A Stroll Down Memory Lane - 2011, Part 3

 

It's been a couple weeks since our last "Stroll Down Memory Lane" post. We've been busy working on new cakes and getting ready for our book release on July 9th, which has created much excitement around here! We started writing EXTREME CAKEOVERS  in 2011 and have now come full circle. We can't wait to finally share the fruits of our labor - and believe me, it was definitely labor! If you missed the previous cake retrospective posts, you can read them here:

Part 1
Part 2

We ended Part 2 of the 2011 retrospective of selected cakes in late June, when summer weddings in Hawaii were in full swing and we felt the added pressure of having a book to produce. Our studio was a crazy place! A portion of each day was spent working on cakelava cakes for customers and the other part was spent working on our book, and the two couldn't be more different. We had our custom made-from-scratch cakes where each cake was uniquely designed with a specific client in mind, and simultaneously designing cakes using all store-bought products. If we weren't making a cake, we were on a delivery, or going to a store to get products for the book.

I've chosen some cakes to share from the months of July through October, starting with a very tall, dramatic hibiscus cake, shown above. It was one of four cakes, including a fun and swirly circles design (below) Rick made for July 3rd events.

Dramatic Hibiscus Wedding Cake

www.cakelava.com

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!

Leslie and Sam - Sunset at the Beach at Ko Olina

All images courtesy of Bianca Photography

Friday’s post was devoted to running a business as a husband and wife team. One of the “teams” mentioned was Bianca Photography, owned by Bianca and Grant Gomes. Recently we received images from Bianca Photography of Leslie and Sam’s wedding on August 2, 2008 and were so excited, we had to share some of these spectacular images! I absolutely love the colors of this wedding -- bright and bold sunset colors, which couldn’t be more perfect for a wedding that took place on the grounds of Paradise Cove, at Ko Olina, on the west side of Oahu.

The theme of Leslie and Sam’s wedding incorporated bright, sunset tones, tropical flowers and seashells. Not wanting to leave any detail left to chance, they hired expert coordinator Mona Hirata, of Weddings by Grace & Mona . Mona’s beautiful weddings have been featured numerous times here and on our website. Leslie and Sam held both their ceremony and reception for their 300+ guests on the grounds of Paradise Cove, a beachfront property where one of Hawaii’s most famous Luau’s take place. When we arrived to deliver their cake, we saw a sea of yellow and orange. Bright yellow cymbidium orchids and orange protea were striking against the white linens. Woven Lauhala boxes held the floral arrangements, made by Spinning Web Florist. I love the accent color of Chocolate Brown dress shirt against the crisp white suit worn by the groom and the sunny yellow dresses worn by the bridal party. This was definitely Paradise found!

For their wedding cake, Rick designed a 4-tier square bright yellow and orange fondant stunner. Handcrafted white and yellow plumerias were placed on the cake along with edible shells. Leslie provided us photos of her surfboard which had the same bright tones. In keeping with their tropical theme, Leslie and Sam selected our Rainbowlicious and Local Kine Special flavors for their cake.

Shortly after their wedding, Leslie and Sam sent us this thank you note:

Thank you so much! I just can't get enough. It was gorgeous and tasted just as good. We received so many compliments. We are definitely hooked and look forward to our next opportunity to have a cake made from you.

Leslie and Sam, you are a beautiful couple and such a pleasure to work with! We look forward to more cakes with you in the future.

-- Sasha & Rick

Special thanks to Bianca Photography for use of their gorgeous images. Check out their website and blog!










See Leslie and Sam's wedding cake and many more on cakelava.com

Priceless!

We love this photo our clients Danielle and Tom sent in yesterday for our Ohana album on cakelava.com. We made our signature all-bamboo wedding cake for their May 24th wedding. From the first time I spoke on the phone to Danielle, she had a warm and gracious manner and enthusiasm for every part of her wedding. I knew she would have a fabulous time in Hawaii!

a photo of her cake, by Derek Wong Photography:


I just wanted to let you and Rick know that I am so grateful for our cake and for all your help with the wedding plans. People are still talking about how incredible the cake was and how fantastic it tasted. I have pictures of my first reaction to the cake and I have been asking my sister-in-law to forward to me for awhile now. It’s priceless. When I first seen the cake it took my breath away. I must have stared at it all night. It’s the first thing I show people when I show them my photos. I loved it!!!! Thanks again.

-- Danielle

Danielle,

Working with you and Tom has been such a treat for Rick and I! We love your enthusiasm for our cakes and your high-level of energy. You really embrace life and adventure! With all our Best!

- Sasha & Rick

A Volcano Cake Double Take

About 3 weeks ago, we received a request from Helen, a cake designer in Virginia who came across our website and really liked our sculpted volcano cake. She asked if she could use Rick’s design for a tribal party graduation cake, and we said that would be fine. Recently we were on a cake community site and saw she had posted a photo of the cake she had made mentioning it was our design. Whoa! Rick and I both took a double take. What incredible similarities! Helen, if you are reading this, you did a terrific job recreating our volcano cake with your own artistic touches. We hope whoever received the cake enjoyed it and you had fun making it!

Our sculpted volcano cake which is currently found on cakelava.com in the Celebrations: Sculpted Cakes section was actually made for Gina and Brian's wedding. It’s the second volcano wedding cake we’ve done. It served 80 guests and their flavor was Lemon Pucker.

A Vibrant Fantasy at Turtle Bay

All photos courtesy of Absolutely Loved/Stefanie and Anna Riedel

What better way to go into a busy weekend than showcasing a wedding that transports you to another world. A vibrant fantasy of opulent pinks, purples, greens, and sleek black. The wedding of Sarah and Sean was our January Featured Wedding on cakelava.com and is now up on our myspace page along with the other archived weddings. Sarah and Sean were married at the beautiful Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Hawaii. They flew to Hawaii from Chicago for their destination wedding which was planned almost entirely by Veronica Trujillo of Parasol Events using the vision of "Tropical Elegance." The wedding vendors included, Turtle Bay Resort, the fabulous Stefanie Riedel of Absolutely Loved for photography, Yvonne Chapman of Yvonne Floral Design for the gorgeous flowers, custom linens and tent draping and yours truly for the cake. :-) For their cake they chose our all-bamboo cake with handcrafted flowers in colors that would match their wedding colors. Yvonne built a beautiful fabric and bamboo covering for the cake that would protect it under the clear tent erected on the lawn at Turtle Bay Resort. The couple were married in the open air chapel overlooking the ocean at the resort. No expense was spared to give the couple and their guests a memorable and entertaining event. Entertainment included a harp, cello, violin and vocalist for the ceremony and a vocalist and Hawaiian trio for the cocktail hour and reception. "How Sweet it is" was the cake cutting song and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was their first dance.

Two times a Tiki in Waikiki

Yesterday's events took us to Waikiki on two separate occasions and at both events, Tiki cakes were the request. The first trek into Waikiki brought us to, of all places, Tiki's Grill & Bar, a most appropriate venue for our client's large sculpted Tiki Groom's cake. Rick designed a full-size sculpted Hawaiian Tiki playing the drums, and I thought I was walking in with a celebrity when we delivered the cake. :-) Nearly every guest of the party and several of Tiki's servers rushed over to the cake and starting taking photos, both with digital cameras and their cell phones. It's a miracle Rick was able to photograph the cake amidst the enthusiastic mob. This Tiki cake will be on our website in another week or two.

The second Tiki cake was delivered to the Halekulani Hotel's Hau Terrace, for Gwen and Josh's wedding. It was an intimate affair of less than 50 guests, flawlessly coordinated by Dianna Shitanishi of Hawaii Weddings and Events. Their colors were reminscent of a sunset in the tropics, with some rich browns and green accents.


Their 2-tier khaki buttercream cake in Coconut Pineapple Chunk and Chocolate Dream flavors had handcrafted bamboo, hibiscus flowers, pineapples and custom Tiki with torches topper.


Tables were named after the Hawaiian islands and displayed the prominent pineapple motif of the wedding. The gorgeous custom linens in dark chocolate brown and rich red were provided by Naomi Lee of Les Saisons. Guests names were held in place with little pineapple card holders, and Hawaiian lauhala boxes held each guest's favor.


The always fabulous Debbie Hemingway of Designs by Hemingway provided the beautiful tropical floral designs throughout the room.


Gwen and Josh's elegant sweetheart's table. I wish I had a closeup of their lovely floral arrangement .

Aloha!