Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Graduations, NFL celebrations and tying the knot!

Celebration season is here...........again! Tis the season for graduations, birthdays, weddings and many more occasions that warrant an awesome cake!

This week I had the pleasure of creating a replica of a Cincinnati Bengals helmet for a doctor who just became the head team orthopedic surgeon and
physician for the Cincinnati Bengals. Congrats, doctor!




This cake was a gift for a young man who is graduating high school from Hilton Head Prep. This cake served all the guests at his pool party (70) and was a replica of HHP's logo. The cake also featured a grad cap cake and whimsical sugar confetti. Congrats class of 2011!




Lisa and Steve- Olde Pink House, Savannah, GA.

Lisa and Steve were married at beautiful historic Forsyth Park in Savannah with their intimate dinner reception following at The Olde Pink House in Savannah. Lisa Manning of Southern Weddings did a fantastic job handling the details of this day! This 2 tier cake was finished in white butter cream with a shiny ivory fondant ribbon, monogram emblem, sugar calla lilies and a sugar bow. I was able to have a short meet-and-greet visit with Lisa and Steve the day after their wedding as I had not met them in the planning process. They were so happy with everything and the hugs were flowing! Congrats you two!




Kellie and Kyle- Westin Resort, Ocean Pavilion


I have been working with Kellie and Kyle for just under a year and a half. They have been so easy to work with and very fun and relaxed with their cake design. As always, the Westin does a fantastic job with their weddings! The attention to detail at Kellie and Kyle's wedding was superb! Kellie chose a 4 tier square cake finished in white butter cream with her aqua color incorporated into a band at the base of each tier trimmed with her coral splash color. Sugar starfish and sand dollar with sugar sea grass decorate the tiers. His and hers sea turtles made of sugar for the top. I LOVED working with Kellie and Kyle! Congrats!






Tuesday, May 24, 2011

More beautiful May wedding cakes!

This week's clients had one thing in common- they all wanted beautiful wedding cakes!

From wedding receptions at rustic water-front cabins, to beautiful pavilions in nature and even elegant ballroom settings, these clients receptions were as beautiful and unique as they are!

Elizabeth and Drew Straessle- Dataw Island Club, Carolina Room


Elizabeth and Drew met me when I was moving my fixtures into my current location over two years ago. Visiting the shopping center on a whim, they stopped in to greet us and asked about wedding cakes since at the time, they were preparing to plan their Atlanta, GA based reception. After learning that Atlanta is not within my service area, they were bummed. Fast forward a year, I once again bumped into Elizabeth and Drew at an area bridal showcase. This time our greeting came with the news that due to a deployment and military orders, their wedding date had changed and so had their venue. Now planning an elegant May wedding at Dataw Island Club, I was their wedding cake designer of choice! Elizabeth and Drew are wonderful! Planning her wedding while Drew was deployed, Elizabeth took the reigns and met with me at my studio to begin planning her elegant 4 tiered wedding cake and F-18 pilot themed grooms cake. Elizabeth and Drew LOVE wine! In fact, their reception was wine themed. They have visited several vineyards together and someday aspire to own their very own vineyard!

Their wedding cake, a 4 tier hexagon and round mix, was covered in ivory butter cream with white and pearlized accents. Intricate vine inspired piping embellished the round tiers, while swags and draping decorated the hexagon tiers, modeled after Dataw Island Clubs elegant drapery. Live florals in pinks, creams and greens finished the look.


Cake before flowers





Drew's grooms cake was a vineyard which housed an F-18 landing strip, a sugar paste replica of his jet and a custom sugar sign for their future vineyard. So much fun! Check out the grooms cake table, which was decorated with photos of their various trips to vineyards and their favorite wines! So creative!









Heaven and Tom- The Gallery at Old Fort Pub, Hilton Head Plantation


Heaven and Tom wanted a cake that felt elegant while leaving nothing to be desired in the way of creativity! An elegant 3 tier square with quilting and pearl embellishments was finished with a climbing vine of sugar blossoms to capture the fun side of their wedding they were hoping to incorporate. I love their cake and they are wonderful, too!







Stephanie- Mary Ann Peebles Pavilion- The Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn


Stephanie was wonderful! A traditional minimalist at heart, Stephanie decided that you only do this once so why not go a little crazy! Keeping her nature inspired feel, Stephanie opted for a 3 tier butter cream finished cake with sugar leaves and vines climbing and covering one half of the cake. When I arrived to deliver, Stephanie was on the property taking some pre-event images with her photographer. Might I say she was a GORGEOUS bride!


LOVE the tree trunk cake stand!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Congratulations!!

Creating cakes for different types of celebrations gives me the diversity I often need in this business. I'd be happy and content creating beautiful wedding cake after beautiful wedding cake every week, but I enjoy creating cakes for other celebrations too! I mean, honestly speaking, my job is a happy job. I meet with clients at the happiest times in their lives, and never have to create cakes for somber occasions or times of pain and grief....I have a happy job!

Occasionally, I will have a chance to do something that makes me really really happy! An event that is dear to me or a cake for someone close. This weekend, I got to do just that!

An old friend (well, she will kill me for using the word 'old' so let's re-phrase), a high school friend of mine graduated from law school yesterday. I have witnessed first-hand, through Facebook and other social media, that this was no easy feat for her. Ashley has often reminded all of us outside of the law school realm that she envied us for having a chance to live our lives normally, without being buried under the piles and piles of heavy and long-winded books full of terminology we will never understand. She kept us up-to-date on her study habits through procrastinating posts from the Starbucks study sessions she would have regularly. I know this moment is a special one for her. It's that finish line you tell yourself you are working towards, but never actually think you will see! I get it.....and she did it! We are all very proud of her and hope she feels she has plenty of time to make up for the years she was hiding under that opprobrious rock. Congrats, Ashley!

This cake is a stack of law books, complete with a hollow Criminal Law book made of sugar paste for which her parents hid her graduation gift inside. A sugar Starbucks coffee cup, tipped over, spilling coffee (made of fondant) adorns the display as well as a judges' gavel and a congratulatory message displaying her official title! I hope she loved the cake (well, I know she did)!




This grooms cake was created for a die-hard Dwight Schrute fan. For all who watch The Office, I hope you can appreciate this Dwight Schrute bobble head cake. The bobble head figurine was in working mechanical order, and did in fact 'bobble'. It is made of sugar paste and completely edible. I hope he enjoyed his cake!




This grooms cake was created for a University of South Carolina alumn and loyal Gamecock fan. USC logo cake-



Katherine and Adam- Westin Resort Ocean Pavilion.

It is truly amazing what wedding planner Amanda Spencer of Spencer Special Events can do! With the wonderful Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa as a venue, Katherine and Adam were in great hands! Their reception set-up and decor was gorgeous!! This 4 tier cake was covered in smooth white butter cream with a pearlized fondant ribbon band at the base of each tier, trimmed at the top with hundreds of individual sugar pearls. Sugar calla lilies and leaves finished the look. I had a wonderful time working with this couple and creating their elegant and sophisticated cake. I hope they loved it!!



AND- I managed to have this gloriously beautiful Sunday off! What a wonderful weekend!!

Thanks for looking!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Welcome to May 2011- and my 100th blog post!!

Welcome to May 2011- where there is pretty much a wedding for every day of the week! I love May in the lowcountry. The weather couldn't be better, the landscape is at it's best and my clients are making their wedding day dreams come true!

I have a very personal connection to this weeks clients. They are some of the greatest I have ever come to know. I was happy to have been given the opportunity to create their wedding cakes, get a peek into their lives and make them incredibly happy through my craft.

Joy and Dennis- Port Royal Golf Club

Joy and Dennis are incredible people! Other vendors and I have said Joy should be a wedding planner! Her meticulous attention to details, both large and small, are amazing! She was so on top of things through out the planning process! I never had a doubt that together Joy and I would design the perfect cake for her! Joy and Dennis had a 4 tier cake with shimmering ivory butter cream, white embroidered piping detail, spice colored fondant ribbon border and 7 very beautiful sugar flowers inspired by the south with a spice colored center, spice colored monkey tails and white curly willow. I absolutely LOVED this cake and I hope they did too!






Suzie and Alan- Dataw Island Club, Tabby Room

Suzie has been incredible to work with! She has very a simple and elegant taste and wanted to reflect that in her cake. She favored a 3 tier cake with ivory butter cream, coral colored fondant ribbon border, white pearl border and intricate coral colored piping. Live white and yellow roses finished the look. Congrats Suzie and Alan!




Susan and Jordan- Windows on the Waterway, Hilton Head Plantation


Susan and Jordan are great! One tasting and design consultation was all it took to give them the wedding cake of their dreams! This cake was very simple, but unique in it's own right. 3 tier finished in smooth white butter cream with a pearlized fondant ribbon border at the base of the bottom and top tiers, white sugar pearls on top and bottom tier and a navy fondant sash with a knot and a ribbon tie hugging the middle tier. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cake!!



Amy and Peter- Coastal Discovery Museum @ Honey Horn Plantation

I have to say I have never had the opportunity to meet Amy and Peter in person. Their circumstances required conversation by phone and email only. I really love Amy's style and how she put together one of the most beautiful wedding receptions I have ever seen! I wish I had a chance to meet her, but I love her cake and hope she did too! This cake is a 3 tier cake with ivory, white and dark butter colored sugar embellishments and an embroidered lace design piped on the sides of the tiers. Very classic and vintage yet modern and sophisticated while still fun. Imagine that!





Sunday, May 1, 2011

Here Piggy Piggy..............

Last weekend was a fun and exciting week for cakes! With a healthy mix of eclectic, tropical, funky, sculpted and fancy, the weekend was anything but ordinary.

My 7 year old son, Nathan, was cast with 5 (yes, 5- yikes!) parts in the cast of Main Street Youth Theatre's 'Charlotte's Web'. When we found out there would be a cast party, well it was just plain obvious that Nathan's mom would step up to the plate with a fantastic cake. This cake was fun and a little gruesome (when we had to decapitate it to serve it), but a big hit!









Nathan, as the Strong Man- 1 of his hilarious parts in the 'Charlotte's Web' production.

This colorful birthday cake was the perfect mix of humor and whimsy for the birthday boy!


Sabrina and Dave celebrated their wedding with a fun AND elegant cake. This cake was finished in blue butter cream and trimmed with a chocolate brown fondant ribbon border, champagne colored fondant wave-like swags, and edible coral pieces. I love this cake!


Sharlena had a very clear vision for her tropical colored wedding cake. The key word was 'fun'. Fun was what we delivered!




Thanks for looking!