THE KNOT BEST OF WEDDINGS - 2009

What a huge surprise this is ..... when I received this honor for the first time last year, I was notified in December of '07 and Best of Weddings 2008 was published in March 2008. I did not receive any notification this year, so imagine my shock while flipping thru the pages at my local Barnes & Noble when I noticed my name !!! The people around me must have thought I had lost my mind ...

To my 2008 brides who took The Knot's survey .... THANK YOU .. it is because of you and your comments that I have been given this honor.

Cacal-Mruz, Renaissance Hotel, 3/28/9

It may have been a rainy day, but it didn't dampen the celebration of Lois Cacal and Matthew Mruz wedding. Their reception was held on the 25th Floor of the Renaissance Hotel. Windows everywhere ... it provides an awesome view of the city of Atlanta. Their cake fed 102 ... and they had enough seating for 180. Not enough cake you say? You are right, that's why we had two quarter sheet cakes and one half sheet cake in the pastry kitchen (for extra servings).

Speaking of cakes .... their top cake was 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 marble cakes filled with Bailey's; the middle cake was Vanilla filled with fresh sliced strawberries; and the bottom cake was 1/2 red velvet and 1/2 vanilla filled with cookies n' cream.

Lois used some vendors I had not been aquainted with: Go with the Flo DJ; JK Dallas Photography; and Kristina Armstrong, DOC. One vendor I was very familiar with was Heather Oliver of Stylish Stems .... and as usual, the reception flowers were beautiful.

When I went back to pick up the plateau, John (the DJ) had the joint jumping, and I got a chance to congratulate and hug both Lois and Matt (Lois' dress was beautiful). When Matt hugged me, he told me that my advice to him (when he dropped some fabric swatches off last week) came in handy ... I told him that "if something doesn't get done (in time for the wedding), no one will notice except him and Lois" ... and it's true .. so don't sweat the stuff that doesn't happen as you had planned.

JK Dallas Photography (jedallas@bellsouth.net) provided this awesome cake shot ... thank you.

Congratulations, Lois and Matt !!!!

RENOVATIONS ... done for now !!!

At the beginning of the year I had big renovation plans ... my list included the living room, dining room/kitchen, TV room, master bedroom and master bathroom. The only thing I had time to finish was the master bedroom and bathroom. WOW ... what a difference. It's so pretty. I find myself standing in the doorway, admiring the new look. We went from yellow wallpaper with a green/burgundy swag border (yuk, old fashioned) in the bedroom to a soft tan paint on the walls called Bittersweet Stem (which I just love); and from a painted bright yellow in the bath, to a silver blue paint. I've had the bedding for a year ... It has shades of brown from rich dark brown to creamy tan ... and a little silver blue highlight. So that's the color I accented with ... blue pillows, blue accent rugs (on order), etc. We went from carpet to laminate flooring too ... that in itself was a huge difference. I just love how the bedroom came out.

Now ... let's give credit where credit is due ..... once upon a time, when I moved into this house, my master bedroom had grasscloth on the walls ... well, when we removed the paper, and after painting the room, we realized that the glue used on the wallpaper had soaked into the drywall. Problem: when you paint over glue, the paint won't stick. Thus the reason why I had to wallpaper my bedroom. So, when I was removing the yellow wallpaper, it was coming off in small one inch strips. It would have taken forever, so I asked my handyman, Brian Gayton, to come in and hang 1/4" drywall over my walls. He did an outstanding job. The seams are perfect and I will no longer have the issue of peeling paint. I painted the ceiling and walls (and decorated). Clay did an awesome job on the floor.

If you are looking for an honest, hard working, reasonably priced handyman to come in to take care of your house projects (he does practically everything ... painting/woodwork/electrical; etc), please contact Brian at:

1 Source Handyman Services

1sourcehandyman@bellsouth.net

678-343-5131 (cell phone)

Now that wedding season is really upon me, I need to put all other renovation plans on the back burner .... but as I have a free day here and there (who am I kidding) .... I might pick a wall and paint it .... or trash the sofa and buy a love seat ... or paint a ceiling. Eventually I'll get it all done.

Lloyd-Cadden, Chateau Elan, 3/14/9

Kelly Lloyd and Dan Cadden are the sweetest couple .. loved them, but am afraid I disappointed Dan. He asked me to create a 3-D fish for him ... a Marlin .... what I created was a fish .. but not a Marlin. When I went back to pick up the plateau I pulled Kelly and Dan aside and apologized to Dan ... and he gave me a big hug and his comment was "what are you talking about .. I loved it !!!" The fish was a chocolate cake filled with strawberry cream cheese ... I've saved the extra filling and put it on my morning bagel .. YUM !!!

The wedding cake on the other hand ..... came out great. The exterior icing color was Taupe which is a tough color to make ... it's a greyish/brownish color. When you add the white scroll detail however, it really pops !!!! The cake was white, but the fillings alternated between Lemon and cream cheese (together) and sliced strawberries.

Another new photographer: Mossy Creek Photography ..... I'll post their info once I receive the pro shot.

Hughley-Givens, Elizabeth Baptist Church, 3/7/9

I met JoVonn Hughley and Jerrie Givens almost a year before their wedding. JoVonn knew exactly what her cake would look like and I hope I created the cake of her dreams.

Friend, Delores, helped me deliver this one. JoVonn's wedding was at the Elizabeth Baptist Church on Cascade Road and the reception was held in the Fellowship Hall. Let me brag on that church for a moment ... I have never been so well received in any venue as I was from the people of Elizabeth Baptist Church. From the guy who helped me find my way to the fellowship hall ... to the catering manager and staff ... I thank them for their help and laughter ... everyone was so nice and had one common goal ... and that was to create a beautiful venue and reception for JoVonn and Jerrie. I can't wait for another cake opportunity at that venue.


So, now let me tell you about the cake .... each layer a different flavor. Vanilla filled w/ Bailey's; 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla cakes filled w/ chocolate cookies n' cream; Marble cake filled w/ strawberry buttercream and a vanilla cke filled w/ vanilla buttercream. YUM. Each tier was bordered in moss green ribbon and decorated with a triple dot design. The florist had left me a bunch of stems so that I could create the packed floral between the 8 and 12" layers.

Again, 2009 brings me the opportunity to meet new vendors ... unfortunately, their photographer did not respond to my requests for a professional photograph. Many thanks to JoVonn for sending them to me. Even she had to wait 5 months to receive her photos !!!

Chatham-Silva, Primrose Cottage, 2/21/9

Check out these cakes created for Emily Chatham and Rodrigo Silva. Their reception was at Primrose Cottage. The wedding cake was 5 tiers, but the bottom was fake. Alternating flavors of Lemon cake filled w/ raspberry and white cake filled w/ Lemon .... YUM !!! Alternating designs too ... scrolls and wide spaced dot designs. Thanks to Heather Oliver (http://www.stylishstems.com/) for leaving the beautiful yellow roses for me to place on top.

Now the groom cake was made for serious chocolate lover's .... a 4 tier hexagonal shape ... chocolate cake filled w/ Bailey's, frosted with chocolate buttercream, and adorned with chocolate covered strawberries and 3 boxes of Godiva milk and dark chocolates. It looked (and smelled) amazing. Before I placed the strawberries and chocolates on the cake, Clay looked at it from across the room and said that it looked like the shape of a chocolate fountain ... and it did.

2009 is giving me the opportunity to work with vendors "new" to me. This is the first time working with this photographer (http://www.thelongfarewell.com/). LOVE their style.

Harrykissoon-Digumarthi, Fernbank, 2/7/9

How cool is it to have your reception at Fernbank .... dining and dancing around the feet of a huge dinosaur skeleton. Very dramatic !!!

You have to have a good sized cake to compete with a huge dinosaur .. and that's what Samantha wanted. So, a 5-tier cake was in order. Each layer was a different flavor ... vanilla filled w/ almond; lemon filled w/ raspberry; white filled w/ lemon; the 4th layer from the top was fake; and the bottom layer was white filled w/ Bailey's. A subtle scroll design was placed on the bottom of each layer and the cake was then completed with gorgeous orchids - provided by the incomparable Carla Duncan (http://www.onoccasionsofatlanta.com/). The mix of green, yellow, and rust was perfect for the room decor.

Great photo from 35 Atlanta !!!!