Thursday, June 20, 2013
There is a bakery in Nashville's Germantown area known for its cupcakes, The Cupcake Collection. Usually there is a line out the door of folks waiting to grab these $1.50 cupcakes by the dozen for parties, co-workers, or simple sweet treats. What most folks don't know is that that The Cupcake Collection also designs wedding cakes for their in-the-know engaged, bakery clients.
Mignon and her husband co-design each cake and the result, time after time, is an artful masterpiece. How do they continue to create cakes that are so distinct? They invest quality time getting to know each couple and design a cake just for them. Ask any of their brides or grooms and you will find that The Cupcake Collection's get-to-know-you approach is quite remarkable.
Below are some of their recent cake creations. Enjoy each cake's story and then allow Mignon to get to know you and to design your custom wedding cake.
A Henna Surprise
One of The Cupcake Collection's regulars was an Indian bride-to-be. She was a simple bride, definitely not a floral cake girl. She didn't provide much direction opting to give Mignon with full creative control. All that she asked was that the cake incorporate peacocks, which are significant in her culture and would be repeated in her wedding theme.
With that, Mignon gave the design some thought. When the bride's sister happened to come into the bakery, Mignon asked more about the bride and the wedding, hoping to get something a bit more personal to include on the cake. The sister mentioned that the bride would be decorated in henna on the day of her wedding. Mignon asked the sister to take photos on the wedding day of the bride's henna. The sister texted the photos and The Cupcake Collection got to work. Hours before her wedding cake was to be delivered, The Cupcake Collection added the intricate henna details to surprise the bride with a personal touch.
The bride was elated and stated that her cake was "the most beautiful cake I've ever seen."
Jim vs Jack
When a Kentucky guy proposed to a Tennessee gal, there was a constant joke that among the families that someone was going to lose their hometown favorite Bourbon. And it certainly looked like the loser would be the groom! Not to fear, his soon to be in-laws commissoned The Cupcake Collection to create a cake version of his favorite drink, which would serve as his last bottle. The parents even added a special message on the bottle's warning label.
The cake was a hit! It was a surprise for the groom that even surprised many of the staff and guests who thought it was the real thing and not cake!
Loveless Style
For an upcoming photo shoot, the folks at Enchanted Brides and Loveless Cafe asked The Cupcake Collection to design a cake that a southern bride would love. The result is the above design - a 4-tier cake that represents many of the simple but elegant details that today's brides appreciate. Each tier is different. The top layer is covered in sugar crystals; middle tier is buttercream; bottom tier is the ever popular ruffle design.
An Artful Nod to Music City
The Cupcake Collection is really great about listening to what their couples say and what they do not say. This reading between the lines helps them deliver beyond what clients can articulate. Such was the case with a bride who was marrying a musician and chose to wed right here to celebrate Music City. All she knew was that she wanted an all white cake with piano keys, one that was feminine with flowers, but certainly not roses. She wasn't quite sure how to articulate her style but left saying "I will know it when I see it."
Eventually she trusted Mignon to pull together the disparate pieces of her vision. With the bride's trust, The Cupcake Collection went to work. Mignon further questioned the bride's style. "You say you are simple but you really aren't, I sense you like a little wow but you don't like bling. You appreciate a timeless style but one with a bit of drama, like a big strand of pearls?" That description immediately resonated with the bride and her aesthetic was solidified! The designers were left with the challenge of making a cake with piano keys while working with an all white color palette. With an all artist design team, they knew anything was possible.
Their result was a cake that combined femininity, music and flowers all in a timeless style. The dramatic cake is a pure piece of art that the bride loved!
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Cakes & Food
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
If you have not yet hired your wedding caterer, now is a great time to schedule a tasting appointment with Beyond Details Catering and Floral Design. They just released their summer tasting dates to allow all of you engaged couples and planners to go beyond my blog and taste their delicious food for yourselves. Space is limited so contact Brandy of Beyond Details at 615-320-5573 or via email to schedule your tasting appointment.
Summer Tasting Dates
June 22nd & June 23rd – By Appointment
July 19th, 20th & 21st By Appointment
August 3rd & 4th – By Appointment
Be sure Beyond Details is on your short list of wedding caterers. You really have to taste and see their food to appreciate their unique flavor twists as words and photos aren't adequate. They also do floral designs making their wedding receptions divine!
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Cakes & Food
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013
I first learned of Abby and her Creative Crumbs bakery at the Perfect Wedding Guide bridal show. She's one busy lady. So, in lieu of my get-to-know you interview, I decided to grab some photos of her wedding cakes from her Instagram page and website gallery to show you why I was drawn to her cake artistry.
I'm sure tthat hese select cakes represent but a fraction of cakes she's done as well as her capabilities. But, they do give you a sense of her artistic style.
Creative Crumbs is located in East Nashville.
This is the cake that I saw at Abby's booth and loved! So sleek, clean and stunning.
vintage lace wedding cake on right
gray and yellow bird cake on left
country western style cake on right
magnolia wedding cake on left
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Cakes & Food
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Jason and Lori, owners of Crumb de la Crumb bakery and The Cottage Cafe are hosting their first, by demand, Supper Club. The May 31st event is expected to be an upscale, one-of-a-kind dinner with live music. And if you know anything about this team, you know to also expect an inventive twist on the menu.
If you are open to something outside the run of the mill date night, RSVP for The Cottage Cafe's Supper Club in Bellevue, TN. The scrumptious menu is below.
"For our first Supper Club, we will be featuring some of our favorites. A set menu of 4 courses with a choice of two different main entree's. Live music will also be on tap for what is going to be a great evening.
(Due to our space being limited, it's a reservations only event. We will be operating under our "shared seating" policy. This means your party may be joined with another party so that we can accommodate everyone.)"
Menu
Seafood Feast
Charleston She Crab Soup
Caramelized Scallops with White Balsamic Strawberry Salsa
Main Dishes :
Pistachio Encrusted Salmon with Lemon Basil Butter Sauce served with Lemon Sea Salt Roasted Asparagus and Cherub Tomatoes
Or Low Country Shrimp and Grits (These shrimp are fresh off the boat, brought in especially for this event). Lorie's special recipe!! Trust us, the best you've ever eaten!!
and....
A trio of Lorie's delectable dessert creations. She's way more than cake, people!! *This event will be a BYOB event, with a corkage fee for those who bring wine.
Price per person $38.00
Please respond with your entree choice(s) when you purchase tickets.
Suggested gratuity of 18% is NOT included. Corkage fee will be collected on the night of the event.
Link to Details and Tickets
Not interested in the Supper Club? Know that The Cottage Cafe is also a great location for bridal showers, bridal luncheons and Crumb de La Crumb offers fantastic wedding cakes.
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Bridal Showers, Luncheons, Parties, Cakes & Food, Wedding Venues and Locations
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013
I can't believe we are moving through this year so fast. It's already May! The wedding season is underway and I always like to what's popular, unusual or being loved in Nashvile wedding.
I decided to start with wedding cakes so I reached out to Signature Cakes by Vicki to see what lovely designs she has created for Nashville weddings this year.
All of the cakes below are by Signature Cakes and were created for real Nashville brides for their weddings this year. I cant believe this many great weddings have already taken place! If you like what you see, you can always call Vicki and she can customize anything based on your wedding style, colors or modifications.
The cake on right is a red white and silver cake that's classic and elegant. It has a punch of color, sugar flowers and moldings.
All about lace! More wedding gowns are made of lace and as a bride, you might want a cake that complements your dress. Here are two 2013 lace wedding cakes by Vicki. Notice how different they can be even though they share the lace theme? The cake on the left has sugar flowers and molding.
Succulents and mushrooms. The bride is a graduate of the Art Institute in Culinary. She wanted something earthy for her Cheekwood wedding. Succulents are becoming huge this year. The bride also fell in love with mushrooms and succulents (which are very popular this year.) Vicki loves challenges and looked forward to creating this cake as it required out of the box thinking to create molds for items like mushrooms, that arent common. This cake has a lot of handwork!
The all white petals cake is all the rave with 2013 / 2014 brides. The textured stripes on the right are extrememly loved too. The cake is very textural with hand laid stripes of fondant all over the cake. Fresh flowers were added on top for this Mint Springs Farm wedding.
A 7-tier cakes with cameos, lace, texture, painting, sashes and white sugar flowers. Very VINTAGE for a wedding at the Hermitage Hotel.
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Cakes & Food, Inspiration & Trends
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