Wedding Cake Artistry

Via brightonsavoy.com.au

A wedding can be seen as a collection of matches made in heaven.  Of course the first match made in heaven is the happy couple, but then as the details of the wedding come into focus, we find more examples of perfect pairings.  A venue that will put on a celebration tailor-made for the the soon-to-be newlyweds; a DJ and MC who clicks with them right away and whose personality will keep the crowd happy and dancing all night long,  shoes to complement THE perfect dress.

But there's one element that can sometimes be overlooked and underestimated in terms to how much impact it can have when its done right.

I present, The Wedding Cake.

She can be a thing of beauty.

Sublime!
Via rosalindmillercakes.com

She can be, literally, a little slice of heaven.

Layers of love... and perfection
Via theknot.com

But most importantly,  a wedding cake is an unofficial decor element, albeit an edible one, and a lot of times, if there's one misstep April and I see, is a wedding cake or dessert that doesn't quite complement or, isn't on the same level aesthetically, as the rest of the wedding. Wedding cakes have come a long, looooong way in terms of flavours, design, embellishments and moreover, wedding desserts have evolved beyond cakes, to include such options as cupcakes, macarons, designer eclairs, even artisan cheese wheels!

A macaron wedding dessert to tempt and tease

Via weddingomania.com

Macarons AND eclairs? I'm IN!

Via Pinterest 

Not as sweet, but still a treat - a cheese (wheel) cake
Via bridalmusings.com

I'm not sure if it's because other wedding details overshadow it, or is it because I absolutely LOVE cake and desserts, but I wanted to share a post about a cake baker who is elevating the humble and woefully overlooked wedding cake to major star status!  Ron Ben-Isreal is single-handedly returning wedding cakes to the main stage, re-imagining what makes an unforgettable cake, introducing new ways to decorate and personalize them and touches on just why the wedding cake should be given serious consideration!

*~Wedding Cake Masterclass: The Artful Importance of a Wedding Cake!

If there are two takeaways from this PDA (Perfect Dessert Appeal) to be had, they would be:

1) Treat your wedding cake like an important member of your decor family and let your cake be an edible, visual extension of your day; and

2) I love wedding cake. Please send your unloved or unclaimed slices my way!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

...And a Dress That Weighs More Than Can Be Measured!

Via whatsthefuzzabout.wordpress.com

So, remember the dress we showed on Monday that worked its way down the family tree? Here's another special dress to behold... It is intricate...

Via whatsthefuzzabout.wordpress.com

....it is embellished.....

Via whatsthefuzzabout.wordpress.com

....it is edible.

Via whatsthefuzzabout.wordpress.com

Completely edible, from top to bottom!

Via whatsthefuzzabout.wordpress.com

This wedding cake dress is the brainchild and labour of love by an artist, a wedding cake sculptor and a cake shop owner, and weighs in at over 150 pounds (this is the ONLY time it's ever been acceptable to know how much the contents of a wedding dress weigh!!) and features edible cake lace and wafer sheets for the ruffles and flowers, as well as silver dragees to add delicate metallic embellishments (these little silver Devils are one of April's favourite part of a cookie or cake; it's almost ALL about dragees!)  The main structure of the cake is made entirely of fondant, so on the downside, there's no fluffy, buttery cake hidden under this dress but it is nonetheless a stunning creation (and a sugar fiend's dream!)

*~All about that cake, 'bout that cake - NO PASTRY!~*

Now, on the upside, there have been edible wedding cakes WITH ACTUAL CAKE INSIDE! created for real-life wedding and dessert enjoyment and it's only right that we end on a delicious note....

Via littlepinkbook.co.za

Via newportweddings.blogspot.com

Via theweddingsecrets.net

Via dadmakescakes.com

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

#TBT - Celine Dion Part 1: Wedding Day

(Photo via dailycaller.com)

I have a secret soft-spot for Celine Dion.  She is technicolor, in a monochrome landscape! When you watch her interviews, she is animated, warm and ingratiating,  emotionally unguarded and almost uncomfortably romantic and sentimental.... and I like it! A few years ago, my best friend took her mom to a Celine Dion concert  within weeks of us seeing Sam Roberts (another Quebecer, albeit a very different type of artist!) and she said that the show blew her away..... Costume changes that got better each time, great production, choreography and lighting, killer vocals, amazing interaction with her audience - my friend wasn't an huge fan before the show, but walked out in awe of the great experience, and raved about what a high-energy, entertaining show this lady put on.  Her music isn't necessarily my favourite; I don't own any of her CDs  but we do have a copy of 'Unison' lurking in the basement in our treasure-trove of cassette tapes (I gave to to my husband in 1991 when we were dating, which instantly makes me sound old.  Probably apropos since it is Throwback Thursday. Now, excuse me while I catch up on my Golden Girls!#getitBlancheDevereaux)

Now fast forward slightly to 1994, when I married my cassette-carrying hubby and less than two months later, Celine married her Rene. While we share our marriage years, believe me, that's where the similarities end. My wedding day was inspired by the togetherness of an '80's sitcom family, with a dash of the '90's grunge attitude (hence the infamous pantsuit instead of a fancy, princess dress; then I growled and kicked of my high heels at the first available moment and spent the rest of the night barefoot) and the budget of, well, there was no budget. You have to have money to have a budget and we didn't have a whole lot, but we knew we just wanted to start our lives together, and all we needed that day was the officiant to make it legal and to break bread with the seventeen people we invited. Ms. Dion was inspired by the opulence of Versailles-meets-Vegas, the beauty of Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, and going very big or going home (and she was NOT going home!)

Her wedding dress and overall look was very oooooold-school and something Marie Antoinette would have rocked the hell out of;  a dress that required a thousand hours of work, studded with pearls throughout, a twenty foot train, sleeves were belled with a metric ton of flare, the hip was exaggerated, the waist was cinched in and she topped it off with a crystal headpiece that weighed twenty pounds and had to be sewn onto her head!!!  The reception was opulence realized - as it was a December wedding, there were snowflakes falling lightly over the course of the evening and doves cooing and flying overhead. Yes, snow and doves. This girl had Vegas in her before she ever got there!! Oh, and her cake? It was simple little affair, a tower of profiteroles (cream puffs) - a mere 2,677 little puffs of glory in a towering showpiece. Mon dieu!

While this wedding was extravagant and expensive (this is what half a million dollars could get you 21 years ago!) in lieu of wedding gifts, they asked instead for donations to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Her niece has died the previous year from the disease and her wedding gifts gave to the Foundation to the tune of $200,000, and she is still a champion for the cause today. So let's take a look back at some pictures of this 1990's wedding that ended 1994 on a glitzy note and philanthropic note!

~~Modern Day Versailles - Celine Dion and Rene Angelil Extravaganza~~

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

Idea Roundup!

Sometimes things change so fast that if you blink, you’ll miss some very cool stuff! Every day there’s a new dance, slang, app, haircut. hot cuisine, colour, celeb obsession and meme – and it can be dizzying, the vast amount of choices. So it’s not surprising that there are new ideas popping up every day when it comes to weddings; the hot flowers, the new food trend, décor inspirations, the ‘It’ dress or shoe and everything in-between. I’ve been seeing the ’It’ cake more and more  – the Chandelier Cake or Hanging Gardens Cake (the topsy-turvy cake of choice for Kaley Cuoco’s recent nuptials)  Here’s an idea of what one looks like, and a link to a few more beautiful examples:

Photo via Judy’s Cakes

22 Chandelier Wedding Cakes That Will Make You Very, Very Nervous

The Chandelier Cake is the tip of the new food iceberg (foodberg?) when it comes to weddings – in some cases, people are subbing in donuts and cronuts, pastel-pretty macarons, or even cheese wheels instead of traditional cakes; designer poutine, artistan pizza, candy and sno-cone stations, and milk-and-cookie bars are cropping up more and more!  Wedding locations  are becoming more creative and inventive whether it’s due to their actual location (aquariums and art museums) or visually stunning décor and individualization and thinking outside the box are creating memorable days and nights.  Here’s a roundup of some new ideas:

The Knot's 10 Hot New Wedding Trends for 2015!

I’m still dreaming of  a carnival-themed wedding to be featured somewhere, a Big Top adventure featuring a decadent grown-up hotdog cart where you can get your dogs (both meat and veggie) dressed with anything from lobster and burrata to chocolate-dipped bacon rashers,  acrobats and contortionists milling about, a Tiny Tom truck set up beside a cotton candy machine and fireworks at midnight! If you find out about the aforementioned kind of wedding, drop me a line and direct me to the hotdog cart please!!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~

Lisa and April