Wedding Details – Intro and Carytown Cupcakes

Did you know that the average wedding today costs about 25 grand?! Personally, in today’s economy, I have no idea how the average is so high.

Dan and I both have decent paying jobs, but going into our wedding planning, we promised ourselves two things. First, we would NEVER go into debt over a one-day party (no matter how unique a day it was going to be). Second, even if we miraculously won the lottery and could afford an extravagant wedding, we would keep our bottom line well under the $25,000 mark.

Taking these two guidelines into account, I am extremely happy with all of the wedding vendors that we chose to work with. They all provided excellent services, and each one came at a very reasonable price. My best advice to any newly engaged couple is to shop around, get recommendations, and don’t go with an expensive venue just because they have a good review on The Knot. Chances are you can find someone equally as good for much less.

For my next few posts, I am going to take a little time to give props to the venues that Dan and I got to work with. These posts will be FULL of wedding photos and what we liked or didn’t like about each venue.

Carytown Cupcakes
For today’s post I am going to send a big THANK YOU to the folks who made our wedding cake and cupcakes – Carytown Cupcakes.

As many people do these days, Dan and I decided to have cupcakes at our wedding instead of the traditional large, tiered cake. Cupcakes are so much more manageable, and you can usually get more than one kind of cupcake for your guests to enjoy.

Choosing a vendor was easy for us because we are both big fans of Carytown Cupcakes in Richmond, VA. Their price was unbeatable (under $300, compared to the $700 and up prices of the bakeries in northern Virginia), and we are STILL getting complements from our guests about the cupcakes.

After sampling many different types of cupcakes, our final list included:

• Red velvet (my favorite)
• Vegan pumpkin chocolate chip (Dan’s favorite)
• Gluten free caramel apple
• Dirt/oreo, complete with gummy worms
• Carrot cake

Our only challenge for the wedding cake was bringing the cupcakes up from Richmond. After speaking with the owner, Dawn, we decided to freeze the cupcakes and have Dan’s father bring them up from Richmond with him. This worked very well, and did not hurt the flavor of the cupcakes.

To display the cupcakes, Dan and I purchased old wooden farm crates, which we laid on their sides and stacked on a table. This made fun little compartments where we could stash all the cupcakes.

In addition to the guest cupcakes, Dan and I had a little six inch cake made for us. This enabled us to do the traditional cutting of the cake, without having tons of left overs. The edges of the cake were decorated with grape vine clippings that we gathered from local vineyards, and the cake topper was made of Leggos. :)

PS: Special thanks for the pictures goes to our fantastic photographer, Stephanie!

Coffee Beer and Hard Cider Cupcakes!

I began experimenting with cupcakes earlier this year, and I have been getting very enthusiastic responses from friends and family who have tried them. Because of this, I have decided to share my little secret with everyone! Some people might keep their secrets to themselves. However, I would rather share it with the world, so everyone can enjoy something delicious. :)

My secret ingredient is not a special homemade cake/cupcake mix. Seriously, I usually pick out a Pillsbury mix. It is not from-scratch frosting – though I have considered experimenting with this as well. My secret ingredient is alcohol!

Really, it is. Instead of putting the required amount of water into the cake mix, I substitute the water for some kind of beer or hard cider.

Now, an important thing to note about doing this is that not just any kind of beer or hard cider will work. Sometimes you have to experiment with a couple different kinds until you find one that turns that regular old cake mix into something extraordinary.

Winning Matches of Cake Mix/Beer:
Coffee-flavored beers (not just stouts. They HAVE to have a strong coffee flavor) work very well in Pillsbury Devil’s Food cake mix. With this mixture, I usually pair it with a white buttercream frosting.

Hard Cider works very well with Pillsbury Classic White cake mix. The flavor is very slight, so I have learned that adding about a tablespoon or so of cinnamon to the mixture enhances the flavor of the cupcake.

One of the hard ciders I have used
Why Beer or Hard Cider Make Such a Difference:
As much as I love nerdy things, I am not a scientist, so I cannot specifically say what causes the beer or hard cider to make the cupcake mix so much better. From an everyday person’s perspective, however, I have observed the following:

• That the carbonation makes the cupcakes much lighter, while still retaining moisture
• That the flavor (if it is a good match) hides the over-sweetness that many cake mixes have
• That the not-so-sweet flavor pairs nicely with the frosting, creating a treat that is not as sickly sweet.

So, there you have it – the secret to my success with cupcake making.

The only other thing that might help you make the cupcakes even better is getting a little creative with the decoration of the cupcake. For instance, look at the liners you are using for the cupcakes. Are they boring and drab, or are they bright and fun?

Also, don’t just slap the frosting on top! Smooth it on. Decorate it with sprinkles at least. If you are a little more creative, try making animal faces on them. Owl and Cat faces are soooo easy to make, and they look awesome!

Most importantly, have fun! If you mess up, don’t stress. Pillsbury cake mix is cheap, so you won’t break the bank by trying again or experimenting with new beers or ciders.

Happy Cupcake Baking!!

Carytown Cupcakes

One of my favorite things to do in Richmond is walk around Carytown. Not only is it filled with tons of fun shops, you can always find something or someone of interest there. Nestled on a side street is an audacious little shop called Carytown Cupcakes.

This gourmet bakery makes some of the best cupcakes I have ever had, and I am not a big cupcake or cake enthusiast. I will not gush over how every cupcake is delicious, because there are a few that I do not like. However, their red velvet cupcake is truly to-die-for.

Here is a list of the other Carytown Cupcake flavors that I love:
- Hummingbird
- Carrot
- Dirt
- Apple
- Oreo
- Samoa
- Raspberry Champagne

If you live in, or are traveling through, Richmond, you simply must visit this shop. If you are on a tight budget, keep your eyes open on Living Social, because they post half-off coupons from time to time. Then you can bring home a box of goodies, like the ones below:


(left to right cupcake flavors: first row - dirt, hummingbird, and apple. second row - chocolate, smores, and carrot.)