Guest Post: Should I hire a planner?

I have my second guest post today!!!  I asked Ashley Alphin of C & A Event Planning LLC to write about why it is important to have a wedding planner.  I realize having one may not be in the cards for everyone, especially those of us who are utter control freaks... clears throat...  but it definitely would have made my life easier when I was attempting to plan a wedding over 200 miles away from where I lived.  Take it away Ashley!

 

Why it is important to have a wedding planner? Planners coordinate all the details that your wedding day and planning process involve.  I’ve heard so many brides say “I should of had a wedding planner – my day would of been a lot less stressful!” – however, this is after their wedding. Do you really want to feel this way after one of the biggest days in your life?  Your wedding day is such a special time in your life and you deserve to be stress free and enjoy every moment! 

Now, let's get on with the facts. 

Saves money - Hiring a wedding planner does not cost you more in your wedding planning, a professional will save you a great deal of money. Weddings can be very expensive. Part of the responsibility of a wedding planner is to help the couples – whether it be setting the budget or sticking to it. Constant budget awareness can protect you from going over budget!

Time – Planning a wedding is a full time job, it takes an enormous amount of time. A professional wedding planner will save you time and energy when it comes to finding the right vendors, taking care of all the details, and coming up with creative ideas to make your wedding day amazing!

Offers advice – Wedding planners know what works and what doesn’t.

Dreams become realities – Ever since you were little, you have been dreaming about your wedding day – you want more than anything to see your dream unfold. Wedding planners work for the bride and groom to ensure that all desires are met and often surpassed!

Saves relationships – Stress? Weddings are stressful – this often results in arguments between couples as well as family members and friends. Wedding planners know how to avoid such problems before they begin and act as a buffer when there are conflicts because they have been there time and time again. Everyone is able to enjoy the wedding because responsibilities are often assigned to loved ones but can be taken by the wedding planner.

Acts as the “go to person” – Weddings have at minimal 10 vendors – add that to your wedding party and your guests – that is a lot of people! These people have questions and concerns – if you have a wedding planner, simply say is “talk to the wedding planner!”

Itinerary – Wedding planners make sure everything happens on time and make detailed itineraries for all involved (including other vendors). There are so many details to remember before your big day – let the wedding planner keep track!

Crisis – Most big events involve crisis whether we want it to happen or not. Wedding planners know how to handle all the unforeseen situations – the cake melting/tilting or the food being delayed or the flower girl throwing a tantrum.

Orchestrating – From the rehearsal through the reception, a wedding planner organizes, orchestrates, and executes – ensuring everything goes off without a hitch!

 Overall, you need to relax and have fun! Hiring a wedding planner ensures that stress will be minimized – you will have a worry-free and stress-free day – allowing you to enjoy your day like all your guests!

When it rains, it pours

Today is the beginning of a very busy 30 days for me.  Between today and October 9th, I have 8 weddings, 4 other special occasion orders, my Icing Smiles cake, 2 donation orders, and several bridal tastings.  I am sure I will be working late, and trying to squeeze in something with every free moment I have.  I am looking forward to doing some fun weddings though!  I have one wedding that is not only a cake, but a cookie buffet as well.  Another wedding is a cupcake do-it-yourself buffet done in a wine theme!  On the wedding cake side of things, I have a very cool cake that is incorporating snow leopard print and a Tiffany blue bow, a "outdoorsy" one with a textured buttercream, and one decorated with buttons!  Needless to say, I am trying my best to stay ahead of the curve by making extra buttercream, prepping boards and boxes, and starting early on those fondant decorations.

On top of that, my husband and are in the process of purchasing a home and having it ready for my parents to move down here.  While one may think buying a house doesn't require much time after you pick one, let me tell you that it is a lot different than it was several years ago.  Every financial document that you can imagine is required to be sent multiple times to multiple people.  Phone calls to contractors, Realtors, bankers, etc. need to be made and tracked.  Repairs need to be made and inspections need to be done.  It can make one's head spin!  But in the end it will all be worth it as my two little munchkins will have both sets of grandparents about 10 minutes from them!

How To: Ruffle Flowers

I love ruffles!  Not on me... I bought a dress with some ruffles on it and was told by my husband that it wasn't me... but I LOVE them on cakes.  Maybe my love affair with them started with this cake... but then again I was putting some ruffles on some wedding dress cookies back in Dec of 2010... regardless... I LOVE THEM!!  

So a few weeks ago a got an email from a bride who was getting married on Sept 4th of this year and was wondering if I was available.  I already had a wedding cake for that weekend, a 2-tier birthday cake, and another cake for the day before, and really didn't want to stress myself out with another wedding cake for that weekend.  However, I thought about ICES convention and how much money I was probably going to spend, so I reconsidered and told her I was available.  And I was so happy I did!!  She told me that she had been stalking my website for a few months and was really excited for me to do my cake.  When she told me what she was interested in, I think I got really excited back!  Instead of using real flowers at her wedding, she was making fabric flowers and wanted some of these replicated on the cake.  She sent me some pics, and I was in love!!  So without further blabbering, here are the flowers...

So I set about my quest to replicate them as best as I could... and here is my tutorial on how I did them!

From a tool prospective... not too much is needed. Ball tool, circle cutters like the set here, foam pad, and a rolling pin.  Some extras you could use... dragees and/or edible pearls, some pearl luster dust, water pen, and  pump brush.  

 First up is the navy blue flower pictured above... in chartreuse.  I cut out a handful of circles in two different sizes, just for a variety, and let them start to dry a bit.  I wanted these to firm up a little as I was going to use them as my base.

Then I cut a lot more circles, in the next two larger sizes, and covered them with some plastic wrap so they wouldn't dry up.

 With each circle, I took the ball tool and thinned out the edges.  I wasn't concerned about how much or how little curl there was in each circle, just wanted the edges thinner than they were.

After thinning the edges, I picked up the circle and pinched it together in the center. I tried to vary the way I pinched them so I could get different ruffles looks on the flowers.

Once pinched, I placed them around the outside of the circle with a little water.  I kept adding the ruffled circles to the outside and then filled in the inside.  I fit them together and fluffed them as I added more ruffles.  I also made sure you couldn't see the circle base. 

And this is what they ended up looking like!  I think they turned out pretty well if I do say so myself!  After they dried, I ended up dusting them with some pearl luster dust to give them a little more dimension and attempt to make them look more like a satin fabric.

The other flowers (white ones from above), didn't turn out as well as I would have liked them to.  Not that I didn't like the way they turned out, but they didn't match as well as the other flowers did.  Again, I started out with circles.  This time, each circle was slightly smaller than the previous one.

I also used the ball tool to thin the edges again.  This time, I wanted to get some really ruffled, while others more wavy.  From there, I just stacked them on top of each other, securing each with a dab of water (final product below).

Now, if I really wanted to get them exactly like the pic the bride provided me, I would have need to make or buy formers in decreasing sizes (maybe 3-4 different sizes so that each circle would have dried in a concave lens shape and then stacked them the same way.

So here are the finished flowers on the cake.  As you can see, I added some sugar pearls and silver dragees to the centers of some of the flowers.  Hopefully you can also see a bit of the shimmer from the luster dust as well.  

In case you couldn't tell... I love these flowers.  I want to sit and make them all day, but alas I do need to take care of the kiddos and well there are those pesky orders I need to complete :)

It's always good to feel confident in your choice

Not too long ago I got a call from a frantic woman who was hosting a small bridal show downtown.  Apparently, the baker who was providing the cake could not be reached (bells and whistles start going off in my head).  I got this call after 6pm, and she needed a cake, any cake, as a donation, for the next morning.  She tried to entice me by saying over 20 brides would be tasting and see my cake.  I am all for more folks tasting my cake and seeing my work, but I had just completed and delivered two labor intensive wedding cakes and had my own bridal show to attend and prep for the following day.

I had a customer who contacted me several times about a small party cake.  In my mind, she was a bit obsessive about a small cake.  She stopped by to drop something off for the cake, and we chatted for a bit.  It was at this point I realized why she was checking in on me.  She had ordered a cake in a previous year from someone who was opening her own cake business.  She decided to help her out and placed an order, but never got a cake after paying and repeated phone calls.  Another year she placed an order somewhere else, and while I don't remember the specific she was disappointed again and was without the ordered cake.

The moral of the stories?  Pick out a baker who is reputable.  They may be more expensive than that person on craigslist, but you won't be scrambling for a cake at the last minute.

Do you have a style?

We all have things we are attracted to, whether it is for us to wear or put in our home.  Sometimes we just like the way something looks, even if it typically doesn't fit our personalities or typical design sense.  My mom and aunt love everything "country", and needless to say I am not a fan.

I don't know if my home has a specific style, but I would put it somewhere within the traditional realm.  In the fashion arena, I am pretty basic... love jeans and casual shirts... so I guess you can say I am fashion-less.  However, when I am out shopping, I am always drawn to color, boldness, funkiness, and more modern than traditional items.  I also love retro items as well... particularly things with an art deco flare.

So when it comes to cake design, I am definitely drawn towards the simpler, cleaner, more modern cakes than the "old-fashioned" lots of piping and over-piping cakes.  I prefer stacked cakes to pillar separated cakes.  I prefer a white cake with one big statement element to staircases and fountains.  I like color, texture, and interest, not gobs and gobs of buttercream or royal icing.  I like things that are different and out-of-the-box.  I also like things that are done well and cleanly.  Nothing irks me more than seeing a bulge or a big wrinkle in the fondant.  It's just my personal style and preference, and I love to design cakes for those who want something a little different or allow me to design a cake for them.  I am not against doing a more traditional cake, but it doesn't get me as excited as trying out something new or different.