25 Sep Beautiful Wedding Cake Displayed on a Swing
Thank you to Anita Kanellis of AK Brides for sharing this wonderful post about a recent wedding featuring a spectacular wedding cake displayed on a swing.
When bride Christina and I met to plan her wedding day, I knew this would be something very special. Not only because Christina is a precious girl, but because she was wanting to do things for her wedding that were not seen at every wedding. We were thinking way “outside the box” in every way possible, from food to flowers, design to cake and even how the entire day flowed. I knew instantly this was going to be a wedding remembered for years to come and was so excited to play a part in the planning process.
We started by forming the best team of wedding professional possible. A team I knew would be the right fit for Christina’s overall look and style and as her wedding planner, I worked off of my experience with these professionals and knowing just who to bring her to and not waste any time with the footwork and interviews.
Elements most important to Christina were the decor, style and overall “feel” of her wedding day. She wanted several “WOW” factors, things that other girls have not yet done but have only been seen by a few in magazines and online. Christina began showing me pictures of her ideas and colors and it was my job to figure out how to make this all work and who would be best suited to pull this off. We focused most of her budget on decor, design and emotion.
The genesis of the design was from pictures Christina consistently showed me of purples and lavenders, some tall and some low centerpieces, silvers used for vessels and vases and the lighting elements she was attracted to. With the help of an outstanding design team led by Andy Hopper of KG Designs and under the parent company of Kathy G & Company and owner Kathy Mezrano, we pulled ideas together and let the creativity emerge. We chose linens of a champagne and ivory twist and mixed both square estate tables with round tables to give the room more interest. Mahogany chiavari chairs were brought in to enhance elegance and even the cushions on the chairs had a damask ivory design.
Candles were abundant around the entire ballroom and with all the house lights off, we brought in our wonderful lighting designer Andy Tolar with Design Productions LLC to spotlight every guest table creating a very romantic and elegant look. We also had purple toned uplights around the room, abstract lighting on the walls and of course a spot light on our fabulous cake.
Of course the “show stopper” was this magnificent cake created by Jan O’Donnell of Cakes by Jan in Birmingham AL covered with buttercream icing, beautiful appliques over a white wedding and strawberry cake. Christina’s vision for her cake was from an image she showed me of a cake displayed on a swing hung from the ceiling. With our ballroom having a 30 foot ceiling and a few rules from the resort we had to respect, Andy Hopper of KG Designs came up with the idea of building a pergola around the cake and having the cake suspend from the top which was about 12 feet high. The pergola was made of iron and after several hours of worry (on my part) that the swing would not hold the weight of the cake, we decided to use 4 chains instead of 3 to hang the cake. The icing on the cake for each layer weigh approximately 40 lbs and with a six layer cake, I was a little concerned. Not to worry with the team we had working on this wedding however. Andy tested the swing with several men sitting on the stand and we were certain all would work. It did!
This cake swing was hanging from a 12 foot pergola with chains wrapped with a soft white fabric. The base is glass and is surrounded by the most beautiful flowers to not only make this display gorgeous but to also hide the mechanics of the swing. The actual cake sits atop a silver cake stand and was the subject of much debate as well, deciding which would look better, either the silver or a glass stand. The silver won in the end and looked fantastic! Guests gasped at the first sight of the cake and the swing and gasped some more at the beautiful florals, design and dance floor.
To read the rest of Anita’s post and watch the amazing same day edit video provided by Main Street Productions, check out Anita’s blog.
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