Yun and Jon's Wedding Cake

cake photo by cakelava.
All other images courtesy of Mike Pham Photography.

Yun and Jon's unusually shaped wedding cake in shades of greens, purple and white, was a collaborative effort between the couple and Rick. They had a vision of their wedding being modern, tropical, and "green" and wanted the cake to have a whimsical element to it. From the beginning, they planned an ecofriendly wedding, with flowers that would last as long as possible and have recyclable decorations. Their favors were Organic Dark Chocolate Bug Bites, which are gluten free, vegan and kosher and purchased from a company who donates a percentage of profits to help support endangered species. Yun also mentioned to us that she was planning on naming their tables after an endangered species and hoping to donate a percentage of their cash gifts to the World Wildlife Federation or the Humane Society.

For their cake, Yun wanted to have some shape and movement to the design, and to incorporate the cymbidium orchids from their wedding invitations. Rather than doing the cymbidiums with a realistic look, Rick handcrafted them in way that would work well with a whimsical design. He kept the idea of a tropical rainforest in mind as he designed the cake. They selected our Totally Turtle and Hawaii Five-O flavors for the cake and fell in love with their cake as soon as they saw the sketch. It was an even bigger hit at their wedding. Yun wrote on our Facebook page:

Rick and Sasha!! Jon and I can't thank you ENOUGH for the gorgeous wedding cake!! It was difficult to have to cut into it as I wanted to save the entire thing since it was soooo beautiful!!! Great thing we did finally cut into it though - cause that cake was DEEEEEELISH! My guests raved about the two flavors we had and... boy oh boy am I glad I got to eat a slice of both even if I didn't get to eat much dinner the entire night. The cake was eaten clean even with five other desserts at the buffet table!!! Thanks again to the both of you for your patience artistry and hard work. I'll send pics as soon as we get em from the photographer hopefully before we head off to the mediterranean**Hugs* Yun and Jonathan

Congratulations to Yun and Jon! We wish this beautiful, gracious couple the very best in their new life together!

Irene and Steve's wedding

All images courtesy of Christie Pham Photography

We just adore our couples and always welcome the opportunity to showcase a beautiful bride and her groom on our blog. Both our bride Irene and her photographer Christie Pham reached out to us after the wedding to share their images with us and we were so glad they did. When the images are this pretty and the components are meticulously planned out and matching, it makes for one lovely wedding! Irene and Steve were married at the gorgeous JW Marriott Ihilani resort on the west side of Oahu. They had a beach themed Hawaiian wedding and their colors were Tiffany blue, white and chocolate brown. Although starfish were a prominent motif in the wedding, Irene and Steve went with a striking tropical floral for their wedding cake and chose our signature hibiscus in Tiffany blue and white. All the details of their wedding came together beautifully with the help of an amazing group of vendors including Alia Kennedy of Parasol Events for event design and coordination, Yvonne Design for floral design, JW Marriott Ihilani Resort for the location, Christie Pham for Photography, Dorys Foltin of Maleana Cosmetics for styling, Showtime DJ's, and cakelava for their cake. Congratulations to Irene and Steve!
















Aloha, 'til next time!

C is for Cookie Monster

cakelava.com

In the past month we've been seeing a lot in the news about Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary. Very few television shows have had the educational impact on children that Sesame Street has. It is entertaining, timeless, and the adorable, furry characters are as loved today as they were decades ago. One of our favorite Sesame Street characters growing up was Cookie Monster. What could be cuter than a furry blue monster who's life revolves around cookies! Remember his famous "C is for Cookie" song? I'm attaching it below for your reminiscing pleasure. The song has a cult following and I've heard it on numerous radio stations over the years. In the cake world, Sesame Street themed cakes are well-requested and we get our share of them. They are so much fun to make and always bring a goofy smile to our face. This Cookie Monster birthday cake made for Evan was super cute in person and the family practically shrieked when we delivered it to their outdoor party. It was a huge hit to say the least! Rick designed Evan's cake with the face of Cookie Monster and his cookies all over it. It was completely adorable and I would have loved to have one as cute when I was a kid. Instead my Sesame Street birthday cake was ordered from a local bakery who piled the insanely sweet shortening buttercream frosting on top of straws supporting each of the characters which were then placed across the cake. I had to keep pulling straws out of my Big Bird character, who then turned into a pile of frosting fluff with eyeballs and a beak. On the other hand, Evan's Cookie Monster cake was classy and gourmet flavored and probably the envy of all the kids on the block. Happy Birthday Evan!

C is for Cookie by Joe Raposo (1972)

now what starts with the letter c?
cookie starts with c
let's think of other things
that starts with c
oh who cares about the other things

c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with c

c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with c

Hey you know what?
a round cookie with one bite out of it
looks like a c
a round donut with one bite out of it
also looks like a c
but it is not as good as a cookie
oh and the moon sometimes looks like a C
but you can't eat that, so ...

c is for cookie, that's good enough for me yeah
c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
c is for cookie, that's good enough for me
oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with c yeah
cookie, cookie, cookie starts with c oh boy
cookie, cookie, cookie starts with c

Aloha, 'til next time!

Interviews from Cakeland

After our interview with Marina Sousa of Just Cake, we wanted to revisit our previous interviews in the series, in case you missed any of them. Looking back it's been a privelege to have had the chance to talk to such a talented group of individuals within the cake community. We didn't know when I conducted my first interview, with Jen from Cake Wrecks that she would become such a well-known blogger and humorist. I had so much fun interviewing Jen that I then approached one of our favorite cake designers, Beryl Ann Byrd of Just Fabulous Pastries who was just as fabulous to interview as Jen! Next to be interviewed was Rebecca Sutterby of Sugar Creations, followed by The Great White Snark, Joan Spitler of Cake Divas, who Rick used to work with, Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes, and most recently, Marina Sousa of Just Cake. It was fascinating to learn how each person became an expert in their craft. Along the way Rick and I developed an even greater respect for the people we have long admired as some of our favorite cake designers or bloggers.

We have assembled the links to each of our interviews below. Whether you are looking for entertainment, inspiration, or humor, these interviews are a great resource to indulge in and to share. Enjoy!



cakelava Interviews: Jen from Cake Wrecks, Pt.1 and Pt. 2



cakelava Interviews: Beryl Ann Byrd of Just Fabulous Pastries, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2



cakelava Interviews: Rebecca Sutterby of Sugar Creations, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2



cakelava Interviews: The Great White Snark, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2



cakelava Interviews: Joan Spitler of Cake Divas, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2



cakelava Interviews: Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2



cakelava Interviews: Marina Sousa of Just Cake, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2

Aloha, 'til next time!