Guest Blog by Anna Cakes!

So anyone who knows me knows. I LOVE LOVE LOVE cake.. And it's not really that I like eating cake, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I am obsessed with Cake Design. It has really come along way from throwing eggs and flour together and putting the mix in a round pan.


So on that note, I asked the Amazing Anna Hightower of Anna Cakes to Guest Blog on some of the hottest trends in cakes! See her at work below! And read her thoughts on some of the hottest trends in cakes! (PS ALL CAKES ARE ANNAS WORK-- if you are a photographer and you haven't been credited I apologize, please comment and I'll make sure I make the proper edits to give you credit!!)

THE SIMPLE MESSY WHITE 

I have to say this is quickly becoming one of my favorite designs! Letting the spatula marks fall as they may, this unpretentiously-iced cake is the epitome of simple elegance. No fuss, no fondant...just tiers of delicious buttercream frosting, and a few fresh flowers are all you need to make this design pop!

PS..if you are into the simple white cake without the messy spatula marks- check out this cake below.

MIMICKING ARCHITECTURE 

Modern cakes are getting daring in both shape and composition. We have gotten a lot of requests lately for a particular cake that is comprised of various sized square tiers, stacked in a way that almost seems to defy gravity! Guests are amazed by these intricate wedding cake "structures". It becomes the focal point of the entire reception.

OUT OF THE BOX CAKE TOPPERS

I always say I am going to start an album on my site called, "When bad toppers happen to good cakes." LOL. A topper can definitely make or break a wedding cake. I have arrived at a venue on several occasions and been so disappointed when I saw the topper awaiting me on the cake table. I try to encourage brides to choose something unique. It doesn't always have to be a made-for-cake topper. Veils, Brooches, hand-made paper or clay crafts, even a photo of the couple can be used to make a statement. Your cake topper can become an amazing keepsake from the wedding itself, and possibly even a family heirloom! 

BE DARING WITH FLAVORS

Gone is the standard white wedding cake. My motto with flavors is anything goes! I offer a different flavor for each tier, at no extra cost, so my clients really feel free to be creative. Try coconut cake with guava filling for the top tier. Mix it up with a lemon and pineapple middle tier, and top it off with a devil's food chocolate cake, with peanut butter buttercream filling for the bottom. Your guests will rave about your cake flavors for years to come.

RETRO COLOR AND TEXTURE

Lately you see a lot of bridal magazines boasting the retro-modern wedding cake. These cakes typically have bright colors, and play up on the graphic patterns -- circles, rings, repeated diamonds or triangles. Think wallpaper and textiles -- you can find amazing wedding cake inspiration in the prints and patterns all around you!  

BRIGHT COLORS WITH BOLD TEXTURES

I really enjoy when a wedding theme lends itself to a bright, colorful wedding cake. It is exciting to get out of the routine of white on white on white, and mix it up with color and texture. Sculpted rosettes, mimicking fabrics, different colors for each tier -- as long as you have a repeating element with each layer, the cake will have a cohesive, tasteful look, while still being adventurous. 

CUPCAKES MASQUERADING AS WEDDING CAKES

The cupcake tower is a popular trend with a dual purpose. Not only is it more cost effective than your average wedding cake, but it also saves your caterer loads of cake cutting/serving time. Depending on the venue, this can also save you the dreaded "cake cutting fee". Cupcakes are a hip new craze that add a light-heartedness to your reception. Nothing gets your guests more excited than walking by and smelling that vanilla frosting cloud that surrounds the cupcake display. Just make sure they wait until after cake cutting to help themselves!

HAND PAINTED CAKES

Hand-painted cakes add an extra special touch to your wedding. Although you will be limited on your icing choice, as this is a technique that can only be achieved with fondant-covered cakes. Not every bakery can produce this level of art work, so be sure and review portfolios and choose wisely. This technique requires quite a bit of time and detail, so the cost is reflective...but the impact is worth every penny! 

I hope you enjoyed this blog! I know I did, and a special thanks to Anna Hightower of Anna Cakes for her time and effort to help us put this together.

This is not your mother's BRIDAL SHOWER!

Recently I was asked to participate in a new kind of Bridal Shower. Abby Liga and Sabrina James enlisted several amazing vendors to gather together & change the way we look at Bridal Showers.  The Bride is a client of many of us, and has a great vision! The shower will be featured this year in Orlando Magazine & Some vendors participated: Lisa Konency of E-events, Lee Forrest of lee forrest design, Anna Hightower of Anna Cakes, Abby Liga of Liga Photography, Heidi Brice from Puff n' Stuff, & The Flipbook People.


The idea was to throw a shower that is new, fresh, fun and sophisticated. Try and break out of the traditional home-made cake, bridal games, etc. 


They came to me with colors, and an idea. A modern day party from the Pages of The Great Gatsby!  This was a challenge but very exciting. I was commissioned to create everything from tray cards, brand signs, invites, etc.


What we did to keep cost down was create 1 amazing invitation for the Bride-to-Be, and then made matching ones for the rest of the guest.  The picture above shows both invitations. 


The Bride-to-Be Invitation (below) was part Gatsby tradition, part Modern Trend.  We started with a wooden box, pearlized it, lined it with ivory lace and kelly green ribbon, and topped it with ribbon and pearls. On the inside a fan made from feathers with a tassel of pearls and ribbon. The paper used, was a white Metallic Linen, complimented by an Ivory Classic Crest. Both of Neenah Paper. (ps all photography by Abby Liga)

The Invitations for the Guests were a dialed down version of the above.  We mixed White Metallic Linen with Ivory Classic Crest, Accented it with 2 White Ostrich Feathers, 2 Pearls and Intertwined Ribbon. An Ivory Metallic Envelope finished it off!

Meet (from l to r) Kelly Davis, Danielle Stults (BRIDE TO BE) and Sabrina James dressed in true Gatsby style!

Some of the cool Paper we created for the event! Our theme throughout was carried through, Pearls, Lace, Ribbon, Metallic Linen. It created an amazing effect in conjunction with all the beautiful lighting, cakes, floral and food.  You can see the environment below. 

The Flip Book People added some interaction to the event and a great time was had by all!  As you can see all of the participants were amazing and did their part! This is ONE LUCKY BRIDE! 

FAVORITE FRIDAYS!

Happy New Year to All! And with that one of my resolutions is I am going to trying to stay in touch with you all more. (Yeah, yeah, I know it's only January... let's see if I will say in December that I was successful.)

So in the spirit of that, I have developed...(Wait for it) FAVORITE FRIDAYS!!
Every Friday I will showcase one of my FAVORITE and inspiring Talents!

This week..
Anna Hightower - of Anna Cakes!!!
"Me and my daughter Marlee at the Your Wedding TV bridal show in September. (above) She is the best helper/mascot ever!"

For those of you who don't know Anna, you are missing out.. She is INCREDIBLY talented, and one of the most fun and positive people I've ever met. Oh and her cakes not bad either :)

As you can see by the cakes below, she is very talented. I can't even make cupcakes look this good. Some of you may know that I have a quiet obsession with (yes paper, that's a given and not quiet..) Amazing Wedding Cake reality shows.. And this girls deserves one of her own. She not only has the talent for it, but a sense of humor and personality to rival Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, the list goes on. Then I can sit cozy on my coach and watch her genius weekly- on Sundays. (yes that is what I do on lazy sunday afternoons. I call it WORK RELATED RESEARCH!!)

I sat down with Anna recently and I found out some interesting things! Take a gander below at the amazing cakes and her commentary on each!!

I always love when I get to see the invitations at a cake design session, because they are so graphic and literal -- a good one will jump-start my creativity. It is very easy for me to translate that into a cake design. The above is based on an invite one bride brought to me. :-) 

This was my 1st ever sea shell cake -- made it my 1st year in business. It was a last minute order, and I had no idea how to make it when I agreed to the contract...so it was a total experiment. I used molds for the shells and free-handed the coral in white chocolate. I was so proud of this thing! Since, I have done a million of these, but this was the original.

This was my cake for the charity fundraiser cake competition "Let's Eat Cake" in Gainesville last year. Kerry Vincent was one of the judges (ala Food Network fame) and as evil as she seems on tv, she was actually extremely sweet in person. I didn't win, but I was happy with our cake. It was definitely the most original wedding cake there.

Cake I made for my friend Molly Brown (Cinematique Films) and Sharia Riley's (Style House)
Grand Opening Soiree!

another cake inspired by their invitations...

Getting to meet new and interesting people is one of the best parts of my job! This suitcase wedding cake was for one of the coolest couples I have had the chance to work with. The bride was American, and the groom was English (OMG his accent!) and they LOVED to travel. Each of the luggage "stickers" represented something or someplace meaningful to them.


For those of you who get so frustrated with planning your wedding you want to shoot someone... DRUM ROLL....... THE GUN CAKE!

  This cake was absolutely the hardest cake I have ever had to do. My husband and I worked all day and night on this thing! It was 2' x 3' and had to be the EXACT replica of the Beretta 92 FS handgun. I was hired by Beretta last year to make this cake to feed 200 people. It was given to Mr. Beretta himself, (the richest man in Europe, they kept telling me. Ok! I get it!!! LOL) to commemorate the signing of the largest gun contract with the US Military since...I don't know, WW1 or something. Anyway, it was a big deal...and they said Senator Clinton and Tom Seleck would be there. But they weren't. pahaha
 

This is just a tip of the iceberg people. Check her out, you will NOT be disappointed. Oh and P.S. I hear she can replicate WOOD texture like mother nature herself!! :) (sorry a little inside humor there.)

Thanks Anna for taking the time to sit down and contribute!

Pamper Yourself!! A Great Success!!

VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF LAST NIGHT'S EVENT!

Last night's event was a great success!! Thanks to all who contributed, and all who came to support us.. Vitality Wellness Day Spa was an amazing venue, plus they offered Hand & Arm Exfoliation and Massages along with Chair massages!! It was Great! Thanks Christy.. Lee Forrest of Lee Forrest Design of course created some Dazzling Floral, of which I had no doubt. His work is incredible! Kevin Moore of Moore Fine Foods was on hand to feed all of our guest some of his best gourmet creations! And one of my most favorite people, Anna from Anna Cakes sent our guest home with some of her fabulous cupcakes! P.S. They are not fattening at all, and I didn't hide a box just to make sure I got some! :) And of course, thanks to one of my dearest and bestest friends in the whole wide world, Abby Liga of Liga Photography who of course is always fun to co-host with! Make sure you check out the slideshow and thank you all again!!