Last Blogger Post

I couldn't ever settle on a layout that I enjoyed, so I have switched over to a custom wordpress theme.

Here is the link: http://austinweddingcakes.net/blog/

See you there!

Highball Fashion Shoot

Last week I was approached by Austin wedding photographer, Jessica Monnich, to make a retro wedding cake for a photo shoot at The Highball bowling alley.

If you haven't been there yet, you need to check out. It's a throwback to the good old days in the Fifties and Sixties; Not that I REALLY know since I wasn't born yet, but I believe it.

Photos of that shoot are coming soon, but look at this behind-the-scenes video footage from Wild Orchid Studios.

HighBall Fashion Shoot from Wild Orchid Studios on Vimeo.

Green before Green was Good

Did you know that we are a green company? These are some of the ways in which we help the environment by reducing our carbon footprint.

• We limit the use of paper products by putting all of our 95% of our information online.
• At cake tastings, we use filtered water, instead of bottled water.
• We buy almost all of our ingredients locally from central Texas area suppliers.
• We schedule deliveries around the same time to avoid trips back and forth.
• Our web host runs on a hydroelectric facility.
• We plan cakes based on a certain percentage of your guest count, so you don't have leftovers, eliminating the need for cake boxes which end up in the trash. (We know! leftover cake is good..but the trash will last long after your wedding is over. That's not good.)
• We conduct most of our meetings via sunlight, reducing the use of electricity, and our bill!

As a small business, we are committed to helping the environment, as well as making great cakes! Hopefully in 2010 you can find some ways to help the environment as well!

What Do You Value the Most?

Everyone knows that if you're going to plan a full wedding and reception, you have to be prepared to spend money.

I've also discussed pricing and what to expect when you get a cake. However, many people STILL feel like a cake should be the cheapest thing. I assure you, that you get what you pay for...so if your cake quote is super low...you SHOULD be very worried.

However....this post isn't really about the price...but instead, what is it THAT you are really looking for in your cake.

After sitting down with hundreds of brides over the past few years, and talking about their weddings, these are the most common items that brides value, and have found to be more important than the price.

• Pretty, breathtaking cake
• Elegant and tall... A cake that looks like a wedding cake
  
• Premium ingredients like real sweet cream butter, chocolate, and vanilla
  
• Icing, that is applied in a smooth manner with crisp edges and detailed decorations,
  
• Moist and fluffy, yet firm ..not dry or crumbly
  
• Cake that gets eaten by guests
  
• A beautifully decorated cake table that highlights the cake.
• Cake flavors that everyone will enjoy
• Chocolate
• Beautiful photographs of their cake/ lasting memories of their cake
• To eat the cake at their wedding

ALL of these items are what brides have placed as a priority over price. If you could put one word on this list it is QUALITY. Quality will always come before price and that is the one thing that EVERY bride wants at her wedding.

2010 Brides Choice Awards Winner!!

Austin, Texas– Jan. 22, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Haute Cakes Couture Desserts has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Austin Wedding Cakes! The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds. Haute Cakes Couture Desserts is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. “We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.” We are happy to announce that Haute Cakes Couture Desserts is among the very best wedding cake provider within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards. For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today. About WeddingWire, Inc. WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.