Groom's Cake - How crazy should one go?

I think like many of you the first time and only time I had heard of a groom's cake was from Steel Magnolias. I mean, who could forget that famous Red Velvet Armadillo!?
Shocking and fabulous at the same time.

As the specialty cake craze grew I heard more and more about these cakes, stemming from what I believe was a Southern tradition. It seems like now has swept the nation and is often presented at the rehearsal dinner. (I'll be the first to admit, a Virginia Tech logo would not match my motif!)

As we were planning our wedding in my hometown, and I was making the bulk of the decisions, I knew I wanted to do something nice for FH. FH is a loyal HOKIE (Virginia Tech Alum) and we had quite a large population of fellow Hokies as guests. So what else, a Hokie cake!?

While watching a Food Network Cake Challenge one day I discovered Cakes by Jay! I thought for sure he was my cake guy. Well, I am sure many of you have gone through this, as things get closer, money actually does become an object. I contact Jay about doing a Hokie cake, either of the Hokie Bird or of the VT logo. He came back saying a cake for 45 people in the VT logo would be about $350. What!???? I could only imagine if I had ordered one for the final count of the rehearsal dinner - 75 people! (To note- Jay's cakes are amazing, I am sure making a cake like the one I suggested is easy peasy but they are filled with orders so it wouldn't be worth it for them to make the cake for less- and they were SOOOOO incredibly nice. If I were in the market for a gorgeous cake and had a budget to match, I would DEFINITELY contact them. I was very impressed with their service and their quick responses)

So, back to the drawing board. My stepmother suggested Whistle Stop. Whistle Stop is an amazing family owned bakery known for its cheesecakes. My family has ordered from them for years. We had them do a full sheet cake with the Virginia Tech logo piped on and it looked fantastic! And, let me tell you, the chocolate cake with raspberry mouse and butter cream icing was to die for (much tastier than my wedding cake but I'll post about that on a later date). I mean, does anyone actually like the taste of fondant?

I guess my little lesson from this is- I attempted to go with a baker with cache but in the end going with a trusted, small vendor that has proven to be a quality vendor was definitely the right choice!

What did you do? Or what are your plans for a groom's cake?

 

I became a Mrs. in May!

 
Ladies!!! I know, I know it has been ages. The wedding and work events leading up to it WIPED me out!

BUT! I am happy to report that I am back and a happily married woman! The wedding was wonderful, everything I had dreamed of (even if it went faster than I could ever imagine), Mother Nature was fair but not lovely, and the food and drinks were amazing.

I am so happy with all of my vendors and hope over the next few weeks to review them and tell you about the little and the big things that worked -and a couple that didn't!

Chat soon!
Love,
Mrs. in May!

Real Wedding: Real Fun, Real Fab Part 2: Place settings, etc

OK, here are some of those details that in my mind, really bring it all together. But, they also maybe the type of stuff that only a wedding obsessed person would appreciate. (Like would FH actually tell his friends how nice their menu and place settings were? I think not)

Either way- looked fantastic to me and I certainly appreciate it all. Actually, while FH may not remember all of the details, I think the likes of him remembers that they were there and how lovely everything really was. OK, he would probably say "Cool" or "top notch" definitely NOT lovely, but you get it.



Let me tell you, I ate that macaroni and cheese like a champion. I was actually embaressed that others could see how much I had on my plate but I couldn't help myself!
How delightful! Love and good fortune to you guys too!

Real Wedding - REAL FUN, REAL FAB (Flowers)

So yesterday I went to a fantastic wedding of great friends, Nick and Sara. Nick and FH work together and we became fast friends. I'll start off by saying that these pictures are taken by me and I barely know how to use my new camera! Also, I have like NO pics of the bride and her gorgeous dress. Mostly because every time I saw her I was too excited that I forgot to shove a camera in her face.

First off - her flowers were great and she had little touches of feathers - how fun!!!

this was outside the church doors - so pretty! I love how she didn't go to overboard with the fall colors. I love rich fall colors but I don't feel like you have to be a slave to your season, I also don't feel that you should totally deny it either. This was perfect!

Here's some more -
This stunning arrangement/s looked fantastic at the altar and again as decor for the cocktail hour flanking the arched courtyard entryway. And- she's a crafty one - it was again repurposed as decor for the buffett line! GREAT JOB!!! And, of course, only someone planning her own wedding would notice the repurposing, to the average eye they were gorgeous arrangements seen everywhere! It was done very much on the sly which I loved.





The reception flowers were a fantastic complement without being exactly the same - I loved it. There was a mix of high centerpieces and low ones. The high ones were set on the outside of the room and the low ones in close, this was great - you never had to worry about a blocked view! How smart! Oh- don't you love those peacock feathers!!??




Things I don't have - the bridesmaids or the brides boo-k or the really fun boots the boys wore - feathers!

So, more to come, I even have some video, I just have to figure out how to get it on here.

Whatever makes you happy...

Waffle House Wedding;
From the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Funny thing is, I find the photography in this slide show to be awesome!
Well, I think one of the hardest things about wedding planning is making it unique and personal, this couple really outdid themselves...

Update:
For those of you that read the story, all I keep thinking about is "who is the jerk that wouldn't cover the groom's shift on his wedding day!"
Nice friends! Either way, it definitely turned out unique and something to talk about!