Northshore Magazine

echoed the wedding gown's petal pattern in the frosting. "The cake blended seamlessly with everything in the room," says Noelle of the finished effect. The cake table itself can provide a means of bringing family and friends into the fold with photos, heirloom cake servers, or special linens. "Everyone is looking for a way to honor family and the past in ways that are personal and meaningful without necessarily broadcasting it," says Larson. The traditional combination of white cake and white frosting is still beloved, but many couples are choosing richer, more exotic ingredients. Today's available flavor possibilities are seemingly endless—and if the betrotheds can't decide on just one, there is no reason to limit themselves, asserts Williamson. Even a traditionally styled cake can be comprised of differently flavored tiers united by uniform frosting. Selections often recall happy memories or travels. Williamson has made a banana, praline, and sweet coconut cake for a native New Orleans couple and a limoncello cake for a couple seeking to honor their engagement in Italy. Sometimes choosing flavors becomes a family affair. Jenessa Pease comes from a family that takes baking seriously, so the cake was an integral part of her September wedding. "I knew I wanted it to be something special and an experience for everyone," says Jenessa. As part of the decision process, she and her husband-tobe, Todd, invited family members over for a tasting party of different options from Jenny's Wedding Cakes. Each person cast a vote for his or her favorite and the family had fun interpreting the results. "Each layer had a personality, and it was fun to see who picked which flavor," continues Jenessa. The couple picked a classic red velvet cake while Pease's father, who is Italian, went for the orange pistachio vanilla. Rounding out the layers was a chocolate banana cake and a vanilla KJ JanFeb14 Cake.indd 130 11/22/13 9:21 AM

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