Much more than a sweet finale to the reception meal, wedding cakes are a major style statement. And trends in wedding cakes, like all other wedding details, evolve with the times. The wedding cake presents a perfect opportunity for creative brides to play with shape, color and embellishments. For those of you who need a little inspiration, consult this list of top trends for wedding cakes in 2009.

Back to Buttercream
Buttercream was once the traditional frosting for wedding cakes, but sleek cakes came into favor, and rolled fondant became the frosting of choice. Not any more – thanks to advanced tools and techniques that allow buttercream to look as smooth as fondant, cakes iced in buttercream are again the norm. We love this trend, since buttercream frosting tastes better, has natural ingredients, and costs less than fondant. Now you can literally have your stylishly sleek cake – and eat it too.

Chocolate Face
Brides have bucked the traditional white wedding cake for the last few years, but today´s brides are no longer hiding decadent chocolate behind a shield of white frosting for appearances sake. Dark chocolate is now front and center on the face of the cake, as chocolate or mocha cakes are appropriately decked in chocolate mousse or whipped chocolate frosting. The result is a full blown chocolate dessert that tastes as good as it looks.

Blue Rules
Shades of blue dominate the 2009 wedding décor palette, and your wedding cake is a perfect canvas to incorporate this hot shade. Consider a cake saturated in turquoise, periwinkle, or even navy, and embellish it with complimenting colors like silver, white, grey, lavender, or yellow.

Square Mini Cakes
Cupcake towers in lieu of wedding cakes have been around for awhile, but brides are making cupcakes interesting again by playing with shape and size. Brides are stacking square shaped mini-cakes (slightly larger than cupcakes) adorned with flowers or dressed as presents for a completely different take on the cupcake frenzy.

Think Pink
Pink – the perpetual hot color for weddings – had begun to fall out of favor as brides experimented with more non-traditional hues like browns, grays, orange, and even black. But pink is back in a big way, and brides are incorporating the hue into their wedding cakes. Pink instantly freshens-up classic white: Tone down an all pink cake with white floral or lace details, or dress up a white cake with pink embellishments.

Scripted Text
Wedding cakes adorned with calligraphy-style motifs and writing is one of the year´s hottest trends. Create an antiqued look with black writing on a white or ivory cake, and get creative with the text. Some options? Write a favorite poem or verse, your wedding vows, or words representative of your wedding theme – such as names of flowers for a garden wedding or types of shells at a beach wedding.

Groom´s Cakes
The old Southern tradition of the groom´s cake is shedding its regional trappings and growing in popularity throughout the nation. And no, it doesn´t have to be the iconic red velvet armadillo from “Steel Magnolias.” Today´s grooms cakes, now just as elaborate as the wedding cake itself, often reflect the groom´s interest in a dramatic and whimsical expression; a deer grooms cake for an avid hunter, shaped like a race car for an diehard Nascar fan, or decked with his favorite sports team logo.

Get even more wedding cakes ideas and trends in this complete wedding cakes guide.

Cori Russell is editor for Elegala.com and Gala Weddings Magazine. Elegala.com is a complete Weddings, Wedding Planning resource with a national directory of wedding venues and services, how-to guides, photo galleries, checklists, and expert advice to walk brides through every step of the wedding planning process.

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I’ll admit my bias up front: I love flowers. And not just any flowers, I love expensive flowers. Peonies, burgundy cymbidium orchids and mini calla lilies are among my favorites. When I was planning my own wedding, I tripled this area of my initial budget. Several brides share my love of flowers and that makes it all the more difficult to stay on budget. Even brides that do not share my extreme love for flowers want beautiful weddings, and your florist will play a huge role in that. As a general rule, flowers should account for 10-15% of your overall budget. Here are some tips to help to stay at or below that number while still having beautiful wedding flowers.

1. Do it Yourself

Yes, you can create your own wedding flowers. There are several online and local wholesalers where you can buy flowers in bulk for substantially less than what you would pay a florist. You should plan to receive your flowers 2-3 days prior to your wedding and have adequate space in your refrigerator to store them. If you are ordering too many flowers to fit into your fridge, air conditioning your home will suffice. Simple hand tied bouquets are relatively easy to create and you can gather bunches of flowers and place them in vases to create centerpieces. My advice with DIY flowers is to keep it simple! You are not a trained florist, so do not try to create more complicated arrangement that you find online or in magazines. Keep it simple. Also, a word of caution: if you are a perfectionist and want perfect arrangements, hire a florist. As a novice, you’re likely to make some mistakes and slight imperfections will exist. If that is not acceptable to you, it’s best to hire a professional. Also, it’s a good idea to do a test run before the real thing.

2. Use a delivery service

There are new delivery services, most notably Pro Flowers, which will arrange your wedding blooms and deliver them, already assembled, to your door 1-2 days before the wedding. They have several flower varieties and several packages to choose from at amazing prices. You will have to do a little work with this option. You should have vases prepared for the centerpieces and holder vases to hold your bouquets until the wedding. On the wedding day, you will have to designate someone to set up the arrangements. Several brides are nervous about this option because they worry that the flowers will not show up in time. Pro Flowers has a built in safety measure to prevent no shows. If your flowers do not arrive on the scheduled date, Pro Flowers has contracts with thousands of local florists that will assemble and personally deliver your flowers prior to the wedding.

3. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse

Slash hundreds from your florist bill by reusing arrangements throughout the day. Your ceremony altar arrangements can become a part of your reception décor, your bridesmaids bouquets can become centerpieces and your bouquet can become an arrangement for your sweetheart table. You can also ask your florist to reuse aisle arrangements from the ceremony as centerpieces during the reception. You may have to pay a slight labor fee for the arrangements to be moved and recast as centerpieces, but it will be much less than paying for both.

4. Stay in season

Different flowers are in season at different times of the year. If a flower is out of season, it does mean that you cannot have it, but it will be substantially more expensive. There are some flowers that are expensive all year round. These include mini calla lilies, tropical blooms and certain orchid varieties. Ask your florist about what flowers are in season for your wedding day and stick with those.

5. Cut back

Ask yourself what you really need and what you can do without. Do you really need pew bows? A pomander for the flower girl? An arrangement for the place card table? A floral cake topper? None of these things are necessary and can be replaced by other decorative items. Cut back on the excess and stick to the bare necessities.

Choosing the flowers is the fun bit of planning your wedding.

There are so many things to decide about when choosing your wedding flowers, including:

Choosing Your Bridal Bouquet Gent\’s Boutonnieres (buttonholes) Deciding on Your Flower Colors Flowers for the Ceremony Reception Wedding Flowers Centerpieces Artificial and Silk Flowers Tropical Wedding Flowers

A lot of the preparation of the flowers is done the day before and the morning of the wedding when the couple and their families are at their busiest and most stressed. Therefore unless the floral displays are very simple it is wise to have them professionally prepared by a wedding florist.

When deciding on a florist seek personal recommendations from friends and recently married acquaintances. If you are unable to decide, it is best to visit several and look at their displays. Most florists will allow you visit them at a time when they have prepared flowers for other weddings so that you can see the quality of their work. You should also try to select a florist who actually does wedding flowers for a living, not just run a florist shop. Remember it is is your special day, so find a florist who shows passion, love and commitment for what they do as this way you know you are more likely to be getting the best.

Make sure your florist can work within your budget. Decide how much you can afford, then ask your florist for suggestions within this amount. The price of wedding flowers depends on type and availability and the size of the bouquets and decorations. If you are on a tight budget, use flowers that will be in season at the time of your wedding. Or keep things simple: a hand-tied posy of roses looks stunning and is less expensive than an elaborate bouquet.

There are several classic shapes of bouquet and good florists should have a selection of photographs to demonstrate them. The florist should also be able to advise on which flowers match the chosen shape bearing in mind the colour scheme and seasonal availability.

The choice of your wedding bouquet depends of the style of your gown. Bouquets can range from the just-picked-from-the-garden look, to the tailored-stylised formal look. You should always get a sense of balance between your gown and your bouquet. A fresh-picked bouquet from the garden may look out of place with a very formal gown. The bouquet size should be proportion to the bride. Too large a bouquet would simply overpower the bride and clutter her elegant dress.

Buttonholes will match the bride\’s bouquet and blend with the dark lapels of the groom\’s wedding attire. Usually the groom, best man, ushers and fathers of the bride and groom should wear buttonholes although other important guests such as the grandparents may also wear them.

Corsages are normally larger than a buttonhole and can be made of the same or similar flowers as those in the bride\’s bouquet. The mothers of the bride and groom will wear corsages and so may the grandmothers and other important guests. Corsages can also be pinned to the lapel as with a buttonhole or alternatively worn on the wrist or attached to a handbag or purse.

Some reception venues such as hotels and restaurants often include wedding floral arrangements as part of their overall wedding service. Others may make a separate charge. A lot of venues will allow the couple to provide their own wedding flowers and floral decorations. The venue management should be consulted to arrange a convenient time to set up the displays which will not inconvenience the catering arrangements.

The wedding flower decorations usually consist of a large display just inside the entrance which is seen by guests as they enter the reception room, and arrangements on each of the tables for guests. The top table occupied by the newlyweds usually has a more ornate wedding flower arrangement. Large halls and marquees usually provide plain backgrounds and therefore wedding flower arrangements should be spectacular and large to catch the eye. Decorating with potted plants is a good idea as they can subsequently be used in the newlyweds new home.

Wedding Florist Marbella. Beautiful arrangements and bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids, buttonholes for the groom, vehicle and church decorations.

Wedding flowers are believed to play a very important role in the wedding reception decorations. These wedding flowers add that pinch of fragrance to the entire surroundings at the wedding venue. The best wedding flowers that are usually preferred are the spring wedding flowers.
Spring is the season which brings along with it a variety of beautiful flowers. Popular spring colors are lavenders, baby blues, soft greens and pale yellows. Tulips and daffodils are the most popular choices for spring. Tulips come in all possible colors and the Daffodils’ sunny colors blend with all color combinations. Wedding is a special occasion and you can make it even more special by using the best spring wedding flowers to decorate the wedding venue. The other exclusive spring wedding flowers are sweet peas, magnolias, lilies, primroses, daisies, roses (pale colors), strawberry (fruit and leaves), lily of the valley, iris, pansy and hyacinth. You can even use the flowers that are got from the decks of crabapple and dogwood. The spring wedding flowers are also provided by the apple, peach and orange trees. The spring wedding flowers can eventually add that feeling of the arrival of the blissful season.
Being mostly in demand, you may find the spring wedding flowers to be available at the very high prices. Make sure you buy them at the wholesale prices from the different online stores that provide you the facility of buying the spring wedding flowers of your choice at the most reasonable prices. The spring wedding flowers are believed to actually add that beauty and charm to your wedding decorations. The fragrance and beauty of the spring wedding flowers can truly be successful in making your wedding the most memorable one.

www.todichfloraldesign.co.uk – A <a href=”http://www.todichfloraldesign.co.uk/weddings/”>Wedding Florist</a> in London providing excellent services for <a href=”http://www.todichfloraldesign.co.uk/weddings/”>Wedding Flowers</a> and A <a href=”http://www.todichfloraldesign.co.uk/weddings/”>Wedding Decoration</a> in London.

Flowers are treasured for their ability to add romance and elegance to any space; yet, many brides on a budget believe it will be too expensive to create the memorable floral arrangements of their dreams. However, with a little creativity and willingness to try something new, you can easily purchase all of the flowers for your wedding for $200 to $500.

The most affordable route is to order your flowers wholesale through an online provider. The flowers are extra fresh and are shipped next-day from the grower to your front door. For peace of mind, it can be a good idea to place a small order prior to the wedding to ensure that the flowers are exactly what you want (color, size, etc.) and that they are shipped as expected. Consult our directory to find a flower provider with good recommendations. It is also a good opportunity to practice making bouquets, corsages, and table arrangements. There are many “how to” books available on floral arrangements in addition to the articles available on this site. Be sure to consider fillers, such as spray roses, for table arrangements. Depending on the size of your wedding, you will probably need a small team of friends to help you on the day of the wedding with making the various arrangements and transporting them to their appropriate locations. You will also need to carefully consider the types of flowers you choose and how well they will withstand various weather.

If taking responsibility for your wedding flowers terrifies you, or if you have always dreamt of an extravagant bouquet, look to your local florist to make your bridal party bouquets and corsages or even just the bridal bouquet. You can then rest easy knowing that all of the vital flowers are taken care of, and you only need to worry about miscellaneous arrangements. Keep in mind that certain venues will need less decorating, such as a unique church or outdoor garden, and have the potential to save time and money.

The bottom line when it comes to wedding flowers is that the bride is happy! If flowers are very important to you and finances allow, do not hesitate to use a florist. But if you like the idea of having more control over your flowers, want to save money, and are not afraid to do your floral arrangements yourself, then try using a wholesale grower. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Written by MacKenzie Wood, owner of D.I.Y Wedding Planner. Their website specializes in do-it-yourself wedding planning resources such as wedding budgeting tools, “how to” articles, and features a directory with reviews of wedding related businesses. For more information visit www.DIYWeddingPlanner.com.