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bride again
Tiers of Joy
{Some of Charlie’s beautiful creations.}
It’s not a secret that one of my biggest passions in life is art in every form. So when it came to our wedding cake, it was only natural for me to want to design it. I had the craziest idea that I would make our wedding cake until Mark got concerned that I may be biting off more than I can chew. I tried to argue but when he said to let Charlie take care of it, I was sold on the idea.
Chef Charlie V., owner and head chef of Charlee’s Restaurant, is a close friend of ours for many years with Mark having gone to school with him since high school. We love his food and you can often find us dining and hanging out at his restaurant. What sold me on the idea of Charlie making our cake was the thought of just how much I LOVE his cupcakes! He makes the meanest, the moistest base and pairs it with a light, fluffy and not-too-sweet icing. Not only is he a whiz with food, he’s also hard working, easy to get along with and an all-together good guy.
My cellulite icing and the cover-up
Unfortunately, Mark couldn’t make our appointment, so, equipped with ideas from our conversation the night before, my daughter and I met with Charlie at his restaurant one evening. Sitting down with Charlie and answering some of his questions proved to be such a difficult task. When he asked, “What is one thing that sums up your relationship with Mark” I couldn’t give him just one answer. Why? Our relationship can’t be symbolized by one thing because there isn’t just the one thing. For some couples it’s a sport, others it’s a place or team or animal but for us—it’s everything. Mark and I are complete opposites in so many ways that we enjoy different things and live really separate lives during the week. This duality made it really difficult for Charlie and I to come up with a concept. It also didn’t help that my answers were very ‘yin and yang.’ We wanted simple and traditional or completely off the wall and unique. We didn’t want feminine looking patterns, yet we wanted some form of abstract decorations. We wanted elegant yet fun. As frustrating as it was to use these things as inspiration to design a cake, this is exactly who we are.
After a long brainstorming session, Charlie came up with a great design that got me very excited. The concept will be “our journey” and will mix traditional shaped tiers with pops of fun and abstraction. So put simply it’ll be half-traditional, simple and subdued and half wild, crazy and fun loving. I love it! It completely captures who we are. As for what it will taste like, we decided to go with vanilla cake and fresh berries. We are so excited to see what he’s going to come up with!
The food at Charlee’s Restaurant, nestled in the heart of Elmwood, can be described as classic, contemporary, comfort food. So what’s next for this awesome Chef? He may open up another restaurant having either a more formal, elegant feel or he could go down the route of ethnic fusion. Who knows, he may just follow his passion for patisseries and open up a store filled with sweet confections. Whatever he does, we’re sure to follow because when Charlie is in the kitchen, you are guaranteed to leave full and satisfied and you can expect to be craving his next creation mid-week.
What inspired your wedding cake? Is there one thing that absolutely speaks of the two of you?
Thank goodness Mark changed my mind because my first attempt at a cake started off as a disaster complete with cellulite looking icing but I was still able to salvage it. It ended up looking great—Godson LOVED it—and it actually tasted quite yummy. But it was stressful—Mark was right! Good call Bey!
Tags: berries, blogger search, bride again, vanilla, wedding cake
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Aww! Tracy you’re so sweet! You know, I never really thought about it until you mentioned it – my dress is the same way.. LOL! So..next date has to be Charlee’s then ok? Luv ya babe!
What can I say Judith? I love you, Charlee’s food, cake & weddings & I’m uber excited to see what Charles comes up with for your wedding cake! I have no doubt that the concept will compliment you and Mark’s quirkiness with the mix of traditional & craziness! Just as your wedding dress ended up being a mix of the same things! Keep the awesome posts coming hon!
Caren: Isaiah did enjoy that cake didn’t he? It WAS deeee-lish! Last time we were there I enjoyed Charlie’s famous chicken fried chicken sandwich.. oh man! I had enough left overs for a late night snack. Great..now I want to go there…haha!
Can’t wait to see how the wedding cake turns out! I’m sure it will be fabulous, Charles is an excellent Chef. Hmm, haven’t been to Charlee’s in a while, might have to make a stop there soon!
ps. The Transformer cake you made for Isaiah was deee-lish!
Rodillo: Wow! Way to go giant! Can’t believe he helped design that, but I guess since he married you, I can see how he has an eye for beauty. Wow was that ever corny.. haha! I love it! It’s simple yet really elegant. The folded fondant is a really neat looking technique. Thanks for posting that except it made me want sweet stuff for breakfast :(. LOL!
Emily: Ok good – what I said made sense! LOL! I was afraid to be wrong..hehe.
OMG!! Daleks in the Tardis… I don’t think it’s ever happened before… LOL I love that you did research!! I do actually have a Tardis piggy bank sitting in the kitchen…. hahaha :D
Oh la la! Can’t wait to see what your cake will look like! Believe it or not my husband ended up taking the lead on our cake design. We met with our ‘cake artist’ I originally wanted something very simple (2 tiers, fondant icing with a ribbon at the base of each layer – hope that makes sense). Instead, we end up with this: http://www.adventuresofma.com/2010/05/sugar-fix/
His design was much better than what I had in mind ;)
Jennifer: To not just pull off your sister’s cake but to also agree to doing your brother’s? I give you so much respect for that! Best of luck in doing his cake!
Thank you. Amazingly enough, I’ve agreed to make my brother’s wedding cake when he gets married in 2012! But I am looking forward to it. I’d love to send you some pics! Can’t wait to see the posts of your finished cake!
Jennifer: You MADE your sister’s cake? Now I HAVE to see your creation! I can’t imagine that it would be easy and now reading your experience, I’m glad I listened to Mark :). Your cake not only sounds delish (I love raspberries), it sounds like it’ll be gorgeous (I also really like cherry blossoms). Thank you for the comment Jennifer and I wish I could see the finished product.
Emily: I’m so excited to see EXACTLY what he comes up with because I KNOW it’ll be insanely unique. Your cupcake looks so scrumptious and really matches your theme – great pick! Ok I did some QUICK research – wouldn’t it be great if instead of a giant cupcake, why not a single tier cake that looks like an open Tardis and have your Dalek bride and groom in it? It can symbolize the transport of you and David into “marriage-hood”. How’s THAT for research ;)?
(Did ANY of that make sense? LOL! I tried.. haha)
Wow. I think your cake is going to look amazing, and very interesting. I had given it thought to bake my own wedding cake too. I’d had previous experience as I had made a 3 tiered cake for my sister as my wedding gift to her when she got married almost two years ago, which I enjoyed doing. It turned out beautifully and I received many compliments on it. But then I started remembering the long hours I put into it, the 3 nights of staying up til 3 am to make sure the taste, and all the details on the cake were perfect, and then the harrowing ride to the reception location where I had a panic attack everytime we hit a bump, lol. I decided that the saner route would be to hire a bakery to make my cake. So ours will be kind of a fusion of east meets west. Kinda like us I suppose. Lemon raspberry truffle cake decorated with red fondant and small gold coloured cherry blossoms. Good luck with yours!
Oh gosh I’m so glad you found someone to make your cake! I love to bake too… and decorate… but I know I’d stress myself out if I gave myself the responsibility of making the wedding cake. Plus it definitely wouldn’t come out looking good lol :) I’m excited to see pics of your cake – it sounds so unique and creative! We’re having a cupcake tower, with cupcakes that look like this:
http://www.inspiredbride.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/glorious3.jpg
And they’re making a “giant cupcake” for the top where we can have our Dalek bride and groom! :)