Most Requested Wedding Date

You know when you plan to do something on a weekend and you've known about the date for months? And the closer it gets, it seems like all of these other great events that you'd love to attend also fall on that same day? Today, September 5th was one of those dates for me.

Let me share a little glimpse into my life as a pastry chef.

I've had this wedding booked for this date since about March. As the months continued to pass, I continued to have requests for this same date (9-5-09) and found that of all the many Saturdays during the summer, this was THE most requested wedding date for the wedding season this year. Maybe it was because it's Labor Day Weekend and it's the last time folks can be out of town for vacations or weddings, but this was the date that people continued to call and ask about.

I must have had to turn down at least 6 or 7 potential wedding clients, as I am only able to create one wedding cake each weekend. I'm not sad that I had to turn away other clients, because I've been looking forward to creating this wedding cake for some time now. The clients were very nice to work with and they had planned ahead and were very organized in getting ready for this wedding (something I can really relate to--the organization thing, it's like finding a kindred spirit).

This week was wonderfully, crazy busy and I really had to stick to my detailed, day-to-day, hour-by-hour schedule to get everything done. I love it when the orders come pouring in and this week was one of those weeks. In addition to several birthday cakes, bridal shower cupcakes, and other dessert orders, yesterday was the last Farmer's Market of the season in our small town. In between baking the cake orders and baking the wedding cakes, I was baking desserts for the market--which went very well.

I love the variety of things I get to bake during the week. Here are a few things that were baked in the Jillicious Kitchen this week:

• Coconut-Macadamia Nut Hawaiian Cake
• Guava Chiffon Cake
• Hawaiian Coconut-Macadamia Nut Cupcakes
• Lemon Surprise Cupcakes
• Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
• Vanilla Cupcakes w/Chocolate Buttercream
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Macadamia White & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Pecan Chocolate Brownies
• Orange Chocolate Passion Cake
• "It's All About the Chocolate" Cake
• French Apple Galettes
  

Today's wedding was located at the Eugene Yacht Club, where the bride and groom love to go sailing and their wedding cake reflected this ocean and tropical theme. This was a very LARGE cake and when I arrived to deliver and set it up, I actually had to get some help in bringing in the bottom tier. Usually I can carry the cake tiers myself, but this 16-inch bottom cake tier was unbelievably heavy and I wasn't going to take any chances and possibly drop it.

I've been making wedding cakes for some time now, but I think I will always be a little nervous until the cakes are stacked and ready for the final decorations. Once the cake tiers were stacked and in place, I relaxed and finished some piping details and added the fresh flowers. Adding the finishing touches is always my favorite part. I was a little sad to walk away, leaving this cake that I've been working on for the past couple of days, but I know that it will bring much joy to the happy couple today.

Tropical Ocean Wedding Cake Details:

• Orange Chocolate Passion Cake w/Orange Chocolate Filling (8-inch, top tier)
• Vanilla-White Cake w/Raspberry Filling (12-inch, middle tier)
• Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cake w/White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling (16-inch, bottom tier)