Cake Tasting!

If you are a bride, or ever were a bride, you know that wedding planning sometimes isn't all that fun. It can be stressful and hard work and overwhelming. But I have found one element of wedding planning that is really really fun. Cake Tasting!!!!! Who doesn't love cake? I can tell you that I sure do!

My mom, MOH, Renee, and I went and tested the waters (and cake) at Cakes By Mom and Me in West Memphis, AR. You can visit their website here. They come highly recommended by friends, family and fellow brides. I went into the meeting excited and with a vision. Now, if you know me, I am an extremely visual person. I need to see it all laid out on paper or in person, so I can truly envision what it will be like. So, I took a mock up of what I thought my cake should look like.

My 3 tier, champagne and Ivory mock up. Complete with pearls, magnolias, and  my penguin cake toppers.

When we arrived, we were offered something to drink and immediately got down to business. I showed my mock up and we received cake! Oh cake, glorious cake! Did I mention I like cake?? We were given four different types of cake to taste. Red Velvet with cream cheese butter cream icing, lemon with lemon butter cream, strawberry with strawberry butter cream, and amaretto with almond butter cream.

Cake!!!!!!!!!!!

The cake was delicious! It was moist, the icing was creamy and it made my tummy very happy!!! Now, my favorite cake is white cake. Yes, very dull and boring and plain and simple. But that is my favorite! So the top of my cake (you know the one you freeze and eat on our one year anniversary) will be plain and boring white cake. 

Back to the actual look of the cake. As you saw in a previous picture, I had an idea in my head of how I wanted my cake to look. Three tiers, vertical stripes, champagne and ivory, pearls, magnolias and penguins.

The stripes were any easy element. Vertical stripes on the first and third tier. An all ivory cake with champagne color luster stripes. The middle tier would have horizontal stripes. And in between the horizontal stripes "Love is all you need" would be written. I chose that statement as my theme of the wedding because the first piece of jewelry Daniel ever gave me was a bracelet (when I got my wisdom teeth pulled) that said "Love is all you need." Since then, we have picture frames and other things around the house that say that. So stripes are a go. Pearls lining the bottom of each tier are also a go. 

Paint swatches are used to determine the color of your cake

Then the more in depth we talked, the more I got frustrated and upset. Picking out a cake should not make anyone upset. Since I am such a visual person, I had the idea of my perfect cake. But my perfect cake was impossible (well, not exactly impossible) to make. The problem lied in the Magnolias. Stinking, over-sized, flower of my home state, Magnolias. Magnolias are a very large flower, and in order to have them on my cake the flowers would take center stage and be the focal point of my cake. That is not what I wanted at all! I wanted my champagne luster stripes and my banner ribbon with our wedding theme to take center stage. Not the stinking Magnolias. And who puts Magnolias on a cake anyway? Maybe if there were Magnolias in other elements of my wedding, then maybe so. But alas, there are no Magnolias in my wedding. Anywhere. 

So here I am, trying not to get upset, and in steps my awesome MOH, Renee. She calmed me down and helped me look at it from a different perspective. She said when you have a blank wall and you paint stripes on it, then you add a picture on the wall what do you look at? Do you look at the stripes or the picture? You look at the picture. And the Magnolias were my picture. So I had to 86 the Magnolias. Now, what element is in my wedding? Everywhere? And Southern and matches in my color scheme? Hydrangeas!!!!! So instead of Magnolias on my cake we will have purple Hydrangeas!!! Ahhhh I can see it now! It is all coming together! 

Next order of business. How many people do we have to feed? Too many! With the Groom's cake and my cake a three tier wasn't going to cut it, so a four tier is needed. And that totally messes up my beautiful vision in my head. Back to square one, well, almost. After talking, brain storming and moving things around this is what I came up with. 

Mock up of my actual wedding cake!!

Here is the run down of what the cake will actually look like. It will be a four tier all ivory colored cake with butter cream icing. Vertical stripes on tiers 1, 3, and 4 in champagne color luster fondant (oh and by the way I hate fondant). Pearls on the bottom of each tier. Tier 2 will have one horizontal stripe with pearls lining the top and bottom of the stripe. The stripe will read "Love is all you need" in a plum (purple) color. On each tier there will be Hydrangeas on opposite corners. And on the top, the most important part, my penguin cake topper!!! I went with a silver cake stand to tie in the silver on the penguins. Oh, I'm not going to tell you which flavor cake I chose for the rest of the cake. You will have to wait until the wedding to find out! 

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Silver cake stand 

My penguin cake toppers!!! 

Last but not least, the Groom's cake. Now Daniel hasn't had much to say as far as planning goes. He pretty much says he doesn't care to whatever I ask him. But his cake was another story. Since we got engaged in May, he has said all he wants is a chocolate Xbox cake. So,The Groom's cake will be a Xbox console and controller. And of course, chocolate. 

Xbox cake! 

Next blog post: Engagement photos! 

More Updates!

Ladies and Gentlemen, we finally have a caterer!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. This is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. For a while there, I had come to terms that we were not going to find the right fit. I needed someone who understood my vision and my budget. I wanted a Southern/Asian menu (not a hard concept) without breaking Mom's bank (a little more difficult to accomplish). Mom and I met with a half dozen caterers and had countless calls and emails back and forth before we finally settled on.... drum roll please..... Club Windward!!! Now, Club Windward has come highly recommended by not only my photographer (Snap Happy) but by other caterers as well. It took us a while to tweak the menu to get it just right, but now it has the perfect balance of Southern staples and Asian flare. Alisa and Georgia treated my Mom and I like we were their most important clients and they went above and beyond to make the menu be exactly what I want. Go Club Windward! I really think all of my guests will be pleased with the selection and taste!!! 


Next on the list was find a DJ. That is another check off the list. Not only can my DJ do the music for the reception he is also going to play in our string trio at the ceremony! So ecstatic about this. He is a good friend that I met my freshman year of college at Ole Miss. He and I have remained friends since then and he has graciously said yes to DJ'ing my wedding!  


Next on the agenda - CAKE! Who doesn't love cake?? Mom and I (and hopefully my awesome MOH, Renee) will be meeting with Cakes by Mom and Me in the coming weeks. My goal is to have all of the big/major items planned and checked off the list by the end of the year. That way, in 2012, I can just sit back and relax. The only thing left to do will be to tie up the loose ends and do the small planning that cannot be done now.


Oh, one major change to the Bridal Party. Daniel's younger sister has been given an amazing opportunity to study abroad next semester - in SPAIN! Go Callie! She will be missed, but Daniel and I couldn't be happier for her! So my little sister (who is currently a junior bridesmaid) will "stand" in her place. 


All the guys suits are in and my girls are already ordering their dresses. Everything is coming along nicely. I have yet to find an alternationist, so if you have any suggestions please let me know. 


Last week, Mom and I went and looked at the Venue again. Last time we were there, the reception hall was right in the middle of a huge renovation. There was sheet rock on the walls, bare concrete floors, cement being poured and more. Now that I have seen it all put back together, my mind is at ease. Here are some pictures I took so my readers can see how great it looks now! 

The main room with a view of the dance floor

Mom looking out at the new patio 

Built in dance floor 

New bar! 

Spacious patio

Food room 

Love how this is a separate room 

Bridal Suite 

Daniel and I have our engagement pictures this weekend, as long as he doesn't get hurt again! We had originally scheduled the session in October but Daniel had an ankle injury and we had to reschedule. I really, really wanted Fall engagement pictures. There is just something about that time of year. The leaves are changing on the trees, football is in full swing, and you have a few nice days of less than 100 degree heat. We chose a destination downtown to take the pictures so you won't really be able to tell that is no longer fall.


That is about all I have in the way of updates regarding the wedding. Just some things going on in our lives - the new Call of Duty game came out last week, so I have lost Daniel to that. We bought a fry daddy and made homemade onion rings that turned out quite good. And we are moving in December!  

Save the Date!

Ahhhh!!! I am so excited to announce that the Save the Dates are here! Thanks to my fabulous photographer and friend, Jennifer, my Save the Dates are amazing!!!! The original idea I found on Pinterest and Jenn helped me tweak the design and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out! They are cute, simple, and southern!

Here is how they came to me. 5 x 7 cardstock. Dark purple lettering (one of my wedding colors) and "tea" stained paper

All cut out!! 

And tied with twine!! 

Be on the lookout for yours soon! 

We've Registered!!

Only six months to go!! 194 days to be exact according to my wedding day countdown clock! So, its about that time to do what all Brides love, register for wedding gifts!

My mom and I spent a whole Saturday registering at Target, Macy's and Kohl's. The reason we picked 3 different places, is simply because each has a little something different to offer. Target has all of your essentials: bedding, bath and kitchen stuff. Macy's has China, silver, and crystal. Kohl's has all the cool Food Network stuff!

Registering at Target was a lot of fun. I registered for bathroom and kitchen stuff mostly. Macy's was a little more difficult. I have a set of China I inherited from my paternal grandmother a few years back. Although it is not my style, I never dreamed of registering for another China pattern since it held such sentimental value. But in sitting there I fell in love with a Kate Spade pattern and just had to add it to my wishlist. Here is where the difficult part came in. I thought you could just register for China add some glasses and silverware and just be done. WRONG! The glasses have to match and the silverware has to match and you need serving bowls in the same pattern and so on. I was quite overwhelmed. Good thing I had my mom along for support and she was a tremendous help!! I also registered for Arthur Court silver and a red Kitchen Aid mixer! Kohl's list was much shorter but I found some really cool Rachael Ray Oil & Vinegar bottles.

Below are some of my favorite things I registered for:

My China! Kate Spade Belle Blvd 

Rachael Ray EVOO and Vinegar Bottles 

Kitchen Aid Mixer, but in Red!

Red pots and Pans

Wooden Salad Bowl set

Still meeting with Caterers. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Wedding Planning Updates

First, if you notice my blog looks a little different, it is because it is. It also has a new link (not by choice). Second, I know, shame shame, I am a bad blogger! It has been a while since I have filled in all my loyal readers with details of wedding planning! So here a just a few short updates.

The Carey-Tran wedding has an official florist! Lynn-Doyle! I am so excited about this!! Not only is Mr. Doyle going to be the florist he will also be my go-to guy for the wedding. He will be in charge of the flowers, centerpieces, decor for the ceremony and reception. This is an amazing help not only to me, but to my bridesmaids as well. No one will have to set up tables or clean up at the end of the night. He handles this all!

My mother and I have been meeting with caterers. Ugh, this has been a task. I have to find a caterer that can cook both Southern and Asian food well and is in my budget. Let me tell you, feeding people isn't cheap, and the way our guest list keeps growing, I'm not sure what we are going to do. Here are our 3 front runners:

DRAPER'S

I want a Southern-Asian inspired meal at my wedding. Some of the food choices I am considering are BBQ, fried green tomatoes, fried rice, spring rolls and more! This is another aspect of the wedding I am really excited about!

Next, all of my girls have chosen dresses!!!! Yay!!!! Each bridesmaid has chosen a different dress with the exception of 2. And I must say all the dresses look great on the girls. I hope they love them as much as I do!

Tina and Callie picked such cute dresses! The finished products will be in Plum

Not only have all the girls picked their dresses, the guys suits have been picked, ordered and paid for!!! This is a big burden off my shoulders now! We chose a very nice Calvin Klein, light tan linen suit. The tan linen suit will be paired with an Ecru colored shirt and plum tie for the groomsmen and my dad. Daniel will wear the same color suit and shirt with a purple patterned tie. He picked this tie himself and I am very pleased with his choice! 

Tan Linen Suit and Plum Tie

My shoes are here!!!! I ordered my shoes from David's Bridal and I had them dyed to match my girls dresses. Well, the first time they were dyed, it was wrong and there was white still showing. But, the second time was a charm and they look great! I am really excited about my shoes! I chose a wedge heel, because I know my feet are going to be killing me by the end of the night, and hopefully I can wear these longer than a regular heel! 

All dyed and ready to wear!

I have been asking all my friends and family to save their empty baby food jars. These jars will serve as favors at the wedding. I am going to paint all the silver lids and do the printable sticker labels for each jar. The picture below is where my idea came from. Plus, Daniel and I love jellybeans!

The start of the jar collection 

I hope you enjoyed the update! Up next,. DJ, dress alterations, and going to see the venue since it has been renovated!