Taking the Cake
What wedding cake trends are hitting the sweet spot? Talented bakers fill us in on their customers’ top requests
By Sara Perez Webber
A wedding cake must serve two purposes. It has to look good—the cake takes center stage for at least part of the reception, after all, and shows up in wedding albums for generations to come; and taste good, as an eagerly awaited sweet treat to cap off a good meal.
These days, the cake also increasingly reflects the style and personalities of the couple getting married.
So what types of cake are brides and grooms choosing to serve their guests?
We asked some talented bakers and cake artists to fill us in on the trends. Continue reading »
From Seeds to Celebration
By Sara Perez Webber
When Betsy Nicholas was planning her wedding to Jason Hough, she knew she wanted the reception to reflect her life’s work. Nicholas is the executive director of Waterkeepers Chesapeake, a coalition of nonprofit organizations that works to protect the waters of the Chesapeake region from pollution, as well as the founder of Fair Farms Maryland, a group that works toward a sustainable food system.
“Since healthy food and sustainable practices are such an important part of my life and my career, I felt that they should also be part of my wedding and sought to work with like-minded vendors,” she says.
So Nicholas contacted College Park, Md.-based Catering By Seasons, the full-service catering arm of La Prima Food Group, a company she knew through Fair Farms Maryland. “I was contacted back by the owner, Dave Evans, with an enthusiastic response,” says Nicholas. “He expressed his strong commitment to the values we share in using farming as a way to nourish the body, land and waterways. He provided the inspiration to have the food grown specifically for the wedding at local Maryland farms, and I loved the idea.” Continue reading »
Insider’s Insight: Marketing to Millennials
By Lauren Randolph
Are you aware that, according to global wedding market research firm Splendid Insights, 90 percent of marriages these days are between millennial couples? No matter what part of the wedding industry you are involved in, you are surrounded by millennials every day.
Millennials so far outnumber Gen Xers and Baby Boomers that if you are not focusing how you sell, market and promote your business specifically to millennials, you may be missing out on a huge chunk of business.