WEDDING: Cerrito-Hoefling, Fox Theatre, 1/29/11

VENUE: Fox Theatre, Egyptian Ballroom
BRIDE and GROOM: Jocelyn Cerrito and Michael Hoefling

I got to see Jocelyn about a week before her wedding ... she was so very excited. When I asked her to describe her reception she said: think of snow, icicles, glitter/sparkles, white. It sounded so dreamy. She was having minimal "floral" pieces .... she would carry a bouquet of fresh floral; but her girls would carry muffs. I couldn't wait to see how they transformed the Egyptian Ballroom into a Winter Wonderland .....

When I arrived, Carla Duncan (florist) had placed crystal trees, long white sheer drapes, lit crystal filled vases topped with white plumes ... it truly was beautiful. I cannot wait to see the work of Ray and Erica (of 35 Atlanta). I'm sure they captured all of the beautiful features.

Jocelyn and Michael's cake was 5 tiers ... each tier was 1/2 almond and 1/2 chocolate cake, the unusual part of their cake was the filling. It was an authentic cannoli filling (with mini chocolate chips). When I went back to pick up the plateau, there was not a slice left and that is the best compliment I could ever get.

VENDORS:
Music: Glow Band
Photo: 35 Atlanta (Ray and Erica)Floral: On Occasions of Atlanta - Carla Duncan
Caterer: Affairs to Remember - Nancy Lutz

Wedding Cake Flavor/Filling:
6" - 1/2 Almond and 1/2 chocolate cake filled w/ Cannoli Filling (w/ mini choc chips)
8" - 1/2 Almond and 1/2 chocolate cake filled w/ Cannoli Filling (w/ mini choc chips)
10" - 1/2 Almond and 1/2 chocolate cake filled w/ Cannoli Filling (w/ mini choc chips)
12" - FAKE CAKE
14" - 1/2 Almond and 1/2 chocolate cake filled w/ Cannoli Filling (w/ mini choc chips)

WEDDING: Gilbert-Williams, Carl House, 1/22/11

VENUE: The Carl House
BRIDE and GROOM: Christi Gilbert and JJ Williams

I hadn't been to the Carl House in quite a while, so it was good to get back up there. It was a chilly day, so I was glad to see that the wedding ceremony would be held in the ballroom. After the ceremony, I'm sure guests were ushered to the parlors for cocktails while the room was transformed into a black/white/red theme reception area.


I work with ribbon on a lot of cakes ... but I had never worked with a polka dot ribbon ... let me tell you how cute it looked !!! Even the staff had commented on how cute the cake was. I used red roses and loops of ribbon to accent the cake.

CAUTION: When I asked the florist for the cake floral, she said the bride did not order any ... but did come up with a few roses for me to use. So, if you are planning to have floral on your cake, please make sure your florist knows to bring flowers for the cake !!!

Christi wanted to surprise JJ with a cake of his own ... the Clemson Paw. He saw it before the wedding and made sure to tell everyone what Christi had ordered just for him.


VENDORS:
Music: Fonix Entertainment (Travis Gilbert)
Photo: Lori Suzanne PhotographyFloral: Truso Weddings
Caterer: Carl House

Wedding Cake Flavor/Filling:
6" - White cake filled w/ fresh sliced Strawberries
8" - White cake filled w/ fresh sliced Strawberries
10" - White cake filled w/ fresh sliced Strawberries
12" - FAKE

Groom Cake Flavor/Filling:
12" Funfetti cake filled w/ Purple colored Vanilla Buttercream

WEDDING: Parker-Serrano, King Plow Arts Center, 1/16/10

VENUE: King Plow Arts Center
BRIDE and GROOM: Kristin Parker and Marco Serrano

Wow! What a diamond in the rough this venue is. The venue space is leased to Bold American (caterers) and is such a different atmosphere .. think old brick, industrial ... I fell in love with the space. My brother was a guest at this wedding, so I got a real "review" from him/his girlfriend. They couldn't say enough good things about it.

Kristen and Marco got married in the same room as the reception, so I had to wait in the wings until they flipped the room (from wedding ceremony to reception) to set up the cake.

Kristen didn't want the "usual" placement of flowers on the cake, but did want a small cascade towards the top and a larger cascade towards the bottom on the front of the cake. It looked so pretty and I've received lots of nice comments (on facebook). If you can zoom in on the topper ..... it's tiny but oh so cute.

DETAILS: LOVED the table set up at this wedding ... not the usual round table ... all "estate" tables dressed in a beautiful silver linen with maroon runner. It was stunning.







VENDORS:
Music: Music for the Occasion
Photo: Shadowboxer Photography http://www.shadowboxerphoto.com/Floral: Bold American
Caterer: Bold American

Wedding Cake Flavor/Filling:
6" - Almond cake filled w/ Bailey's
8" - FAKE
10" - Almond cake filled w/ Bailey's
12" - Red Velvet cake filled w/ Cream Cheese

WEDDING: Carbo-East, Olde Town Athletic Club, 1/15/11

VENUE: Olde Town Athletic Club, Marietta
BRIDE and GROOM: Tammi Carbo and Jon East

I hadn't been to Olde Town for about three years, and had no idea that they had renovated their space. It is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure Mr. Bob Cooper would be happy to show you around if you are still looking for a venue.


When I met Tammi back in September, she knew exactly what her cake was to look like ..... but after a few emails and sketches back and forth, she ended up with something completely different! It is MY FAVORITE cake of the year (so far). A grand 5-tier cake with black and silver scroll work to compliment the rich purple hand made gumpaste floral. Thanks go to Zoe Ruiz for making the floral for me (she says it's easy and promises to teach me how to do it one of these days real soon). I got a chance to see Tammi when she returned from her honeymoon and she was thrilled with how her cake came out.

Jon is from Alabama and is a Roll Tide fan and a chocolate fan. His groom cake was chocolate, filled w/ chocolate and frosted in chocolate. All of his friends told him it was the best chocolate cake they've ever had .. unfortunately, Jon didn't get to eat any! Tammi and Jon cut the wedding cake, but they didn't do a ceremonial "cut" of the groom cake and by the time he was ready to eat cake, there was no chocolate cake left !!! : )

DETAILS: I love Heather Oliver of Stylish Stems ... anything she does is spectacular. One special floral detail that I noticed on the way out was on a huge round table in the entry way. She took individual stems and placed them in individual vases, add candles and some rose petals and you've got one stunning entrance centerpiece.


VENDORS:
Music: Spectrum Entertainment (Matt)
Photo: 35 Atlanta (Ray and Erica)
Floral: Heather Oliver, Stylish Stems
Caterer: Olde Town Athletic Club

Wedding Cake Flavor/Filling:
6" - Almond cake filled w/ Pineapple Buttercream
8" - Almond cake filled w/ Almond Buttercream
10" - Almond cake filled w/ Pineapple Buttercream
12" - Almond cake filled w/ Almond Buttercream
14" - FAKE CAKE

Groom Cake Flavor/Filling:
12" - Chocolate cake filled w/ Chocolate Buttercream and iced in Fudge (YUM)

WEDDING: Johnson-Rudnik, Royal Lakes Country Club, 1/15/11

VENUE: Royal Lakes Country Club
BRIDE and GROOM: Stephanie Johnson and Adam Rudnik

This is my first wedding of 2011 and I'm pleased to announce that Stephanie and Adam's wedding cake photo will grace the cover of my 2011 portfolio for all to see.

First, let's talk about the groom cake. Adam is a rookie Fireman with Gwinnett County, Station #20. When we first talked about a groom cake for Adam, we were going to do a replica of his shield. Well, that got changed to a 3-d firetruck. With the help of another bakery (The Flour Shoppe) who specializes in fondant, (I don't do fondant) this adorable firetruck was presented to Adam and used at the rehearsal dinner.


The wedding cake was bordered with an eggplant colored ribbon and covered with the triple dot design. The unique piece about this cake was the placement of floral between the 8 and 10" layers. Now, when I saw the floral that I had to work with, I honestly was a bit disappointed as the floral looked old and a little wilted (especially the roses) ... but given the weather conditions leading up to this day (lots of snow/ice), it was a bad week for floral .. all around. So I did what I could with what I had to work with. It still came out nice.

DETAILS: I took a couple of shots of interest ...

First, the view from the ballroom. Water, Snow, Bright Sunshine. It was beautiful. I've seen a sneak peek of the outside shots, and they look amazing.

Second, these tall vases were lined with thin lemon slices. A huge ball of floral topped each vase. They looked beautiful.



VENDORS:
Music: Richardatlanta@music.com
Photo: David FirestineFloral: Brides and Blooms
Caterer: Royal Lakes Golf Club

Wedding Cake Flavor/Filling:
6" - Vanilla cake filled w/ Raspberry Buttercream
8" - Chocolate cake filled w/ Strawberry Buttercream
10" - FAKE CAKE
12" - Vanilla cake filled w/ Cookies n' Cream

Groom Cake Flavor/Filling:
Chocolate cake filled w/ Banana Cream

FAREWELL 2010 ... HELLO 2011 !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!! The year 2010 was phenominal ... I ended the year with 80 weddings, but 2011 is destined to be better .. I did promise my husband some "eileen" time, so I'm not sure that I will do 80 weddings, but it still will be a great year!

Trends: Feathers still continue to be a hot accent and color plays a major role ... my goodness just wait until you see what my 2011 brides have planned.

Wedding season began in January for me (unusually early). With 31 weddings already scheduled for 2010 .. and two 2012 clients already, I am being asked for my information and tasting schedule daily.

The cover of my annual portfolio is saved for my first wedding cake of the year ... and I'm thrilled to announce that the Johnson-Rudnik Wedding (1/15/11) will grace the cover of my 2011 portfolio !!!

In an effort to grow my business in 2011, I'm going to try some new things:

Advertising: I've always said that word of mouth advertising is the best advertising .. and that has worked for me for a long time and still does, but I will continue as a paid advertiser with The Knot Wedding Network and partnering with three top wedding brands: The Knot and WeddingChannel, and Martha Stewart. I also advertise on Weddingwire and their affiliates.

Gift Certificates are available !!!

Favors: In addition to the many cakes that are created, I would like to get into providing favors for your guests. These can be wedding favors / baby shower favors / birthday favors / etc. in the form of chocolate covered oreo's, cake pops, cookies, etc.


Let me introduce you to the people who make up Eileen Carter Creations:

Eileen (aka The Cake Lady) - my Cake Lady nickname was given to me by my past clients .. and it has stuck. I've been baking cakes for 25+ years ... I worked for a major corporation for most of those years, able only to create as time permitted. Until 2004 when I returned home from my honeymoon and got the word that they didn't need me anymore. So I created Eileen Carter Creations and haven't stopped yet. I absolutely LOVE my job.




Clay (The Cake Wrangler) - without his love and support (and brawn) I would not be The Cake Lady. He arrives with a smile and makes all around him smile. He's a hugger ... and often while I'm working on a cake, he can be found giving hugs to his favorite florists, coordinators, and/or photographers.



Becky Hall - (Cake Lady's Assistant) - a good friend and ready to lend a hand at any time. She often accompanies Clay and I to our weekly wedding destinations, she's not afraid to wash a dirty mixer bowl or clean up after a fun filled cake week.