Imagine spending $5000 for a wedding cake! Not many New Jersey brides would spend that much on their wedding cake. One Texas bride had a long time fantasy of having a doll modeled after her. (Wouldn’t an American Doll be a lot less expensive?) To celebrate the renewing of her vows after 10 years of marriage, her husband agreed to her having a life-sized cake make to her likeness. Chidi Ogbuta of Allen, Texas, worked along with two designers to create a wedding cake that looked just like her.
It took about 5 weeks to complete the wedding cake and after serving it to their 500 guests at the September, 2007 wedding, it took about 1 week to finish the leftovers off with the help of friends. Are you wondering if they saved the head for their first anniversary? Imagine going down to the basement late at night to get a pizza out of the freezer and have a head peering out at you? Well, not to fear, the body was the butterscotch cake and the head and arms were made from polymer clay.
How did she accomplish this amazing cake? The bride hired a pastry chef to make the cake, except for the face which was made by another who created a mold of her face. The bride was able to put the two together to create her dream wedding cake.
NJ Brides’ Opinions on This Wedding Cake
What is your opinion on this cake? Comments on the web have ranged from “tacky and weird” to “fun and fantastic”. Other comments received were “conceited”, “cool”, and “upsetting the tradition”. I believe wedding cakes are personal and often reflect the style or special moment shared between the bride and groom. If you want a unique, personalized, and fun NJ wedding cake, why not have it in the form of the groom’s cake? That way you can have the pleasure of both a fun cake and an elegant one, too.
Your Unique NJ Wedding Cake Design
What design do you have for your dream NJ wedding cake? One bride and groom chose a cake in the image of their honeymoon luggage, personalized with their monogram. Another couple hopes to find a pastry chef who will be able to replicate a sandcastle surrounded by seashells.
New Jersey Wedding Cake Vendors
Wildflowers is a New Jersey wedding cake vendor, located in Bridgeton, NJ. The wedding cake vendor designs attractive and unique wedding cakes for your special NJ wedding day. Visit their site to get a “taste” of their designs.
These beautiful and unique wedding cakes are two of the many designs by Cake Specialty and Pastry Shop in Hawthorne, NJ. Visit their site for a “taste” of their unique NJ wedding cakes.
Right now you are madly in love, you can’t be with each other enough…you count the time until you will be together again. Your engagement is exciting with all the NJ wedding plans, gifts, and attention. But it can be stressful, too, because now you are starting your life together, combining two lives into one. It is during the stressful times that we learn more about our partners and what they really value in themselves and life.
The following poem, The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, addresses those personal values that keep a couple together through a lifetime relationship of marriage.
The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true,
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.
The wedding ring is a ring that binds two hearts together in an eternal promise to love each other forever.
The circle has always had significance from ancient cultures to the present as a symbol of wholeness and perfection. Its endlessness is the perfect symbol of oneness and unity - no beginning, no end. The following wedding poem tells of the legend of the wedding ring.
In a far off country many centuries ago,
A kind young king was married
to a princess he loved.
Together they lived happily
Until they learned one day
that duties were to force
The king to journey far away.
One night, before he left,
He tossed some pebbles into a moonlit pool
On the palace grounds
As he sat thinking of his lovely Queen.
Something wonderful occurred to him
As the lovely ripples widened,
From where the little pebbles had fallen.
The next day,
Remembering the glistening circles he had seen,
He had a gold ring made
To fit the finger of his Queen.
“There is no ending or beginning
To the circle of this band”,
The King said as he slipped it on her finger,
“And that is why I have chosen this golden ring
To be a pledge to you -
My love will last through all eternity.”
And so, since that time,
A golden ring has been a symbol
Of the beauty of devotion
And the beauty of the endlessness of love.
~Author Unknown~
The habit of wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is based upon a Grecian fable that the artery from that finger, which was believed to be the vena amoris - also known as the vein of love - ran from that finger directly to the heart.
Upon presenting the wedding ring to your groom or bride, lines from the Legend of the Wedding Ring are a romantic way of making the moment even more meaningful:
“There is no ending or beginning
To the circle of this band,
And that is why I have chosen this golden ring
To be a pledge to you -
My love will last through all eternity.”
How should your groom dress for your NJ beach wedding so he won’t literally overheat and be able to look stylish standing next to you, his beautiful, sexy bride? First of all, you must decide on your beach wedding dress. The level of formality, or informality, you choose for your wedding dress will greatly influence your groom’s attire. (And guys, you know your bride will have something to say about what you will wear!) Since a New Jersey beach wedding is an informal setting, it is most likely that your groom will not be wearing a tux…so what is he to wear?
NewJerseyWeddingVendors.com has put together suggestions for your groom to help you decide the style you want for his New Jersey beach wedding attire:
white Guayabera* shirt, black embroidery optional, with black Bermuda shorts or slacks
black Guayabera shirt, white embroidery optional, and white linen pants
linen white or off-white shirt with tan, black, or matching color pants
tan linen suit, tropical color shirt, coordinating tie optional
light weight wool suit, white shirt, coordinating tie
seersucker suit with light blue stripes, white shirt, tie optional
ivory suit, white shirt, black tie
Coordinating ties, long rolled up sleeves, shirt out, and rolled up pant legs are optional for the following:
white shirt, khaki or navy slacks
light blue shirt, khaki or navy slacks
white shirt, white slacks or black shirt, black slacks
NewJerseyWeddingVendors.com has put together a collage of some of the above groom’s wedding attire suggestions to help you visualize and choose your man’s NJ beach wedding style.
And for the very casual groom, there is always the LBI hoody for a spring or fall NJ beach wedding.
*The Guayabera (it’s gwy-ah-BEAR-ah) shirt is also known as the Mexican wedding shirt because it is often used as traditional dress in weddings. The long sleeved version, with French cuffs, is frequently worn instead of a tuxedo at other formal functions. (see bottom right picture above) The Guayabera shirt can be found in 100% Irish or Chinese Linen, cotton, and poly-cotton. A true guayabera has four pockets, two pleats in front, three in the back and 27 buttons, which in the old days were mother-of-pearl. Some designers replace the pleats with embroidery in matching or contrasting colors. The buttons on the side vents must always be left undone, for ease of movement. The origin of the shirt is unknown, but it is truly a tropical dress shirt perfect for NJ beach weddings. NewJerseyWeddingVendors.com suggests you shop around - they come in all prices from $35 and up.
While shopping for your New Jersey beach wedding, NewJerseyWeddingVendors.com recommends you think carefully about the setting where you will be holding your NJ wedding ceremony and your NJ wedding reception. New Jersey wedding dress vendors recommend that you stay away from the formal style. A beach wedding just isn’t a formal setting…a formal, heavily adorned wedding gown just doesn’t match. Keep in mind, you want to be comfortable, gorgeous, and gracefully feminine all at the same time - not tripping or sinking in the sand.
1. The Don’ts
Don’t choose a fabric that will:
catch the sand, such as an organza
cling to your body, preventing air to circulate and hold in the heat
wilt with the humidity and salt air
raise up in the air if a strong breeze comes along (more…)
The possibilities are endless for alternative wedding locations. Here is an idea that was recently submitted to NewJerseyWeddingVendors.com: Hot Air Ballooning!
NJ Wedding Ceremony in a Hot Air Balloon
Float off into the New Jersey sunset with your officiant, exchanging vows in midflight and then landing in a NJ field or local winery where all the guests await with champagne glasses in hand and a five-star menu, catered by one of New Jersey’s finest culinary vendors, waiting for everyone under a tent.
If you want to catch an early flight to start your honeymoon, you could hold an early morning ceremony followed by a champagne breakfast. When it’s time to leave, have a hot air balloon take you two away. (more…)
Have you been to the New Jersey bridal shows to look for your Mother of the Bride or Groom wedding dress? Did the “mother” models have full-figures or were they the usual single-digit wedding sample dress size? You want to look exquisite on your son’s or daughter’s NJ wedding day. But it can be discouraging when you fall in love with THE dress, and after you try it on at the NJ bridal shop - you find it wasn’t made with your figure in mind.
Back in the day, the wedding dresses for mothers of the bride and groom were more tailored and modest. Luckily, present day fashion allows for mothers of the bride and groom to be attired as stylish as the bride and her bridesmaids. But, what are you to do if you aren’t the same size as the slim waisted models you see in the fashion magazines and on the runway at the NJ bridal shows? What may look great on them, might not look so great on you.
Knowing what styles to look for ahead of time before you visit the many New Jersey bridal shops, may save you time and heartache. Knowing what will look the best on your full-figure, will help you find THE dress that will bring compliments to you on your son’s or daughter’s glorious New Jersey wedding day.
NewJerseyWeddingVendors.com has compiled a list of 10 tips on how to choose the best mother of the bride or groom dress style for your full-figure:
Dress monochromatically and avoid patterns or even lace that will break up the line of the dress. (more…)
Planning a NJ beach wedding? The short video below is of a beautiful, summer day wedding on a New Jersey beach in Bay Head. The wedding party arrives in style on an old fashioned beach Trolley. The bridesmaids’ dresses match the groomsmen’s shirts in a pastel blue tropical floral print. The bride and groom are both dressed in white.
A bit of advice for brides choosing their veil for a beach wedding, remember there is usually a good chance that there will be a soft breeze or perhaps stronger. What may look lovely in the dressing room, may turnout to be a disaster once you walk onto the beach. Lovely, exotic flowers placed attractively in a wind resistant hairstyle will work with your NJ beach theme and continue to look attractive during your New Jersey beach wedding day.
Before your New Jersey beach wedding, hold your rehearsal dinner at this Bay Head seashore Victorian inn:
The Bentley Inn
After your New Jersey beach wedding, hold your reception at this Bay Head Victorian landmark:
To think about choosing which wedding dress for your NJ shore, historical, country club, or ballroom wedding reception among the many, many wedding dress choices offered by NJ bridal vendors, can be overwhelming. There are steps you can take before you do the acutal shopping for your NJ wedding dress.
Take a good look at yourself in a full length mirror. What are your assets…what are not? What would you want to accent? What would you want to camouflage?
Now think about your evening dress wardrobe. Which styles have been the most fattering for your figure? What were you wearing when you received flattering compliments?
Look through the many wedding gown catalogs and online bridal attire websites with your maid of honor and others you trust. Ask their opinions on which wedding dress styles they think would look the best on you.
Take into consideration the season you will marry in. What would be the warmest and coldest temperatures…what style would feel the most comfortable under those conditions?
Speaking of comfort, remember to raise your arms as if you were dancing close with your new husband. Make sure there is enough room and that your dress, if strapless, won’t slip down.
Ask recent brides to recommend New Jersey wedding dress vendors that are known for their expertise in helping brides find the perfect style and dependable quality of service. The sales associates should have an extensive understanding of figure types and which styles look the best.
If you feel you need professional advice to achieve the look you imagine for yourself, hire a professional image consultant.
Your goal is to look exquisite in your wedding dress…to turn everyone’s head…especially the groom’s. (more…)
Imagine spending $5000 for a wedding cake! Not many New Jersey brides would spend that much on their wedding cake. One Texas bride had a long time fantasy of having a doll modeled after her. (Wouldn’t an American Doll be a lot less expensive?) To celebrate the renewing of her vows after 10 years of marriage, her husband agreed to her having a life-sized cake make to her likeness. Chidi Ogbuta of Allen, Texas, worked along with two designers to create a wedding cake that looked just like her.
What design do you have for your dream NJ wedding cake? One bride and groom chose a cake in the image of their honeymoon luggage, personalized with their monogram. Another couple hopes to find a pastry chef who will be able to replicate a sandcastle surrounded by seashells.
Knowing what styles to look for ahead of time before you visit the many New Jersey bridal shops, may save you time and heartache. Knowing what will look the best on your full-figure, will help you find THE dress that will bring compliments to you on your son’s or daughter’s glorious New Jersey wedding day. 
Take a good look at yourself in a full length mirror. What are your assets…what are not? What would you want to accent? What would you want to camouflage?