Your Mother in Law and Planning Your Wedding

We’re about to let you in on what truly smart brides know about their mother in law’s and planning their wedding. Just about every bride knows it is “their” day. They also know that typically the mother in law doesn’t play a big part in the wedding planning. But it is the smart bride who understands that the mother in law typically plays a big part in the family life, and connecting with your mother in law during wedding planning is a great way to develop your future relationship with her.

“Does this mean my mother in law will take over my wedding plans?” Hopefully not! What we’re suggesting is that you invite her to some of the fun wedding planning activities where she can enjoy the experience, without expecting her to make any big decisions. Invite her to one of your wedding dress fittings, so she can see your wedding dress. Invite her to the wedding cake tasting, where you try different types of wedding cake to select your wedding cake.

The best way to do this is to know a bit about your mother in law’s personality and tastes. If your mother in law loves fashion, then talking about your wedding dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses is the ideal topic to connect with her. If she loves food, then bringing her to sample wedding food or wedding cake is perfect. Match the fun activity to her personality and her tastes, and you’ll have a real winner.

You do, however, truly want to avoid a sticky situation. If your mother in law loves to gossip, you don’t want to show her your wedding dress. You don’t want to have her let your fiancé know what your wedding dress looks like before you walk down the aisle. If she has a weight problem, you won’t want to invite her to a wedding cake tasting. If she has expensive tastes and is a bit of a snob at times, you probably are going to want to keep her away from your vendors because you won’t want her to make expensive choices on your flowers, food, wine and other things you’ve already decided on. If she’s very opinionated and “has” to be right, then try to select an activity where the choice has already been made, like bringing her to a wedding dress fitting. So the wedding dress has already been picked out and she can just enjoy seeing the wedding dress. Be the adult and be proactive about managing your mother in law. But do involve her in the process in some way that will be fun for her, because it will help to develop your relationship with her.

You’ll find that most mother in law’s stay rather quiet about their opinions about the wedding. Some think this tradition comes from the bride’s family paying for the wedding, so if the mother in law does not have any financial power, she probably does not feel confident making a decision. But inviting her to see what you’ve picked out, to enjoy something fun and enjoy the excitement of your upcoming wedding is something she certainly won’t want to miss out on. She’ll be thrilled by your joy and probably very touched that you thought to share this moment with her.

Your relationship with your mother in law will very likely last a lifetime, if not the lifetime of the marriage. It makes practical sense to start out on the right foot and develop a good, loving relationship with her. You can probably think of 1 or 2 fun wedding related activities you can invite her to that she would enjoy….why not do it!

Image: http://www.dailyweddingplanningtip.com/

Wedding Cake Wake-Up Call

The perfect wedding cake should reflect the overall theme of the festivities, and so there are a few questions that need to be answered prior to ordering this most important centerpiece.

Questions such as:

• Are you planning for a formal or informal wedding reception?
• Is it going to be an indoor or outdoor event?
• Warm weather or cool?

Believe it or not, each of these factors should be taken into consideration when choosing a wedding cake; as ignoring them could be turn out to create unnecessary drama, as well as, unpleasant memories…in pictures and on video.

That being said…just because your Aunt Edna has a sterling reputation for making a fierce carrot cake, does that mean you should entrust her with your reception’s  crowning masterpiece?  “But she’s so sweet”, you may say. “Cakes are so expensive and she offered to make it for free….as a wedding gift!“  While the sentiment may be nice, just think: Could you honestly entrust this woman with making your wedding cake?  Has she ever made one before?    While her cakes may be a hit at the family reunion, you’d better think twice before commissioning her to bake  your “cake of a lifetime”.  A lopsided cake on a picnic table, sliding under the weight of its own icing, in the hot July sun may be acceptable at a barbecue, but is this what you really want to happen to your cake at your wedding reception?  And do you really want a blue cake trimmed in red icing?  Hold that thought and marinate in it for a while…

Now that we’ve gotten you frightened to death…you can call Aunt Edna, and decline her offer.  Go ahead…call her now.  Thank her profusely, while nicely telling  her that its “already been taken care of”.  End the conversation by kindly letting her know where you are registered and tell her that you “haven‘t been given a kitchen spatula yet” … then move on….To the REAL baker.

During your consultation with your chosen baker, be sure that all questions are answered to your satisfaction.  Make sure that you are both clear as to what you do, or do not want.   Do not assume anything!  Be sure to provide your baker with details, keeping in mind that he has no idea as to what is most important to you.   Take a look at the baker’s cake portfolio to see examples of work previously done, and to get ideas that can be incorporated into your final masterpiece.  Provide your baker with as much advance notice as possible.    Be VERY clear as to the delivery date, time and setup instructions.   Be doubly sure to have everything in writing.

One last thing:  Please don’t forget to give Aunt Edna a seat nearest the bridal table.  You’ll thank me for this later.

photo by tastetheworld

Star Wars Wedding Cakes

Some people dream of a wedding day where everything is virgin white and flowers abound. The wedding cake is 5 tiers tall and beautiful handmade flowers adorn the edible edifice. It is as if the wedding cake was from a sweet dream.

Those people did not make these cakes.

No, that pleasure went to those who love lightsabers and wookies and believe the Force is always with you. The people who made these cakes should consider themselves lucky to have found another Star Wars geek who likes the opposite sex. You’ll find not traditional cakes here, only creations made possible by the imagination of one George Lucas. Here are 20 Star Wars wedding cakes in a galaxy not so far away.

I don’t know if you can read it, but the plane says “Oceanic” on it. “Lost” and “Star Wars;” what a weird combination.

See more unique wedding cake designs.

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Wedding Cake Prices & Costs

The wedding cake is a big part of the reception, let alone the wedding itself. That said, it’s always a good idea to know where you stand by finding out the average wedding cake prices and what you’ll be expected to pay.

First and foremost, you should realize that most bakeries charge per “slice” rather than per “cake. This system will allow you to easily determine how much the whole cake is going to cost, not to mention how much money you can spare for custom designs and cake icing.

Here is a Rundown of Wedding Cake Prices:

Simple Cake: A simply made cake with just a few decorations, cheap icing, and a basic design will cost about 1 to 2 dollars per slice. If it’s a small wedding with only about 100 or so people, you can spend about $250 to $300 and get a elegant cake that’ll please everyone. Read more