All you need is…cake?

funny wedding photos - All You Need is Cake
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Wedinator put up this excellent example of a cake that was a lot of fun for the bakery – and is actually really cool – but will suck all of the energy and focus of any picture, (and any cake-cutting ceremony for that matter, and what couple wants the cake to outshine them)? If you’re going for a kitschy cake, embrace the Southern tradition of a Groom’s Cake: a cake that is generally a contrast in flavor to the wedding cake, and frequently (though not always*) created in a theme or shape related to the groom’s hobbies or interests. This could be a golf ball shaped cake, or a college pennant, even a car.  A nice cheesecake or flourless chocolate also works well if the groom has a passion for something that’s not represented in the wedding cake.  Even Prince William and Kate Middleton were inspired by the traditions of the Colonies, and had a groom’s cake at their recent wedding. Whatever it is, if it looks like a greeting card exploded all over it, keep it far away from your cake table.  Let the bride and groom be the main attraction – not the pastry.  Once the cute feeding each other part is done, and the photos are taken, cut that beauty up and let them eat cake!

*One of our brides, whose groom had a passion for chocolate chip cookies, arranged for platters of fresh baked cookies as a groom’s dessert.  He was thrilled – and they were spared the cost of an elaborate cake in the shape of a fishing boat.

R2-D2 Groom's Cake
Image by The Uncommon Cakery via Flickr

Posh in Purple? The Queen in a Yellow Hat? Would you put money on it?

Apparently all sectors of the British economy are being boosted by Royal wedding fever: even the bookies are raking it in. Will Prince William be forced to wait at the altar due to excessive train fluffing? Will Carole Middleton (mother of the bride) chew gum? Will Prince Harry be too drunk to finish his speech?  Weigh the likelihood and shell out accordingly.

Will and Kate, should Grandmum wear yellow?
Her Majesty in a yellow hat. Will she repeat for the Royal Wedding?
All bets are on for royal wedding wagers

By Julien Girault (AFP) – 2 days ago

LONDON — British bookmakers are having a field day taking bets on every aspect of the royal wedding, from the first dance to the Queen’s hat — and Prince Philip nodding off during the ceremony.

Betting shops, an institution on every British high street, regularly offer “specials” on politics and reality television programmes alongside the usual sporting staples of football and horse racing.

And major chains wasted no time offering a vast range of odds on the wedding once Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement in November.

“If it’s not exciting enough for viewers at home, we’re giving them the chance of an additional thrill on the big day,” Ladbrokes betting chain spokesman Alex Donohue told AFP.

“We’re definitely reaching new customers. Lots of women are coming this time to bet on the colour of the Queen’s hat and who is going to be there. There are many men as well who usually don’t bet.”

Betting on the Queen’s hat is a regular Ascot races punt. Yellow is the 5-4 favourite for the wedding. Elsewhere in the headwear stakes, punters reckon Middleton will wear a traditional tiara.

But it’s not just the royals being bet on.

Purple is the 4-1 favourite colour for pop star guest Victoria Beckham’s dress.

ok…really? Yep, I just re-read the excerpt and we really are betting on what an ex-Spice Girl is wearing. Someone on high had better save us all, not just the Queen!

to place your bets (in the UK that is)  http://betting.ladbrokes.com/en/royal-wedding-bets

Tulip Tragedy at the Royal Wedding! Off With Their Heads!

Woe is the fate of these poor tulips, casualties of Royal Wedding Fever.  This article from London’s Daily Mail makes me sad, and kind of irritated – read on to see how a gift of replacement flowers was rebuffed.  I think the gardening company involved should tell the Royal Gardeners to sod off.

Off with their heads! 28,000 wilting tulips to be cut down and not replaced

By George Arbuthnott

Blooming awful: The unusually hot weather has caused the tulips to start shedding petals early
Blooming awful: The unusually hot weather has caused the tulips to start shedding petals early

Thousands of red tulips planted in the gardens in front of Buckingham Palace and expected to bloom in time for the Royal Wedding will be cut down after wilting in the hot weather.

The 28,000 flowers were planted last October but have blossomed too early.

Now staff from Royal Parks – the organisation that maintains all of the capital’s most famous parks – plan to chop the heads off the drooping tulips before the wedding, and say they cannot afford to replace them because of recent Government cuts.

The sight of the decapitated flowers in the Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens could be a major embarrassment as the eyes of the world will be on the Palace on Friday.

Yet when two of Britain’s largest flower suppliers offered to donate 20,000 red geraniums to replace the tulips, they were turned down.

Royal Parks said geraniums were too small to be a like-for-like replacement for the tulips and would be dwarfed by the 29,000 other flowers already there.

Delamore, one of the biggest bedding-plant retailers in Britain, and Thompson & Morgan, which says it is the UK’s largest plant and seed company, made the offer.

They said they would split the £4,000 cost of the geraniums because they both hold Royal Charters and felt obliged to help Royal Parks out of its predicament.

Wayne Eadie, owner and director of Delamore, said: ‘It’s a great shame because we really wanted to help. It’s also a shame that cutbacks at Royal Parks mean it can’t do something about this situation itself.

‘We were hoping to inject red into the beds and therefore have the colour of the cross on the English flag greeting the Royal couple as they return from Westminster Abbey.’

The tulips were planted last October along with wallflowers in red and yellow, and blue forget-me-nots.

Unseasonably hot weather caused the tulips to bloom three weeks early, with the result that yesterday most of the petals’ colour was fading from deep crimson to dark purple. Some of the tulips had shed their petals entirely.

Gardeners' World: The Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens outside Buckingham Palace will be seen by millions on TVGardeners’ World: The Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens outside Buckingham Palace will be seen by millions on TV

The Royal Horticultural Society’s adviser, Guy Barter, said: ‘The problem with tulips is that they are a one-shot deal.

‘Once they come out, that is that. In this weather their bloom will last only a couple of days and it could take only a week for all of their petals to be shed.

‘Royal Parks has obviously given it its best shot, but even the best-laid plans can be thwarted by hot weather.’

Royal Parks, which is overseen by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, says its budget has been cut by 36 per cent this year.

A Royal Parks spokesman said: ‘The tulip blooms will indeed soon be over due to the unseasonably warm weather we are experiencing at present, and these will be removed before the end of the week. However, the tulips form only part of the bedding display.

‘Vibrant colour is provided by the 29,000 wallflowers and 4,000 forget-me-nots, all of which are expected to be in full bloom on the day.

‘The kind offer of geraniums is incredibly generous. However, the colour and cover provided by the existing display would surpass any new planting conducted at this time of the season.’

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.