Wedding Cakes

Gone are the days when a wedding cake was always white with very little decoration and a plastic bride and groom on top. Today, you can just about decorate your cake any way you want. Weddings are becoming more and more personalized, so why not do it with your cake, too?

You can personalize your wedding cake by taking a particular element of the wedding décor and design the cake around that theme. Bakers can decorate cakes with the look of embroidery, lace, appliqué or elegant drapes or swags. Think Martha Stewart style. :-)

Many brides will use the lace or detailing from their wedding gown as a design for their wedding cake. Bring in a picture of your gown and talk to your baker to incorporate the lace or pearl beading detail into the cake. Keep in mind, however, the more detail you have, the more expensive the cake.

Here are some other ideas:

• Have a wedding cake with an unusual shape, such as, a wedding cake that resembles a stack of presents. This is a fun cake, and generally has two or more square layers, is heavily decorated and tied with a bow.

• Get sentimental! Copy or use the cake top your grandparents or parents used at their wedding.

• Have your monogram intertwined in icing on your cake as decoration.

• A never-fail simple, yet elegant decoration is using fresh flowers. Some favorites include roses, carnations and pansies. These flowers can be made into cascade designs or other styles. For a simply stunning look, have one single, perfect bloom on your cake, such as a lily or orchid. Using fresh flowers to decorate your cake looks great and does not need to cost a fortune.

So go ahead - have your cake and eat it, too.

The photos above are from Martha Stewart Weddings, fall issue.

WEDDING GIFTS

Have you received a damaged wedding gift and don’t know what to do or how to handle it? Well, here are some tips for you as well as information about exchanging gifts.

Damaged gifts - If the store name is indicated on the box or some other way, notify the store where it came from and ask them what their policy is for handling damaged merchandise. If you know that the gift was insured, you should notify the sender of its condition. If you do not know the store from where the gift was purchased nor whether it was insured or not, it should be assumed that the sender sent the gift in perfect condition and probably got damaged through the shipping process. Unless the sender asks about it, unfortunately, you will have to assume the loss yourself.

Exchanging gifts - If you would like to exchange a gift because it was a duplicate or want to exchange it for something more useful, then by all means, do so. However, a gift from a close friend or relative should never be exchanged without informing them first and asking permission to do so. It is also in poor taste if you exchange a gift for a cash refund.