Phalaenopsis Orchids Wedding Cake

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The colors and style of Delanie and Joe's wedding cake couldn't be more different in style and color than the last cake we posted to the blog. Their cake was a modern elegant design with a very refined textural pattern on top, varied heights of the tiers, and phalaenopsis orchids on the front. The couple gave creative control to Rick to design their cake with their only input being the colors of crimson red and silver and to integrate one of the flowers from their invitation. The phalaenopsis orchids were done freehand without the use of any stencils. The shape of the cake was designed to emphasize the orchids on the front and a very tall bottom tier was used with two shorter tiers on top. The couple chose Roy's Restaurant for their wedding reception, which suited this cake with its distinct asian vibe beautifully! Congratulations to Delanie and Joe!

Wedding Cake for Julia and Mitch

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We haven't been able to blog as frequently these days because writing our book is keeping us very busy in-between fulfilling cake orders. This unusual cake was made last weekend for Julia and Mitch's wedding at the Bayer Estate. We've been working with Julia and Mitch since the beginning of the year and met the couple back in June when they flew in from their home state of Colorado to discuss their wedding cake design. The couple brought us an amazing and unique color palette to work with -- a kiwi green, a lavender thistle, and accents of brown. They were looking for a whimsical design with an organic quality to it that would incorporate one of the bride's favorite flowers, Sea Holly.  Rick designed their wedding cake in their colors and adorned it with a single large handcrafted flower that was inspired by a close-up of a Sea Holly. The petals are intricate and abundant and the center of the flower has a great amount of detail. Curly willow accents were added to the cake to further bring in the natural, organic feel that the bride was wanting. We were pleased when we arrived at the wedding site to see that Debbie Hemingway, the couple's florist used the Sea Holly flowers and curly willow in the gorgeous floral arrangements. For their destination wedding, Julia and Mitch served their guests tropical cake flavors and chose our Guava Lava and Broke da Mouth (mango). It was a beautiful wedding with top-notch vendors and a striking cake to Wow their guests! Congratulations to Julia and Mitch!

Italian Themed Wedding Cake

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The wedding cake was ordered 1 year in advance, giving Rick a good amount of time to discuss with our bride Kathy and plan for the design, which was inspired by Italian art and architecture. Rick was thrilled to make an Italian themed cake and Kathy shared with us her desired colors, orange, yellow, green and red, and gave Rick carte blanche to design the cake however he wanted. A lot of love was put into this cake. An estimated 20 hours was spent making the cake including all the handcrafted pieces, the sculpting of the cake, a cobblestone cake board, and the detailed handpainted artwork on the cake. It was the closest any of us would get to Italy without actually travelling there. Kathy and her (now husband) Ernie love Italy so much it was only appropriate that their wedding reception would take place at Cafe Sistina, a popular authentic Italian restaurant with incredible floor to ceiling frescoes painted by the Chef/Owner Sergio Mitrotti who is from Torino, Italy. The cake was a perfect match in that location! Not surprising also was their choice of cake flavors to serve their guests, Banana Blueberry Mascarpone and Banana Nutella, both of which have Italian ingredients. We were fortunate to have a chance to congratulate Kathy and Ernie when we delivered the cake. Their look said it all! They were touched and in awe of their cake, jaws dropped, and we started feeling emotional seeing how happy they were with their cake. Rick finished their cake on his birthday to prepare for their wedding the following day, and was thankful to have a beautiful piece of art to work on that day. A big Thank You and Congratulations to Kathy and Ernie!

Sandy and Ryan's Wedding Cake

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We met Sandy and Ryan last year when they came to Oahu to plan their wedding. They requested an elegant cake with handcrafted bright pink plumeria flowers with gold accents. Rick designed the cake as a four tier, varying the heights of the tiers for a more modern style and added gold bands of different widths on the cake and gold leaves on the plumerias. The couple used the hot pink and gold palette throughout the wedding, with the bridesmaids dresses and bouquets in the bright pink and gold chiavari chairs for the guests. The wedding was held at a beautiful private home in Kailua. Nichole Shin of Nichole Weddings & Events did a fantastic job coordinating the gorgeous wedding. We were proud to be a part of an amazing team of vendors which included Visionari, Nichole Weddings & Events and Indigo Catering. For the inside of the cake, the couple wanted to continue the tropical theme. They both love coconut and chose our Coconut Pineapple Chunk for two of the tiers and the other two tiers were coconut cake with a guava jam and guava cream combination.  This cake screamed "Hawaii" inside and out! Congratulations to Sandy and Ryan!

It Starts with a Heart and a Key ...

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Last week we posted a dramatic hibiscus wedding cake made for a couple who were married over the Fourth of July weekend. Shortly after the hibiscus cake was delivered, we headed off to another wedding that same night. The two cakes couldn't have been more different. One was a beautiful tropical floral design and the other was a very modern and stylized graphic using a heart and key swirly motif provided to us by the couple. Their wedding colors were fantastic - turquoise, black and white - which was full of contrasts and made for a striking design. It's difficult to tell in the photo but the cake tiers are also lightly textured. 

For this cake, our couple gave Rick carte blanche on the design and as long as the cake integrated their heart and key theme into it, they were completely open to whatever he wanted to make. When the couple were presented with Rick's sketch, they were absolutely thrilled and were excited to make the cake. Having not just a three and a half foot wedding cake, but also another wedding cake in addition to this one on the same night kept us busy on the holiday weekend. Seeing how happy our clients were made for an already celebratory weekend even better! 

Dramatic Hibiscus Wedding Cake

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We've noticed a trend in the past couple of weeks towards large cakes.  Two weekends ago Rick made a three and a half foot tall romantic floral and damask print wedding cake . Over the July 4th weekend, we delivered this striking modern, squared tiers hibiscus themed wedding cake, which stood almost 3 feet tall for Kim and Andrew's wedding.  This weekend we are working on another large cake and have started the custom pieces for that.  Kim and Andrew's cake was designed to work with the couple's wedding colors, orange, turquoise blue, with accents of green.  Rick designed the cake with dramatic hibiscus plants, which he did free hand without stencils.  We were very happy with the finished design and were excited to present it to our couple!  The cake was delivered to Lanikuhonua, a picturesque outdoor location on Oahu's west side, beautifully landscaped with tropical plants.  The orange, blue and white decor throughout the wedding matched the cake perfectly.  We want to congratulate Kim and Andrew and all our July 4th weekend wedding couples!

A Ramen Bowl and a Couple of Mii's

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I have consumed and slurped hundreds of bowls of ramen in my life.  In fact, I'm craving a big bowl of it right now.  Going out for ramen is one of Rick's and my favorite dining experiences.  The smells of ramen are both intoxicating and soothing.  Our wedding couple Jenny and Tim, who were married last weekend, also have fond memories of enjoying a bowl of ramen together and sent us photos of a trip they took to Japan a few years ago. This became our source of inspiration for their fantastic, definitely one-of-a-kind wedding cake featuring their "Wii" Mii likenesses sitting on the bowl on a pair of chopsticks.  This cake design was a wonderful collaboration between Rick, Tim, and Jenny.  When it was decided that the couple wanted to go with a fun, unconventional design, they asked for their Mii's to be added onto the cake because their Wii console was one of their first investments together.  We loved the idea and thought it added the perfect element of whimsy to the realistic bowl of ramen.

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The bowl that the ramen is served in was also designed especially for Jenny and Tim's wedding.  The couple's wedding colors included lavender and on their wedding invitation was a wave graphic, which Rick incorporated into the bowl, as well as a hibiscus flower, which would honor their Hawaiian wedding destination.  Jenny and Tim were married at Lanikuhonua, a gorgeous property in the resort area of Ko Olina, Oahu.  They selected our yummy guava cake to serve their guests.  The wedding was exquisitely coordinated by Dianna Shitanishi of Hawaii Weddings and Events and catered by Gourmet Events Hawaii and Poke Stop Catering.  Su-V Expressions did a beautiful job on the flowers and photographer Frank Amodo captured Jenny and Tim's special day.  Thank you to Tim and Jenny for bringing us such a fun theme to work with and for their contributions to the design!  Congratulations! Now we're really hungry for a bowl of ramen!

Pink Tropical Graduation Cake

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Congratulations to all the high school and college graduates out there! You've worked hard all those years and you deserve a party and a fabulous cake!  One of our most recent cakes, shown above, was made for a woman graduating from law school and asked for a pretty tropical cake with a stylized Hawaiian floral pattern found on her invitation.  The party took place at Tiki's Grill & Bar, outside on the lanai, under the stars, and across the street from Waikiki Beach.  We love working at Tiki's and have fond memories there of many dinners, drinks and parties over the years, including our Food Network Challenge viewing party last April.  There was a live Hawaiian band playing and the temperature was in the '70's -- an absolutely perfect setting for a fun, tropical themed graduation party.  Rick selected taller tiers for this cake to give it a dramatic appearance, and the bright pink color gave it a pop that was quite striking!  Our client chose two tropical flavors for her cake, Guava Lava, which has a pretty pink color that would match the cake perfectly, and Coconut Pineapple Chunk, which is moist, delicious and coconut-y.  We were very happy with the cake and hope our client had a blast at her party!

Kristin and Joel's Wedding Cake

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Images courtesy of Rachel Robertson Photography 

For the past 12 hours the weather in Hawaii has been miserable with a capital "M".  The rain has been coming down in sheets.  There is thunder and lightning. The wind has been howling, knocking over power lines and trees, businesses have lost power (luckily we did not!) and we're all hoping for the sunnier days we're used to!

A miserable, gloomy day like today needs a little sunshine.  Today's blog is dedicated to everyone who is suffering in cold, snowy, wet, dreary weather and dreaming about sunnier days.  Kristin and Joel's Hawaiian sunset wedding cake makes me think about laying out at the beach and catching some rays.  Rick's design has managed to capture some of my favorite things about Hawaii -- the palms and lush greenery, watching a sunset that looks like its receding into the ocean, spending time at the beach, and the beautiful carved hawaiian art.

Kristin and Joel were married at the Halekulani in Waikiki, a perfect setting for a Hawaiian themed wedding cake.  When we met with them to work on their cake design they had a few requests.  They wanted something with a Hawaiian feel that was fun with flowers, tikis and surfboards.  The primary colors they wanted to be used were orange and green.  They selected our Banana Blueberry Mascarpone and Hot Fudge Sundae flavors to serve their 100+ guests.  Below an image of the couple during their cake cutting, photographed by the fabulous Rachel Robertson.  Joel is an officer in the Navy and like many of our military couples, chose to use a sword to cut the cake.  Love it!  Congratulations Kristin and Joel! 

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Jessica and David's Wedding Cake

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Jessica and David were married at a Waikiki resort less than 24 hours ago in front of several hundred guests.  We've been looking forward to making their wedding cake ever since it was designed and upon completion it quickly became one of our new favorite designs!  Working with Jessica and David was a wonderful experience! They encouraged Rick's creativity, wanting a showstopping design of contemporary elegance with a minimum of 5 tiers. This cake was 7 tiers, including the floral vase topper and a height of 3 feet.  Their colors were ivory, black and a pewter/silver color.   Rick had been working on all the handcrafted decorations throughout the week and spent most of Saturday making the cake.  When I first saw the finished cake, my jaw dropped.  I knew Jessica and David would fall in love with it. The towering wedding cake commanded a presence in the large ballroom decorated in black, white and silver.  Everything looked gorgeous and I only wish we had a chance to give our best to the couple when we delivered the cake.  We would have loved to see their reaction! 

Jessica and David selected three flavors from our menu to serve to their guests -- Kona Toffee Crunch, Peanut Butter Fudgey and Strawberries Chantilly.  We hope our couple loved their cake as much as we enjoyed making it for them.   Congratulations, Jessica and David!

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! 

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! 

Leah and Sean's Wedding Cake

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Yesterday we posted a wedding cake that was bright and bold, funky and fun!  Today we're sharing a wedding cake with softer colors and a more elegant vibe made for an Australian couple Leah and Sean.  Their wedding took place last Sunday night at the Moana Surfrider Resort in Waikiki.  The main color of their wedding was purple and the accent colors were dark green, gold, white and cream. Leah and Sean sent us some Japanese paper which had a lovely floral pattern on it that would be used in their wedding and gave Rick carte blanche on the design other than the request to include the pattern on the cake, which he chose to emphasize in the middle tier and keep the others plain except for a textured band on the bottom.  Once the cake was designed the couple was extremely pleased with it and we were too. They chose our Totally Turtle and Guava Lava flavors for their guests, who flew in from Australia and the United States to celebrate their wedding.  Congratulations to Leah and Sean!

Jennifer and Mitch's Wedding Cake

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Wedding and cake images courtesy of VISIONARI

The wedding cake above may look familiar if you read Cake Central Magazine.  It was featured in the September 2010 issue along with Melissa and Polar's wedding cake.  Jennifer and Mitch's cake, shown above, like Lindsay and Bob's couture lace wedding cake, was designed in more muted tones of elegance.  The couple selected ivory and cream for their wedding cake and mentioned how much they liked Rick's "Bree" design, which had a similar look but different sizing and colors.  The white on top of a cream base was a gorgeous combination and Jennifer and Mitch were very happy with the results!  We loved the way the cake turned out and so did Cake Central Magazine, who at the time was looking for cakes in shades of whites and thought it would be a perfect match! 

Special thanks to Jennifer and Mitch for including us in their special day, and to their wonderful vendors Yvonne Design, Mood Event, Finishing Touch, Les Saisons and cakelava. 

Couture Lace Wedding Cake

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We have put up a fair share of bold, colorful cakes recently and decided that for at least part of this week, we would focus on cakes with a more muted color palette -- beautiful creams, whites, and champagne tones.  Rick designed a gorgeous champagne and ivory wedding cake for Lindsay and Bob, a couple who were married over the 10-10-10 weekend.  Their wedding cake was inspired by the lace pattern on Lindsay's gown and Rick added a draped ivory bow with a handcrafted jeweled brooch on the side of the cake to complete the elegant look.  The reception room was decorated in champagne, ivory and chocolate brown colors with towering vases of white phalaenopsis orchids for the centerpieces.  Lindsay and Bob chose to add a colorful element to their cake on the inside and selected our yummy Guava Lava and Lemon Pucker flavors to serve their guests.  Congratulations to Lindsay and Bob!

Elegant Gardenias Wedding Cake

All white cakes aren't a regularly requested design for us, and when they do come our way we want them to have just as much of an impact as our bolder, more colorful cakes. Our bride Chelsea who was married last week in an outdoor wedding at Lanikuhonua, requested an elegant all-white wedding cake with gardenias. Rick spent several days making the large delicate gardenias by hand. He added thin white bands at the base of each tier and added some pearlescence to the cake that would complement the hanging crystals at the reception. Chelsea and Gerald's wedding cake was beautiful in its simplicity, and the flowers looked right at home with the gardenias and phalaenopsis orchids used throughout the wedding. There is nothing more intoxicating than the smell of fresh gardenias, although our Hawaii Five-0 and Guava Lava flavors, which the couple chose may be a close second. Congratulations to Chelsea and Gerald!

Pretty Pink and Black Lace Wedding Cake

Our bride Eileen and her fiance flew all the way from Anchorage, Alaska to Oahu to celebrate their pretty pink wedding last weekend. It was clear when we walked into the reception room that Eileen adored the color pink -- beautiful big pink and white floral centerpieces, pink and black bridesmaids dresses, and a pearly pink wedding cake. Rick designed the four tier wedding cake, drawing inspiration from the bridesmaids dresses which had a delicate lace pattern and ribbon detailing. I love the way the ribbon cascades down the cake, drawing the eye all the way down the cake, ending near the edge of a gorgeous delicate edge of lace. As luck would have it, we got to see our bride Eileen and she practically gasped when she saw her cake. I wish we had snapped a photo of her sitting at the head table, which was lit from underneath and gorgeously decorated by Yvonne design, smiling as she looked around admiring her wedding reception room. That was one satisfied bride!

The Hulk Goes Incredible, Again!

Hulk photo above by cakelava

We had some fabulous cakes to make over the weekend, and one Incredible cake! This was Rick's second standing up sculpted cake of The Hulk and it was just as massive as the first one. Combined with a number of wedding cakes we made, we're still recouperating from the weekend! Our bride Jana ordered The Hulk cake as a surprise for her fiance at the wedding. The almost 3 foot tall Lemon Pucker cake was delivered just before the groom had a chance to see it, while the couple was cleverly whisked away to take sunset photos with their photographer Christie Pham. Kudos to their coordinator Christina from Pacific Aisles who had come up with the plan to occupy the groom while we secretly brought in the cake. The cake was placed on a table with a floral backdrop behind it, uniting both the masculine with the feminine and also made a nice separation with the abundant tropical green plants behind it. We love that The Hulk was surrounded by beautiful floral bouquets. It was a gorgeous wedding and always fun to be included in such an important surprise!

Special thanks to Christie Pham Photography for sharing with us these awesome images from the wedding! We really enjoyed seeing the expressions of our bride and groom and their guests enjoying the cake.

All wedding on-site images courtesy of Christie Pham Photography

Sayaka and Grant's Wedding Cake

Yet another cake in our list of "favorites" for the month of July. This cake was made for the wedding of Sayaka and Grant, who were married on the same day we delivered the 4 and a half foot tall wedding cake! The towering white and silver cake will be shared once we have the professional images back from the photographer. We've been excited about Grant and Sayaka's wedding cake since Rick designed it. The couple requested to use their wedding colors of gold, chocolate brown, burgundy and ivory and wanted a whimsical design with some handcrafted flowers and different patterns on the cake. They gave Rick carte blanche on the design and we were all excited about the cake once the sketch had been approved. Rick most definitely had his hands full just between Sayaka and Grant's cake and Linh and Roger's four and a half footer, both of which required MANY handcrafted flowers which he was working on for part of the week leading up to the two weddings. Aside from having great taste in their cake design, Grant and Sayaka chose some delicious, unusual flavors for the cake, Broke da Mouth, which is our mango cake with a mango li hing mui (salty dried plum) cream filling and Kona Toffee Crunch. We delivered the wedding cake to the Moana Surfrider Resort in Waikiki, and had both the staff, and the couple's coordinator, Karine France-Matsumoto impressed with the design. We were extremely pleased with it as well. Congratulations to Sayaka and Grant!

Nakita and Matthew's Wedding Cake

Nakita and Matthew were married on May 15th at the Loulu Palms Estate on the North Shore. Their colors were ivory and a dark tropical green, with chic hawaiian prints used throughout the wedding. Nakita fell in love with some of Rick's Hawaiian inspired designs on our website, in particular, with the Hawaiian leaf print on the cake. She wanted a similar look but unique enough to call her own. Using inspiration from items in the wedding, he designed a cake that had a modern style with a lot of texture and a distinct tropical feel.

Their wedding took place on the busiest weekend of the month for us. It was our fourth cake of the day and it had to be delivered all the way out on the North Shore. On our hour and a half drive out to the North Shore, it started to drizzle, then rain, then rain harder and we thought "uh oh. outdoor wedding" and we felt badly for our bride. We always want our brides to have the best weather conditions for their wedding but every now and then you encounter rain or some brutal humidity, and at that point you pray the bride won't let the weather spoil their day. I knew when we arrived that I would be holding an umbrella over the cake as we walked out to the area where their tent was. As the lawn is expansive and their reception was taking place close to the ocean, we would need to get their wedding cake to them with minimal if any rain damage. There is a bit of a height difference between Rick and I and we walked slowly but purposefully in the rain with a giant umbrella over the cake. Since the cake was delivered shortly after the reception started due to a previous event, the reception was already under way which meant we would be delivering this cake in the rain, under an umbrella, while the bride and groom and all their guests greeted us. In our 5 years of working on Oahu, there have been very few times we've had to deliver a cake in the rain, but it is to be expected on a day where we had been on the go for the past 4 hours. Life chooses interesting times to challenge you.

As we walked up, the photographer's camera started snapping photos of us carrying the cake, and guests were cheering and clapping because their cake was safe and dry. We were definitely not (dry, that is). The couple asked to take some photographs with us and were so pleased with their cake. They both had huge smiles on their faces. It made the long drive and the trek through the pouring rain totally worth it! Nakita and Matthew and their guests handled the rain as if it were a mere inconvenience. . What a classy couple those two are, and we were glad that the rain never dampened their spirits or damaged their cake. Congratulations to Nakita and Matthew!

Aloha, 'til next time!