seeing its inevitable fate is to simply order
a smaller cake for presentation and to have
sheet cakes for serving.
“Most bakers will tell you to do that now
because they don’t want to bake a six layer
cake either because it is kind of diffi cult. You
can get a much smaller cake and have them
do smaller sheet cakes that you keep in the
kitchen and nobody sees. You cut those fi rst
and put them out and it saves you so much
money,” Stoudt said.
The wedding planner also has noticed the
return of the dessert bar, which can add a
personal touch while saving major cash.
“We had a bride our second year in busi-
ness who did a dessert bar which are be-
coming popular again … She asked all of
the females in her family to make her favor-
ite dessert growing up … it was so sweet
and personal,” Stoudt said, adding that the
bride opted for a small Nothing Bundt Cake
to cut into for her photos.
THE CENTERPIECES
Although Let Us advises brides to bring
solo cups to the put fl owers in at the end of
the night and pass them out to guests or do-
nate them to nursing homes, the beautiful
bouquets that photograph so well are still
an expensive cost to bear. A typical table
centerpiece starts at $50, and with a 20 ta-
ble reception, the cost can add up quickly,
begging the question – are they worth it?
“We actually tell brides that greenery is
beautiful – it’s simple, it’s cheap and we
have a couple of different vendors that we
can get it from at a great price,” Stoudt said.
“You can just lay it out on the table and at
the end of the night you’re just throwing
away greenery, you’re not throwing away
garden roses, peonies and all of that kind of
stuff that just breaks your heart to toss.”
The wedding planners are also a fan of
framing engagement photos for center piec-
es paired with a classic votive candle and a
single stem rose in a slender vase. All in all,
Stoudt estimates these centerpieces to cost
a whopping three dollars and by the end of
the evening, your engagement photos are
framed and ready to be hung as a gallery
wall in your home.
IN CONCLUSION
Every wedding is beautiful no matter the
price, but Stoudt concludes that it’s the peo-
ple that make it a day to remember, not the
size or glamour of the event.
“Our favorites really are the small town
weddings. We’ve done weddings in peo-
ple’s backyards, we’ve done weddings
where they called us on Tuesday and said
we’re getting married on Saturday real
quick, we’ve done weddings out at the state
park and at some of the most expensive ven-
ues in College Station,” Stoudt said. “But my
favorites are always just the easy ones, just
the small intimate ones where your family
shows up to help build centerpieces or they
bring your favorite dessert. To me, it’s more
meaningful that way when everyone steps
in to help.”
So don’t lose sight of what the day is really
about, don’t be afraid to lean on family and
friends, remember to take a deep breath
and enjoy this moment in time.
“A personal injury lawsuit is like a
horse-race. Only one horse can win.
And I want to win for my client.”
– Bennie D. Rush
HUNTSVILLE LIVING | WINTER 2020 |
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