Chinese Style Wedding

In early May I managed the wedding of Jean and Rupert who chose the beautiful St Paul's Walden Bury near Hitchin for their civil ceremony, with a large marquee reception in the grounds.

The day was chilly but guests were treated to a wonderful eight course Chinese banquet, care of http://www.leigh-house.co.uk/ , fabulous red and gold Chinese decorations and customs, complete with lion dancing and a rickshaw.

Many thanks to http://www.nigelharper.com/ for his photographs.

Birthday Cakes for Children

Sherry, my delightful guest blogger for cakes, wows us again with her ideas for children's birthday cakes...

The first time some one asked me for a Ben 10 cake for their little boy, they nearly ended up with a very big time piece!

Making children’s cakes is not as easy as you may think. Children have an unerring eye for detail, which can tell whether Peppa Pig is the correct shade of pink, whether Charlie and Lola are the right height, or indeed if Chip n’ Dale have the right noses.

When asked to do a children’s birthday cake, I spend a lot of time investigating the characters in detail beforehand, from every angle. You may not know what Iggle Piggle looks like from behind, but you can bet your bottom dollar that your child will!

Obviously these days you can buy a pretty decent basic children’s birthday cake from the supermarket, but personally I don’t think you can top being able to give your child a cake with their absolute favourite character sitting on top, spelling out their name.

Trends in Wedding Cakes

My lovely guest blogger, Sherry, gives us an overview of current trends in wedding cakes......

Trends in wedding cakes, just like everything else, evolve with the times. Not only are they a major style statement, which reflect the personalities and tastes of each individual bride and groom, but they present a perfect opportunity for creative brides to play with shape, colour and embellishments.


2009 certainly seemed to be the year of the cupcake, with 2010 following suit. Towers of cupcakes or individual cakes are ideal as an individual serving for each guest, topped with a small 6 inch tiered cake for the bride and groom to cut or freeze as a traditional Christening cake.

However, by no means should you disregard the tiered wedding cake! Although having each tier separated by pillars seems to have taken a step back these days, the big trend right now is to have each tier stacked directly one on top of the other to create clean, classic lines of elegance.

As far as colours go, pink is still strong in 2010, as is burgundy, and for some chic elegance, many are leaning towards all white designs. Browns with baby pinks and baby blues are beautiful, as are pastels with white embellishments. Tropical themes for those of you getting married in hotter climes and then returning for your reception are always fabulous, incorporating hot pinks and oranges.

Flowers continue to be a popular adornment for wedding cakes and simple blooms such as calla lilies and daisies have replaced some of the more ‘fancy’ varieties of flower. Simple embellishments such as dots, curving scrollwork, and family monograms are also high in popularity to help personalise your cake.

Most importantly, remember that the cake should reflect your individual style, and you cannot go wrong no matter what you choose. Once the confetti has settled, you want to be able to look back at your pictures and be confident that you made the right choice.

Wedding Cakes - What to Consider

Sherry Hostler http://www.thecakehouse.biz/ begins her series of guest blogs for us by looking at what to consider when choosing a wedding cake...

'We are now firmly entrenched in 2010, and for those of you with a wedding coming up this year, where do you start with your wedding cake?

You can look through wedding magazines, visit wedding fayres and search the internet for inspiration, but don’t let yourself get too bogged down. The choice of different styles of cake is endless and before long you may feel even more confused.

Here are some hints and tips to help you on your way:

Think about the number of people you would like to feed with the cake and what flavours would be most popular. Remember you don’t have to have traditional fruit cake for your wedding cake these days. Most of the wedding cakes I make have each tier as a different flavour. It's nice to be able to offer your guests some variety.

How many tiers would you like? What shape do you want them to be? What colour would you like the cake covered in? You could have a different colour for each tier! Then the decoration…flowers? bride and groom toppers? chocolate spirals? monograms? The list is endless…

Make sure you book your cake designer as soon as you choose them. Good bespoke cake designers get booked up fast.

Bespoke cakes are 'one offs' and need a bit of time to be designed and priced up. They will vary considerably depending on the amount of work that goes into them. It is tempting to go for a low price, but remember the old adage…'if you pay peanuts, you often get monkeys’. Make sure you go for someone you trust, whose work you admire. If you have a budget in mind, let them know so they can work with you.'

Next week, Sherry enlightens us as to current trends in wedding cakes...

The Wonderful World of Cake

I am keen to have some of my favourite experts give hints and tips and great advice to help you make decisions for your wedding or party. Over the next couple of months Sherry Hostler, a wonderful cake designer, will be sharing her ideas with us and showing us a variety of cakes for different occasions.

Sherry's business The Cake House http://www.thecakehouse.biz/ is based in Tring, Hertfordshire. She provides a completely bespoke service and I have been impressed with her dedication and attention to detail ever since I met her.

Sherry is a skilled cake designer, with an NCF Certificate in Cake Decorating. She has a passion and flair for creativity and enjoys bringing her clients' ideas to life, no matter how large or small. I love these seasonal cupcakes for example:

The Cake House creates unique and delicious cakes in all tastes and styles. Sherry caters for all occasions  including weddings, celebrations and corporate events and she trains others in her art.

Next week Sherry suggests what we should consider when choosing a wedding cake.

Walkern Hall

In my area I am lucky to be surrounded by beautiful stately homes. Walkern Hall http://www.walkernhall.co.uk/ is one of these.
Situated near Stevenage, Walkern Hall is a delightful Georgian manor house, surrounded by beautiful gardens, stunning trees and much parkland. Its grounds are a perfect setting for a marquee wedding reception, private party or other event.

Exclusive ground hire charges are very reasonable and you are able, with the approval of the charming owners, to bring in whichever suppliers you wish.

Well worth a visit if you are looking for a relaxed, quintissentially English backdrop for your wedding or event.

Blenheim Palace

I used to be based very close to Blenheim Palace, but hadn't looked at it as a venue for many years, until I revisited it this morning. I was therefore very excited to see the wonderful possibilites for weddings, parties and other events which Blenheim offers today.

Blenheim offers five different venues - The Orangery, The Marlborough Room, The Great Hall and The Long Library, plus the opportunity to erect a marquee in a number of spaces in their beautiful grounds.

Well worth a visit if you are considering a wedding or other event in the most fabulous surroundings England can offer.

http://www.blenheimpalace.com/