Gum Paste and Fondant, O My!

Another Wilton course is in the books and another certificate of completion is hanging on the refrigerator.  I am gaining more knowledge of cake decorating.  I am looking forward to continue my knowledge with the last course in the Wilton cake decorating series, which is flowers and cake design.  This course will have to wait until August, as the wedding is right around the corner. 

In the gum paste and fondant course, I learned how to make a bow, carnations, mums, roses, lilies, and cala lilies.  In addition to make various types of flowers, I learned how to make a variety of borders, how to cover a cake with fondant and much more! 

Since John is working tennis camp, I have decided to make a Navy themed cake, as my final project.  I knew that I wanted it to be simple, because flowers do not say Navy tennis.  I have decided to decorate the cake fondant overlays in blue and gold, with a bow on top.

I have enjoyed these courses and have learned a lot from them.  I am looking forward to creating other cake designs for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

It’s officially summertime, which means that is time for summer vacations and road trips! There are several options to get to your vacation spot, but it all depends on where you are going and what is within your budget. With today’s economy, gas prices to airfare have sky-rocketed, which have forced some couples and families to have a “staycation”.

With the wedding quickly approaching, John and I researched our options on the best economical way to get to Florida. John will be spending a week in Delray recruiting, so that means that work will pick up a portion of the tab, which is great for us! We knew that we were going to be away for 3 weeks for recruiting, the wedding, and honeymoon, so a car was essential.

We have spent many hours of researching the different options between flying and renting a car, driving 1,000 miles to Florida, and taking the Amtrak auto train. All of the options had their pros and cons, but after much consideration, we will be taking the auto train down to Florida.

The auto train departs at four o’clock in the afternoon from Lorton, Virginia and will arrive the next morning to Sanford, Florida. After arriving in Florida, there is a short three hour drive to Boca Raton. Amtrak offers a sleep car, dinner, continental breakfast, and a snack car. The sleeping arrangements with a regular fare are the most economical way to go, as the chair reclines all the way back. It is not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but it can be a lot worse.

We are looking forward to the 16 hour train ride, as it will give us time to talk and spend quality time together.  We will be packing a cooler with drinks and snacks, DVDs to watch on the lap top, pillows, and a blanket, to make sleeping more comfortable. We will be tired, once we get to Florida, but the excitement will keep us going!

John and I will be leaving on July 14...Florida here we come!!

Lessons Learned

Planning the wedding of your dreams can be stressful, but in the end it will be the happiest day of your life and everything you have dreamed about. During the past 11 months of planning, I have learned several lessons. I hope that you can take what I have learned and apply it to your planning process.

1) Stay Organized- From the moment I got engaged, my first gift was a binder with tabbed dividers to stay organized. My planning binder consists of tabs for the photographer, DJ, caterer, etc. Each section contains contracts, pricing guides, and much more. In addition, I have set up folders within my email account for each vendor, and keep every email communication. Keeping all of the emails has been beneficial with the wedding plans. When my mom went to the tasting, the caterer quoted her a price, which was $20 more per person, than what he had told me. Thankfully, I kept the email and was able to provide it to my mom, who in turned showed it to the caterer and was able to honor the lower price. Lesson of the story is to stay organized and keep every communication from vendors.

2) Use a Checklist- Many wedding planning sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire offer checklists to help during the planning process. The checklist breaks down your wedding to dos from 12+ months until the day of the wedding. I have printed out the checklist and placed it in my binder. Every time a task has been completed, it gets marked off. It is a great feeling to have so many checks!

3) Ask for Help- It is ok for you and your fiancé to ask for help during the planning process. Many family and friends would be honored to help plan your wedding, so if they offer take it! The more help you have, the less stress you will have leading up to the big day. I am 1,000 miles away, from where I will be getting married and some days the stress has gotten the best of me. However, I am very grateful to have my mom and sister, who have helped tremendously with the plans. Don’t be afraid to approach family and friends for help, because everyone needs help with planning a wedding, as it puts a lot of strain on the bride and groom to be.

4) Research, Research, Research- Doing extensive research on various vendors will be beneficial to your wedding planning. Search the name of the vendor, which you are wishing to use and read the reviews. I suggest that you read reviews from multiple sites, as vendor reviews will vary. In addition to doing internet research, talk to friends, who have recently got married, find out their vendors and ask about their experience with the vendor. Your friends will be very honest with you, because if they had a poor experience, they do not want you to go through the same thing. Joining wedding message boards will offer vendor reviews in your area. Talking to other brides will help you make the right decision on choosing the perfect vendor for you!

Just keep in mind that your wedding is all about you and your fiancé. Do what makes you two happy, as this is the beginning of your lives together as Mr. and Mrs. It is ok to be stressed out and shed some tears, but keep your head up and stay positive, because your wedding will be simply beautiful.

Showered With Love

My mom, sister (maid of honor) and family friend, Sandy, threw me a beautiful bridal shower on June 9th.  The shower was held at my parents house, with beautiful decorations, delicious food and fun games!  I was surrounded by many loving family  and friends, which made me smile from ear to ear.  My Aunt Kelly flew down from Ohio to celebrate this special occasion with me, which truly meant a lot.

The food, which was prepared by my mom and Sandy, consisted of various salads and my favorite, shrimp cocktail!  The table was decorated with a bowl filled with shells and candles.  It was simply beautiful!

The delicious food

My sister, made cupcakes for my shower, which went with the theme of the wedding.  She made teal chocolate seashells, which were made from a pre-made mold.  They were definitely a hit at the shower, not to mention full of flavor!

Cupcakes by Lauren

My love of pictures came from my mom, that is why she had created a tribute to John and I with pictures throughout our relationship.  It was nice to look back on those pictures and remember the memories that were created.  My mother is very creative when it comes to pictures, so I can only imagine what she has planned for the wedding.

Tribute to our love

Of course a party isn't a party without some games!  Sandy had decided to put together two games for all of the ladies to play at my bridal shower.  The first game was that we had to memorize various wedding related items on a tray, then write down as many as possible on a piece of paper.  The items included the bridal shower and wedding invitation, panties, flip flops, perfume, and much more.  The best game of the night was the toilet paper dress game.  Everyone got into teams of 4 and designed a wedding dress out of toilet paper.  It was so much fun and it was fun to see what everyone had come up with.

One of my favorite things of the night were the favors.  A family friend, Lynn, had favors made, which were individual box of Godiva chocolate, with a teal colored ribbon that said "Kay's Bridal Shower June 9, 2011", and beaded embellishment. The chocolates were to die for, but what Godiva chocolate isn't. 

Bridal shower favors

I had a wonderful time at my bridal shower and very happy to be with family and friends who love me.  All of my bridesmaids were there, except Chantal, who was extremely missed.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone on July 30 at the wedding! 

With my beautiful bridesmaids

With the hostesses of the bridal shower

My bouquet for the rehearsal, which Kat had made for me



Cupcakes, Cakes, and Icing

After 4 weeks and 8 hours of classes, I have graduated from 'Decorating Basics'!  I was very happy when I received my certificate, as I knew that this was the beginning of my cake decorating experience.  It came after a lot of baking cakes, making icing from scratch, and tinting the icing.  Next Monday, I will begin the next course, Gum Paste and Fondant, in becoming a cake decorating professional.

Throughout the four weeks of class, I leaned how to bake a great cake, make icing from scratch, how to make a variety of flowers, shell borders, and writing/priting.  There was a lot of information that I learned, but it is a foundation to become a great cake decorator.

Every night after class, I came home and told John all about what I had learned.  One night, I even showed him how to make drop flowers and he was very happy to be helping me out with my final project.  I came home with decorated cakes, cupcakes, and cakes, most of which were thrown out.

I am looking forward to taking the next two courses, in order to increase my cake decorating knowledge. I am thankful for John, who pushed me to take these courses, because I absolutely love going to class and cannot wait to take the next class on Monday evening.