It's a Piece of Cake!

It's a piece of cake? Yeah not really! Picking a wedding cake can be a pretty tough decision. One of the biggest decisions you have to make is whether you want traditional icing or fondant. I have been asking a lot of my friends/co-workers their preference in the past couple days. I knew I had to hear something pretty good to overcome my love for traditional icing.

Strangely enough, my unofficial survey didn't end the way that I thought it would. Every wedding magazine and website show beautiful cakes with their smooth appearance. Perfect reigns supreme with fondant cakes. I thought for sure this would be the front runner.

I grew up on traditional icing cakes. My mom made the majority of my childhood birthday cakes. She made clowns, Disney characters, all sorts of amazing cakes. She was known for her cake decorating and other parents soon wanted these beautiful creations for their children's birthdays.

I always tell my mom that she should start her own cake decorating business. She is amazing. People still want my mom to do their cakes. My cousin, Michelle, got married a couple years ago. Growing up, she was a beneficiary of my mom's amazing cakes and she always knew my mom would do her wedding cake. The result? See for yourself...

I will tell you, there was cake left for an army! This was a massive cake. My mom did a great job. My sister helped out quite a bit on the details. These are talented women. Seriously, shouldn't they go into business together?

Ok back to the survey...

Results

Bride #1 - Traditional

Bride #2 - Traditional

Groom of B #2 - Traditional

Culinary School Grad - Traditional

Fondant scored none in my very small yet super fun survey.

To give fondant its credit, you really get a flawless look with it. Since fondant is a sugary concoction with a similar consistency to a tootsie roll, it is easily flattened to be smooth over the surface of the cake. Once the fondant is smoothed down the look is really clean and smooth.

Check out these beautiful creations with fondant.

Can you tell the difference? Which one is fondant and which one traditional icing?

They look pretty similar right?? Ok, here's the hint I learned.... Fondant has rounded edges. The traditional icing has straight edges. Do you see it now?

And now for the fun part. As you already guessed, my groom and I chose traditional icing. We want a very simple cake. I appreciate simple and classic. Below are two of our favorite designs. I have totally left it up to my mom whether she wants to do our cake. I want her to be able to enjoy everything and relax. All secrets told, I would love for her to do our cake. Time will only tell!

My Groomzilla - Reinforcing why he is the one

So I like to make fun of my Groomzilla. In fact it has quickly become my favorite joke to make. The truth is though, I wouldn't have it any other way. An overactive groom can be overwhelming at times but when it come down to it, he is all I could ask for.

Some of my friends have told me that their grooms didn't help with any of the details. I have heard stories of fighting because he doesn't care about the color of the linens or doesn't understand how it is so difficult to choose between three flowers that are all the same color? A rose is a rose, right? Or, they aren't all three roses? LOL.

My groom has played a super active role in our planning. In fact, he chose our location. Yep, ladies, he went on the web (probably theKnot.com) and found a place he wanted to marry me. He had specifics of what he wanted and he found just the perfect place.

Out of all the details my groom has helped out with, there is one that I emphasize is necessary not only for a successful wedding but also a successful marriage. That is the awful B word, BUDGET..

My fiance are I are at the reigns of our budget. The two of us poor over details and numbers practically every day. My fiance has spreadsheets and Microsoft Money all over our budget. I can't imagine not having him there for me regarding these important details that really impact our continuing lives together. In fact, his assistance in this has shown me exactly how financially responsible he is and I appreciate that for our future lives together. I know he will take care of me and make sure we are comfortable.

Although my groom sometimes drives me crazy when he make comments about ideas for my wedding dress (a conversation that is now COMPLETELY off limits to him) and who I can have in my bride's room, having him play an active role in our planning reiterates the exact reasons I am marrying him. I know he will take care of me, I know he will support me emotionally, and I know that he will be my partner in love and business alike.

I love my Groomzilla and can't wait to be his Mrs.

Here is a picture of my groom being a great daddy to our big fat English Bulldog "Atlas".

Extra, Extra Read All About It

The program to me is one of the most functional pieces of your ceremony decor. The program can act to set the theme and colors of your wedding but it can also really educate your guests on you, the couple, and everyone/thing surrounding you.

I was recently at a friend's wedding where they incorperated several cultural traditions. Their programs were used in part to bring their guests up to speed. This really made her guests feel like they were a part of her day. It also gave them a better appreciation for her culture.



After giving it a lot of thought, I think we will go with a booklet format for our program. Our ceremony will actually be quite short but I would like to introduce some interesting/exciting things to our guests about our engagement, our bridal party, and our personal histories. Having information like this really gets your guests thinking about you and your day. Plus, they won't be wondering for how long you have known your maid of honor or third bridesmaid from the center. Short blurbs about your wedding party can help guests put names and faces together that they might have heard about before. This will give them talking pieces later at the reception. Programs can also be used to highlight the engagement or honeymoon details. Your boss or co-worker might not know every detail of the engagement but might just find it adorable how your fiance fumbled when he put that ring on your finger. Also, the program is a great place to honor those that have past.

These are some programs that I really like. I think we can easily create these ourselves in our colors.

What do you think?

I personally love the idea of the fan program but since we will be getting married in January, even if it is Florida, I don't think they will be necessary. :)

The decision to get a planner - My bff for the next 9 months!

I fought my fiance tooth and nail not to get a planner. "Oh, I can do it! I am great at planning events! It is going to be so much fun!" Very soon I realized two things 1) it is way more fun when it isn't your own budget 2) Time is key and well I don't have much of that!

I told my fiance that our planner better be my new best friend for the next 9 months because I will likely rely on her more than anyone. When we found Anna, I knew she was gonna do great as my new bff... Anna likes to give hugs when we say goodbye, lol, she is already up our alley! She is so receptive to our ideas and is willing to think outside of the box. With our location already selected, when we chose our planner, we knew we wanted someone with experience at our place. Anna has done tons of events at our location and used to work with a big-time caterer near there. She has a lot of connections in the area and has been able to negotiate some great deals in the past.

We knew we had our girl when she was receptive to hearing our non-conventional ideas like making our own programs, invitations, and bouquets. She even gave great ideas of where to find our supplies and has offered her help in putting things together.

Since we found Anna I have been WAY less stressed! Instead of having numbers floating around in our heads, we now have an amazing spreadsheet with everything lined out. She also keeps us updated every couple days with new ideas she has.

So far Anna has decreased my stress level, offered her time and crafty services for our do-it-ourselves, and given hugs when needed. Isn't that what a bff is all about???

Anyone else hiring a planner? Why or why not?

The Engagement

I have to share a little about our engagement because my fiance was amazing! I will try to make a long story short. Kareem and I bought a house in July of this year. I had just start a new job and had to go away on business for a week. We closed on the house the night before I left! While I was gone, Kareem had a long "honey-do" list. He was in charge of painting most of the rooms by the time I got back. When I got home that night, he met me in the garage. I remember thinking it was sweet he was waiting so intently but that it wasn't out of the ordinary, in fact, he seemed pretty relaxed. Usually he gets excited like a little puppy when I get home after long trips. He told me that he had been hard at work at painting and wanted to know what I thought. He showed me the downstairs and I was very impressed. Then he said something that worried me. He said that he also decided to paint the bedroom and he was concerned I might not like it. Well knowing him all too well, this could mean that my new bedroom in my first home was now decorated in neon polka dots and stripes. Terrified I approached the upstairs bedroom door. As I opened the door, I saw painted on the other side "Tammy Briant will you marry me?"! I couldn't believe it! It was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. On top of that I was in entire and utter shock. Like really..... In shock! I started muttering to him or maybe myself "Oh my gosh, shut up!". He told me to sit down in one of the rocking chairs. This sounded like a good idea because I felt like I was going to fall over. As I sat down and hear myself muttering "Oh my gosh, shut up" over and over again, I realized that Kareem was down on his knee and asking me to marry him, with a gorgeous ring in hand!! I realize at some point, perhaps after two or three more muttered sayings, that Kareem was beginning to look puzzled. I realized I hadn't said yes, in fact I hadn't said anything except "oh my gosh, shut up"! I threw my arms around him and said yes! And that is how I became a soon to be Mrs. Kareem had also thought of it all. He had our song playing in the background, chocolates, champagne, and roses, and the best of all, he had two champagne glasses engraved with our names and the date of our engagement. See why I am marrying him??

A novice blogger

Ok so here goes. This is my first shot at blogging. I must say that this is pretty far outside of my element. By nature I am a very very private person. I like my private life to remain, well... Private. However, since the most exciting time in many girls life is occurring for me, I decided I had to share with the world.

My wedding is set for January 30, 2010. The groom is an adorably funny, intellegent man named Kareem. We are so far into the wedding planning that I suspect we've reached the point of no return. My favorite joke right now is that everything is set. The date, the place, the time; the only thing that is still subject to change is the groom. There isn't a deposit down on him, so I figure I still can trade him out. LOL.

I have learned that wedding planning is fun when it is someone elses, but incredibly stressful when it is yours. Through this blog I hope to share the exciting details as we plan along, and get some great ideas from other brides out there. Of course commiserating about the drags of dealing with different vendors, ect. is necessary as well!

I hope you enjoy my page!