I fell in love with Nicki’s Cakes after seeing their work featured on a fabulous Style Me Pretty “Inspiration to Reality” challenge that showcased all North Carolina vendors.  You might recall, I blogged about it here? Yes, of course I’m biased but I have to say it was my favorite Inspiration to Reality feature they’ve done yet.  I just love the whole look of this wedding (kudos to the gals at Salt Harbor Designs!)

Today’s post is a all about the women behind the gorgeous cake in that feature, Nicki McRae of Nicki’s Cakes.   Nicki grew up in South Africa and moved to the States in 1985.  She’s a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and has lived in Wilmington with her hubby for the last 15 years.  She was gracious enough to entertain a few questions which I hope will be helpful to all you planning brides-to-be out there still looking for a baker.  But first, a look at these beautiful cakes!

How did you get started baking?  Was it always something you loved to do?
Nicki:  “I started decorating cakes after taking a cake class at Michael’s craft store.  I loved it and ran out and bought books on cake decorating.  I would practice all the time.  I started making simple cakes for friends and slowly started working my way into wedding cakes.  My love of decorating came first and then the baking.”

And how long have you been in business?
Nicki:  “I’ve been in business for 5 years now.”

How many cakes, on average, are you doing a week?
Nicki:  “I do one or two wedding cakes per week during wedding season and  I work out of my home so I can spend time with my children after school.”

Do you have some favorite flavors that get requested again and again?
Nicki:  “My most popular flavors are plain vanilla pound cake and my chocolate fudge cake.  My chocolate icing is really good- it has ganache and Godiva liqueur in it and folks just love it.”

Lastly, I have to know…with all these cakes, do you have a favorite that stands out?  One you thought, “wow, I can’t believe how good that looks?” or a really fun request?
Nicki:  “I think for my most ‘fun’ cake request, I would say the surf board cake.  It was for a very cute couple who loved surfing and wanted to reflect that in a more original wedding cake.  I made a woody car toting surfboards and surrounded it with surfboard crowned cupcakes.  They loved it!”

And for your “favorite” cake?
Nicki:  “That would probably be my white chocolate ‘plastic’ cake.  It’s not really plastic of course!  It’s rolled out strips of white chocolate that I hand ruffle in layer upon layer upon layer to achieve this totally decadent and over the top look.”

OMG, all that chocolate!  That has to take forever!  Have you had any requests to make it again?
Nicki:  “Yes!  I’ve done it 4 times since the first one.  I think brides love that not only does it look unique and very special, but of course it tastes divine.”

Mmmm…and isn’t that just the holy grail of wedding cake aspirations?  I hate when a pretty cake tastes like cardboard…what a let down!

Thank you so much Nicki for sharing some time with White Thread!  I am absolutely in LOVE with the modern, minimalistic aesthetic that Nicki favors on many of her cakes.  They’re gorgeous without being gaudy, “about to crash under the weight of sugar flowers” creations.  And I also love that she’s still a small shop, giving personal attention to each bride and really focusing on every cake that goes out that door personally.  That kind of attention to detail is so wonderful to have.  One of those “must consider” things when picking vendors!

…and now, I’m starving!

For all your newly engaged folks out there, StudioWed is putting on a great planning event called The Wedding Experience on February 13th at the luxe Ritz Carlton Buckhead Atlanta.  Kick your planning into high gear as they gather some of the South’s premiere vendors in one locale.  As if that’s not great enough, the darling of Southern weddings, Tara Guerard of Soiree will be on hand signing copies of her new book “Weddings by Tara Guerard”.  If it’s even 1/2 as good as her first book, I will squeal in delight.  Don’t miss this event!

If you were as fascinated as I was by this week’s post on that amazing light writing proposal but were left wondering “HOW???”, you’re in luck!  The man behind the project, groom-to-be Derick is sharing just how such a heart felt and high tech proposal was accomplished.  Check out the whole story here.  Awesome…just awesome.

Loving these images sent to me by KMI Photography of a recent photo shoot at the Dudley Mansion.  Built in 1825 by North Carolina’s first elected governor, the mansion sits in the heart of historic downtown Wilmington, right along the Cape Fear River.  With gorgeous grounds dotted with forged iron gates, stone benches and romantic fountains, it is about as perfect a backdrop to a southern wedding as you can get.

Lovely right?  The whole space has recently undergone a major renovation and is opening up once again to host private parties in 2010.  I absolutely love all the romantic nooks and crannies old houses have and the Dudley Mansion certainly takes that concept to a whole new level.

A Beautiful Event did the bride’s flowers and tablescape for this shoot while Fountaine Bridal provided the gown.  Makeup was done by N Salo Salon.  And if you’re anything like me, that incredible veil/headpiece caught your eye.  It’s a vintage piece  from aMuse, a boutique milliner specializing in just this sort of gorgeousness.  I want everything from there.

Thank you Kevin and Lauren for sharing these images with me!

Happily sharing photos of a letterpressed wedding invitation I designed over a year ago for friends and former co-workers.  This is a perfect example of work that has sat in a sad little pile in the corner of my home office before it was re-organized (promise to share more details and photos of that adventure in a later post).  Now it’s wonderfully at my fingertips and begging to be photographed.  So here it is!

The happy couple had settled on a Portland, Maine wedding – perfect since the bride grew up there. The groom’s family, all from New Jersey, had never been to Maine.  They wanted the invitation to present iconic Maine imagery that would get all their guests excited about the idea of traveling north for their nuptials, but also wanted the overall look to remain classy and a bit more traditional.

A stately lighthouse image graced the invitation, while cute sand pipers and of course, the ubiquitous lobster were used to tie the whole “Maine” theme together on accompanying cards.  To keep the overall look subtle and more traditional, I used a soft gray and sharp black color palette against thick cotton paper.  Even the simplest design looks regal in the letterpress printing medium, don’t you think?

Perhaps my favorite part of this invite though was the quote provided by the couple.  Emblazoned right across the top of the invitation, it reads “You work, you play and then one day…love just happens!”  – the perfect sentiment for a couple who’d been friends and worked together for years before Cupid struck!