No Ordinary Cake!

As you might know from previous posts, I'm a bit obsessed with a show on Food Network called Ace of Cakes. For those of you who don't know, it's a reality show where they follow the shop owner, Duff Goldmen and his staff at Charm City Cakes to see what it takes to make some of the countries most interesting and amazing cakes.

The show is based in Baltimore (thanks for the correction "L", no more blogging before coffee for me), which you may notice isn't exactly near Minnesota...so needless to say when it came time for look at wedding cakes and grooms cakes, I had to write the fine people at Charm City Cakes off my list.

I searched and searched for a place in Minnesota that would make me something unique, but after a month of looking I realized no one was going to step out of the cake pan for me.

Until one day, completely by accident I come across a website for a gal based in Minnesota who makes unique and amazing themed cakes! Miss Sara of Miss Sara's Cakery I was thrilled and wasted no time in placing my order for Alex's SURPRISE grooms cake, to be delivered to him on the night of the rehearsal dinner.

The cake was a recreation of a pond he used to fish at in England, with him sitting on the bank. A plate of food sits next to him as he would never come home for dinner, his mother would bring it to him with. The main part of the cake is a HUGE carp, to represent the amazingly sized 19.5 carp he caught at the age of 11.

I had no idea what this would look like until it showed up, and I was so in love with it I almost didn't want to eat it!!! Alex loved it as well, and to look on his face was priceless!!

If you are in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area and are looking for great unique cake for ANY occasion - call Miss Sara! I highly recommend her shop and will certainly be going back myself!!!

A Beautiful Video

The second best decision I made in life, next to marrying Alex of course, has having a videographer at the wedding to capture everything. I had heard over and over that it was the best investment anyone made, and those who hadn't were upset they didn't.

I found the BEST videographer in the cities, Jeff Achen! He was professional, fun, had a great eye for what needed to be caught, and when the time came that we felt we couldn't afford him, he actually took our budget and made us a package!! He said he believed this is something everyone deserves to have, and for him it's not as much about the money as it is about capturing the memories. He is HIGHLY recommended by our whole family!!!

He provided us with a music video, a highlight of the day mostly. The ceremony and the reception - and it's so fun to be able to watch it, I actually feel like I was there now...hahha.

Here's the wedding music video, it's set to generic music for the web but I have a much nicer song on my actual DVD, he just had to do it this way for copyright reasons since it's published to the web. You might want to let it load and run through once, then it won't be so choppy - all the technology in the world and videos still take forever to load on the net! LOL

Amber & Alex @ Yahoo! Video

Vendor Reviews Part 1

As I've had so many vendors so far I want to get this vendor list started for everyone!!!

I'm giving a grade to each vendor based on my experience and MY experience alone This is simply my opinion and I am not intending on "slamming" anyone, simply giving honest information based on my use of the vendors listed:

A/A+ = Exceeds Expectations
B = Great
C = Average and/or information unavailable as it wasn't needed
D = Not was expecting/Poor
F = Not recommenced by me and my experience

Candles for all items at wedding:

Candles For Less
Awesome customer serviced and fast shipping! When my box of candles was going to be late, they called, apologized gave me an exact date and even makrked my wedding date down ao as not to miss it if something happened!
BEST DEAL: 72 votives with candles for $36.99

A+ Customer Service rating
A+ Product Quality
A+ Price

Accessories for reception (toasting flutes, cake topper, cake cutting set, personalized napkins)

Exclusively Wedding
Ordered everything online. Website was very easy to use and navigate. Shipping is regular - not super fast, but also not incredibly slow. Replaced 2 mugs with scratched etching on them with no questions or return needed.
BEST DEAL: Toasting Flutes - $39.99 a set (yes they come cheaper other places, but I couldn't find these anywhere else)

A Customer Service
A Product Quality
B Price


Accessories for Reception (cont.) (bird cage for cards, glass bowl for guest book)

Save-On-Crafts
Possibly one of my favorite places to shop online for crafty things! Awesome selection at amazing prices! You may need to have a little DIY Diva in you to create - but it's worth a look and I highly recommend them!
BEST DEAL I FOUND: Bird cage for the cards for only $11.99

A+ Customer Service
A + Product Quality
A+ Price

Black 6x6 Pocketfolds for Invitations

LCI Paper

Great quality product, met all my expectations. Sturdy and beautiful. After looking around more after buying items I found cheaper pocket folds at www.CardsandPockets.com

A+ Customer Service
A+ Product Quality
C/B Price

Stardream Paper for Invitations (Rose Quartz)

Envelope Mall
Great website - easy to understand and navigate. Shipping was quick and packaged properly with no damage upon arrival. As far as price, I have not been able to find Stardream paper cheaper anywhere else in store or on the internet!

A Customer Service
A+ Product Quality
A+ Price

Stardream Paper for Invitations (cont.) (Crystal)

Paper Depot
A Minneapolis based shop that carries all the Stardream line, was the only place I could find that actually sold the Crystal color, the whitest of the line. I had to order form them and though they had major shipping prices on the samples I ordered, in the end trying to drive there with the 35W bridge being down - it was worth it to save the stress and gas.

A+ Customer Sservice (store and web site)
A+ Product Quality
B Price


Favors

The Knot
A popular wedding site, I managed to find the best deal on the "Love" coasters that I wanted at $1.99 for set of 4. Now I must note that they were on special at the time so don't expect this item at that price all the time.
I broke them down to 1 per person and packed them in organza bags (see below)

C = Customer Service (never needed it, no opinion)
A = Product Quality
A+ = Price



Favors (cont.) Organza bags and Acrylic Ice Crystals for Centerpiece

efavorMart
By far the best price anywhere for these! Packs of 10 for $2.49! Website is great and very easily manageable. The crystals reall add a lot to my centerpiece! Love them!

C = Customer Service (never needed it/no opinion)
A+ = Product Quality
A+ = Price


All right, thats' all for now - I will add more as I have them!