Color Me Cake {1}

I have always been in awe of the power of photoshop and I have always dreamed of being able to use it with ease without toiling away searching for tutorials to find what it is I want to do. It is on my list of things to accomplish in 2012.

Thankfully I came across this amazing website, Pugly Pixel, that has templates and tutorials for many of the things I have wanted to do for displaying image on my blog in a prettier way! This week I tackled color palettes, which I've always wanted to do but never made a template for it since I didn't know how. Then I found this cute round color palette template from Pugly Pixel (seriously the best site ever!) that I had to tinker with.

I've wanted to feature wedding cakes somehow since it is my number one obsession with wedding things! I'm hoping by now you know that this is something I can't be cured of. ;-)

So to make me happy, I've decided to feature a weekly cake and a color palette. Two inspirations in one: cake designs and color options! I love it already. I'm calling this series Color Me Cake for now. Just because it is cute. I might change it later but let's just go with it!

(photo credit: Sweet and Saucy Shop)

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Dialogue: Cake Presentation Event?

Holy cold mornings! I cannot believe the drastic temperature change just after Labor Day weekend! Of course I'm used to fall in Oklahoma so I expect Fall here in the Florida panhandle might be nicer. I am anxious to see what the cold season is like here.

We all know that when people go to a wedding they want to see the kiss, the bride's dress and THE CAKE! I really love cake so much that it really was important to me to have the best cake I could ever want. I had the whole backdrop with lights, a special marble table, and had it all set on its own so that it can be reveled in its glory. Though I didn't get the cake I wanted, I always have to share my resentment on that, :-( 

Source: stylemepretty.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

I recently came across a different idea for displaying the cake. Maybe it isn't so different but as much as I love cakes, I was surprised that I didn't think of this when I was getting married. A Cake Presentation Event!

Changing the music, dimming the lights, putting on the spotlight like when you do your first dance. Having the cake hidden until it is wheeled out to be seen by all and giving the time for people to take pictures of it, just before you go up to do the Cake Cutting.

Seriously, if I had the means at the time of my wedding (and my actual cake) I would have definitely done this! Of course this does take more party time away if you are on a time constraint from your venue. I guess removing some events like certain dances and the bouquet/garter toss, etc. can allow for this if you really wanted it.

So, let's have fun dreaming about cake! Tell me, would you do a Cake Presentation Event? Is it overdoing it to give the cake so much emphasis? Are you totally into this idea? Or do you think it is not really worth it? Do share!

Don't be afraid to carry the conversation on the Wedding Pickle Facebook page!

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12

Pickle: How to Cut the Cake

I had a caterer who also did my cake but because she was horrible, she didn't cut and serve the cake as was agreed on before. I even had to find her and ask that she cut the cake. I went back to the dance floor, went to sit down and saw that the cake was still sitting untouched. Thank goodness that I had a guest who knew how to cut wedding cakes who stepped into the role to cut and serve the cake for us.

You may be having a family member cutting the cake for you for and they may not know how to cut and handle a wedding cake and its tiered glory.

Source: junebugweddings.com via Kristina on Pinterest

The Pickle: Having to cut the wedding cake and needing to know how to handle the removal of the tiers.

The Solution: I have rallied up some great online resources that I think are best for teaching you how to cut a wedding cake. No need to google and waste time clicking a bunch of links!

• I found this awesome article from EtiquetteHell.com that not only covers tier removal and cutting the slices, but it also provides more details to make sure that who ever is going to cut your cake is really prepared. 

• For the visual learner, Allrecipes.com has this short video on cutting slices from a tiered cake. 

• Here is an article from The Business of Weddings that gives a different way to cut the cake versus the "circle method" shown in the previous two sources. 

• Can't talk about learning something that has to do with cakes without mentioning Wilton! This guide can help you determine how slices are to be cut for cakes that aren't a regular circle or square. So if you are having a heart, petal, oval, hexagon, or paisley shaped cake, you'll want to have this guide handy. 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. - Psalm 119:105 

Dialogue: Desserts in Place of the Cake

Since I will be guest blogging on Thursday, I decided to move my usual weekly Dialogue to today! This week I want to get your views on the alternatives to having a wedding cake.

I see options of pies, mini cupcakes, cookies, etc. I even see those desserts coupled with the wedding cake for guests. Call me old fashioned, but I am a big wedding cake person and I also believe that the wedding cake is all the dessert guests need because it is the star of the reception (other than the bridal couple!)

 

Source: None via Kara on Pinterest

Of course, I am a lover of the other desserts. Ask my husband and he will tell you of a song I sing often, "I love cookies, I love cake . . . " I know some desserts other than a wedding cake might hold more meaning for a couple or show their personality better.

So let's talk! Tell me what you plan to do? An alternative instead of cake? What alternative? Or are you going to have both?

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. - Romans 12:3-5

Pickle: You Get What You Pay For?

So we just talked about budget. You have set your priorities and know what you are willing to spend. However, there are some things you just shouldn't cheat yourself on. I recently read on a forum that a common mistake brides make is going for the cheapest vendor. Sometimes a vendor can be cheap and not that good. Sometimes a vendor may not be aware of typical pricing, charge cheaply and be really good. I kinda had it both ways. I went cheap on my caterer/cake maker, I got what I paid for. I went cheap on my photographer, 50% off deal. Red flag? Not in this case. I got a steal for some real talent.

The Pickle: How can I avoid getting what I paid for in price and quality?

The Solution: There are a few things you should makes as part of your priority so that you have enough in budget to not cheat yourself. Never be cheap with your photographer and cake. You can also throw in the videographer as a secondary priority.

Why Photographer and Cake: This is simple. Your wedding day will fly by so fast that your photos will be what you hang on to to relive your day. This is number one because there are so many moments to catch that you will want to see, that you need to make sure you have someone who knows weddings enough to catch those moments in a beautiful artistic way. If you get a deal like I had, check the portfolios and recommendations to make sure it isn't a red flag. What ever you do, DO NOT hire your friend to take your photos. It is not worth the missed shots, the resentment that can cause, and they don't get to be a guest at your wedding! Not cool. (Now if you got a professional wedding photographer friend or family member begging to do your wedding, and you like their portfolio, well, I say why not? It helps build their portfolio!)

Now, the cake might be important to some and not to others. I made the mistake of thinking the cake wasn't a big deal. I urge you to reconsider making the cake as important as your photos. Here is why. It is such a centerpiece to your whole event. People leave talking about the dress and the cake. In fact, the cake is so important, it even has its own ceremony! You will have so many photos around the cake, you do not want to cheat yourself.

My photograher and videographer catching the cake-cutting (and my ugly cake lol).

 If you are doing video, you don't want to cheat yourself there for the same reasons as a photographer. Moving images of your day is like really reliving it and you don't want to miss those vital moments! The beautiful thing about video is that you see all the beauty of your day and not all the things that went wrong. You can see your day the way it truly was. :)

Check out my videographer's blog for samples of her videos. Tear-jerkers! Below you will find my wedding video trailer. Are you planning on using a videographer?

Melina + Michael | Oklahoma City Wedding Video from Sarah Pendergraft on Vimeo.

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Pickle: That's Not My Cake!

The Pickle: Not getting what you ordered for your cake.
When you looking at the hundreds of beautiful cake pics, you might be thinking, "I want them all!" Whether you got an idea of your cake in mind or if you end up planning a design with your cake maker, you expect to see the most beautiful at your reception waiting for you in all its glory. Really, the cake is the centerpiece of the party!

Imagine being inspired by this:

Designing this:

Then getting this:

I seriously think that it wasn't that she took creative liberty, but that she lost my design!

The Solution:
Always sign a contract, and if you did with your cake maker and something goes wrong you can at least fight it. Before signing though to avoid that happening, make sure your cake maker is open to communicating with you during the process of making the cake. Maybe ask for a pic sent to you as it is being made, or if you can visit, even just a phone call to double check everything is how you will like it. Always go by recommendations, see an album of their cakes, and if they don't do a tasting for you, you don't want that cake maker. Consider the question at the site below. Print it out and keep as a reference.

Questions to ask your Wedding Cake Baker or Designer