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Black and white allows you to easily match other decorations and accents throughout the celebration. This cake can look many things, depending on how it is designed, including elegant, modern, sophisticated and stunning.

White wedding cakes are the traditional choice, but for brides who just want to spice it up a little, black can be very stunning. For those brides who still want it mostly white they can have slight accents of black such as adding dots or swirls to the cake, but leaving it mostly white.

Many brides and grooms choose to evenly distribute the black and white on their wedding cake. One way to do this is to alternate the color of each tier of the cake.

Other popular trends for black and white wedding cakes include having designs or patterns on the cakes. As mentioned before this can be quite simple such as dots (polka dotted themes are always popular) to stripes, lines, and swirls. Hearts and other geometric objects are also quite popular. Sometimes you will see other designs such as intricate leaves, flowers, ribbons or even a specific picture painted on the cake.

If you want a black and white cake but are still looking for a touch of color, that can be done too. You might decide to use flower petals either directly on your cake or artfully positioned on the cake table. If you like the idea of color but you don't want flowers, you can ask your baker to see samples of where they blended in small amounts of color into the cake design.

If you do decide to go with a black and white wedding cake, you are going to want to make sure that the cake topper and any other cake decorations you choose go with the rest of the look you have created. Many people would tend to stay away from a topper or cake jewelry which is overly colorful, as it might clash with the actual cake.

The black and white wedding cake is a popular choice among brides and grooms in all types of weddings. If you do decide this is the color scheme for you, make sure it matches the rest of your day, including your color schemes and decor. Whereas black and white is beautiful, you do not want it to look like it is at the wrong wedding.

If you are wondering how to decorate your gift table, bar and buffet table, this article will help you get started in planning so that all the important areas at your wedding reception are carefully laid out.

Gift Table Accents

For your gift table, usually, it is located close to the entrance. Many people have an extra table close to the guest registry table or as a continuation of it for the presents to be displayed on. A card holder on this table is a widespread tradition that can take many forms. From birdcages to mailboxes to treasure chests to wells to heart boxes to hot air balloons, many options exist as an area for your guests to deposit their cards to you.

Just make sure that you have someone trustworthy to keep a close eye on the card holder since it will usually contain checks and cash in the cards. Make sure this table is dressed up with a tablecloth and table skirt. Other than that you might also want an embellishment like rose petals or fall leaves but that's all you need on this table.

Bar or Buffet Table

A nice touch that shows how well you have organized your event is to have extra bouquets for areas that are very visible and in a high traffic area. Perfect examples of this are bar bouquets on one or either side of the bar. Also, Buffet Tables are a prime area to showcase a beautiful fresh bouquet. Topiary bouquets are beautiful for this purpose since they are tall enough to attract attention and showcase your focal flowers in style. Bouquets in vases are long lasting, showy and add style and color to a reception. Make a large bouquet for the buffet table and small ones for the bar. If you have a buffet table, you might want to scatter silk rose petals or other embellishment on it to blend it in with your theme. You can do this before the caterer's setup with no problem.

Another idea is to create a higher platform at the center of the table perhaps with a sturdy cardboard or wooden box, cover it with material in your feature color and use this platform as a display area for a fresh floral bouquet. It could be a topiary bouquet or a fresh flower bouquet in a vase or in floral foam. Make sure your platform is very stable though since you would not want it to spill onto the guests as they are helping themselves to food.

If you had large bouquets at the church or ceremony, make sure to make the most of these bouquets and display them at your reception. You can then offer them as a gift to someone who helped you out in planning your wedding.

All children love to paint and draw - an easel is an arts and crafts gift idea they are sure to love. As adults, we tend to think easels are for serious "grown up" art but kids use and love them at kindergarten and school - and for a lot more than painting.

As well as drawing and painting, multi-surface easels (the best type) are great for collages, for tic-tac-toe type games, and playing teacher too. These have chalk board one side and a white erase board on the other, with paper clipped on or fed from an economical and convenient paper roll. With three different creative surfaces, children can explore a wide variety of materials and projects.

A great gift for children as young as two or three, parents love easels too! The better easels have storage trays for paint pots, crayons, and so on, making the easel a self-contained arts zone that's always ready to go. Kids can stop and start as they please without having to clear a space and clear everything away afterwards. In other words, parents get their dinner table back and kids get to act on their inspirations!

An easel has learning and developmental benefits too. Standing and moving around an easel combined with the finer movements of painting and drawing promotes both gross and fine motor skills. It is the ideal gift for children who love to be creative but hate to sit still.

Working with images also promotes logical and spatial thinking skills - the ability to solve problems by identifying sequences, patterns and relationships, and so on, and to learn from and communicate through images. These skills are well developed in architects, physicists, computer programmers and so on.

On an emotional level, a standing easel literally gives a child their own space for solo play, important for childrens emotional development. It gives them an opportunity to connect with and explore their emotions, and feel in control.

There are several children's standing easels to choose from but the best are designed with these benefits in mind. Ticking all the right boxes is the Deluxe Easel by Melissa & Doug, the well-known learning toy specialists. Recommended by parents and experts alike, it is double-sided, has roomy storage trays both sides, a paper roll older and is easily adjusted in height up to 4 feet.

Other popular easels include the Little Tikes Easel for Two and the Rose Smart Art easel, but they fall short in terms of features or are too complicated, and suit narrower age groups. A straightforward, well-equipped, generously-sized adjustable easel is a gift that will last children for years.

ator looking for inspiration? Do you want to know how to make your own wedding cake? Are you a bride who would like to check out the latest trends and get new ideas that will wow your guests? How about a baker searching for great cake recipes and techniques?

My advice to you is to start with the old standby Wilton books which are are a great resource. The basics are covered on how to make a wedding cake and what cake decorating supplies you will need to make them with. Plus there are lots of photos of wedding cakes and all occasion cakes to look at for ideas.

An all time favorite cake book for inspiration is a book called Cakewalk by Margaret Braun. Her cake ideas are unconventional and artistic. Her book is so beautiful that you can use it as a coffee table book. A book that should be in every bakers library is The Bakers Manual by the late Joseph Amendola who was a beloved teacher at the Culinary Institute of America since the 1950's. I have an old beat up copy of the manual from the 70's and refer to it often. There is a new updated version on the market now, maybe It's time I get one. The book is written for the student as well as professionals.

Three of the best books for recipes and ideas for wedding cakes in my opinion are The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum, A Piece of Cake by Susan Purdy and The Simple Art Of Perfect Baking by Flo Braker. Each book has fantastic recipes and ideas for cakes. From how to bake the cakes, construction and boxing them for delivery and mailing as well.

Now if you are a complete foodie or know someone that is then Larouusse Gastronomique is the perfect gift to give yourself or someone else. It will answer every question you have ever had about anything cooking or baking related, including historical facts. The world's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia is chock full of information and so heavy you could use it as a form of weight training every time you go to pick it up.The best recipes for wedding cakes are cakes that are firm yet moist. If you wanted to use a less firm cake I do have tips for you.Always work with a very cold or frozen cake when putting a tiered cake togetherUse a filling that will firm up when cooled such as a buttercream or a mousse that contains butter.Avoid creamy and slippery wet fillings or frostings or you may end up with a cake wreck on your hands.

If you would like to learn more about cake books, recipes and get cake decorating ideas then visit my wedding cake website. You will find complete reviews of all of the cake books in my collection and can leave a review of your own there as well and check out what other people are saying about their favorite baking books.

Gorgeous and stylish wedding decorations are often the centerpiece of the wedding ceremony and reception, and can change the mood in any setting. Themed wedding decorations set the stage for your wedding theme, and can be used in many areas of your ceremony and reception locations. Common places to decorate for your wedding in an indoor and outdoor environment are:

At the Ceremony:

The Entrance or doorway (includes arches for outdoor gazebos and garden weddings)Pews, chairs and AltarsInside walls, or the first adjoining rooms from the entrance.The area around the Guest RegistryPathways and important wedding party vehicles

The Reception:

Outer door entrance

First entrance room

Tables - head table, food tables (buffet)

Walls

Wedding Cake (cake topper)

Ceilings

Since wedding ceremonies and receptions can pretty much happen anywhere that the couple choose, wedding decorations can apply based upon the theme you may choose. Decorating for your traditional wedding may mean beautiful pure white candles, fresh flower arrangements, embroidered cloth napkins. Planning to decorate for a fall wedding? This might mean pumpkins, preserves, 'hanging harvests', grape vines strewn with gold and red colored leaves. Mood and setting will really influence where and how you decorate. See the room in the 'whole picture' and think of the theme or feelings conveyed - do these match the same traits in the bride and groom?

Always remember your timeline. Since the wedding party is usually the biggest part of the decorating (unless you are using a wedding planner /coordinator) they must have a set plan for placing wedding decorations and taking them down. Often (especially in the case of a formal wedding such as a church) the wedding decorations must go up shortly before the wedding and are taken down immediately after. Think about the following details which will help you complete your decoration:

Colors and wedding theme, time of day of the wedding ceremony, location of the event, temperament of the bride and groom, feasibility and cost of design of decorating (budget), space to decorate and the total number of people attending.