Posts Tagged ‘cake’

Weddings by Wal-Mart

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

In this economy most everyone has to rethink how they are using their resources and couples planning weddings are no different than the rest of us. When Americans think of budget shopping, it leads millions to Wal-Mart.

Walk into most any department in Wal-Mart and you can find something that may be useful for a bride and groom and generally speaking, you aren’t going to find it cheaper anywhere else. www.walmart.com engagement ring In their jewelry department you will find a few inexpensive engagement rings and wedding bands and a generous selection of accessories and gifts for an entire bridal party. Cubic Zirconia tennis bracelets, simple anklets, heart shaped and “Journey” necklaces with earrings to match, will accessorize bridesmaids well without emptying anyone’s piggy bank.

In the party section you will find several rows of typical wedding supplies for much lower prices than most specialty stores. Best Occassion Love Pillow Boxes 50 for $12A good assortment of Favor boxes at 50 for $12 can easily be filled with a sweet treat found in their candy department. Want the kiddies-at-heart to have bubbles? 100 Ring Bubble Wand Favors are only $15. Best Occasions Invitation Kits 25 count Brinze Square Pocket 23 count for $29For the computer savvy they have invitation kits at unbelievable prices and for the home bakers they have most anything you would need to make your own wedding cake or cupcake tower.

If you venture into departments not often thought of as wedding related, you will locate some great “finds” for a celebration. Do some price comparison and you may find that it is actually cheaper to buy whole sets of dinnerware than to rent them from a typical party rental company. On a recent visit to a Wal-Mart store, I found glass dinner plates for $1.50 each. The nice thing about purchasing instead of renting is you will have a large collection for all your future celebrations.

Decorating weddings with $5 vases, filling them with homegrown flowers and surrounding the vases with $1 votive candles can make for simple and inexpensive centerpieces. gazebo trellis arch 93Purchasing a gazebo or an arbor in their garden department will allow you to reuse it in your own backyard after it has been the centerpiece of your ceremony.cast iron Brick fire Bowl 179 You can also get multi-use out of other special décor like lanterns, firepits or outdoor furniture that help create a very chic and contemporary styled wedding.westinhouse 4 piece 40

Right now, when the Christmas department is just being set up, it’s a great time to look at white lights to swag on your head and cake tables (underneath tulle or iridescent material). Or purchase Christmas ornaments and pile them in a crystal bowl for an easy centerpiece anytime of the year.

Don’t forget the personal health and hygiene departments to make “Wedding Day Emergency Kits.” Band-Aids, Tums, Aspirins, mouthwash, hairspray, deodorant, nail repair kits, Kleenex and smelling salts are just a few of the items key to a good emergency kit. Add energy bars, nuts and bottled water from the grocery section and stain removers from the laundry supplies and your kit will begin to look like a pro made it.

If your schedule is crazy and feet are sore, do some of your shopping on-line at www.walmart.com. By creatively thinking outside the box – you can come up with a Wal-Mart Wedding that won’t break the bank but can still be a very special celebration with all the trimmings!

Upstaged by My Wedding Cake

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Mom and Dad zMe and Marv

If we are to be honest – 99% of all brides want to be the star of their wedding day. You don’t want a bridesmaid to be hotter, you don’t want your larger than life mother-in-law to steal the show and you have prayed for the last 6 months that your husband’s ex-girlfriend won’t show up and make a scene… or something like that. For me, my reality was that I was upstaged by an inanimate object – my wedding cake.

People did not ask for pictures of my husband and I after our wedding – they asked for pictures of our wedding cake. People who I didn’t even know but had heard about “The Wedding Cake” asked me for pictures of the cake. It was… weird. I had a famous cake.

my wedding cake

Fess up - you wanted to see the cake - not us! Right?

Now in today’s standards, my cake is clearly outdated but several decades ago, it was quite special. The first reason why my cake was such a hit was that there were 7 different flavors of cake hidden underneath the whipped cream frosting – key lime cheesecake, Swedish Princess, chocolate decadence, carrot cake, peanut butter cheesecake, banana nut cake, and a diabetic spice cake for some diabetic relatives. My wedding cake was made by my parents who do most every thing food-related a bit over the top… actually, way over the top! I had 125 guests, the cake should have served about 250 and by the end of the afternoon reception, there was not one bite of cake left. The only piece I got was the one my husband fed me. Our guests, on the other hand, ate several pieces of cake and ran around with forks in their hands eating from their friends’ plates. It was quite a sight to see. It was a fricken’ cake orgy.

The second fun cake related issue was that I did not feed my husband cake… I fed him cake batter! Yes, not a healthy choice and don’t try this at home if you don’t want to risk food poisoning, but my husband had fond memories of his grandmother giving him cake batter so I wanted him to have this little nod to his late nana. In the middle of the reception my mom went and made a simple butter cake batter, placed it in a beautiful glass bowl and hid it underneath the cake table for the big reveal. Right after we did the traditional cutting of the cake, I slipped my hands underneath the table and brought this batter filled bowl out. I then fed my husband his favorite treat (in a large acrylic spoon decorated by mom of course.) To say that my husband loved this surprise would be a great understatement! He walked around for the rest of the reception with bowl in hand and the biggest grin on his face.

Yup… I was clearly not the star of my wedding but I love every vivid memory of watching people go crazy over my parents’ creation, not me – the cake!