Notes From Heather’s Kitchen

It seems June is still a month that’s sought after for brides even when the weather is not in their favor.  Saturday, June 27th was no exception.  It was indeed the 12th day of 90+ weather in a row and in fact, another 96 degree wedding with about 110% humidity…that’s just a guess of course. 

This bride, Lisa, has become a wonderful addition to my circle of friends and was extremely active in every aspect of planning her wedding.  I first mentioned Lisa in the “A family that cakes together” blog.  She is very detail oriented and had very classy and elegant ideas she was bringing to life through her vendors.  Mike was an active groom as well and they bounced ideas off one another frequently before making decisions together.

Lisa and Mike chose to get married at the Parthenon  at the heart of Nashville’s Centennial Park.  There is something absolutely breathtaking about the architecture, history, and detail in the Parthenon so it was a perfect fit for the couple.  I would like future brides to be aware however, that there is not air conditioning on the upper half where the reception takes place.  I have to say that it was simply sweltering which can cause many situations that I’ll talk about in further detail later.

Mike and Lisa’s wedding colors were Champagne and Royal Blue with gold accents.  Liberty Party Rental decked the entire place with Bichon fabrics in those regal colors and beautiful place settings trimmed with gold.  The couple also used gold chairs which accented the room beautifully, especially because Athena (the main attraction at the Parthenon) is gilded with 24kt gold leaf.  At 42ft tall, that’s a lot of gold!

Athena at night-an extraordinary sight!

Debbie’s Weddings and Things brought in breathtaking displays of flowers.  There were more flowers than I could even imagine and the smell was divine.  The bouquets were accented ever so slightly with peacock feathers and crystals that glimmered in the soft lighting.  They were absolutely equisite.  I have honestly never seen more beautiful displays anywhere.

Mike and Lisa chose to serve heavy appetizers instead of a full meal and Rita of Down South Delights delivered with ease.  The couple chose 19 different appetizers ranging from gulf shrimp cocktail shooters, tiny Bourbon beef tenderloin on cream biscuits, and amazing cocktail meatballs to fresh fruit, spinach dip, and cucumber dill canapes.  I will fully admit that I tried 17 different appetizers and they were all delicious.  I had the opportunity to talk quite lengthly with Rita and I would recommend her to anyone.  It isn’t easy to prepare all of those appetizers and transport them to a venue without as much as a kitchenette available!

And then there was cake…Lisa and Mike had several different ideas before Lisa settled on a design similar to one she saw on the Knot.  She wanted offset squares covered in champagne colored buttercream and adorned with thousands of sugar and fondant pearls.  It was a very unique and classy cake which fit the theme of the wedding nicely.  They insisted on the almond cake and buttercream-Lisa’s family favorite. 

I was told the groom loves donuts so Lisa wanted to surprise him with a butter cake with Bavarian cream filling and chocolate ganache icing.  I painted a cartoonish picture of the groom on fondant to resemble a vintage valentine that a friend had emailed to Lisa.  It made Lisa think of Mike immediately.   Mike thought he was getting a cake to look like a Viper wheel…imagine his surprise!

The Bride's cake - 4 tiers of Sour Cream Almond with Almond Buttercream.

The Groom's Cake - Butter cake with Bavarian Creme Filling and Chocolate Ganache Icing

At this time I’d like to mention that I stated earlier there was not air conditioning where the reception took place and the cakes were iced with buttercream and ganache.  The bride’s cake was extremely beautiful before it sat too long at the reception site.  We were graciously allowed to wheel the cakes  downstairs to the gallery where the air is a cool 75 degrees or so.  It stopped the melting but not before some damage had occured.  Optimal temperature is 75 or under which is why that is stated in most cake contracts, including mine.   Several guests commented that they would not have noticed any problems in the looks of the cake but as a decorator that takes great pride in her work, it was not the cake I would have liked my beautiful friend and her new husband to cut.  Nor was it the cake that I would have liked Gina Bilyeu Photography to take photographs of. 

It is extremely important for the bride, the planner, and all of the vendors to know the exact conditions they will be dealing with before they show up at the reception site.  I, for one, will check the venue myself in the future ensure a similar situation will not happen again.  I take responsibility for not doing that in the first place.  There is no blame on anyone else whatsoever.  <whew…let’s move on!>

Lisa had also contracted Covered with Icing to make edible favors for each guest.  They were chocolate covered sandwich cookies, one in white chocolate with either a pearlized miniature bride and groom or a heart with the word “love” inscripted on it and one with dark chocolate with an edible gold dusted “C” monogram to match the monogram on top of the cake.  They were boxed in sets of two for each guest in beautiful gold boxes from Nashville Wraps, then a sticker in ivory color with a royal monogram was placed on each and then tied with a royal blue ribbon.  They were a huge hit as I saw several guests taking extras on their way out. :)  Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not a fan of sandwich cookies or of white chocolate, but when you put the two together it’s a taste like no other.  Delicious!

Dark and White Chocolate dipped sandwich cookie favors

Wedding Favors

In spite of unfavorable conditions, the wedding was one of the most beautiful and classy affairs that I’ve seen.  The guests had a wonderful time, dancing to the sounds of  Blue Tone Music at Athena’s feet and sipped sangria and peach ice tea that was delicious and refreshing.  The couple had a great time and there’s no doubt in my mind that they waited until the time was just right to enjoy a long and happy life together. 

Cake with Monogram topper

Enjoying the cake!

Lisa and Mike, may your fiery passion always burn hotter than your wedding day!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham!

You may or may not know that last Saturday was the hottest day of the year to date.  It was 98 degrees in the shade and felt like 105-or so I’m told.  I don’t know if you can really tell the exact temperature when it gets past 90 or so…it’s just varying degrees of HOT.  Laura and Mark had wonderful intentions and lovely thoughts of an outdoor summer wedding with the smell of freshly cut grass in the air, beautiful flowers in bloom, a nice soft breeze…and that’s where we’ll stop the thought.  There was no breeze.  Did I mention it was hot?

I met Laura and Mark back when it was cold outside and in fact, it actually SNOWED the night of our consultation.  I have included a link to the wikapedia definition for snow because here in the south we don’t get a lot of it.  I knew they would be a fun couple to work with.  Their place made me think of Jimmy Buffett with it’s shades of orange, yellow and green and the massive tropical tank that Mark obviously has worked on extensively.  They were both active and spirited and although Mark is not a fan of cake, he loved my cake truffles at the Nashville Bridal Show.

The couple chose colors in coral and lime green from Liberty Party Rentals and though I more than likely would not have put those together for myself, the contrast was brilliant.  The tables were draped with alternating colors and the white chairs toned them down just a bit.  Laura likes square cakes but preferred the offset look and wanted them to have ribbons around the bottoms of the tiers and a bow as a topper to put one in the mind of stacked packages.

Laura and Mark

The bottom tier of the cake was Sour Cream Almond with a Caramel filling that was Laura’s favorite on the night of the consulation.  The second to bottom was a Double Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Whipped Ganache filling.  It was for the chocolate lover and most definitely not for the faint of heart.  The top tiers were a French Vanilla/Strawberry Swirl with Strawberry Creme filling.  The entire cake was enrobed with my traditional buttercream and adorned with white chocolate fondant ribbons, gumpaste monograms, and patterns that Laura loved.  She handmade their wedding invitations with a paisley print and asked if I might incorporate it into the cake.  I obliged on both the bottom and top tiers.  I used the paisley impression mat and then traced some of the pattern in three different colors to make them stand out.  I incorporated the paisley print onto the topper as well.  I really loved the overall look of this cake.

Laura and Mark were married at the Pick Inn in Gallatin, TN.  This is a terrific venue for outdoor weddings and Joy McReynolds who runs it is quite possibly the sweetest and most caring woman in the state.  There is a very large open air shelter with plenty of room for guests and also a beautiful “cabin” or house decked out with everything you need to get ready.  I love the look of the Mason jars hanging from the trees.  It must be a gorgeous site to see them lit up with candles at night.  I am quite excited to go back for a fall wedding when all of the trees have changed color and the air is slightly cooler.  I am sure it’s picturesque.

Provisions by Doris helped things go smoothly all day (what a gem she is!) and a Moveable Feast catered the event.  I must say that the food smelled terrific!  Kristin Dineen Photography was there to catch those precious moments on film.  At 5:15 when I set up the cake it was still 96 degrees by my thermometer and that cake remained standing tall until it was cut hours later.  I wouldn’t recommend taking that chance as 75 degrees is optimal temperature but isn’t it great to know your cake would remain standing just in case of a sudden 20 degree spike?

Congratulations Laura and Mark.  May the color of your love shine bright forever!

Five tier cake with cupcakes for groom

Wedding season is in full swing and what is more important than the cake??  My dear friend Debi reminds us frequently that the chicken is not called Wedding Chicken, the flowers are not wedding flowers, even your friends who stand up with you are simply your attendants, but the cake is Wedding Cake.  Cutting the wedding cake is the first task you do together as newlyweds.  At this moment all eyes are on the couple and the cake.  Have you ever seen the room get quiet as the couple takes their first bite of mashed potatoes?  I have yet to see that, but I have seen 200 people watch intently as the couple cuts their cake.

Brittnye came to me last year after tasting my cake at Weddings the Bridal Show in Nashville.  She loved my cake and thought it was the best she tasted that day.  Brittnye knew what she wanted from the start and was very organized and focused.  She chose a simple design that was adorned with soft cornflower blue and pale yellow ribbons and made just a little glitzy with strings of diamels around the bottom of the ribbons.  Her topper was a bouquet of Gerbera daisies and roses both in white and yellow that I put together when I arrived at the venue and it was set off beautifully by a rhinestone studded “F” monogram for her new last name.

Five tier cake in alternating layers of white with Bavarian and marble with ganache...yummy!

Brittnye chose alternating layers of white cake with Bavarian filling and marble cake with chocolate ganache filling all covered with silky smooth Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  Her fiance Paul loves yellow cake with chocolate icing so she decided to go with cupcakes with whipped ganache frosting in dark and milk chocolate for the groom’s cake.  She made 100 little flags to place in the cupcakes that were absolutely the cutest adornments ever.  The cupcakes were placed on acrylic stands decorated with ribbons that matched the cake. 

Brittnye made all of these little flags-aren't they super sweet?

Brittnye and Paul’s reception was at the Water Street Event Center in Clarksville, TN.  I must say that I was impressed at this cozy venue on the Cumberland river.  It was beautiful and clean with a terrific back deck and rooms overlooking the water and was spacious enough for a few hundred people.  I wish I had taken pictures because it was lovely and those online do not do it justice. 

Spangler entertainment’s DJ Justin Thomas kept us entertained as my husband and I set up the cakes.  They sounded terrific and enticed my incredibly talented, extremely helpful, and amazingly handsome husband Jason to do a little lounge singing for me as we worked.  If the guests had as much fun during the reception as we did beforehand, it must have been an amazing night. 

Thank you Brittnye and Paul for allowing Covered with Icing to be the sweetest part of your special day!