Treasures around every corner at Calamigos

Congratulations to Maria & Victor

10-01-10

Simple cakes can look so beautiful with fresh flowers to match the floral centerpieces.

Each place setting had a vile of bubbles, personalized with the bride and grooms name and date.

There are so many areas at Calamigos Ranch to get married and have your reception. The Pavilion has both an inside area and a huge tent with beautiful draping and sparkly lights in the ceiling making it so beautiful in the evening.

There are many areas of Calamigos that can be rented for weddings and other events. It's so fun to go on a tour of the facility and check it all out.

The lawn in front of the Pavilion even has their own Ferris wheel!

Copper horses are placed throughout the entry to Calamigos.

Westlake Village Inn Wedding

Westlake Village Inn

September 18, 2010

Yet another wonderful cake delivered to Westlake Village Inn. It seems like I am there every weekend. I love delivering here, it's so close to my bakery and the staff is so friendly. It really is such a pleasure to be able to supply wedding cake for this venue.

Thank you Jeannie and the entire staff at WVI.

This cake was a simple fondant cake with brown ribbon around each tier. Fresh flowers were supplied by Belle of the Ball Designs, who is always a pleasure to work with. It's so nice when you become friends with all the vendors work with often.

Did I mention the wonderful Jason of Elegant Event Entertainment was the DJ for this reception? He and his staff are more vendors which I consider friends and always a joy to see!

Note from the bride:
I had the hardest time deciding on first whether to do a groom's cake, and second what to do. Once I realized that Mark was hoping to get a groom's cake, that made the first decision easy. The cake itself was inspired by Mark's commitment to his personal health and his love of coconut water to hydrate/nourish his body. Anyone who knows Mark well, knows he loves his coconut water. One day Mark realized that our bar wasn't going to have coconut water, so he was concerned that at the wedding he wouldn't get any after drinking all night. He was so surprised to see that Lori created a coconut with his favorite coconut water inside! It was absolutely perfect and Mark was able to get his coconut water right out of the middle of the cake with a straw! To top it off, it was a carrot cake (Mark's favorite).
Thank you Lori for your creativity!!!

This grooms cake was so fun to create. The groom drinks ZICO brand coconut water every night and his lovely bride wanted to surprise him with a coconut cake filled with ZICO water. In the middle of this cake is a bottle of ZICO with a straw for him to drink from during the reception.

Belle of the Ball designs created these beautiful floral centerpieces on beautiful Victorian iron stands. It's amazing what flowers can do to a room!


Westlake Village Inn is really a beautiful venue to have a wedding. Entering the reception room, you are greeted by a roaring marble fireplace and sparkling crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

Congratulations to Amber and Mark!

The Oaks at Calamigos Ranch

Another beautiful wedding at Calamigos Ranch in California

Saturday, September 11th

The sun was shining, the evening temperature was wonderful, and Calamigos looked beautiful for an outside wedding on the deck of The Oaks

This wedding cake was created with fondant swirls, leaves and baby teardrops in beige and shades of green. The cake was than adorned with pastel colored roses and various stems of pastel flowers.

The Oaks at Calamigos has a rustic feel with wood panelled walls, stone fireplace, crystal chandeliers and twinkly lights strung in the ceiling rafters.

Lei Ann of Happy Flowers created this beautiful floral display for the buffet table


Calamigos is full of wonderful treasures around every corner.
I just love this old wagon in front of The Oaks!

Congratulations to Kristin & Tim!

McCormick Home Ranch!

McCormick Home Ranch is one of those wonderful historic homes from the Ranching Days in Camarillo, California. Built in 1918, surrounded by farmlands and not to far from the Pacific Ocean, it is a beautiful site for a country wedding.

I love designing cakes that allow me to be creative, but keeping the design simple and elegant.

Note from the bride:
Lori, my cake was everything and more than what I expected!!! You outdid your self. It was almost to pretty to eat!! And all my guests loved every layer. Ron and I are excited for our 1 year to come around to eat that banana, cuz I didn't get to have any, other than what was smashed in my face!
Can't wait to work with you again for birthday cakes, baby showers, and all that fun stuff that comes after the wedding.
Tiana

This fondant covered cake was marbleized using a sponge painting technique and then the stenciling was applied.

Fresh flowers were added in violet shades along with matching edible butterflies.

The sugar topper was made to match the monogram on their wedding invitations.

Edible butterflies enhanced the design to add a whimsical look to the cake. The design fit perfectly with the surrounding area of McCormick Ranch House.


Jennifer from Belle of the Ball designs created these centerpieces, so pretty!
Each place setting was set with a jar of handmade strawberry jam, yum!


This birdcage hung from a tree for guests to insert any envelopes for the bride and groom.

McCormick Ranch House has been owned by the McCormick family since 1918.

Congratulations to the happy couple,

Tiana & Ron

September 4, 2010

Hartley Botanica Wedding

Weddings are always so beautiful when you are outside at Hartley Botanica. I love delivering here, the grounds are so green and lush and there are surprises around every corner.

This cake covered in sugar cherry blossoms was so sweet and delicate looking. It fit in beautifully with the flowers hanging lanterns.

The bride and groom supplied this love bird topper for the cake and it made the cake that much sweeter!

Jennifer from Belle of the Ball Designs once again did her magic with these colorful centerpieces for the tables.

My favorite part of the decorations was the pink draping and crystal chandelier at the entryway to the ceremony site.

Congratulations to the newlyweds; Tracie & Chad!

Rain or Shine?

First we were off to Bella Victoria Vineyards in Camarillo. This cake was delivered fully assembled with a large dowel running up the middle, so we knew we wouldn't have any problems with set up. The weather was beautiful, nice and warm and not a cloud in the sky.

Bella Victoria is a beautiful home nestled between growing fields and vineyards, located at the base of the mountains, not far from the ocean. The Red Trolley transports guests from the off site parking to the reception site next to the home.

This bride and groom was really fun. The colors of the wedding were a deep eggplant and ivory and we had a fun time creating a cake to fit the theme and colors.

Note from the bride:
"We absolutely LOVED our cake. Not only did it look amazing, it tasted amazing.
It was more than we could have asked for"........ Kelly

Leanne of Photography By Leanne sent me some great shots she took of the wedding and the cake.

Next we were off to deliver a wedding cake to the Pavilion at Calamigos Ranch. This area of Calamigos has a large white tent attached to the Pavilion area. The cake was set up in the tent next to the buffet tables. As we were setting up the cake, it began to get very cloudy and extremely humid. Fondant covered cakes do not like humidity! Then all of a sudden there was a torrential downpour. We all stood there staring out of the tent wondering where it came from. As everyone knows, It never rains in California :)

Luckily the cake did just fine

Note from the bride and groom:

Lori, Kara and I wanted to let you know how great our cake turned out, you did an outstanding job. The cake looked beautiful and tasted so good, one of the best carrot cakes ever. I heard from many of our guests it was the best wedding cake they ever had. Thanks again for contributing to our day. We will be sure to recommend you to everyone we know. Also the birthday cake was just as great. Thanks, Eric and Kara

The groom is a fireman and they have a tradition of coring the wedding cakes. The other firemen in his company take a wine goblet and core the cake when no one's looking. Usually they only make one core, but it looks like they got carried away with this one. I had put a red target on the back to help them out, but as you can see the target was left and they cored all around it.

Notes from friends at the reception:

They got everywhere EXCEPT the bulls eye! Best tasting cake in the world (so I hear). - Melissa

Very BEST wedding cake EVER!!!!! Wanted a second piece and had to resist the temptation. - Katie

There was none left! E and Kara didn't even get a piece:-)...that is some cake! - Melissa

It was carrot cake from Cake Vreeke..it was so yummy - Carly

All the tables were named after places the bride and groom have been together. I just love when they get creative with the details.


After the setup and the rain finally stopped. Amy took a minute to pose out by the Farris wheel. Calamigos is so full of surprises.

Thanks Amy for all your hard work!

Calamigos Movie Industry Wedding!

Luggage, Film Reels & Clapper Board Cake!

Weddings don't get more fun than this. I knew when I first talked to Nancy on the phone about her wedding plans, this was going to be a fantastic wedding cake to create. This couple are both in the movie industry, travel constantly, worked together on the TV show Charmed and had envisioned a cake to pull in all these elements. When we sat down for the consultation and I sketched out their cake, they had so much fun telling me all they do and all the places they traveled.

Note from the Bride:

Lori, Lori, Lori,You are amazing!! We loved the cake and we had so many people (in the industry) say that was the coolest wedding cake they have seen! Great job, we were very pleased and we have the top layer (round suitcase) in our freezer! Thank you for your beautiful work and gorgeous detail - it was a hit! And it tasted great...I ate the lemon/raspberry...yum! If we ever need a special cake again, we will be calling you!Respectfully yours,Nancy Hugghins :)

The cake stood approximately 3 1/2 feet tall and was definitely the centerpiece of the reception.
The vintage luggage had edible images of luggage tags from places they have traveled together.

The film reels, clapper board and movie masks were all made out of sugar. The pictures on the film reel were all shots that the bride had sent me and printed out on edible images.

The tables were all named with movie lingo on clapper boards and the place settings had baby Etchasketch's as favors.

The main ballroom of Calamigos looked beautiful with draping on the ceiling and the bright yellow flowers made the room look so cheerful!

This actor was also part of the wedding.

I couldn't resist taking a picture with him, he was just so cute all 7' of him.

Congratulations to the Nancy & David!!