Wedding Planning|Wedding Planning & Wedding Advice

This is the first in a two part series about monogrammed items for weddings.

Today we feature wedding cake toppers in the monogram style.

How Do Monograms Work?

Here are some guidelines for how to create a monogram for you and your fiance(e). The bride and groom should decide what letters will make up their monogram, and it is proper etiquette for others to ask before having any gifts or wedding items monogrammed.

3 Letter Style

Traditionally the middle letter is the first letter of the groom’s last name. The letters go in the following order: first letter of wife’s first name, first letter of groom’s last name, first letter of groom’s first name. For example, if John Smith and Roberta Aster marry, their monogram would be RSJ.

1 Letter Style

The letter used here would be the shared last name of the married couple (if appropriate). For example, if John Smith and Roberta Aster marry, their monogram would be S.

topperswithglitz.com

4 Letter Style

This style works for blended last names (for example brides who will hyphenate their last names or just keep their original last name). For example, if John Smith and Roberta Aster marry, their monogram would be RSAJ (first letter bride’s first name, first letter bride’s last name, first letter groom’s last name, first letter groom’s first name).

2 Letter Style

This is another option for blended last names, where you just use the first letter of each last name (beginning with the bride’s last name). In the example above, this monogram would be S-A.

shopbakersnook.com

Ampersand Style

For a more contemporary and less formal look you might choose to use an ampersand (that’s the ‘and’ symbol). In this case, you use the first letter of both first names (example: Roberta and John turns into R&J)

Heart Style

Another fun look – connect the two first names with a heart (example:  Roberta hearts John)

beau-coup.com

Last Names – Other Guidelines

Last names that start with an apostrophe or Mc (examples: O’Reagan or McDonald) still use the very first letter (in these examples: “O” and “M”).

Simply Elegant

Here is the classic monogram style for a cake topper. This style will work well with an ornately decorated cake. It would also suit an overall simple, understated look too if that is what you’re aiming for.

weddingfavours.ca

Classy Glassy

This engraved glass cake topper becomes a keepsake for your china cabinet after the event.

stellarglass.com

Crystal Clear

A sophisticated version of the Swarovski crystal monogram cake topper, available in a highly polished gold or silver finish.

weddingaccessories.net

Or glam on the glitz with a glittery Swarovski version like the one below (available in all of the colors of the rainbow).

beau-coup.com

A topper with Swarovski accents is a nice look, too.

beau-coup.com

White Wedding

Another simple look that is surprisingly effective – white letters.

goodthingsweddingfavors.com

Modern Bride

These silver-tone metal toppers are perfect for the couples who are anything but old-fashioned.

stuartscreations.com

stuartscreations.com

I was recently in a candy store that had an old collection of PEZ dispensers on display and saw a PEZ version of a bride and groom, which I thought would make an excellent wedding cake topper for the couple with a sweet tooth.

Here is an example of a bride and groom PEZ couple.

Good luck getting this one on your cake, the original sells for about $3500 now according to an article at money.cnn.com.

You can get re-issues of this PEZ design – check ebay or pezcollectors.com – as of writing this article they both had a set available for around $20.00.

In fact an entire sweet theme, would be kind of – well, sweet.

Set up a candy station

You can select candies that match your wedding colors and let guests fill up their own goodie bags as tasty wedding favors!

Visit ohnuts.com for great tips for how to set up your own candy station.

ohnuts.com

Personalized Sweets

An Australian company will make you personalized candy (the candy below says Ben ‘hearts’ Renee).

sticky.com.au

Or use candy as the centerpieces for your tables instead of flowers

www.wanderfuls.com

Check out this candy wedding cake

The perfect foundation for a sweet wedding cake topper, from the very talented people at Cakelava. Check out their blog for a taste of all the great cakes they make!

Favor everyone with a kiss

Another wedding favor idea – a large Hershey’s Kiss at each place setting. At under 30 dollars for eighteen kisses, this is a very affordable wedding favor.

candywarehouse.com

Another option from Hershey’s…

wrappedhersheys.com

Gifts for the wedding party

Dylan’s Candy Bar has yummy jewelry at their online store. Here are just two examples to whet your appetite.

dylanscandybar.com

dylanscandybar.com

It all started with a previous post, “Fairy Tale Weddings Part 2” and this image of a wedding cake topper of a bride and groom on a tandem bike:

Since then, I’ve received so many questions about where to buy this tandem bicycle wedding cake topper! The problem is, while I found the image in a few different places online – no one had credited it with a source so I have no idea where you can buy one! I just tried again and still, no luck, but I did find some appealing alternatives:

Vintage Style

This bicycle built for two is handmade in France. It is only 2.5″ tall so may not be appropriate for all cakes (it would still make a great gift if the newlyweds are bicycle enthusiasts). You can purchase it online at fancyflours.com (based out of Montana).

fancyflours.com

Motorcycle

For motorcycle enthusiasts, a hand painted porcelain topper:

weddingdesigner.com

Personalized

You can order personalized figurines to top your cake from magicmud.com (based out of Toronto, Canada). These wedding cake toppers can include lots of details unique to the wedding couple, including pets.

magicmud.com

Happy Trails

For the mountain biking couple, you can buy this cake topper at ebay (for the next 23 days). If it’s not still there, contact the seller (maybe she has more?).

Built For Two, Just For You

I have also found an Etsy member who will build you a custom made tandem bicycle like the one below. You can contact her through her Etsy store.

qtiff at etsy

Inspiration

If you’d like to incorporate your love for pedals, spokes, and all things bicycle into your wedding – I have found some great examples during my search for the elusive wedding cake topper…

Go to “Handmade Weddings: A Last-Minute Article About My Last-Minute Wedding” for details about two Etsy employees who celebrate their wedding surrounded by friends, bicycles, and paper airplanes.

etsy.com

Or, read “A Handmade American Wedding” - writer Katie’s account of her sister’s wedding. The couple saved up all summer to buy a tandem bike as their wedding gift to each other – and used it to get from the church to the reception!

www.makingthishome.com

Related articles

• Unique Cake Topper Is The New Trend For Cakes Now | Cook Kit (cookkit.net)
• “Unveiling Weddings” Book Launches (myweddingideas.net)
• Amazing Theme Cakes (bizarrebytes.com)
• Getting Our Birds in a Row (weddingbee.com)
• Tips to Personalize Your Wedding (myweddingideas.net)

Last week, in the first part of our Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst series, we focused on The Bride. This week we focus on one of my favorite topics, food.

Part 2: FOOD

A good meal goes a long way to a great wedding!

Tips

1. Select a menu that your guests will enjoy – consider age range, lifestyle, etc.

2. Butter cream frosting and real whipped cream are tastier than their counterparts, but they do not have staying power. You can have your tasty cake and eat it , too, but make sure your venue will have room in the refrigerator and limit the display time before the cake cutting begins (particularly if the venue is warm – and most are…). While we’re on the topic of cakes – make sure your cake it out of harm’s way and on a stable surface.

3. Don’t miss out on the sample tasting your caterer offers – you want to make sure you like their recipes!

4. Use caterers, bakeries, and other vendors that have good reputations and staying power (they’ve been around for a long time or you know them personally and trust them). You only need one good relationship with a company that provides weddig services and then you can ask them to suggest other companies for everything you will need. You can also check online wedding forums for reviews or pay for a one-time consultation with a wedding planner and get recommendations.

Here’s a great example of why it is important to use a reputable business! A British online news service, The Bromley Times, reports that 29 weddings guests became ill after eating improperly cooked chicken and unpasteurized eggs at the reception. During the investigation, it was discovered that that the venue’s fridge was also malfunctioning. (Powell, Doug, “This is why we got married at city hall…”, Barflbog)

Sources, Additional Information, Great Articles:

Cohen, Gabriel, “Wedding-Food Disasters”, Gourmet

Shin, Jeanette, “Avoid Wedding Cake Disasters”, Food Editorials

Here are some of the funniest comments I’ve found from people about their real-life wedding disasters: Disaster Stories at Tressugar.com.

Related articles

• Tips On Wedding Planning That Might Be Overlooked (frommyexperience.com)
• Tips to Personalize Your Wedding (myweddingideas.net)
• Hiring a Wedding Planner (Coordinator) (myweddingideas.net)
• Tips for Choosing a Wedding Dress (myweddingideas.net)
• Get Married at the Winery This Valentine’s Weekend (lynfredwinery.blogspot.com)