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Every bride should feel like a Princess on her big day!  And if you are a bride that wants the full-on royal treatment, then you are likely going with a fairytale or Cinderella themed wedding.   If you’ve found your Prince Charming, then a “Happily Ever After” or “Dreams Do Come True” wedding where your dressed in a voluminous white ball gown and you arrive at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage may be the vision you have for an ideal wedding.  Of course, no fairytale wedding is complete without the castle so why not incorporate that component directly into the wedding cake.  You can make it the focal point of the reception.  Below you’ll find some of my favorite castle themed cakes from Flickr.

These AMAZING cake creations definitely take the castle theme to the fantasy level!  Many of these cakes likely were constructed over a few days as fondant was rolled and faux bricks were made with a rolling tool. Castle towers can be sculpted from things like rice krispie treats wrapped around pipes or they can be made from non-edible components that are just wrapped in fondant.  Prince charming and princess figurines can be constructed from marzipan, fondant or even modeling chocolate.  

The intricate details of these cakes can make them quite expensive.  That said, a more affordable option would be for the designer to create an elegant tiered cake fit for a princess and then use a beautiful fairytale castle cake topper like the one shown to the right from Wedding Favors Unlimited.  The glazed porcelain castle makes a great wedding day keepsake and it says “And They Lived Happily Ever After” along the base.

And don’t forget to use a castle themed cake serving set and guest book.  You can get a fully coordinated fairytale castle bridal set that includes the toasting flutes, cake server, guest book and pen set from Wedding Favors Unlimited as well.

In three weeks, I’m changing my name. I’m going to work hard to walk without tripping over my yards of muslin, recite my favourite love poem from memory, and agree to be taken care of and take care of my boyfriend. In three weeks, my life is going to change. It’s an exciting prospect, but right now, my head is crammed with lists, seating charts, menus and a missing band. In short, I am a textbook case of a bride-to-be.

My fiancé and I wanted a romantic summer wedding and are trying to pull it off with just six months of planning. It shouldn’t be exceptionally challenging, but we’re both media professionals with erratic work hours. We do have an arsenal of family members to help us along, but last night, as our band cancelled, our menu changed (for the sixteenth time) and our guest list threatened to expand even more, we realised that sometimes even help in numbers isn’t necessarily a good thing. In an unexpected gesture of good faith, and hoping the resulting karma will bring us a swing band in time for the big day, I’ve decided to list the ten great ways this wedding has come together. Perhaps it will help a bride tomorrow, and hopefully by the time I finish, the menu will have finally been fixed.

When it comes to a nautical themed wedding, I personally envision a stylish east coast preppy wedding.  Think the Kennedy’s sailing on their yacht near Hyannisport on Cape Cod.  The nautical motif usually incorporates things like sailboats, lighthouses, Adirondack chairs, anchors, and beach items such as starfish and sand dollars.  And when it comes to the color scheme, think blue, green and white with a hint of khaki mixed in here and there.   With all that in mind, I set out on a quest to find some of my favorite nautical themed cakes at Flickr.  You can see a collage of my favorites below:

As you can see from all the photos above, I generally prefer a white fondant or buttercream base for the cake color.  That way, the designer can easily incorporate a wide range of blue hues into the color scheme.  I especially like a navy and red or navy and light blue striped pattern around at least one of the layers.   The middle cake is also one of my very favorites as I love the nautical roping that encircles the cake tiers.  For the wedding cake topper, I prefer either a lovely sailboat or even a pair of white Adirondack chairs.

As always, I recommend finding some photos online of nautical themed cakes that you like and bring those to the bakery with you to show the designer.  Don’t forget to interview a few bakers and taste lots of cake because you deserve only the best on your big day!

Updated: July 30, 2010

Want to have a glamorous hollywood style wedding with someone else footing the bill? Here is your opportunity!  WeddingChannel.com and Us Weekly have launched their 3rd annual dream wedding contest.   Top A-list wedding experts will help the winning couple plan their entire wedding along with WeddingChannel.com.  Then the winner will be profiled in Us Weekly magazine with all kinds of photographs and of course all the wedding details.  This is a huge contest with millions of votes cast each year so get on the bandwagon and submit your contest application today!

Here are the details:

Today to July 29: Enter the contest at www.usmagazine.com/wedding

Today to August 3: Enter the contest at www.usmagazine.com/wedding

August 6 to August 13: 10 couples will be announced online, and America votes for their favorite couple

August 17 to October: The Dream Wedding winning couple is announced online and the wedding planning begins!

Don’t forget to let all your engaged friends know about the contest too!

Bright vivid colors are a staple in a traditional Indian wedding and this inspiration board shows how you can mesh all those colors together to obtain a picture perfect day (or the traditional week for that matter). 

Beautiful and elegant are words often used to describe an Indian wedding, but understated is not a word that comes to mind for the function.  The red and gold traditional color palette is often complimented by other hues such as orange, purple, yellow and more.  The above photo montage is based on the Pantone color swatches in Claret, Sunrise, and Merlot.  If you want to use this color scheme for your wedding, you should consider picking up the Pantone color or fabric swatches at Dessy.com.  That way you can carry them with you when you are on the hunt for matching bridal party attire, reception decor, and wedding accessories.  Finally, for detailed ideas on cakes and decorations for an Indian wedding, visit our Indian themed wedding ideas page.

Indian Summer photos courtesy of mmm384

Whether you are planning an actual wedding reception in Las Vegas or you’ve just eloped and are having a big party back home, this collage has lots of fun ideas for incorporating the theme into your wedding cake.   Personally I associate Vegas with fun so all of these cakes are a bit whimsical.  If you are more of a traditional bride, rest assured that you can find elegant, upscale cakes for a Vegas wedding as well.

Some fun decorations for a Vegas themed cake are the classic “Welcome To Las Vegas” sign, dice made from red or black fondant with white dots, playing cards (spade, heart, club, and diamond shapes), roulette wheels, and slot machines with lucky number 7’s displayed or coins spilling down the side of the cake.  Another really fun idea for a Vegas themed cake is to use round tiers with each layer decorated as a different colored casino chip.  You can customize the “chips” with the bride and groom’s names in place of the normal Casino name usually written on real gaming chips. 

I always recommend finding a great local baker to make your wedding cake so if you are getting married in Vegas, but don’t live in that area, contact a few popular Vegas bakeries like Freed’s Bakery or do a search on google for other cake bakers in Las Vegas.  In any case, you should ask them to send you cake samples.  You should ALWAYS taste your wedding cake flavor before you purchase it so that you don’t end up disappointed on your big day.  There is nothing more dissappointing than having a cake that looks great, but tastes terrible.  If you are planning the reception for your own town, you should follow the same advice.  Take photos of some Vegas cake designs that you like along to your cake bakery appointment so that the designer has a good idea about your preferences.  And be sure to set up a cake tasting appointment to so that you can find the perfect cake for you and your guests.

Whether you are planning a wedding in the big sky country of Montana or in the shadow of the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee, look to this mood board for some true rustic country inspiration. Whether you choose an outdoor ranch with a large meadow or the interior of a local barn as your venue, you can utilize any of the ideas shown in the following board.

Every country boy knows that you can’t leave home without a pair of Wrangler blue jeans so having the groom in a pair of these jeans with his cowboy boots and hat is a no brainer.  Many country brides choose to wear their boots and hat as well (although some also go for a casual hair-do for the ceremony and switch to the hat for the reception).  If you are having your wedding in an open meadow, then the groom arriving on a horse like Prince Charming is a fun addition to the ceremony.  Denim dresses and corduroy blazers are casual options for the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Create a casual inviting atmosphere at your reception by utilizing hand-made quilts like the one shown in the upper left to cover the benches or haybales (you can do this at the ceremony as well).  White-washed picnic tables set in a long rows are a great way to set-up a casual reception area.  Utilizing glass canning jars for the table centerpieces can also be fun….just fill them with a small simple arrangement of local wildflowers.  Big jars of iced tea (sugar and no sugar) are always a big hit with Southerners.  Finally, although this isn’t shown in the board, I love the idea of using a “Wishing Tree” constructed from twigs with leaf-shaped wish cards rather than a traditional guest book at country style weddings. 

Photo Credit: Big Sky Wedding by Angelise07

Yee-haw!  Get ready for an old-fashioned rustic country wedding.  If your vision for the perfect wedding includes an entrance on horses galloping across a hayfield, centerpieces constructed of galvanized pails filled with wildflowers, or a barn reception complete with hay bales, then these charming country western styled wedding cakes will be right up your alley! Photo below is from Flickr.

Above you’ll see some of my favorite country themed wedding cakes from Flickr.  Creativity abounds on these cakes that would be a welcome addition to any western style event.  When it comes to the wedding cake, you can choose to have a tiered design like most of those shown above or you can go with a shaped cake such as a cowboy hat, a covered wagon or even a pair of cowboy boots.  Bakers have all kinds of tricks for incorporating a western theme into the tiers such as hay bales made using toasted coconut, red and white gingham, plastic or molded chocolate horseshoes, plus fence, rope, and raffia ribbon.   Country western figurines and cake toppers can add the finishing touch to the top tier of a rustic wedding cake.  Here are a couple of fun wedding cake toppers that I found online.  The first topper depicts a bride in her cowboy boots having a rootin’ tootin’ good time dancing with her groom who is also wearing cowboy boots and also a cowboy hat.  The second cake topper features wooden lucky horseshoe along with a white and black cowboy hat that sit atop a base covered in white organza ribbon.  What a great way to finish off a Western Themed Wedding Cake!

The Knot has officially helped 20 million brides plan their wedding. To celebrate the momentous milestone, they are giving brides the chance to have their wedding featured on the Knot website and in their wedding magazine.

To enter, you must join the Knot and then visit their forum where you need to post a message outlining why you deserve to be featured on the website or in the magazine. Knot editors will pick their favorite 20 entries and the public will then vote to choose the contest winner.

The winning couple will receive of $1500 worth of wedding goodies including front-row seats at Wedding Fashion Week, the chance to meet celebrities at the Knot’s Annual Party, an appointment to for a free dress fitting, spa treatments, and a private Knot fashion photographer photo shoot.

Enter by July 21st for your chance to win!

How about a little Independence Day inspiration? I ran across this amazing polka dot red and teal blue inspiration board at Dessy.com and fell in love with it. Of course, I thought the color scheme would be the perfect thing to share with our readers on the Fourth of July….seems appropriate, don’t you think?

Heather from All The Rave Events chose the items for this board perfectly in my humble opinion.  The polka-dot covered wedding dress, red satin shoes, and the teal blue bridesmaid dresses with the red sash are sure to make a bold statement at the ceremony.  And the red and white polka dot covered wedding invitations are a lovely way to introduce your theme and style to wedding guests.  I always love when brides use the invites to give the guests a little taste of things to come.  Of course, no reception for a red and teal blue wedding would be complete without a signature blue wedding cocktail that is topped off with a bright red maraschino cherry.  Both of the photos on the upper right side of the board showcase amazing ideas for setting your reception tables. Be sure not to forget some polka dot red and white or even teal blue favor boxes that are filled with your favorite candies like red and teal blue personalized M&M’s or Jordan almonds.  And last, but not least, give your bridal party some thank you gifts that also fit with the theme.  The red polka dot and teal blue tote bags are the perfect way to say thank you to your bridesmaids. 

I just LOVE everything about this board and this color scheme.  Yes – it is bold, but hey, if you want to break from tradition, I can’t think of anything better than a bright, fun, and cheery color scheme!  What do you think?