Fourth of July weekend brought another fabulously busy weekend full of sweet brides and happy occasions.
Friday I had the pleasure of making special desserts and cakes for a retirement party. Ms. Debbie was retiring from NES and her husband Rick had contacted me 6 weeks in advance to make the sweets for her party. Rick had very specific ideas about the cakes. He wanted three separate cakes in three different flavors. One was to be the dome of the NES building, one a cake with Debbie’s life events and one was the fun retirement cake to show what she’d be doing after retirement. He also wanted bars, cheesecakes and other sweets to go along with the cakes.
Chocolate covered strawberries, cake truffles, lemon bars, rasberry bars and mini cheesecakes-oh my!
I had so much fun with this event! Rick made the planning process really fun and gave me a lot of ideas for the cakes. Debbie’s after retirement cake included a book as she wanted more time to read. The bottom cake was shaped like Alaska as she plans to take an Alaskan cruise. It also showcased several flags of places she would like to go such as Italy, Aruba, and Jamaica. It had hangers because Rick thinks she should have plenty of time to organize the closets. HAHA. The NES tower featured a real light in a sugar dome on top and the clock pointing to 5 for quitting time.
Cake and sweets for Ms. Debbie's retirement from NES
I had the pleasure of making an anniversary cake for the happy couple a few weeks before the party and I dropped it off for them so I could see the layout for the party. They have a beautiful home with a lot of space for catering and cake setup and Rick had built a new gazebo in the back for the party as well. Gorgeous!
Thank you Rick for finding me and for letting me help make Debbie’s party super sweet!
Saturday’s wedding brought me Kaitlyn and Abram who I had met with over a year prior to their wedding! Kaitlyn knew the cake she wanted from the beginning and never changed her mind, except for the color. Abram wanted to incorporate both the Vols and the Braves in his cake so in the beginning we intended to do a sheet cake that was basically split down the middle.
I surprised the couple by making a two tier cake for Abram with the Vols orange in a checkerboard pattern on the bottom and a baseball field on the top tier. I made a miniature football and full size baseball out of rice krispy treats covered with chocolate and then fondant and decorated accordingly. They were so much fun and really cute. I had learned a few tricks in making them from the Sweet Southern Ladies during cake classes in March.
The Vols and the Braves-brought together with cake!
Kaitlyn’s cake was a four tier square with flavors of Lemon filled with lemon curd and Sour Cream Almond, all covered with Cheesecake buttercream. It was a damask cake, all handpiped in black. She wanted it accented with fresh flowers that were left for me at the reception site.
Kaitlyn's four tier damask cake
I loved Kaitlyn’s simple and beautiful tables, covered with turquoise linens and damask runners with short vases of white flowers. They were so pretty!
Kaitlyn and Abram's sweet centerpieces
Kaitlyn and Abram, may you remember your vows and live by them always!
Shandy and Ryan were married on Sunday, July 3 at The Mill at Lebanon, another of my favorite venues. I absolutely love all of the wood and nostalgia of that place! I met Shandy back in February just before she had back surgery. She wanted to take care of all of her wedding details before she would be out of commission for a few months.
Shandy went through my photo album and found a design she loved, but we changed it up to make it truly her own. Shandy loved the idea of a cake that was separated by a glass container, containing flowers and lights showcased on the cake. The wedding was red and black so we decided on black fondant ribbons wrapping her square tiers and fondant red fantasy flowers mixed in with gumpaste red lillies. We added small black branches to the mix and made it sparkle with edible glitter. Shandy loved the glass stand with aqua beads and LED lights so I set up her cake accordingly.
Shandy and Ryan's unique 3 tier design
Ryan is a huge Purdue Boilermaker fan so she decided to surprise him by ordering the Boilermaker Special for his groom’s cake. If you don’t know, this is a train engine that is very specific to Purdue. She asked that I put a funny face on the engine, so I included the mascot’s face, Purdue Pete, on the front.
Ryan's Boilermaker Special groom cake
I had so much fun making Ryan’s cake! The details of the engine were really fun for me. The wheels, smoke stack, and other details on the black, yellow and gold engine made it come to life, but Purdue Pete on the front really made it fun!
Shandy and Ryan, may you always use perfect teamwork in your marriage!
Thank you all for making my 4th of July weekend such a memorable one!
