, with the range being from $2.00 per serving on up to $20.00 per serving.

Mousse, cheescake, fresh fruit lead cake trends

Every few months, baker Tom Nieto heads to the magazine racks for an item he'll see dozens of times: the quarterly issue of Martha Stewart's wedding magazine. "I can't tell you how often brides come to our shop with her books and magaines and ask: 'Can you do this?' '' he says.

''This'' could be a multi-tiered glamour cake decorated with large pearls or a triple-layer gateau covered with basket-weave frosting and studded with sugared kumquats.

Nieto has seen the trends come and go during the 13 years he's been making wedding cakes at his store, Masterpiece Bakery. The traditional fruitcake is a thing of the past, unless it's a Jamaican dark rum cake which Nieto is sometimes called upon to decorate.

Dummy cake tiers are also long gone so guests are seeing the real thing. Souvenir pieces of cake can be done separately from fruitcake for those who want to stick to tradition, he says. Popular choices for cakes today are mousse, fresh fruit or cheesecakes.

Nieto says it's not unusual to have a different type for each tier - wedding cakes have anywhere from one to 10 - to please every palate on the guest list. To make the choice easier, Nieto says he gives samples so the bride and groom can decide what they like.

Decorations are often fresh flowers - chosen to co-ordinate with the wedding flowers - or fruit, either artificial or real depending on the type. Prices vary with a two-tier starting at about $190 and a three-tier $295 and up. Nietopoints out his prices include delivery and set-up.

Eager couples should take note - wedding cakes take time. Nieto says he's already taken a number of orders for summer weddings.

Step by step guide to throwing a bridal shower

Your best friend is getting married. You want to help make this a special time in her life, and one of the things you'd like to help with is planning a bridal shower. But you're a little nervous Put away your misgivings, experts say. Planning a wedding shower that will be remembered
with pleasure does not have to be difficult if you keep a few tips in mind.

When: A wedding shower can take place two months to two weeks before the wedding.

Where: Private homes, restaurants, condo or apartment clubhouses all are popular choices.

Who: Usually the maid of honor or close friends do the honors of hosting the bridal shower. Family members, such as sisters or mother-in-laws, traditionally do not host the showers since it can be viewed as self-serving.

Must haves: Designate a person to record all gifts and who gave them. This is so the bride and groom can properly thank givers by promptly sending a thank you card. It is also appropriate to give each attendee a bridal shower favor or a unique momentos such as a heart-shaped soap favor scented with rosemary or scented votive candles.

Who to invite: Close friends, family, coworkers of the bride and groom and church or congregation members can shower good wishes on the couple. Don't invite everyone on the wedding guest list to the shower -- it should be personal. A good rule of thumb is creating a list of people you'd invite to a close birthday party.

How the event unfolds: Set aside about two hours for the event. Greet guests and serve light appetizers. After most guests have arrived, go around the room and have guests introduce themselves and say how they know the bride and groom. Play three or four shower games, if desired. Break for refreshments and other incidentals. Open gifts. Host should thank departing
guests individually.

Tips for picking out a florist

It's hard to imagine a wedding without flowers. They add a special touch of beauty and fragrance to the event that complements the overall style and color scheme. But before you begin making up bouquets of roses and lillies, you must invest time in choosing a quality florist. Here are some tips from the experts.

• Family and friends are excellent sources for recommending florists. If
  you've admired the flowers at a friend's wedding, request the name of her
  florist.
  
  
• The role of the florist is to demystify the whole experience. But there
  must be a level of trust.
  
  
• The bride should allow them to use their discretion when it comes to
  choosing the right flowers.
  
  
• The florist you choose should help you work within your price range as
  well.
  
  

Once you've come to a decision, go over the details with him or her. Your florist should also visit your church and reception, site with you to discuss the most visually effective floral arrangements. It also helps to have a swatch of the fabric you're planning to use, so that you can choose flowers to accent the look.

Preserving your bouquet

Bridal bouquets represent the loveliest expression a bride will make on her wedding day. It may be one of the few memories that is important enough to preserve and display prominently in your home throughout your marriage.

Experts say that a bride's bouquet can be a source of supply for many different interesting home accents. If choosing to keep it intact, some form of preservation is essential to keep it from crumbling; freeze-drying being the best solution. Silica preservation can also work reasonably well, although flowers will take on more of a dried floral appearance with this method.

Once preserved, these complete bouquets can be encased in glass to be further enjoyed, possibly hanging on the wall or even placed in a dust-free spot like a china cabinet. Broken apart, it can become part of a floral arrangement, suitable for a dining table, hall or anywhere else in a home.

Or, the flowers can be made into a garland or swag wall hanging, or even a wreath.

68% of couples still prefer white wedding

A white wedding in church is still the most popular way of tying the knot although costs have shot up significantly in just one year, according to a new survey.

Despite the growth in unusual venues from ballrooms to rollercoasters the majority of couples still prefer to keep their big day traditional. The poll in Wedding & Home magazine found A majority of couples, 68 percent, still prefer walking up a church aisle compared with 90 percent 10 years ago.

More and more are opting to complete the traditional look with a white wedding. Trendy outfits are rejected by 88 percent of brides, a 20 percent leap on last year. But while brides splash out up to $860 on a new dress their husbands-to-be are most likely to spend a tenth of that on hiring morning dress.

Flowers should be simple but elegant

Just as wedding gown fashions have become increasingly elegant and simple, the bridal bouquets seem to be matching the trend.

A small, tighly knit bouquet compliments a simple a-line dresses, while a large cascade of roses is more fitting to a bride wearing tule.

For Karin Kissler, who's been designing bridal bouquets for more than 20 years, it helps to understand the tone of the wedding when selecting flowers. However, if the bride doesn't have a clear idea of what she wants, she tries to draw her out. "I can show her flowers that might go best with what she's wearing. The best flowers are available in March and April. Those are spring flowers, and not as expensive,'' she says.

This year, Kissler has been designing more round nosegays, with simple looks such as all roses instead of cascading flowers. She will tie them together with a satin ribbon, sometimes with exposed stems. "Often brides bring me sashes off the bridesmaids' dresses,'' she said.

In addition to the bridal bouquet, flowers need to be designed for the wedding party. "You need bride and attendants' (bouquets), boutineers for all the men who are doing anything, from ringbearers to grandfathers to ministers. You need corsages for the women, altar arrangements, pew bows and aisle runners,'' says Kissler.

Whatever flowers you plan for your wedding, plan ahead. This means at least one month in advance, and often brides will begin looking at books and gathering ideas three to four months ahead.

Flowers have to be ordered, special ribbons have to coordinate with dresses, and, according to Kissler, some weddings take her a full week to prepare for. "I'll order my flowers more than one week in advance. I'll start making my bows ahead,'' she said.

When choosing flowers for the altar arrangement, which can also be used at the reception, kissler suggests picking flowers that will show up in a photograph. "Any memory you have is in the photograph,'' she said. Another memory that can be preserved is the bride's bouquet. Kissler often makes a smaller bouquet for the bride to toss at the end of the reception, so that she can keep the main one.