This coming weekend is the official start of the wedding season for Fleur Cakes. Though I have done a handful of weddings already this year, one here, one there, starting this weekend the oven will not have a chance to cool off until October. That means it's going to be one hot summer, no matter what the sun does in the Northwest!
I'm afraid to tell you how many weddings I have on the calender because putting it in black and white might make me have a panic attack. But the number is... double digits... and over...{gulp} forty.
The interesting thing is that there are a lot of small weddings. Plenty of big ones but lots of bridal couples seem to be scaling down and are inviting only their nearest and dearest for more intimate gatherings. I haven't tallied the numbers but I think the majority of weddings have under 75 guests and many have only 25. This made it easier for me to consent to another job if I already had one, or two, or....three....weddings for the same weekend.
Another interesting phenomena is the number of nuptial celebrations that aren't having wedding cake. I have always had some weddings with alternative desserts but that trend seems to be increasing. I'm making lots and lots of pies, another strawberry shortcake wedding, and a couple that are dessert buffets of much variety. Cupcakes with a small ceremonial "cutting" cake are still popular too. A new and unusual request recently was for "cake in a jar." We'll see how that one goes!
This weekend kicks off with a variety- first I have a teeny, three-tiered mini wedding cake for a small celebration. On Sunday I have an all strawberry-rhubarb pie wedding with a couple cheesecakes thrown in for variety and later in the evening a challenging two cake wedding- one cake is gluten free and the other is vegan (no dairy or eggs). For that wedding I had to develop my own recipes since I was unable to find any others that met my criteria for taste and texture. Now that I have the recipes nailed down I am confident that the cakes will be just what the bride and groom dreamed of and I can sleep (relatively) peacefully.
As of today I'm all organized with the weekend baking schedule, the supply lists and delivery times. Let's see how many weeks I can maintain this level of sanity, shall we? I'll keep you posted!
Pray for me.