DIY Bride

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been a bit sick lately and the idea of talking about cakes and food is really, um, awful.

I’m suspending DIY Cake month for another month or so until I can devote some un-nauseous time to it. My sincere apologies for those that are waiting for their questions or their articles to post! They’ll be online in a few weeks. Your patience and understanding is appreciated.

If you’ve browsed Amazon or cruised through the cookbook aisle of your local book seller, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that there are lots (and lots and lots) of wedding cake books on the market. Not surprisingly, there are gems and there are clunkers hidden in the vast pool of offerings.

In my book search for this series I found that some cake books are outdated and, well, just plain frumpy. Others are meant to be inspirational eye-candy with no recipes or how-to. Some books deal only with decoration. Some are a combination of decor how-to & recipes. While many books have neat ideas or solid instruction, few books are truly outstanding. Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes falls into that outstanding category. A combination of inspiration, decoration how-to, and recipes this book exceeded my already high expectations.

What I loved about this book:

• Beautifully photographed cakes by the fabulous Wendy Kromer are truly inspiring.
• The book is very well-laid out from the basics of cake components and tips on selecting your perfect cake to recipes and decorating instructions.
• The range of cakes is diverse from Martha-esque classic and elegant to fun and whimsical (without being cheesy).
• The yummy recipes are scaled appropriately for wedding cakes, taking some of the guesswork out of the baking process.
• As with all of Martha’s DIY, the instructions are clear and concise.
• The cake display ideas are fabulous, creative, and within the skills/reach of most DIYers.
• Did I mention this is a gorgeous book? It is worthy of display on a coffee table.

Other notes:

• I’ve seen most of the cakes in MS Weddings. While it doesn’t take away from the quality of the book, I would’ve loved to see some brand new cake ideas.
• This may not be the best book for 1st timers. It is, however, a great companion if you’re taking decorating classes or have some experience under your belt.
• The list price is $60.00 though one can find it cheaper via Amazon or other discount retailers. I think it’s worth it because it’ll be on my shelf forever. Your mileage (and budget) may vary.

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One of my favorite magazines, Pacific Weddings, is having a DIY contest! The winner will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine and will receive a collection of design books.

Pop over to their blog for all of the contest details and check out the gorgeous inspiration and ideas they share.

If you’re not yet familiar with Pacific Weddings, go out and get a copy NOW. It is one of the most beautifully done mags on the market.

DIY devotee, Ann, needs some help with her hot air balloon themed wedding. I thought I’d turn this one over to you awesomely creative people.

… My fiance proposed to me on a hot air balloon last March.  We are trying to continue this by making the theme of the wedding hot air balloons.  My sister is a graphic designer and is making all of our stationary with a beautiful monogram/logo using a hot air balloon and our names.  We are getting married at a pretty formal reception hall, so we know that the decorations need to match the formality of the room.  We have been thinking of finding rice paper lanterns made to look like balloons.  We would light all of the lanterns with candles or battery operated lights.  I am having so much trouble finding plain or light blue rice paper balloon lanterns.  Any idea where I could get them  or any other ideas for centerpieces using that theme?
Thanks for your help!

Can you help Ann out with centerpieces, lantern sources, and other hot air balloon inspiration?

Hey DIYers,

As I finish up the DIY Cake Month over the next week or so, I’m going to start taking reader questions about July’s feature: multimedia weddings.

If you’re planning on - or curious about - using multimedia gadgets and elements in your wedding, I’d love to hear from you. I’ll be covering iPod weddings, DVD invitations, slide shows, personal wedding blogs/sites, automated rsvp services, CD favors and other nifty stuff. There will also be a couple of very exciting giveaways.

Please hit me up with your questions about any of the topics above or suggest one that isn’t on the list.

Thanks!

Your next major cake decision, and one that tortures many a would-be DIY cake maker, is what kind of cake to make. In a later post we’ll go through flavor and filling options but this one’s devoted to the boxed mix or scratch dilemma.

There are few debates as heated in the cake world as the use of boxed mix versus scratch cakes. While I am a strong advocate of the latter, I do want to give a fair look at both sides to help you discover which option is best for your needs.

Box Mix Pros:

• Convenient, pre-mixed packages mean little measuring and no guesswork with ingredients yielding a pretty consistent result from cake-to-cake.
• Packages can be purchased way ahead of time and stored until needed.
• Box mixes are inexpensive, especially when purchased on sale.
• Most people are very familiar with box mix flavors and have fond associations of those kinds of cakes (reminds them of childhood, for example).

Pros of Scratch Mixes:

• Unlimited flavor options. If you can dream it, there’s likely a perfect cake flavor waiting for you to discover it.
• You control the ingredients and can add to or modify recipes to suit your needs. Wheat allergies? Vegan? Organic ingredients only? Carrot cake without nuts? No trans fats? Diabetic options? No problem!
• Freshness. Made-from-scratch cakes don’t need chemical stabilizers or preservatives. (Take a look at the ingredients on a box mix cake.)
• Pride. There’s definitely a satisfaction that one gets from making something that takes creativity, patience and skill that can’t be experienced with shortcuts.

Many box cake devotees argue that box mixes are faster. Over at Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn, they proved that wrong. [Do check out their other article about scratch cakes as healthier than boxed mixes.]

As for cake mix being less expensive than scratch, you may be surprised at what we found in the DIY Bride Test Kitchen. That’s another post, though.

My best advice is for you to do a taste and bake test with scratch cakes and box cakes to find the ones that fit the taste, texture, and budget that you’re aiming for. (Check back for the DIY Bride Test Kitchen results.)

Remember: a wedding cake needs to taste great, no matter how clever or fancy it looks.

I was recently interviewed by the Associated Press for a piece about budget-saving tips. The article started running over the weekend and I thought it’d be fun to share with you. There are some excellent tips for all budgets within from such wedding gurus as Marcy Blum, David Tutera, and … me.

(Same article, different publishers)

• The Canadian Press
• Boston Herald
• Ithaca Journal
• Guelph Mercury
• Knoxville News Sentinel

Wedding debt and smart budgeting are among my favorite topics! Do check out some of the previous posts about wedding budgets I’ve done:

How To Recession-Proof Your Wedding

Avoid The Wedding Debt Trap #1

Avoid The Wedding Debt Trap #2

This is, hands down, one of the best introductory cake decorating videos on YouTube. Master cake decorator, Sandy Sheppard, shows the basic tools and shares some tips.

How to Decorate a Cake

Do check out Sandy’s other videos at http://www.monkeysee.com/channel/show/56. They’re all excellent!