Wedding cakes and desserts

analogmason15 I picked up a cake from a bakery in Naperville based on a recommendation as well. I can send you their number if you'd like.

A couple of years ago, I ordered a wedding cake from that same shop in Greenfield for a friend's wedding. I was absolutely livid 😠 😠 because the decoration was a complete disaster. Despite explaining exactly what I wanted, they assured me it wouldn't be an issue, yet... The cake itself tasted fine, but I've sworn off them for my own wedding. That's just my experience, though I know others have had better luck.

Michael Ramos10 said:fadedfalcon8, are you planning on making a cake? 😲
those ones from the slideshow look absolutely fantastic...👍

Stayed up until 4:00 AM making these for my sister before her wedding prep started at 7:00—she looked stunning though. They vanished instantly. One literally crumbled just from someone mentioning cookies. Now my cousins are gonna bake more using my recipes, and I’ll just handle the decorating.

I honestly envy you. I had the exact same intention—I even went as far as reading a cookbook to get ideas for decorating, and I actually had a whole step-by-step plan ready to go—but then my mom was like, "Why bother? We need to deep-clean the entire house the day before, so there's no point in you just making a mess with flour for no reason."

Though, I suppose she's technically right... I tend to leave a bit of a disaster zone behind me, but hey, it’s fine, no big deal. 😬

Besides, the hotel includes it in the service fee anyway, so we might as well enjoy it.

Seriously though, kudos to you. I am genuinely looking forward to seeing the photos. 🙂

fadedfalcon8 said:Stayed up until 4:00 AM making these for my sister before her wedding prep started at 7:00—she looked stunning though. They vanished instantly. One literally crumbled just from someone mentioning cookies. Now my cousins are gonna bake more using my recipes, and I’ll just handle the decorating.

That sounds amazing!👍 I think I’d choose that setup too, because those cakes are bound to be incredible!🙂
I really hope everything goes smoothly with the decorating; I'm rooting for you to make it look absolutely perfect!🙂

fadedfalcon8 Your cakes are absolutely incredible! I’m particularly obsessed with that one with the berries—I’ve been losing my mind over them lately.

Ronald Hill3 said:Hold on, hold on, northernstag5, you always seem to step away right when things get interesting. 😍 Come on, please, give us some more details—who specifically, where are they located, how much does it cost, and how do we find them? Since I'm based near Appalachia, I might actually head out and do some digging myself. 👍

I wasn't really planning on getting the cake from them anyway—we have this amazing local bakery nearby (let's hope Boone doesn't mess this up for my big day 😬)

I'm actually pretty close to Naperville myself. We’re planning to get all our desserts and the main cake from the bakery in Topolovec; they're originally from Kaufman, so they're only a few miles away from you. I think I mentioned them to you a few pages back. If you want their info, I can shoot you a private message.
Which bakery did you end up ordering your cake from?

northernstag5 said:I'm actually pretty close to Naperville myself. We’re planning to get all our desserts and the main cake from the bakery in Topolovec; they're originally from Kaufman, so they're only a few miles away from you. I think I mentioned them to you a few pages back. If you want their info, I can shoot you a private message.
Which bakery did you end up ordering your cake from?

Sure, that would be great. Please send those details over via PM. 😘 I haven't actually ordered the cake yet (they told me it was still a bit too early), but I'm thinking about getting it from Graber (I think I posted a photo of it somewhere in this thread). Honestly, I've always been more than happy with both the taste and the look of the cakes I've gotten there (though maybe I shouldn't get too carried away right before my own wedding 😬 ), and it's easily my favorite spot. As for the small pastries, I haven't made up my mind yet—I suspect Graber might be a little outside my budget. 😳
I'm going to go dig through your old posts about Topolovec now... 😘

Ronald Hill3 said:Sure, that would be great. Please send those details over via PM. 😘 I haven't actually ordered the cake yet (they told me it was still a bit too early), but I'm thinking about getting it from Graber (I think I posted a photo of it somewhere in this thread). Honestly, I've always been more than happy with both the taste and the look of the cakes I've gotten there (though maybe I shouldn't get too carried away right before my own wedding 😬 ), and it's easily my favorite spot. As for the small pastries, I haven't made up my mind yet—I suspect Graber might be a little outside my budget. 😳
I'm going to go dig through your old posts about Topolovec now... 😘

I wasn't happy with them 👎 — as I mentioned, I'll admit the cake tasted fine BUT the decorations 👎 👎 — they were literally melting. On my neighbor's cake, they used pink tulle even though she explicitly asked for white or beige 😲

Robert Cook52 said:I wasn't happy with them 👎 — as I mentioned, I'll admit the cake tasted fine BUT the decorations 👎 👎 — they were literally melting. On my neighbor's cake, they used pink tulle even though she explicitly asked for white or beige 😲

I don't want to come off as rude, but I've noticed that this whole debate over which bakery to pick for the cake is starting to feel a lot like the stress I went through when picking out a restaurant. It just ends up making me (the fool, 🤣) get all worked up about it. So, I've decided that once I make a choice—meaning, once the deal is done—my own opinion is really all that matters, and I'm not going to let myself second-guess it anymore. If I end up making a mistake (and I probably won't know until it's all over), then so be it. Mistakes happen to everyone, and it’s not the end of the world. No one ever claimed everything had to be perfect—after all, it might snow tomorrow, and what then?

Anyway, I did catch the part where you mentioned earlier that you didn't think Graber was a good fit because of some bad experiences you had with them. But personally, I stop by there at least once a week, and I haven't had a single complaint (aside from being bummed they were closed for a bit after that fire about two years ago), so I honestly think Graber is a much better option than Luciana, Nautilus, or any of those other cake makers in Naperville. Because of that, the cake for my wedding will be coming from their shop.
That's my final word on it.😛
In any case, thanks for the heads-up...

I was simply sharing my own experiences. I hope that’s allowed, unless I've misunderstood the rules...?

Of course, I want you to be completely satisfied with them. Personally, I don't think you needed to react quite like that; one shouldn't walk away from something just because someone else had a bad run with it... there's always someone with a bad experience, myself included.

It’s not forbidden, and everything is fine... 😘
It’s just that I’m feeling a bit on edge right now—mostly because work has been a grind, plus all this legal headache involving the estate, and then there's the kid. On top of that, I’ve told you before, I went through something almost identical regarding a restaurant once...
Look, I didn't mean to come off as rude, but (sorry) I honestly couldn't even find the words to soften it this time...

😘 To you, I really didn't mean anything by it

Ronald Hill3 said:It’s not forbidden, and everything is fine... 😘
It’s just that I’m feeling a bit on edge right now—mostly because work has been a grind, plus all this legal headache involving the estate, and then there's the kid. On top of that, I’ve told you before, I went through something almost identical regarding a restaurant once...
Look, I didn't mean to come off as rude, but (sorry) I honestly couldn't even find the words to soften it this time...

😘 To you, I really didn't mean anything by it

I feel bad about the restaurant incident. I didn't mean anything by it and we're good on my end. 👍 We're all a little stressed, but I trust we'll all be happy with the outcome eventually. 🙂

Hang in there. 😘

Robert Cook52 said:I wasn't happy with them 👎 — as I mentioned, I'll admit the cake tasted fine BUT the decorations 👎 👎 — they were literally melting. On my neighbor's cake, they used pink tulle even though she explicitly asked for white or beige 😲

If the thing was melting, don't blame the pastry chef—blame the restaurant for failing to keep it in the fridge.😉

Anonymous said:Quick question—does anyone know where I can find some good croquant cakes around Chicago?

Hey there!

I actually ordered a cake from Jim's Bakery over in the Chicago area a few days ago. While I was flipping through their catalog, I spotted one with brittle on top and asked if they did custom orders for that—they said yes. They have a website here:
The bakery is located right by the parking garage in Chicago. Check them out... Good luck.🙂

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5331/slino1mi5.jpg

After weighing my options between massed fondant or buttercream, I finally decided to go with a whipped cream frosting.

I'm sending over an example of the cake's shape and how the wavy smoothing technique will look, though the decorations will be my own touch—a white cake featuring side stripes and daisy accents.
Since we're hosting about 150 guests, I'll need three large cakes: two hazelnut chocolate parfait layers and one stracciatella with chocolate chunks.

I already had a taste of them there, and they were honestly delicious.😘

Sam Kim12 said:If the thing was melting, don't blame the pastry chef—blame the restaurant for failing to keep it in the fridge.😉

That’s fair, though it was already "melting" the moment I picked it up from them—being a wedding cake, there was no turning back once it left their hands. Regardless, it doesn't matter now.🙂

Robert Cook52 said:That’s fair, though it was already "melting" the moment I picked it up from them—being a wedding cake, there was no turning back once it left their hands. Regardless, it doesn't matter now.🙂

😲 well, if that's the case, then things are looking pretty grim😘

We need some girls over on that non-relevant thread for single ladies🙂

Sweet! Glad you guys dig the cakes. Here's a few more. Got a ton more on my PC but it takes forever moving files on this total junker of a laptop. 😘
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9605/winterqf7.jpg
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/2...ke006bghq6.jpg
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3...ngcake1oy5.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/5...cake202gc3.jpg
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/2...heme20bue7.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/6...chantedva2.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3...sescakekt2.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/251/img0226ajl6.jpg

Hey, I’ve been scrolling through your feed and noticed you have an absolutely massive collection of photos featuring these huge, elaborate wedding cakes, which looks incredible, but it actually got me wondering if you might happen to have any shots of smaller, more intimate cakes? Like, maybe just one or two tiers? I’m planning this tiny, low-key wedding and I’m really leaning towards something more understated, and honestly, I haven't been able to find the exact style I'm dreaming of anywhere else online. So, if you do have some pictures of those smaller designs lying around and you wouldn't mind sharing them, I would be so incredibly grateful!😘