i do domo...

i met clara and anand in harrisonburg during our jmu days. after meeting them i remember thinking that they were two of the genuinely nicest people i had ever met. years later back in nova...when i had heard that they were engaged to be married...i couldn't have been happier for them.

a couple months ago clara and anand were ironing out details for their wedding and though they had set on cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake...they were still looking for a top tier for the cake cutting ceremony. jangeun, one of clara's bridesmaids, is a dear friend of mine. she is probably my biggest supporter...having been the first person to hire me for a cake job. did i mention it was for her wedding? (this can be found in a previous entry)  

anyways...jangeun suggested clara ask me...and ask she did. they were looking for a simple cake to top off their cupcake tower. the cake was requested to be a color that wouldn't get caught in the teeth...as to not make for some embarrassing pictures! the best part of the cake is definitely the domo bride and domo groom. these have to be the cutest wedding cake toppers i have ever seen!

strawberry shortcake covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant decorated with pink pearls

august 2011

as clara and i emailed about details for the cake shown above, she mentioned wanting to surprise anand with a groom's cake. since he loves to break dance she sent me a picture of his favorite shoes and asked if i could make a cake to resemble the shoes. i have been making a few cakes to match invitations recently...but nothing this realistic. this cake took a lot of planning and detailed work...but i was extremely happy with the way the shoes turned out.

the shoebox is strawberry shortcake with vanilla buttercream...the shoes are rice krispy treats with royal icing...all covered and decorated in fondant

august 2011

august 2011

these are the hands...

that is the phrase i remember hearing the most as the reverend spoke of what would join quynh and chanh in marriage. quynh and i went to high school and college together...so not only was i thrilled that she was getting married to the man she loved, but also honored that she asked me to make her wedding cake. she wanted a cake that was simple but beautiful. her only request was that it was white based with cascading flowers...oh and that the cake was mocha flavored...because vietnamese people like that! =]

the guest list called for 300 servings of cake. this was my biggest order thus far...but was definitely up for it...especially after jayne & chris' wedding last year for 200 guests. after a few sketches, meetings, texts, and emails with quynh...i was ready to start.

the baking of this cake was much smoother than previous cakes...i think this means i'm slowly getting better at this...or at least that's what i hope it means! the only hiccup that i had along the way was my brother's dog pebbles. as the tiers of cake were cooling outside after filling in the frosting...pebbles decided to sit and lick much of the frosting from between the layers...just before taking a bite of cake. when i brought in the cake...i had to cut 1/4 of the entire tier off to ensure that the remaining cake that would be served was 100% pebbles-free. i had to quickly regroup, run to the store to buy some ingredients, and perform baking surgery on the ruined cake.  of course...pebbles just HAD to dig into the biggest tier.  after a couple hours...the cake was fixed and i was back on track.

this was the first time i attempted to make realistic flowers out of gum paste. i was having fun experimenting with the size and shape of the calla lilies. learned some do's and don'ts of gum paste!

after a total of 20 hours working over a 2 day period...i rushed into the shower to wash off any cake residue and get ready for the wedding. transportation then became the only issue. thankfully my brother willingly carried the fully constructed cake to the car...held it as i drove ever so slowly...and delivered it to the cake table inside the reception hall. i think of it as his making up for his dog's misadventures!

5 tiers of mocha cake filled and covered in vanilla buttercream. each tier was then covered in white fondant, wrapped with a purple fondant ribbon, and then topped with a cascading array of calla lilies and leaves. the tiers were offset to allow for more room for the flowers to sit, but ended up being a unique touch.

march 2011

march 2011

march 2011

the wedding was absolutely wonderful. it was truly a family celebration of the start of quynh and chanh's life together. 

  

argyle it is...

i first met emily years ago during college through a mutual friend. over the years we kept in touch here and there by the magic that is facebook. i was thrilled to hear the news of her engagement...and was even more thrilled when she asked me to make her wedding cake.

as we started discussing the details of the cake...it became clear that this would be no ordinary cake. the exact words used by the blushing bride-to-be were "dummy cake". this cake was meant to be a display cake...but was also needed for the cake cutting ceremony at the reception. it took some planning...but all worked out in the end.

this cake is 95% styrofoam. 

there is a small wedge of real lemon cake in the bottom layer for the cake cutting. everything was covered in white fondant. the ribbon on the top and bottom tiers were actual fabric ribbon, whereas the argyle was made from peach fondant diamonds with navy blue royal icing piping. it was tricky getting the wedge of real cake in the layers of styrofoam...but it fit!

november 2010

inhar actually took these photos the same time as the castle ones. much love!!

i promise to love you...

jayne and chris have got to be two of my favorite people! they have always been such great friends who have been so supportive of my baking experiments. they are two people who love life and really love each other. when they got engaged...the last thing i expected was for them to ask me to bake their wedding cake.

at first i was certain they were joking...but months later...surely enough...gmail said i had 1 message in the inbox from jayne.  she officially asked to hire me for the job. when i said yes...i asked her if she knew what she was asking for...she asked if i knew what i was signing up for.  either way...we both knew that this was an extremely important day.

we met face to face at bonchon and sat for hours catching up...and of course getting down to business.  we talked in detail about the cake she wanted...and i probed to see if i could picture what she was picturing in her head.  after a MANY emails, texts, and phone conversations...we finally nailed down the details and made it happen.

after 13.5 hours of baking...their cake was ready.  the ceremony and reception was set to be outside...and when the big day came...it was 101 degrees outside.  but we adjusted and made it work!

four alternating tiers chocolate oreo and strawberry shortcake covered in vanilla buttercream with a decorative touch of lavender and baby's breath.

july 2010

the wedding was absolutely beautiful!  congrats to the happy couple! =]