NWG: What are some of the most popular/favorite flavors and fillings for a wedding cake?

CD: For the vanilla lovers, our best seller would be a vanilla cake with lemon chiffon filling and fresh seasonal berries. For the ‘choco-holics’ its Ferrero Rocher… without a question.

NWG: What colors do you find most popular?

CD: In 2011 we saw alot of yellows with pops of orange here and there. This coming season, we are seeing many pastel shades. The more traditional wedding colors.

NWG: What is a new trend this year in wedding cakes?

CD: 2012 is the year of ROMANCE.. We are custom designing so many cakes to look like the brides dress. We are seeing alot of lace elements..so I can foresee lots of detailed piping.

NWG: Are there any trends you would like to see more brides doing?

CD: We would like to see some abstract cakes. Something ‘completely different.’  

NWG: What process do you take brides through to create their perfect wedding cake?

CD: We like to look at all the design elements of the wedding. The wedding dress, invitations and jewelry etc.  We always suggest a tasting… the fun part!!

NWG: What is the most important thing for a couple to consider when choosing a cake?

CD: The quality of the flavor and ingredients used for the cake. The cake is essentially the dessert. Having an experienced pastry chef who understand flavor profiles is very important.

NWG: How has cake making changed through the years?

CD: The customer has become more educated with the use of the internet. We are seeing more custom designed cakes, based around the entire theme and colors of the wedding. 

NWG: What do you suggest for couples on a budget?

CD: As each cake is different, it can be difficult to confirm a price with the initial consultation. In general our wedding cakes are between $7.00 and $12.00 per person.

NWG: What is some advice for Newport/New England wedding brides when ordering their cake?

CD: 1.Weather, especially if it is an outdoor summer wedding. 

2. Position of the cake in the height of the summer. Not to have the cake on display at the edge of the tent. Sunsets can be beautiful but cause havoc on buttercream!!!

3. Using local ingredients.. for example the Fall produces some amazing local apples, which translates apple cinnamon crisp for one of our most popular Fall flavors. 

NWG: Do you do sugar flowers and if so do you recommend sugar over real flowers?

CD: We always recommend  sugar flowers ( although New England has some AMAZING florist). We understand the flow of the cake and the end goal/result. Combining the sugar flowers with other design elements of cake can extend that WOW factor. 

NWG: What do you do besides wedding cakes for the wedding day?

CD: We offer Grooms Cake & a selection of favors

NWG: What is YOUR favorite cake?!

CD: Below is a photo of a cake that we love, done for a Grace Ormonde Photo Shoot. Mark’s favorite flavor is his re-creation of the German Chocolate Cake. His grandmother used to make it for his birthday. It has a caramel cream base with shredded coconut and then he folds in crushed pecan dragees…

Have any other questions for Confectionery Designs?  Ask us in a comment!

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If the occasion is in a super formal setting like a castle and you’re wearing a dress fit for Cinderella, you may want to consider accessorizing with a tiara or rhinestone head band. A more whimsical fete in the woods calls for something more nature-inspired like a peacock feather hair clip or a single, white rose. FYI Etsy is a great site to find such items!  Some great Etsy shops we found for wedding hair accessories were Which Goose and Preston and Olivia.  We also LOVE hair accessories from The Aisle New York, they have a great selection at a great price!

Wear either with a loose off-centered chignon or a deconstructed bun and SWOON! A romantic English garden-themed wedding might call for a creamy, trumpet-style gown, a twist of braids and curls and a show-stopping flower in your hair or perhaps a pearl-accented fascinator. Another trend we are LOVING right now is the inclusion of bird cage veils into the looks of brides striving for a modern or even vintage vibe.

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The bride wore a gorgeous yet understated gown that was perfect for the New England seaside setting. We just adore her birdcage veil and that up-do is to die for! Abby’s bridesmaids wore cocktail dresses in a vibrant shade of turquoise and carried lush, yellow bouquets that amatched their canary-colored strappy heels. Umm, turquoise and yellow couldn’t be a more amazing color scheme by the way!

Click here to view the full, glamorous gallery of images!

NWG: Do you think the bride and groom need to provide transportation for all their guests if they are getting married in Newport, RI?

RL: I wouldn’t call it a necessity, but certainly a wise choice with out of town guests, especially there is an open bar at the event.  Newport is one of those locations where any map will tell you that you are 2 miles from your destination, but it is such a popular hotspot that the 2 miles can easily take 20 minutes to travel.  Reliable transportation guarantees that the guests arrive on time, ensures that they have a safe ride home, and is a wonderful benefit for those who emptied their pockets to stay in Newport!

NWG: If so, what do you typically recommend?

RL: Depending on what events are going on that weekend in Newport and which venue is being used, I recommend Mini Coaches and trolleys.  They are small enough to fit down most streets, accommodate a decent group of people, and booking multiple vehicles makes it easy to “divide and conquer” as I like to say, Pick up guests from one hotel, while the other bus is accommodating another.

NWG: Is there a time limit for special bride & groom vehicles?

RL: Most of the fleet is based on a 4 hour minimum, but there is no limit.  You are paying for a service and if you choose to keep that service for the entire weekend, we can do that for you as well.  We customize packages for each individual client’s needs, as some may have more elements affecting transportation.  Each client works with a wedding coordinator to review the timeline of the day, important details, guest locations… everything. Let’s face it, everything else can go perfectly throughout the day, but if the guests or the star of the show arrive late the entire timeline is thrown off.  Transportation plays a crucial role in keeping the events of the day fluid.

NWG: If so , do you think if the bride & groom want to get a “special” vehicle that it is best to do at the end of the night when leaving the reception or earlier in the day either from the church to the reception or for photos around Newport?

RL: I think that everyone is different here and it is 100% personal preference.  Some people want that moment alone with their new husband or wife just after the end of the ceremony and they decide a private car is just the thing they need, so they book an executive, luxury, or vintage sedan.  With the hustle and bustle of the entire day, this is the only “moment alone” they will get until the end of the night.  On the other side of the spectrum, I have had clients tell me that they are now with their spouse until death do they part and they prefer to enjoy the one day of marriage with their friends and family, these clients often book trolleys, Limo Buses, multiple limousines, or stretch SUVs.

NWG: What is the biggest challenge with providing transportation for wedding guests in Newport?

RL: You would think that the biggest challenge for us would be the traffic, but we know the best routes to take and stay on top of the other weekend events in the area.  Large Motorcoach Buses might be the biggest challenge when picking up or dropping off anywhere immediately downtown (like the wharfs).  This is because Newport has strict laws about these large vehicles idling and loading and unloading.  There are only a few designated areas downtown for these large vehicles to wait, load, and unload.

NWG: Is there anything else bride & grooms should consider that they may not have thought of about transportation in Newport?

RL: One of the biggest things to keep in mind is time!  Most people forget that it takes quite some time for 30-50 people to load and unload a bus.  If there are multiple pick up times, it takes time for these vehicles to drop off and then travel back.  In addition to this, these larger vehicles accelerate much slower than a small car, they cannot quickly turn right at a red light, they cannot speed up through a yellow light, and they cannot weave in and out of traffic.  These are the things that all of us do so often in our personal vehicles that don’t realize how long it would take to get to our destinations if we couldn’t drive like we are accustomed to.

NWG: Last, if the bride & groom are on a budget, but still want to provide everyone transportation what do you suggest?

RL: Every scenario is different, I recommend reviewing the details of the day with our wedding coordinator to see which options are most economical.  Sometimes it is a smaller vehicle that shuttles back and forth, sometimes it is one larger vehicle for the night, and sometimes it is changing vehicle types throughout the day.

With today’s post we hope to inspire you love birds out there by revealing a few of our FAV photos of stunning old timey autos and the lovely newly-married couples who rode off into the sunset in them.

Feast your eyes on the most inspirational and romantic photographs we could gather. They are guaranteed to put every lovebird bride and groom in the mood for passion (and perhaps a little wedding planning)!

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our friends at Paperless Post, a popular online destination for all greetings to include Valentine’s. Paperless Post’s designs are hand crafted so consumers can send a Valentine as special as the one they love.

Just in time for the holiday, Paperless Post is making it easier for anyone looking for the right card for their Valentine by introducing a new free price point. There are now cards in every category on Paperless Post ranging from free to premium and you can add a custom envelope or an envelope liner to set any design apart.

Click here to see Paperless Post’s Free Valentine’s line. And here is the Full Valentine’s line.

In addition to offering free cards, Paperless Post continues to bring the best qualities of printed stationery to web-based communication for Valentine’s Day with 120 premium designs, double the amount they offered last year.  They also have eight new best in class design partners such as Mr. Boddington, enormouschampion and bluepoolroad,  plus a variety of children’s Valentines!

Here you will find a link to a highlighted selection of the available Valentine designs.

According to the bride a lot of the credit for this swoon-worthy event goes to Ann Gardner and Margaret Murphy with Fancy Pants Event Planning.

“We did not originally intend to hire a planner, but hiring Fancy Pants was the best decision we made for our wedding,” said Lauren. “Ann and Margaret took the time to get to know us as a couple and knew what was important to us on our wedding day. They had incredible ideas, great relationships with vendors and really knew the space where we were holding our event. They handled every detail leading up to our wedding day seamlessly. On the day of our wedding, they were truly amazing. Any time I needed anything, I turned around and one of them was there to assist.  No detail was missed. They went above and beyond to make our day special. If you want to truly enjoy your wedding day, hiring an event planner could be the best decision you make. Having Fancy Pants involved surpassed all of our expectations. Jeff and I and our family and friends were to free to live in the moment and enjoy.”

Partygoers danced the night away to hits played by Creations Music while a late night fire pit and s-mores station provided sinfully delicious snacks for guests.  Ann from Fancy Pants said she and her partner loved working with the beautiful, detail-oriented couple.

“For their wedding, Jeff and Lauren chose a mix of blues and purples that paired beautifully with their vineyard setting,” said Ann. “The backdrop for their ceremony and reception was stunning. They completed the picture with the relaxed and easy way that they shared in their joy for one another, and their family and friends.”

“One of the things we loved most about Jeff and Lauren was how focused they were in planning the wedding to make sure all their guests had a great time,” Ann continued…It was an incredibly fun project for us, and we loved being a part of their amazing day.”

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