The Wedding Cake Shop

If you haven't heard already you need to know about The Wedding Cake Shoppe that recently opened in Toronto.

859 College Street is the new location for Cindy Cohello and her cake creations.
I met Cindy a couple of years ago and instantly loved her style. I like to think I'm kind of picky about cake people; maybe it's because I too love to bake and deep down desire to have their job. However, Cindy's cakes stand out in my books because they are creative, unique, and full of value. There are many bakeries out there that do cakes quick and cheap but what if you are looking for something special, something a little different than what is shown in the sample book?
Please visit The Wedding Cake Shoppe to find out. There is no minimum size, unlike a lot of other bakeries. Cakes start at about $4 per serving, which gets you a plain, frosted base.

Or if your in the area and just want some coffee and a cupcake, they are open for that too. So whether its a big or small sugar fix your looking for, stop by and tell them Jessie sent you.

Fall Wedding Ideas

Cake by Cheryl Kleinman, 718-237-2271

Fall weddings are some of my favorite. My wedding anniversary (#5) is actually coming up in a few days. End of September was a great time to get married. The weather is comfortable, more stable and depending on what part of the country your in, the colors can be amazing.
There are so many great ideas for fall weddings that don't involve pumpkins, orange or anything that resembles a Thanksgiving dinner. Here are some great suggestions that I found on www.theknot.com. Hope they inspire you to consider a fall wedding. I'm SO glad I did.

Fall Flavors
Make the most of the season by picking cakes with distinct fall flavors. Instead of traditional white cake, consider a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting or a spice cake with blackberry filling and cream cheese frosting. For a lighter cake that will still remind guests of fall, go for an almond lemon cake with lemon frosting and filling.

Seasonal Colors
Color counts when you're designing a fall-inspired cake, and you can't go wrong with a color palette of burnt orange, brown, yellow, and red. That said, it's easy to go overboard with autumn hues -- add just a hint of fall color with a simple chocolate ganache or an ivory buttercream cake trimmed with orange or yellow. Or let the fall colors pop with an ivory cake covered in burnt orange, brown, yellow, and red sugar maple leaves.
You don't have to go over-the-top with add-ons to get an autumnal look.

Autumn Blooms
Match your cake to your bouquet by asking your baker to create sugar versions of your flowers. For a modern wedding, ask your baker to create a few large graphic sugar dahlias for your cake tiers. If you're going for a more classic style, find out whether your baker can "paint" small sunflowers on your cake using an edible dye.

Shapes and Add-ons
Decorating with maple leaves, acorns, and other fall-inspired elements made out of chocolate, sugar, or gum paste is one way to create a clearly seasonal cake. But you don't have to go over-the-top with these add-ons to get an autumnal look. Instead of brightly colored fall leaf shapes, consider a chocolate cake with molded-chocolate acorns or leaves. The tone-on-tone look will have the same effect with a more discrete style.

Cake By Ron Ben Israel, www.weddingcakes.com

Choose Sides
Whether you've already picked a cake design, or you've decided to take your cake in a not-so-seasonal direction, consider adding a side to serve with your cake to mimic the season. Serve cake à la mode with pumpkin ice cream; add a handful of caramel candies to each plate; or serve each slice with warm poached pears.
-- Anja Winikka

Wedding Podcasts!

Did you know that you can now listen for ways to plan your wedding? What's next??
We all know that planning a wedding is very time consuming and most women at best have their weekends and maybe their evenings to try get all that planning in. But now, you can download wedding themed podcasts online and listen to some great tips while your in the car, at the gym, or trying to just relax. I think it's a great idea that I wish had been available when I got married, (just 5 years ago). Plus, it's free!

Without a doubt, my #1 pick is www.weddingpodcastnetwork.com

This website is your spot to get all the info you need on planning your wedding. They've got special podcasts for the groom, your mom, and even working out for your wedding.
Do yourself a favor and check them out asap. You can thank me later ;)

There are lots of others. Just search under 'wedding' or 'bridal' and see what comes up!
Happy Listening...

Ring things to consider....

If anyone has watched the movie "Blood Diamond" after they already had their wedding ring, you were probably like me and looked at it and thought, "What happened so that I could get this rock on my finger?"
I went online afterwards and tried to find out if there was a way of knowing if I owned a 'blood diamond' or not. Basically there is no way of knowing after the purchase.

So if I could go back and do it again I would have looked for a great company like this: Ingle & Rhode.

They specialize in ethical jewellery. In particular they focus on 3 main areas:
- Human exploitation Most of the world’s precious metals and gemstones are mined and processed in horrendous conditions.
- Environmental damage Without careful management, mining can be environmentally devastating.
- Conflict (or blood) diamonds Over the past decade, tens of thousands of people have been killed in Africa in wars funded by the illegal sale of diamonds.

Here is a LINK to one of my favorite designs on their site.

And if you haven't seen the movie "Blood Diamond" yet, please do so. It will make you think.

A Magazine I should mention....

So anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with bridal magazines. I can walk into a Chapters or Indigo and spend all day there and drop a bit too much cash on mags. I love the inspiration and ideas that come from some of the really well done magazines. And I'm not talking about the old style wedding magzine that is 97% advertisements. That's not unique. I'm talking about the new breed of publishing like WEDLUXE Magazine, SPOSA, and basically anything from the UK.
I'll get into those ones at another time. Today I want you all to know about WEDDING FLOWERS MAGAZINE.

A UK based magazine that is all about wedding flowers whether that be bouquets, centerpieces, corsages - you name it and it's there!

What I love about it is that there are full page pictures of really unique bouquets in color groupings. If you find something that you like you've got a great full size picture that you can take to your florist. They also profile real weddings to help you with ideas.

Take note of the great color and accessories used in UK weddings. They are way ahead of us here in North America and especially Canada, when it comes to unique style.

The magazine isn't cheap - I think it's around $10.00-$12.00 - but it's imported and well worth it. Some of their mags that I've bought years ago are still put to good use and full of great trendy and timeless ideas.

Wedding Invites that get guests excited for the big day...

What's the first thing that your guests get to see in regards to your wedding? An invitation!
It's their first chance to get a feel for what your event is going to be like. Your color scheme, theme, style, and all the other little details that speak to who you and your mate are.

Invites don't have to be frilly to be eye catching they just need to be 100% you. Here are some pics of some of my favorites that I've come across:

The first company that I have to mention is TEARDROP WEDDINGS from Toronto, Ontario. The owner, Holly, is a true artist in many respects and gets idea of 'coloring outside the line' so to speak. She gets that wedding invitations are more than just words on white paper. It's you communicating to your friends and family just how much you want them there based on your personal touch. Do yourself a favor and visit her website!

Then I found this cool website called INVITATIONS BY NATURE. Their philosophy is that "quality comes from a synergy of commitment, experience, attention to detail, and innovation."
Check out some of their great styles. I love the ones with the crystals!

And finally, WEDDING PAPER DIVAS, based out of California, USA, have a great selection of classic, modern invites that are really eye catching.
They also have super fast turn around times for that wedding or shower invite in a rush!
Check out these great looks...

Blogging is back!

Well, it's been a long few months. Where I call home it's been snowing practically every day and I think it's safe to say that I'm ready for spring and all that comes with it.
I've also been dealing with computer breakdowns and new internet providers, who, in the country where I am, are a rare comodity. So needless to say the blogging has been suffering BIG TIME!

However, with that being said, spring is almost here and with that new fresh ideas.
So stay tuned for some great new blogs from yours truly. Wedding season is upon us and we need to discuss all of it!

Talk to you soon....


Jessie Thomas
BRIDE 2 BEAD