Wedding Cakes – Icing Choices Matter

As they say, it’s the icing on the cake!  And when it comes to wedding cakes, icing is very important because it will determine the look of the cake, as well as the price. Mainly, there is 3 different kinds of icings to be used on a presentation cake.

Traditional Butter Cream Wedding Cakes. The “butter cream” frosting will be slightly off-white, because it is made with “butter.” If  you see a very white butter cream frosting, it surely wasn’t made with real butter! The butter cream is usually a favorite because people like the taste of it, it is also the cheapest icing (we charge around $4.50 to $5.00 per serving for wedding cakes with butter cream icing).

Wedding Cakes with White Chocolate Icing. The “white chocolate” icing is liquid white chocolate that we pour on top of the wedding cake.  It is off-white as well, has a little shine to it, and has a smooth aspect as well.  Our charge for Wedding Cakes with White Chocolate icing run between  $5.00 and $5.50 per serving.

When it comes to wedding cakes, icing is very important because it will determine the look of the cake, as well as the price.

Fondant Wedding Cakes. Then there is the “fondant,” from the French dictionary meaning “melting.”  The fondant is made with sugar and has to be rolled “paper thin” to be the best!  If it is too thick it will not be good to taste, but if it is thinly rolled it tastes like a soft marshmallow. The fondant is the only icing to give a really “smooth” aspect to the cake.  You can also add a lot of different piping design to fondant icing, making an intricate lace design, or an abstract design or even some lettering.  It is the easiest icing to be “piping drawn” on. (For those of you who wonder what “piping drawn” means, it is the technique where the icing is put in a bag or cone and then “pressed” out to create, or “draw,” your design.)  The fondant is the only icing that can be 100% white, it can also be any color you want it to be, although if you do a black or navy blue, your guests will have black or navy blue teeth because of the large amount of colorant that needs to be used. The fondant is usually the easiest icing to achieve the “special design” the bride and groom have in mind.  It also holds better while having to sit on a warm table for a few hours as opposed to the butter cream icing. It is also usually the most expensive, starting at $6.50 per serving and can be quite more based on the difficulty of the design you pick.

Two others worth mentioning:

If you are looking for a less formal look, you could also pick a chocolate ganache icing.  For those who want a darker icing for their wedding cakes, icing made of chocolate ganache is where you’ll get the best taste for a dark color effect.

Or the Lady fingers look is also popular for a more country style cake, and it works well and looks really good with fabric ribbon and fresh flowers.

So remember, when it comes to wedding cakes, icing choices are important and it is the icing on the cake that will make your cake!

Since opening his doors in Pacific Grove back in1984, Gerard Bechler, Owner and Master Chef of Patisserie Bechler’s, has become known as “The Wedding Cake Expert.” Gerard has created over 5,000 beautiful, memorable and delicious wedding cakes for all size weddings. Located in Pacific Grove, CA, Patisserie Bechler’s is pleased and proud to be counted among the few French fine pastry shops in Central California and Monterey County. To find out more about Patisserie Bechler’s visit them at www.patisseriebechler.com

Getting Great Wedding Shots for Great Wedding Photography Portraits

Coming from a photographer you might expect this piece to be about having a great background to the photo like this one on top of Crystal Mountain, Washington, with Mt. Rainier in the distance. Or how to get people to smile with a witty joke. Instead it is about how to get the bride and groom relaxed enough that their natural smile emerges naturally.

Stressed out is how I would describe a lot of the brides and grooms that I meet at the start of their wedding day. Getting great wedding shots to make a great set of photographs of a stressed out wedding couple is a real challenge. Being tense does not make for wedding glamor. It is mostly impossible if they are stressed out over too many of the details of their wedding day.

It helps to think it through in advance and only spend time making the wedding shots you want.

One solution to reducing the stress level is to get help from a wedding-day coordinator. This can be someone hired for the task or it can be someone recruited from the ranks of friends or family. While the bride and groom may prefer to plan out all the events of the day, the coordinator is given the responsibility of all of the little details that can cause the bride and groom to get stressed out and prevent them from relaxing and enjoying their wedding day. Then they can be photographed looking their best, relaxed and not preoccupied with the goings on around them. They will smile more easily with the anxiety missing and in general the wedding shots will be better for it and the wedding “glamour” will come naturally.

As a photographer I have found the one detail to reliably improve the process of making the posed formal portraits of the wedding party and family members is to insist that the bride and groom prepare a shot list at least a week or two before the wedding. This is simply a detailed list of everyone they want to include in the making of formal posed portraits. Listing the actual names of everyone makes it easier to work with. The shot list really eliminates all of the stress of having to decide on your wedding day who will be in which photos. It helps to think it through in advance and only spend time making the wedding shots you want. It works best when you can get the list down to about 8-12 shots. If you try, think about who would want to have these photos and what they would do with them.

It should look something like this:

1. Bride and Groom
2. Bride & Groom with Bride’s parents (with the bride’s parents names)
3. Bride & Groom with Groom’s parents (wth the groom’s parents names)
4. Bride with Bridesmaids (include their names)
5. Groom with . . . (include the names)
6. Bride and Groom with . . . (you get the picture)
7. The entire wedding party
8. Etc…. but try to keep it from going past #12.

The shot list goes to either the wedding day coordinator or a good friend or relative who already knows the majority of these folks. (It helps if they have a drill sergeant attitude. It’s funny, but in my experience it seems everyone knows just the perfect person to give it to). It functions like this:

When the photographer is making the first photo on the shot list, they are rounding up the people in shot 2. and holding them in the on deck circle. Then when the first shot is done, he says next and they proceed to the location to be photographed in their turn. Then the folks in shot #3 are gathered up to stand by. This continues until the end of the list.

This allows the bride and groom to not have to make any stressful decisions on the day of the wedding. It also helps them to know exactly who to tell to come early if the wedding shots will be taken before the ceremony. That is also a stress reducing factor in itself. Take the portraits before the wedding for a more relaxed wedding day for sure.

After 16 years of being a newspaper staff photographer, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Daniel Sheehan began photographing weddings in 1997 after a call from a desperate couple unable to find a photographer. After photographing their wedding, he made the transition from covering hard news to weddings, documenting them in the same way as his editorial assignments. 250+ weddings later, photographing weddings (including Conan O’Brien’s wedding) has become his most gratifying work. The Wedding Photojournalists Association named him an International Award Winning Photographer. View his wedding photography and learn more about Daniel at his website: ABeautifulDayPhotography.com

Making the Most Out of Your Engagement Portrait Session

Alot of photographers offer engagement portrait sessions in their wedding packages. With a tight budget, some people might choose to opt out as they think this is not necessary, or that it’s merely another opportunity for some casual shoots which could be done by amateur photographer friends. As a professional photographer, I would strongly suggest keeping the session in the package rather than opting for print credits or enlargements. Here are some good reasons for my recommendation:

The engagement portrait session is the time that you and the photographer can really get to know each other in action. It’s your first opportunity to see the photographer holding a camera while trying to engage with you. You will really get a feel what it’s like to have a camera in your face while you are trying to have some romantic moments with your loved one. Who says that’s easy to do! That’s why it’s a wonderful opportunity to communicate with the photographer about your comfort zone and expectations. A good photographer will sense what it takes to get you to feel at ease. The more comfortable you are with the photographer, the better the pictures will turn out on your wedding day. Think of it as a rehearsal where you get to practice being intimate in front of people. Wedding pictures will look great only if you are able to express yourself fully and naturally and developing a great working relationship with your photographer is the key.

When I face couples who struggle to look natural in front of the camera, I often suggest that they choose something they enjoy doing together. For an active couple, it could be a hike to the hilltop or doing some fun dance moves together; for the quiet couple, it could be about being in each other’s arms, having their eyes closed and embracing the moment with each other. I believe the best practice for photographers is to give just enough guidance to direct the couple and make them feel at ease. I also like to give praise when I catch a stunning moment to let my couple know I am capturing beauty in them. Naturally they would keep it up and the moment would only bloom more. Then I would show them the shots and let them know how lovely they turn out, which will encourage them to keep the spirit even higher. Warming up is merely a process and once you get there you will be able to be as spontaneous and passionate as you are in front of camera.

The engagement portrait session is best taken outdoors rather than in a studio-like setting. Feel free to suggest a place that meaningful to you two. Maybe it’s where the proposal took place, or a location where you two hang out all the time. Tell the story so the photographer can depict the essence for you. Engagement pictures are typically done three to six months ahead of the wedding day. It’s common for couples to use the pictures for their Save-The-Date cards or enlarge a favorite for display at the reception. I’ve recently put together my new product of using engagement pictures to create a guestbook. It’s an affordable way to present your pictures in a photo book form where guests can review the pictures and leave their words and blessings at the same time.

The engagement session is supposed to be fun-filled and stress free. Loosen up, snuggle up and be creative, and you’ll get so much more out of it.

Elley Ho prides herself as a creative artist, blending art with the most advances in the photography field. Focused on editorial style photography, Elley captures the souls of those she photographs, and documents the world as it exists. Pursuing absolute excellence in each wedding, she spends time developing a relationship with each couple she works with. She strongly believes having an emotional engagement is a necessary part of her work. Elley is always striving for a new way to portray events and imagery and have them reflect her own unique style. Find out more at www.elleyphotography.com. Elley Photography is based out of San Francisco Bay Area and travels worldwide and is a proud member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) and Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI).

Destination Bride Finds Perfect Wedding Photographer

Finding a photographer can be a daunting task OR a treasure hunt. If you will not be able to visit with the photographers of your final choice before you book, you will rely heavily on your email, phone and pictures of the photographer’s website, plus testimonials (! ).

You should look for testimonials of destination brides as one of your best indicators that the wedding photographer was what was expected by the couple.  Ask the photographer(s) you are interested for the email or phone number of one of their previous destination brides.   Then you can ask that couple how their perception of the photographer jived with their true experience.  (To find a photographer for your area try Google Local, and of course keyword in your location area.)

Also, consider narrowing down your photographer possibilities by choosing someone less than an hour of travel time (not miles) to your site.  The reason for this is traffic.  If you choose a popular destination, and your photographer is two hours away, if there are road problems on your wedding day, you could be WITHOUT a photographer, or at a minimum — have a LATE photographer.

Email is a good indicator of a personality match as you often can feel the personality by how your questions are addressed.  First of all, set up a good relationship by telling the photographer you love her/his work.  Be specific and mention a few of the favorite images that you would like for your own collection of wedding day shots.  As a photographer, I particularly like this as it gives me a quick look into my couple’s taste.  We all like to hear that our work is valued, and will be apt to be more responsive to you than if someone emails and says they “just want someone to take snapshots of the day for a certain number of hours”.  This implies the photographer doesn’t really matter and that they are only looking for the cheapest price.  While there ARE photographers that actually “don’t like photographing weddings” and they do it “for the money” (charging a cheap price), most photographers that shoot weddings really do love what they do and treat it as a serious work of art to create beautiful memories for their couple.  You will want to feel this in the email responses you get from your photographer.

Ask the photographer about their Package Pricing or Ala Carte price of wedding photography and albums to see if it is in your ballpark.  This is a good place to start because if you love the photography, but it is way beyond your price point, there is no sense in taking either yours or the photographer’s time.  Make sure they issue you a contract, and are professionally insured and belong to a photographer’s association such as PPA or WPPI (they have a code of ethics and conduct).

After you have decided that you like the price and email tone of the photographer, you should call them and talk more at length. This is where you can feel from their voice and way of speaking with you if you will be comfortable talking with them your wedding day.  Ask how they see your wedding day, and what they will do for you (this is all about them), and then tell the photographer what you want (this is all about you).

If you like the way that photographer sounds, let them know you need to talk with your fiancé, and will call or email back in a couple of days to book. Ask what the retainer cost is, and sign a contract!  Remember to communicate with your photographer at least a few weeks before your wedding to review what you expect and email a schedule of your day.  This will be appreciated.

You’ve done your best, so now look forward to a wonderful day with your perfect choice photographer!

Nanci Kerby loves her weddings. She is easy to communicate with and has a calming essence that is very helpful on the busy wedding day. Nanci’s years of photography, professional modeling, television shows and film give her a unique approach to her wedding couples’ posing since she has been on both sides of the camera.The seamless attention to detail while comfortably posing her bridal parties so that everyone looks great is just one of the compliments she receives from her brides. They also love that she makes them look like they belong on a magazine cover and feel like it as well. Find out more about Nanci and her work at www.nancikerby.com.