Tuesday 25 January 2011

In the words of Simply Red, money's too tight to mention...

We are now faced with the realisation that in the words of Simply Red, money's too tight to mention. With only a few things left to organise I am now re-evaluating what is really important and what we can get rid of. Otherwise there will have to be a postponement. And I really don't want that.

So... cake.

In the beginning I didn't even want a cake - all that cake-cutting palaver seemed a bit of a nonsense to me and besides I don't even really like cake, but Mr M is a traditionalist (this is something new I learned about him through the planning process) and insisted it did indeed have to be cut. We decided to get the cheapest cake we could get as long as there was one there, but then the old mentality of "if you are going to do it, do it right" came into play and all of a sudden I'm off having tasting sessions and commissioning sketches of bespoke cakes with very un-Irish double layers, like this...



which I just love. (credit unknown - if anyone knows, please let me know)


I went to see Julie and Linsey at the Vanilla Cake Company and had such great fun I forgot I was potentially spending money. And the samples I requested (when I say samples, I mean huge whole cupcakes) were to die for - Zingy Lemon, White Chocolate and Raspberry and Chocolate Fudge Cake. I actually came away wishing I was their real life friend.

A few weeks later the sketches and prices came through and I got a bit excited. These girls really "got me", we were on the same page and it felt good.



(courtesy of Vanilla Cake Company)



The problem is that now I'm having to prioritise the spending, I'm faced with the possibility that I might not get any of these dream cakes. While they are by no means expensive in the grand scheme of wedding spending, and believe me I have seen less cake for a lot more £££, I have to ask myself, given I didn't want a cake in the first place, whether to just go for a Marks and Spencer cake which can also look great but isn't all that creative.


(photo credit)

Any advice to offer a poor bride?

2 comments:

Loulabelle Kent said...

Oooooh I know how you feel, we've been looking over the budget in shock as the £ signs start to add up!

Hmmmm I am quite pro-cake, but being a budget lady too we opted for a plain 3 tier iced one in the end that our cater is going to make(even though I had really wanted a posh 3 tier Vicky Sponge, there was worry that it would go stale). I'm going to pop pastel coloured ribbons on it, some iced roses that (luckily) my auntie is making and a little cake topper.

As the cake was really reasonable I must confess that I did splurge on the cake topper, I just had to have it! So I paid for it on a interest free credit card and we're going to pay it off over 13 months. Spreading the cost made it seem a bit better xxx

Miss C said...

Ooooh it is so hard! You think you don't want something until you see an AWESOME version of it :)

I love cake, but I wasn't keen on spending a fortune on a cake that a lot of people may not eat. The Groomie, however, is also a traditionalist, and when he asks for something to be included in the wedding, I include it. Apart from the chocolate fountain :)

So we're having croquembouche at the Irish wedding- he wanted that specifically.

A friend is making a simple cake for the wedding here.