The wedding cakes of today are simply unbelievable. They can be small, big, many colors or just plain white. So let explores some of today’s most popular cake options for weddings. A beautiful option is a cake with real flower blossoms. These cakes are so lovely and understated at the same time.

Tiered cakes are still very popular as well as cake toppers, but they are not like those of yesterday. Here is a picture of one of my favorites. As you can see that although it is has an updated look it also has a vintage feel to it as well. Once again this cake has a lovely elegance to it like the first one.

But not all weddings have to be elegant, they can be fun too. You can have cakes that are bright colors and look topsy turvy. With the popularity of cupcakes they are also showing up at weddings too, this is great because there is no serving hassle, and you have portion control too.

That just covers the outside of the cake; now let’s talk about the actual cake. There is plain white cake, which I love. But there are so many other good flavors. Like chocolate mint, orange creamsicle or apple Carmel. Let’s not forget chocolate cake, lemon cake or red velvet cake. Then there are the many filling options. The combinations are endless.

As with any of your wedding choices it should be what the couple wants and enjoys. This a very special day in their lives and every part right down to the cake should be enjoyed.

Your wedding day is a very special day in your life, and there is a good chance you have imagined it and planned it out for years. But then you begin planning it and it seems everyone has an opinion, suggestion or idea. You quickly realize that there is no way to make everyone happy. This is your day and it should reflect who you are as a couple and celebrate your love and happiness. So while there is some standard etiquette you should adhere to, the event should be a reflection of the happy couple.

So what does that mean, a reflection of the couple? It means that you have a day that is who you are. For example if you are not comfortable in a dress, then you may not be comfortable in the fairy princess bridal gown, something simple and elegant will work better for you. If you love to dress up, then the whole wedding gown with long train down the large candle lit cathedral is what you might like, not the wedding on the beach.

We usually think about the bride and what she wants, but take your grooms personality and wishes in to part of the planning. Maybe you want a large church ceremony, but you husband-to-be is not the social type at all and would be uncomfortable. Then consider having a small ceremony with just a few close friends and family, and then a large reception. You may be all about elegance and style and your groom is a cowboy. Consider having an elegant ceremony in a field or country church and the hoedown themed reception.

You get the idea; it should reflect who you are and what you like. Don’t worry that it is not what everyone else is doing, so if you both love baseball then getting married and your favorite team’s ballpark might be a possibility. And who cares if you serve hot dogs, peanuts and crackerjacks (actually that would be a cute favor) it is your day and you both should be able to relax and enjoy the moments.

There are times during the wedding planning that you simply are not having any fun and the amount of details can be overwhelming. This is the moment when you get away with your future husband and just enjoy some time alone. You then will be able to come back to planning and enjoy it because you will remember that your wedding day is all about sharing your love with your family and friends. All of the other stuff is just that, stuff. You spend months planning and the day goes by so quickly, so don’t be so exhausted and stressed that you can’t enjoy your beautiful day. Relax and enjoy this part of your journey through life.

Ham and Egg Strata
6 eggs beaten
6 slices of ham cubed
2 cups milk
1 cup cheese
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon onion minced
½ teaspoon dry mustard
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan or dish. Mix ingredients well don’t over mix. Pour into dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Key Lime Fudge
9 oz. canned evaporated milk
3 oz. cream cheese softened
6 tablespoons marshmallow crème
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup key lime juice
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
Mix evaporated milk and cream cheese until smooth. Add in the next four incrediants ingredients and mix well. Place in a 9 inch square butter baking pan. Press mixture into pan.
Mix coconut and chopped nuts together. Sprinkle the mixture over fudge, gently pressing down. Chill until firm.

Cashew Chicken Salad
¾ cups finely chopped chicken
¼ cup finely chopped cashews
1 tablespoon scallions finely chopped
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Mix all the ingredients together and serve chilled.

No Bake Cheesecake
1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 8 oz. tub whipped topping
I premade graham cracker crust

Mix cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until blended well. Stir in the whipped topping gently. Pour into graham cracker crust and chill for 3 hours.

Start with the table. The brunch is buffet style so you just need a table to set your food out on. You can also use a counter or island as well to place the food on, whatever works best for you home. If you are using a table and want to use a tablecloth make sure that it is pressed. Also the color of the tablecloth should coordinate well with the dishes that you will use for serving and eating. I will use a floral teapot theme for our brunch. I will use a white table cloth and in the center of that table I will put my teapot with flowers in it for the centerpiece.

The picture above is the tea set I will use and since it is a set, I will use all the pieces to complete my theme. Since I am not using the teapot to serve tea, I will use the teacups as serving dishes. My key lime fudge will look adorable in the teacups. I will also put out some party mints and nuts in a few of the tea cups. The dishes will also be used as serving dishes rather than plates to eat from. You can do the same thing with items that don’t match. I love this idea. Now I can buy teapots and random teacups and saucers that I like and still use them when entertaining.
Just a side note here, everyone loves the finer things in life. But who wants to worry when you are entertaining about the fine china getting broken. So I like having a set of white dishes that are easily replaced if something does break and it doesn’t break the bank to replace them. I like white because then you can use any other color for accents.
So I will be using white dinnerware and purple napkins to accentuate the pansy design in the tea set. I prefer linen napkins and real dinnerware. I have been known to also use paper napkins along with the linen too. And if you are using paper plates make sure that they are the sturdy ones. You can certainly use every day silverware for a brunch. Remember we are trying to keep this simple and elegant.

There won’t be much to setting your table, so you can certainly do that on Sunday. The food will all be prepared the day before so you will be able to greet your guests as they arrive and enjoy their company.

One way I have enjoyed celebrating Mother’s Day is with a brunch. It is a great way to bring several generations of mothers, friends and families together. It is a way to honor the mothers and enjoy time with all the special ladies in your life. I have spoken to many people who think this is a good idea, but just don’t know how to organize the occasion. Over the next few days I will give you some tips and ideas on how to have very special Mothers’ Day brunch. Your theme for this brunch is simple elegance.

The first thing you want to consider is how many people you would like to include. Once you have a number that works for you then decide who you want to include. I recommend that you keep the number of people below 10; this allows you to host the brunch and spend time with your guest.

Once you have decided how many and who you want to invite, then decide where you would like to hold the brunch. Because brunch is casual you can arrange the food buffet style and you don’t have to set a formal table. If you live in part of the country where the weather is already warm then you can have the brunch outside on a patio. Now decide what time to hold the brunch.

Even though there are only five day till mother’s day, it is not too late to call people and invite them. Brunches are casual affairs so there is no need for formal invitations. You may also want to invite people via email. Think twice about using Facebook or another social media sites to invite people (unless you message them privately) as you don’t want to invite everyone you know and you don’t want to hurt peoples feeling if you don’t invite them.

You can serve whatever you would like for this brunch, traditionally both breakfast and lunch items are included on the menu. Here are the menu items I have included in past brunches I have hosted:
*Ham and Egg Strata
*Fresh Fruit
*Cashew Chicken Salad
*Croissants
*Easy Cheese Cake
*Crudité
*Key Lime Fudge

I will include the recipes for these items on Thursday’s post. The nice thing about this menu is that you can make everything up ahead of time and not have to cook on Sunday. This makes for a very relaxing time with your guests. You will be able to have everything ready to go prior to your guests arrival. This also helps the guests feel relaxed when they arrive.

Tomorrow we will talk about table arrangements and linens. Don’t worry, we are keeping this very simple and elegant.

If you are using a delicate porcelain teapot or bone china teapot for serving, pre-warm the teapot using hot tap water to avoid cracking. Simply add hot tap water and let it set for a couple of minutes to warm the teapot. Then pour out just prior to adding the tea leaves and hot water from the kettle.

If you are using a good quality loose leaf tea, measure 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces of water into an infuser basket set on the teapot. Pour the hot water into the teapot over the leaves. Place the lid on the teapot and steep according to package directions for the type of tea. The usual rule is 1 to 2 minutes for oolongs and white teas, 2 to 3 minutes for green teas, and 3-5 minutes for black teas and herbal teas.

Remove the tea infuser basket from the teapot and serve as soon as possible. To keep the tea warm longer, use a tea warmer or cover the teapot with a beautiful tea cozy. Enjoy your afternoon tea time with a special friend.

Our New Personalized Tea Set for Children

Teapots hold 4 oz. and teacups 1-1/2oz.