​The Dream Ranch is a new venue in Wolfe City, about 45 minutes north east of McKinney, and they are having an open house on Sunday, March 5, 2023 from 1:00 -5:00 pm. The venue will be open for tours with a variety of vendors set up to answer any questions you have about their services. I’ll be there with cake samples too. 

​The venue sits on 36 acres and features several outdoor spaces including a ceremony site, a barn that has been converted to the reception space, a pond with pavilion, and a three bedroom home with pool.  

​There is a triangular arch at one of the outdoor spaces which is a perfect background for a wedding ceremony. 

​The barn is 9000 square feet, and the horse stalls are a unique feature. They lead to an outdoor area with string lights – a great space for yard games or extra cocktail tables. The stalls would also be a great place for a photo booth, caricature artist, gift table, or even a coloring station for any kids attending the big day. 

​Inside the venue are dressing rooms for the bride and groom as well as plenty of space for your guests. 

​There is no fee to attend the open house, but please register for the event here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/532312750767.

​Venue - The Dream Ranch
​All photos by dreamranchevents.com

River Road Chateau is having an open house on Sunday, February 26, 2023, and I am excited to be a returning vendor! I have partnered with this venue for over 7 years, and they are one of my favorites!

Looking at their gorgeous grounds, it’s easy to tell why I love when couples decide to get married here. First, there is the meadow where outdoor ceremonies take place. It’s a hidden clearing surrounded by mature trees with a stone entrance. The lush canopy gives ceremony an intimate feel. A beautiful wooden arch and chandelier are at the front of the meadow which can be decorated to coordinate with your colors. 

There is a French styled garden between the meadow and the venue, and it is the perfect place for portraits.  

​The reception venue has a stone wall creating a focal point at the back of the space. It is the perfect backdrop for a sweetheart or head table. 

There are bride’s and groom’s dressing rooms in the venue, or you can rent Belle Manor, the house next door. The house offers more room to spread out and you can even rent the home to stay in the night before or after the wedding. One of the features of the bridal suite is a claw foot tub. Photo opportunity!

 The open house will be from 1:00 – 4:00 pm on Sunday, February 26. You can tour all of the venue’s spaces, meet the venue manager, and visit with a variety of wedding vendors including photographers, bartenders, DJs, and caterers. Come say hi – you may even get a slice of cake! 

Venue - River Road Chateau
​Open House Planner - Fawn Hollow Events

Dessert tables have become very popular in recent years, allowing wedding guests a choice in their dessert on your big day.

​A dessert table is any offering other than the wedding and groom’s cake, and can range from a variety of cupcakes to a smorgasbord of treats. Popular goodies include, cookies, tarts, brownies, macarons, and cereal treats.

​Well, the desserts are small, so a dessert table will cost less than a wedding cake, right? Not necessarily.

When at a buffet, FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) sets in and you want to try it all. The same thing happens with a dessert table. A greater variety of desserts can lead to guests only taking a bite or two of more items than they would typically select.

​Can't you hear it? "Of course I'm going to get a mini cupcake, but I can't pass up on a chocolate chip cookie. Is that a chocolate covered Oreo? Oh, lemon tarts!" 

​So how many desserts do you really need? If you are offering a full size dessert like a cupcake or a full size brownie, count on 1-2 per guest. With smaller desserts like cookies, macarons, bite size brownies, or mini tarts you can count on each guest taking 3 items from the various options. 

​Right now, people are ready to get out and party after missing all the events that were cancelled during the Covid pandemic. The event planners I work with tell me that about 80% of the guest list are coming to the wedding. Not everyone will have dessert though, and your wedding cake servings factor into the mix as well. If you invite 100 people to the wedding, you won’t need 100 servings of cake and 300 mini desserts – unless you like leftovers.

Ready for some math?
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So for your 100 invited guests, let’s say 80 come to the wedding. Only 80-90% of those guests will have dessert, regardless of what you offer. It will be closer to the 90% with a dessert table (again, FOMO), so you need desserts for about 72 people. The smallest three tier cake I make is 56 servings, and if we remove the cake servings, we only need mini desserts for 16 people. At three desserts each, that’s only four dozen mini desserts.

​If you want the look of that three tier cake, but want more dessert options for your guests, you can always incorporate a false tier into the wedding cake. The same size cake in the above calculation will look exactly the same but would only serve 24 if you replace the bottom tier with a fake one. Then you would need twelve dozen mini desserts to reach enough servings for those 72 people, which gives your dessert table a much fuller look. 

​The false tier is decorated in buttercream or fondant like the rest of the cake, so your guests won’t even be able to tell the difference. The only design a false tier will not work with is a naked or semi-iced cake. Can you pick out the false tier in this cake?

There are lots of options when it comes to dessert tables, and I’m always happy to walk through the details with my clients. If you would like to talk about a dessert table or wedding cake just fill out the contact form and we can get started.

A white wedding is classic. White dress, white flowers, white linens. It is a beautiful color choice for an elegant affair. 

​But color can bring a bit of your personality to the party. Pun totally intended there. You can highlight the season or your favorite colors. You could even incorporate a favorite sports team. For example, my husband went to A&M, and maroon was GOING to be at our wedding. Since we were married in October, it fit in with the season too. We decided on maroon, oranges, and ivories with a little gold – perfect for fall.

​Pantone is a company that regulated color for print in the 1960’s. They created a standard color system so companies could have consistent branding. Every year they have color of the year as well as seasonal colors which brands use to bring life to their products. 

What does this have to do with cake? The Pantone colors are highlighted at Fashion Week and in seasonal home furnishings. Both those influence wedding design – think bridesmaids’ dresses and décor rental. Those details also make their way onto the cake.
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The Pantone 2022 color of the year is Very Peri, which is a beautiful shade of blue. Several color palettes include this color. I have seen these particular shades at several weddings this year.

​Recently, Pantone released New York and London’s Fashion Week trend reports for spring and summer 2023. They both feature the bright, vibrant colors you would expect for seasons of growth and a Core Classics grouping of more neutral tones. 

​I would put together Peach Pink, Blue Perennial, Summer Song, and a light ivory. Would you use any of these colors for your wedding?