Jenny's Illustration Board

My niece, Jennifer Nalus, is getting married in January, 2010.  I was so excited when she asked me to help her plan her wedding.  The wedding is in the Philippines and I am in California, so that is a bit of a challenge.  All my wedding vendors are in the US and I am not familiar with wedding vendors in the Philippines.  However, with my talented sister-in-law and my other nieces helping their sister, everything is working fine.  Jenny’s wedding planning is coming together.

Black and White Wedding Colors

Jenny chose black and white as her wedding colors.  She and her bridesmaids will be wearing white.  The bridesmaids will have black lining on the dresses while the MOH will wear black of the same design with white lining.  The groom will wear a black barong tagalog.  Barong tagalog is a native formal wear. The flower girl will be carrying a black and white basket filled with white petals while the ring bearer will be carrying a black and white ring pillow.

The reception will be held at the elegant Shangri-La Hotel with 200 guests.  The tables and chairs will be covered with black linen accented with white dinner plates and white napkins.  A white pillar candle embellished with white butterfly, white silk flowers and pearls will be the main centerpiece.  White rose petals and silver-wrapped chocolate kisses will be scattered around the centerpiece to give a colorful contrast to the black table top.  The pillar candles will also be surrounded by cute bride and groom votive candles.

Wedding Gown, Bouquets and Cake

Jenny chose a local designer, Olan Roque, to design her bridal gown; and did I say it looks fabulous!  The wedding gown is made with Mikado silk and chiffon with cut beads and stones hand sewn into the halter neckline.  As for the wedding bouquet, the bride will be carrying red roses, her favorite flower, dotted with stephanotis.  The bridesmaids and MOH will be carrying white calla lilies wrapped in black and white satin handle.

The white wedding cake will be decorated with cascading red roses and black ribbons.  Replica dolls of the bride and groom will be added to the base cake tier.  I was told that the cake is designed and will be made by one of Jenny’s friends.  It looks splendid!

Reception Menu

Since Jenny is marrying a chef, isn’t any wonder that the menu is so mouth-watering?  It makes me hungry just reading about it!  Here is the menu:

Salads and Appetizers

• Selection of garden greens with various dressings
• Potato Salad with croutons, bacons and spring onion
• Coleslaw

Soup

• Pumpkin or Mushroom soup

Main Courses

• Lasagna
• Chicken with homemade barbeque sauce
• Sesame breaded snapper with pickled Mayo
• Kingdao Spareribs
• Lechon

Desserts

• Assorted cakes and pastries
• Fresh fruit platters

More details  of the wedding planning  later …

This next 5 ways (Saving Ways numbers 47 to 51) of saving money on planing for your wedding cake will leave you thankful that you cut down on this costs.  Most brides, who spent a lot of money on their wedding cakes, list the price they paid for the cake as their number one “money waster” after their wedding is done. So, be forewarned

Wedding Cakes

Sae on Your Wedding Cake

47. Skip the bakery.  Any place that specializes only in wedding place is going to be expensive. Go to your local grocery store, culinary school, or even your favorite restaurant to negotiate a better deal.

48. Serve the entire cake. Saving the top layer of the cake is often considered a dead tradition. You can save a lot of money by serving your entire cake as dessert.

49. Use a fake cake.   Instead of ordering an expensive wedding cake, why not opt for a “fake wedding cake”? These cakes are made of styrofoam and are beautifully decorated. They can stay on display all day long, even outdoors with no worries about bugs or humidity. They look so real, your guests won’t even have a clue it is fake.

50. Use cupcakes.  Cupcakes for wedding cake are getting popular these days. They costs way less than the “wedding” cake and you can have them in different flavors that your guests can choose from.

51. Order extra sheet cake. If you want an elaborately decorated cake but can’t afford one big enough to feed everyone, go for a smaller cake on display, and have sheet cake in back for cutting and serving. If the icing matched, your guests will never know the difference.

Photo Credits: Wedding Bells

Next Topic: 101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Part 7: Wedding Attire

Prior Topic :

101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Part 1: Wedding Planning
101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Part 2: Invitations and Announcements
101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Part 3: Wedding Flowers
101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Part 4: Food and Drinks
101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Part 5: Location and Time

Cupcakes for Wedding

With the new year fast approaching, you will hear a lot of predictions about 2009 Wedding Trends.  Just like runway fashion shows where some of the trendy clothes designed by talented couturier will catch on and some will fall out of favor, wedding trends are also subject to public approvals.  We will talk about predictions of 2009 wedding trends, but bear in mind that these are just for information only.  Use them as guides as you plan your 2009 wedding.  Remember that your wedding should be a reflection of who you are and what feels right for you and your groom.  If any of these trends appeal to you, then go for it.

Cupcakes for Wedding Cakes

We will present one or more 2009 wedding trends in our blog for the next few days.  Our first emerging trend today is using cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake in your wedding reception.  I think this trend will catch on because cupcakes are not only less expensive than traditional wedding cakes, and in this economy we are wise to look for less expensive ways. Cupcakes they are also versatile.  They can be made in a variety of flavors, unlike the uni-flavor wedding cake.  This gives different options for your guests to pick.  Cupcakes are also easy to make and can be made up to 3 weeks in advance.  All you need is to freeze them in air-tight bags till they are needed.  Take them out at least 8 hours before the reception so they can thaw to serving temperature.  Find recipes for cupcakes for you to try before the wedding.  If you do not want to bother with baking the cupcakes, get some from any bakery and decorate them to dress them up.

Some ideas for decoration:

• Sprinkles, jimmies, nonpareils, colored (sanding) sugar, edible glitter, Dragees, sugar pearls – find them at the Bakers Kitchen
• Chocolate Hearts, chocolate kisses, chocolate slivers – from candy stores
• Sugar Flowers  – find them at Sweet Fields
• Real Flowers (edible flowers)  – find them at Sunset Farms Flowers

One drawback of having cupcakes instead of wedding cake is the lost of the traditional “cake cutting” ceremony.  The cupcake is not large enough to slice and feed each other.  There’s also no need for cake knife and server, although that would mean more savings for you.  If you want your cake cutting in your wedding, add a small wedding cake at the top of the cupcake tiered display for that. Or, you can hold your cupcake and each of you take a small nibble while your photographer document the moment.

Photo Credits: All cupcake images from Cake That except for Cupcake Wedding Cake (Rosie’s Bakery), and Chocolate Cupcake Tree  (Westchester Weddings)

Rescue Me Groom's Cake

The groom’s cake is an old wedding tradition experiencing a new comeback. In the past, groom’s cakes were often cut and wrapped as favors for wedding guests to take home. An old wives tale claims that if a single woman sleeps with this cake under her pillow the same night she receives it, she would dream of her future husband.

Today, groom’s cakes are still optional additions to the wedding reception or rehearsal although they are gaining popularity. The groom’s cake is traditionally a richer or darker flavor than the wedding cake and is usually given by the bride to her groom. Most brides opt for a cake designed to reflect the groom’s personal interests, career or hobby, sometimes in a very humorous way. If you are lucky enough to live in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut or eastern Pennsylvania areas, you can order and have your groom’s cake delivered from Pink Cake Box in Denville, New Jersey. Check out our cake carousel to see samples of their amazing groom’s cake, and then go visit their site.

The groom’s cake can serve a variety of purposes. At your wedding reception, having a groom’s cake, displayed beside the wedding cake, can be an excellent way to offer guests a second choice from the traditional wedding cake. Perhaps your groom’s cake will provide a chocolate option as opposed to your white wedding cake, or a sugar-free option for guests with special dietary needs. When cake is served, it can be served separately by the wait staff. Another option is to channel old traditions and send home pieces of this cake with your guests as a wedding favor. The pieces of cake can be boxed and wrapped in your wedding colors and style. A third option is to serve the groom’s cake at your rehearsal dinner, since this event is usually hosted by the groom’s family.

However you feature this cake, it’s a wonderful opportunity to give your future husband a chance to select his favorite flavor or show off his personality. This age-old tradition can be an excellent way to honor your groom on your special day. In addition, if the old wives tale holds true, your single female friends would probably prefer the boxed groom’s cake favor than catching your wedding bouquet – here’s their chance to see their future husband in their dreams.

Instead of ordering an expensive wedding cake, why not opt for a “fake wedding cake”? These cakes are made of styrofoam and are beautifully decorated. They can stay on display all day long, even outdoors with no worries about bugs or humidity. They look so real, your guests won’t even have a clue it is fake. But, how about the “cutting of the cake” tradition? Depending on which cake rental company you choose, the fake cake can have a “secret compartment” where you can store a real piece for the bride and groom to cut and feed each other. Some fake cake rental companies will have a piece of the sheet cake already cut and placed behind the fake cake. Either way, when the photographs of the cake cutting tradition is over, the fake cake is wheeled over into the dining area and a sheet cake sliced in serving sizes is wheeled out for the guests to partake.

The cost of the fake cake rental starts from about $150 plus shipping (both to you and back to the rental company). You will also be required to add a $200 deposit upon order, which is refundable when you send back the cake as long as the cake is in good condition.

Here are some cake rental companies’ website that you can visit while deciding if the fake cakes are for you: Fake the Cake in CA, Atlanta Cake Rental in GA, Mrs. Oliver’s Cakes in MD, Cake Rental in MI, Rent a Fake Cake in MN, Sin City Fake Cakes in NV, Rent the Cake of Your Dreams in NY, Cutting the Cake and
Sugar Fake Cakes in Canada.

There you go, who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too?