A great read on the cost of a fancy cake

It's been far too long since I blogged.  I admit I'm terrible at it.  I'd rather be doing anything else than sitting in front of a computer:(  Thankfully, this awesome gal took care of things!  Here is a wonderful blog about the cost of cakes, and what goes in to them.  At the bottom of her post, you'll also find other really informative and well researched posts on various other parts of what goes in to a wedding.  Happy reading!  Kelley

/http://www.acoloradocourtship.com/2015/08/25/for-what-its-worth-cakes/

A True Love Story

I'm a little late posting this... I had to make a New Daddy blanket for a friend who had a baby boy on the 13th. It took a bit of time, as it had to be big enough for him to snuggle with New Mommy under it:)

  The Contest: It was hard to pick one couple this year- I was sent so many wonderful stories! Reading them is exciting and I want to watch romantic comedies. I just finished watching Midnight in Paris....my daughter insisted on that one.

  The Couple: Jerah was in Newark, NJ for work, and the project was for a giant pharmaceutical company, "Where the buildings felt like jails, or better yet, taken directly from the office building Joe worked at in Joe vs the Volcano. It was horribly depressing." Jerah wasn't in the happiest place at this point in life. He was traveling for work a lot, previous marriage had gone horribly awry, and he was worried about his three children. His life consisted of airports, work, cramming a week of parenting in to 24 hours, and very little sleep. When I read this, I had an image in my head of gloomy gray skies, gritty factory air, and a thin man with vacant eyes, plodding slowly towards a punch clock.

 On a Tuesday, Jerah decided to quiet his growling stomach with something other than the usual fare that surrounds hotels. Things were about to change for Jerah over an order of Lily's Chicken. He met Halley, who was working the bar that night. Jareh says, "Our eyes met, and I felt like she looked right into my soul. My heart was beating 569 beats a second." Halley says, "His smile got me flustered and fogged my brain. I could feel myself thinking, “act cool,” as I fumbled with daily tasks I usually did effortlessly." Instead of take-out, Jerah stayed put. I imagine he ate that Lily's Chicken as slowly as he could without looking obvious. He left Halley a ridiculously huge tip, and plotted out when he could return to the restaurant again. Halley was bummed when he finished and left. She had a sinking feeling she would never see him again, and was frustrated she hadn't talked to him more. Halley says, "I felt ridiculous for the attraction I felt toward a man I knew nothing about, but there was something undeniable about the impression he made on me. We had one of those “magnetic connections,” or, at least I convinced myself we did right before he walked out of there. I worked almost every night the rest of that week, foolishly thinking he might be back in to see me".

 Work took Jerah away, and a bad car accident kept Halley home recovering. For Halley, that time off of work allowed her to deal with some issues she'd been avoiding. Father's Day had arrived, and she was grateful to not have to put on the fake smile of happiness at work. She explains, "It was only my second father’s day since I lost my dad, my best friend, I wasn't ready to pretend I could spread fake smiles all day. I was his primary caretaker through college, and a year after. He was my day job, and I made my fair share of martinis to cover my student loans and rent."

 Halley was able to spend Father's Day sitting on the beach, "talking" to her father. She says it was exactly what she needed: Acceptance, honestly, and a deep-emotional release. "I’d been going full-speed through 2 moves, 2 half marathons with the American Cancer Society, and now a new competition prep while I studied to become a cancer rehab specialist. It was exactly the day I needed to grieve, reflect, let go, and move forward. I felt ready to move forward, and with that came forgiving myself for all the “mistakes” I had made rushing through what was meant to be lived."

 Back in Colorado, Jerah was hanging in there. He was, "Living with my brother and his new wife, I was finally feeling human again. Finally taking some time for myself, to be with myself, to breathe, to heal. I was doing well in my new position, I was working out, eating fairly well, and taking care of my kids. Even though it was exhausting, I seemed to have more energy than I had in a long time." He was looking forward to his next dinner order of Lily's Chicken.

 On June 21st, 2010, the stars aligned for them. Eyes locked, shy smiles happened, hearts raced, fingers fumbled. He had dinner, she prolonged his stay with alcohol and a gigantic brownie. She nearly blew it by hiding in the kitchen at the end of her shift, but thankfully a co-worker of Halley's decided to step in and take over. She approached Jerah and asked, “Are you single?”, “Yes” I replied. “Good, come with me”. She took me by the hand and found Halley. She proceeded, “He’s single. She’s single. He’s interested. She’s interested. And then made us go sit down at a table and talk." Hours passed, the magical kiss happened, and Jerah and Halley found their lives intertwined.

 They decided Halley needed to move to Colorado, and in September 2010, the next chapter of their love story began during the long road trip "home". They will be married on June 21st of this year.







   I hope Jerah and Halley have sent that co-worker a giant gift basket.


 Photo by www.deadboltphoto.com

It's time... Time for Round three of the Tell Us Your Love Story contest!

That's right... we're giving away a wedding cake! I'm in search of a couple out there with a fantastic love story to tell. Did you meet in a really "this never should have happened" way? What odds did your relationship overcome to get to the point of saying "I do"? Maybe you've got children from a previous relationship and (like me) you just find yourself wandering around in a daze over the realization that you've found someone who accepts you as a package deal? Whatever it is, if you think you've got a story to tell, then email me at kelleykakes@comcast.net and lay it on me!

Now the rules- I'm keeping these at a minimum because rules are no fun....

*Your wedding can take place any time during 2013.

*Your reception must take place within 30 miles of metro Denver to qualify for free delivery (you can certainly enter if you're outside of this area, but a delivery fee will be necessary)

*The cake can serve up to 125 guests. I'm pretty willing to fudge the numbers on this one if there is a fantastic design that requires a little more cake. Additional servings can be added at a very discounted rate.

*The cake can be more than one flavor and will be iced in buttercream. (I'm really good at smoothing it to look just like fondant, I promise!) No limit to colors used, detailing and whatnot. Free cake does not have to be boring cake! Although I have nothing against the classic white wedding cake:)

That's about it, folks! Again, email me personally at kelleykakes@comcast.net your fabulous tale. The contest ends January 30th. The winner will be notified January 31st. We'll blog and rave about them on Valentine's Day .



Thanks everyone! Kelley

Thinking Outside the White Wedding Cake Box

I love it when clients add some zip and personality to their cakes. Nothing else in the room was green... I had a brief moment of panic when I showed up and there was a sea of orange. The bride wanted the cake to stand out, but not be "too crazy", and I think we achieved just that. The groom's cake(s) was a surprise. He REALLY digs Futurama. The ship is part cake, part rice crispie treats.

Bender is making a ganache angel, as I just really wanted to have Bender blissfully wallowing in chocolate:)

Another surprise groom's cake. He digs Homer and snowboarding. Why not combine the two??

And this cake represented their first date:)

Celebrating Two Years of Wedded Bliss

See that photo? -----> This is the photo that peaked my interest in the man who I now proudly call "husband". This photo was one of his profile pics on okcupid, and it made me think, "This man is silly...this is good." It's the photo that made me answer his initial message, and the one I kept peeking at whenever I logged on to see if he'd sent me anything new. Happily, we quickly moved past the friendly banter on the dating site and exchanged actual email addresses. Soon we were talking on the phone (which if you know me, you know I hate doing!) and set up a coffee date. I emailed my friend in Australia to tell how nervous I was to meet him in person. I couldn't figure out why I was nervous... I'd been at this whole dating thing a while, and had pretty much gotten past letting it freak me out. Something about Ames was different, though. We met at Stella's on Pearl on a wonderfully warm and sunny Sept (the 7th) day. I parked about a half a block up and checked myself over to make sure nothing was amok. Deep breath. Concentrate on NOT tripping as I walked towards him. I remember laughing a little because my heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my neck. I managed to make it up the two steps and shake his hand and speak a full sentence without A)giggling like an idiot B)spitting on him C)mucking up the correct order of the words coming out of my mouth. Yay for me! Those hours we sat talking flew by, and suddenly it was time to go and pick up our respective children from their other parental units. He walked me to my car and asked if he could fix dinner for me. No kiss happened then and though I was mighty curious (he has delicious lips), I was happy it didn't happen there on the sidewalk. A couple of never ending/time stood still/what am I going to wear days later, I went to his house for dinner. He gave me the tour and this was in his room. --->

It projects the time on to the ceiling!! I don't know why that goofy Batman clock made me so giddy, but it did. It said a lot about who Ames is. He embraces his inner geek. I quickly grew to love this quirky man- in fact, I fell head over heels watching him recite the lines to The Dark Knight. I looked over at this grown man sitting on the edge of his movie theater seat and sank deep into a rainbows, tweeting birds, butterflies flitting, unicorns and puppy filled love. I didn't tell him for another month, though:) My life since I met Ames has been full of happiness, silliness, long talks, lots of hand holding, laughter and a deep kind of love I really didn't think existed.