October Weddings - Part 1

First, thank you for the kind words and wishes after my previous post.  Don't cry for me, everything will be just fine :)

October was here and gone in an instant.  It ended up being one of our busiest months for weddings, special events, a holiday, two bridal shows, and on top of everything I had two Le Cordon Bleu interns to corral.  Culminating with a fun night out for Halloween, I don't think I could have picked a more appropriate costume as The Crazy Cat Lady - I was feeling pretty loopy!

As you will see, the weddings this month ran the gamut from bright and colorful to tonal texture...

Photo courtesy of Shannon Marie Photography

Photo courtesy of Shannon Marie Photography

Photo courtesy of Shannon Marie Photography

The monogram was taken from the couple's custom printed napkins.  You may also recognize the vine piping from the jade wedding earlier this year.  The small picture shows the three tiered version with the center band and monogram.  By altering the design to reflect the wedding colors and the couple's preference for square cakes, the new look is summery and bright with a dash of preppy coolness. 

Imagine all white, minimalist, asymmetrical architecture, and floor to ceiling windows looking down into Minneapolis' Sculpture Gardens.  That was the backdrop for this next cake at the Walker Art Center Skyline Room.  It may look like a simple cake, but the getting the piping perfect is still a challenge.  To create the quilted buttercream look on the bottom tier, I have to first etch the lines on hard buttercream with a rounded fondant tool (about the width of a pencil eraser), and then soften the edges with my [clean] finger.  This is a new technique a taught myself just this year.  Prior to, I thought the only way to create quilting was with fondant.

I'm a huge fan of Marah Cole Floral Designs, and you have to see the centerpieces she did for this wedding!  Those are veggies in the water! 

Photo courtesy of Marah Cole Designs

This is a fun little fall two tier that was accompanied by cupcakes.  I met the bride at a wedding show last year.  Leah really liked my dummy cake with fall leaves and pumpkins, and we made it topsy turvy for an unexpected twist.  I really enjoy the subtle texture of the buttercream with the uneven layers - it makes the look less stark and adds movement.

 So, this last cake is from yesterday, so technically it isn't from October, but who cares.  The colors are autumn perfection.

The bands are fondant on buttercream.  This is a tough design to pull off, keeping the lines perfectly spaced, balanced, and clean.  I'm proud of how it came out - go me! - and it would be fun to do it in so many different color combos.  Fresh flowers were the perfect touch of romance for such a modern design, but it could go many directions. 


Part II of October Weddings will include some very unique cakes...stay tuned!


- Rachel

Fall for Love

Presenting two ridiculously beautiful fall wedding cake displays.  Both took place at the enchanting Camrose Hill Farm in Stillwater.  Camrose not only provides a lovely setting, they grow many of the flowers too!

I've lost track of how many times I've done this design, yet I never seem to tire of the soft, draping lines and simple sophistication it offers.  It lends a great background for fresh flowers, as you will see here.  We also brought in another element of nature: little fondant acorns.  Love.

Thank you to Jessica of JM Photography for sending me these pictures right away.  This wedding just happened on Saturday!  Jessica also takes "awww"-inducing photos of newborns like you've never seen!

Next up, possibly one of my favorite dessert displays of the year, if not EVER.  Another wedding heavy with natural elements.  I love the cake: White on white, delicate leaves, asymmetry, blingin' BOWS.  This two-tier packs a punch.  And don't the cupcakes kind of look like toadstools? 

I snapped these of the rest of the tent...

 ...but for the full effect, visit photographer Brandon Werth's blog.  So many details - I can't even begin!

I also did a groom's cake for Meghan and Tim.  Tim is from California, and had his first experience ice fishing in Minnesota last year.  Meghan wanted to recreate this memory (complete with a story about him being fearful of peeing outside...notice the "yellow snow" behind him) and include their beloved Boston Terrier Mr. Figgins, in an Angel's sweater (it had a halo-ed "A" on the back).

Here's to falling in love,
Rachel

Tealicious

Just received these sweet images from Katie Fears at Brio Art.  I'm still in love with this cake!

Thank you Katie!  

xoxo,
Rachel

Timeless

Marit was a bride that knew what she wanted coming in to the tasting.  She brought me a picture of a cake with multiple tiers, a clean, dot design, and oodles of fresh roses separating the layers.  This classic and dramatic look suited her reception at the Saint Paul Hotel perfectly. 

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

When Nick and I arrived with the cake, the room was shimmering with champagne linens, crystals, and the bustling activity of catering staff.  We assembled the tiers on site, and placed 5 dozen of the largest and most fragrant roses I have ever encountered.  I would like a pillowcase filled with the petals to sleep on every night!

These amazing images were brilliantly shot by Gina Kieffer of A Truth Be Shown Photography.  You know that butterflies in your stomach sensation you get when falling in love?  I got that feeling when I saw these photos for the first time.  It's no wonder Gina has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. 

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Imaged created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

Marit was also adamant about having eat tier a different flavor.  From the top down:  Carrot cake with cream cheese filling, red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, white cake with vanilla pastry cream and fresh strawberries, and chocolate cake with layers of ganache and chocolate buttercream.

Image created by A Truth Be Shown Photography

It never gets old seeing a lovely couple enjoy such special moments.  This timeless wedding will look as lush and lavish 50 years from now as it does today.  Congratulations Marit and James!

Thanks again to Gina and A Truth Be Shown Photography for these priceless photos!

xoxo,
Rachel

Poppies!

Contrary to popular belief, red and black CAN work for a summer wedding.  The key is keeping the look clean and fresh, which was exactly what bride Evegenia had in mind when she came to me with her ideas for a cake adorned with red poppies.  We met only a week before the wedding (!), but her enthusiasm and energy made it a breeze.  I ordered the gum paste flowers from Deco Pac, but I would love to be able to make them myself someday!  So pretty! 

This small three-tiered cake serves about 60 people.  The icing is Fresh Field's signature Italian buttercream, adorned with black fondant bands I imprinted with a small pizza-cutter-like tool and piped on random pearls.  Inside, white cake with strawberry mousse (made from scratch by French chef Nick) and chocolate cake with ganache filling.

Via http://blog.carissachristine.com/

You can view more photos of this wedding at photographer Carrissa's blog here.  Evegenia's personality totally shows on film!  I love her dress and shoes, one more example of the new wedding rules: Anything goes! 

xoxo,
Rachel

Shimmer and Swirl

When bride Abbi came in for her tasting appointment, she brought a photo of her wedding gown (a Grecian-inspired column dress) and a very unique necklace she would be wearing with it.  Looking through my portfolio of cakes, her tastes were simple and classic - timeless piping in all white, accented with fresh flowers.  To enhance the somewhat generic design and make it unique to Abbi's wedding, I created small, shimmering fondant flowers similar to those from her necklace, and scattered them throughout the swirling pattern.

 

 So happy my camera picked up on the shimmer.  I used my new favorite Luster Dust, "Antique Silk".

Courtesy of Howard Berg Photography, flowers provided by CamRose Hill Farms

Courtesy of Howard Berg Photography

 Even though this may not be a huge, elaborate cake, I'm very pleased that I could make it one of a kind for the bride and groom.  No matter if a client spends $200 or $2,000, each is equally important and special to me.  Abbi and Paul were married in an outdoor park ceremony, and enjoyed their reception at the Waterstreet Inn, downtown Stillwater. 

Thank you to Howard Berg Photography for sharing the cake photos!

More cake photos and shots from my weekend on Lake Superior coming soon!

Love,

Rachel

Nautical Wedding Cake

HUGE thanks to Kate and Sam of Kate Botwinski Photography for sending me multiple images of this cake I did two weeks ago.  I have to tell you what a pleasure it is to receive photos from photographers.  It's like seeing your work through someone else's eyes.  I enjoy seeing the cake from different angles that I may not have noticed before.  This is why I'm not a photographer!  You can visit Kate's blog for more stunning photos of the wedding, held at White Bear Yacht Club (Hello, Claire!).

This is a riff on a cake design I came up with a couple years ago.  We tweaked it a little, changing the layers and colors, and adding the anchor topper, which is made from white chocolate and planted with edible silver.  When I saw the photo of the ring pillow afterwards on the blog, I couldn't believe how perfectly they matched!

Working on two pretty cakes for weddings tomorrow that I can't wait to share with you!

Love,

Rachel

Now in Print!

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"Craft nation - Scroll through enough DIY wedding websites and you'll quickly recognize the fabric and paper crafts this cake evokes.  Inspired by crafty bloggers, Rachel Wille of Stillwater's Fresh Fields Bakery replicated the look of buttons, pincushions and ruffled flowers on this delightfully demure design.  The only difference?  These decorative touches are made of fondant, not paper, petals, or - ouch! - actual pins."  - Minnesota Bride Magazine, Story by Megan McCarty, Photography by Tate Carlson 

Giddy!  I did a brief phone interview with Megan about my inspiration for the cake, and to see it translated so well is awesome awesome.  This is a first for me, actually having my name next to a cake in a magazine.  I have to give thanks to my boss again, Dave, who has done more to get my name out then anyone else.  

Happy Friday!

Rachel

Victorian Charm

The fantastic photographer Debra Oakland of Debra O Photography was so kind to share her shots of this cake a did two weeks ago.  The setting was Forepaughs, a dramatic yet charming Victorian mansion in Saint Paul.  The flowers are all handmade from fondant, and based off the brides bouquet of champagne roses, white hydrangea, and peach hypericum berries.  The piping design mimics the scroll design of the couple invitations and the bride's dress.  Elegance never goes out of style! 

The couple also had a unique request for a cake flavor.  The two are huge fans of a dessert at Aqua in White Bear that features butterscotch pudding, caramel, and crunchy sea salt.  We translated this into layers of white cake, butterscotch pudding, and scratch-made caramel, with bits of sea salt procured from Trade Winds Spice Company in Stillwater (who also provided the culinary lavender for Ashley's lemon lavender cake!).  Nick and I had fun experimenting and tasting our trial runs!

I would also like to point out this cake was made the weekend it was in the 90s and our air conditioning went out in the bakery!  I had to do all of the piping sitting on a bucket in the walk-in refrigerator!

Thanks again to Debra for sharing her artistic eye and congratulations to Bonnie and Paul!

xo,
Rachel