LA Lakers Basketball Cake

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Yesterday we shared Nicole and Kareem's modern fall wedding cake and today it's all about his Groom's cake!  Nicole ordered a basketball Groom's cake (Peanut Butter Fudgey flavor) as a surprise for Kareem on their wedding day.  Rick added a handpainted logo of Kareem's favorite team, the LA Lakers and along with Kareem's last name and his high school team number.  It was pure coincidence that their wedding cake used a similar shade of orange in it and that worked out perfectly.  Wish we could have seen the expression Kareem's face when he saw his gift! 

Modern Fall Wedding Cake

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It's beginning to feel a lot like Fall over here.  It's been overcast the past couple of days and temperatures are dipping into the low 70's -- brrr.  We're making more fall themed wedding cakes, like the striking design above.  For Nicole and Kareem's wedding cake Rick used their fall colors to inspire his design which had a cascading pattern of leaves and flowers.  The couple used tropical flowers in fall colors throughout their wedding but did not have a "Hawaiian/tropical theme".  Rick made his floral pattern with a Hawaiian flair but desired to emphasize more the feeling of Fall.   Nicole and Kareem were married at Lanikuhonua, a gorgeous tropical/oceanfront property, with 350 guests in attendance.  Nicole also ordered a groom's cake as a surprise for Kareem which we will be sharing on the blog tomorrow! 

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Wedding Cake

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This year the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which is celebrated annually on November 2nd happens to coincide with Election Day.  While the holiday of Dia de los Muertos focuses around gatherings honoring deceased loved ones, (hence the skull motifs) it is also a time of great celebration.  Elaborate altars of sugar skulls, flowers, candles and fruit are created and it you've never seen one in person, they are exquisite works of art, full of color and spirit!

Last Saturday night, our couple Katie and Chuck were married in a "Dia de los Muertos" themed wedding at the gorgeous Loulu Palm Estate on the North Shore. Their wedding colors were black, white and red which were also the colors used on their wedding cake, except for gold in the candles.
Rick spent hours working on the super detailed stylized skulls and flower print on the cake.  The roses and candles were handcrafted, as were the custom bride and groom skull cake toppers.  At the bottom of the cake he wrote at the request of Katie and Chuck "HASTA QUE LA MUERTE NOS SEPARE", 'Til death do us part. Katie and Chuck, who both work for the famous L.A. radio station KROQ, both wore black. Katie looked stunning in a black lace fitted gown and Chuck was dashing in his black shirt and vest with his red tie. They flew in L.A. photographer/filmmaker Cale Glendening who was a perfect choice for the couple.

Katie and Chuck have been wonderful to work with during the whole design process. Rick was a big fan of KROQ when he lived in L.A. and when they found this out, they sent us a box of t-shirts and other items from KROQ which we now both proudly wear.  When we met the couple at the wedding they were warm, fun loving and as sweet as can be!  They were ecstatic when they saw their cake, which put a huge smile on our faces!  Wishing Katie and Chuck our best! 

Rick with the happy couple!

The "Story" of Allison and Adam

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It's been over a year since we first met with our clients Allison and Adam to discuss their wedding cake design.  During our meeting the couple spoke of their love of San Francisco, where they currently reside and their desire to have a sculpted cake incorporating San Francisco landmarks of importance to them.  We thought it was a great idea!  I used to live in the Bay Area, and spent a number of years in San Francisco and was excited to revisit this spectacular city once again and Rick was too!  As we began working more closely with Allison and Adam the cake design evolved from a strictly San Francisco landmarks theme to one that included other countries and places that the couple spent time, including Hawaii, Italy, and Australia.  Their wedding cake would tell the "story" of Allison and Adam and Rick was looking forward to making it for them.

The cake was designed to work chronologically with the uniting "road" being the iconic and super curvy Lombard Street in San Francisco.  Adam and Allison were depicted near the bottom of the cake, on the start of their path -- Allison as a chef's toque and Adam represented by a surfboard.  Both Hawaii and Italy are shown here.  Adam was originally living in Hawaii attending a University here and Allison was studying abroad in Italy.  They met at the Metreon theater in San Francisco, spent time together living in San Francisco and then got married at City Hall.  Our couple was already married when they booked their wedding cake but was planning a wedding on Oahu where their family and friends could be a part of their vows and ceremony.  Their life in San Francisco made up the majority of this cake.  At the very top was Australia where the couple plans to live together. 

Rick spent many hours carefully drawing and painting every building and detail.  Considering the other cakes he was working on for the weekend which also demanded a high level of artistry, I was truly amazed at what Rick accomplished over the course of a week! You can check back on our blog throughout the week to see some of these cakes. 

When Allison and Adam chose their cake flavor, Hawaii Five-0, they had no idea how appropriate it would be at their wedding venue.  The private estate where they were married on Friday night is also "home" to one of the new "Hawaii Five-0" TV show characters, and they regularly film there.  What a coincidence!  Congratulations to Allison and Adam!