Southern Weddings

Hi belles! Our friend and former Southern Weddings intern Jessica Clinch is the newest gal to take you through her wedding process here on the blog! Jessica will be blogging for us once a month until her wedding this May. In case you missed her introductory post, be sure to check it out here! — Lisa

One of the things Zack and I were most looking forward to during our planning process was our wedding cake tasting! After looking through the various cake designers in the Knoxville area, we are excited to say that Art of Cakes will be designing our wedding cake. We recently had our cake tasting, and it was a really fun (and delicious!) morning!

While the tasting itself was such a blast, I did need to gather some inspiration and create a design vision before we stepped foot into the bakery. Buttercream or fondant? Classic or modern? Three-tier or two-tier? I had a few different ideas in mind that were all fairly different from one another, and I was torn! Here’s a look at some of my inspiration:

Artistic-Inspired: Since I am a watercolor artist and love surrounding myself with vibrant colors and beautiful textures, I thought it might be fun to incorporate some of these details into our cake! I remember being in such awe of painted cakes the first time I saw one. The creativity and artistry put into the intricate designs is something I greatly appreciate–some of these cakes are almost too pretty to eat!

Top: Catherine Guidry via Style Me Pretty, Peaches & Mint via Wedding Sparrow; bottom: Elizabeth Fogarty via Style Me Pretty

White: A big part of me also desires a classic, white wedding cake! I love how traditional they look, and know this style of cake would be one I would still appreciate when I look at pictures years down the road. However, if I choose a white wedding cake, I would still like to add a touch of modern style to it, either through a unique hexagonal shape, minimalist flowers, or a two-tier design.

KT Merry via Style Me Pretty, Kayla Barker via Style Me Pretty

Colored: I have started to notice a trend with colored wedding cakes lately. While I am not normally one to follow trends, I do adore this look! It is a great compromise between the ultra modern, artistic cakes and the traditional white wedding cakes. Having a colored wedding cake would also be a beautiful way to incorporate one of our softer wedding colors, like a dove gray or blush! The brushed gold details on these cakes also make me swoon, and are a great way to include a subtler hint of artistry.

Top: Paula O’Hara via Style Me Pretty, Kerinsa Marie via Style Me Pretty; bottom: ModWedding, Lauren Gabrielle via Style Me Pretty

Throughout the inspiration gathering process, I realized a few things about my preferences that I never would have thought about before starting my search. I quickly learned that I gravitate more toward the two-tier style, regardless of the overall cake design. As well as our two-tiered cake, we will have a sheet cake in the kitchen using one of our cake flavors, so we will have plenty for our guests to enjoy!

I also realized that all of the cake designs I am attracted to require fondant. There is such a stigma against fondant, but Art of Cakes promised us that theirs has a light, marshmallow texture and a sweet flavor–nothing like the fondant of my parents’ time! We also decided on one classic and one unique flavor that we hope our guests will love! Hint: one of the flavors is pink in color, so we will get to cut into a pink cake!! I am so excited about how that will look in pictures!

Overall, this process was so much fun! We are still finalizing our cake design, but I have a feeling I know which one we will choose! Zack loves the design, and said he was shocked at my choice! That being said, do y’all have any guesses as to which we will choose?

Friends, I’d love to know: what style of cake design did you have at your wedding, or do you plan to have at your upcoming reception? What influenced your wedding cake style and helped you to make your decision?

Written with love by Lisa