Royal Wedding - Prince Williams Grooms Cake Recipe

Oprah has done it again. She got the recipe to Prince Williams grooms cake. I couldn't resist sharing. Now that the recipe has been made public I predict this delightful confection will be making it's way to many more weddings this season.

Here is the Recipe. If anyone bakes it at home I would love to hear how it turned out.

Chocolate Biscuit Cake - The Official Grooms Cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton

Servings: Makes one 6-inch round cake (8 portions)

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. butter , for greasing
• 8 ounces Rich tea biscuits
• 4 ounces unsalted butter , softened
• 4 ounces granulated sugar
• 4 ounces dark chocolate , for the cake
• 1 egg

• 8 ounces dark chocolate , for coating
• 1 ounce chocolate , for decorating

Directions

To make cake: Lightly grease a 6" x 2 1/2" cake ring and place on a tray on a sheet of parchment paper.

Break each of the biscuits into almond-size pieces by hand and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until the mixture starts to lighten.

Melt the 4 ounces of dark chocolate and add to the butter mixture while constantly stirring.

Beat the egg into the mixture.

Fold in the biscuit pieces until they are all coated with the chocolate mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake ring. Try to fill all of the gaps on the bottom of the ring because this will be the top when it is unmolded.

Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

To coat and decorate: Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand while you melt the 8 ounces of dark chocolate.

Slide the ring off the cake and turn it upside down onto a cake wire.

Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and smooth the top and sides using a palette knife.

Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.

Carefully run a knife around the bottom of the cake where the chocolate has stuck to the cake wire and lift it onto a tea plate.

Melt the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate and use to decorate the top of the cake.

Sarah Houston Launches Her First Canadian Store

Video by James Frodyma with music by Ravishers

On March 3, 2011 my colleague, wedding planner Erin Bosak of Exquisite Affairs and I had the immense honor of attending the ultra-exclusive launch party of Sarah Houston's new flagship store.

If you don't know Sarah, she is an internationally renowned wedding gown designer who is based right here in Canada. Sarah is known for creating each gown with the highest quality of silks. Her gowns each have their own unique personality. Formally I had only viewed photographs of her collections. I can honestly say that not only are her gowns more beautiful in person; but for the first time in my life I walked into a bridal salon and literally fell in love with almost every dress. 

Sarah Houston Couture Bridal is located at 24 Hazelton Avenue in the Yorkville area of Toronto. Appointments can be made by calling 416.921.8882

To view the collection online please visit her web site at http://www.sarah-houston.com

Get Married 40 Feet Underwater

An example of an Underwater Wedding - Crystal Bay, Bali

You've seen the video's on Youtube; but does the idea of having your own underwater wedding sound to difficult to coordinate? Not anymore thanks to the Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort & Spa.

Scuba certified brides and grooms at the resort can now "take the plunge" 40 feet underwater with their new scuba wedding package. The ceremony takes place in the worlds second largest coral reef. The package includes ceremony, photography, scuba gear, the brides bouquet, a bottle of champagne, and a romantic dinner for two at the upscale Alfredo Di Roma Restaurant. It's the perfect mixture of romance and adventure.

If you're a couple who loves the beauty of marine life and you're looking for something a bit different this could be the perfect wedding package for you.

The LEGO Love Boat

Princess Cruises is probably one of the most famous brand of cruise ships around. If you don't know Princess then chances are really good you know it's alter ego The Love Boat.

The 1970's hit television show Love Boat sparked a renewed interest in cruising that is still going strong. Maybe it's my age; but this morning I was pleased to discover an article on World Tourism News that brought back fond childhood memories.

Australian native Ryan McNaught has built a replica of the original Love Boat out of LEGO. It measures 10.5 feet long and nearly 5 feet high. It's made from more than 250,000 LEGO bricks. This massive LEGO creation took 6 months to construct. One side of the ship duplicates the exterior. The other side is an open concept that displays the ships interior; complete with tiny LEGO versions of the shows cast. The only thing this LEGO ship is missing is a tiny little bride and groom. The Love Boat isn't only a place to find love. Princess Cruises have wedding packages too.

To view this ship visit McNaughts Flickr page which also includes examples of his other LEGO creations. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanmcnaught

If you are interested in experiencing a bigger version of the Love Boat; Princess Cruises is holding a special three day sale which includes savings up to $1,000 per person, free balcony upgrades and up to $100 cash back on Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruises. The sale ends January 21, 2011. Feel free to contact me for details on this sale.

The Goring Hotel for your own Royal Wedding or Honeymoon

Last year was a year of celebration for The Goring Hotel in London, England. Last March marked 100 years since the Goring family opened the doors of this famed hotel. It's been run by the Goring family ever since.

The celebrations of it's 100th birthday might be over; but the reasons to celebrate are still going strong. It's rumored that the Royal family has rented out the entire hotel for the exclusive use of guests attending Prince Williams and Kate Middleton's wedding. Now I don't know if this is true. I'm certainly not going to turn this blog into a gossip column so unless someone from the Royal family telephones me directly to tell me this news I'm keeping it in the rumour pile.

What isn't rumoured is that The Goring Hotel will have something to celebrate this year beyond a Royal Wedding. Jeremy Goring has commissioned well known designer Russell Sage to convert the entire 5th floor of his hotel into one giant suite. This suite will be named the Royal Suite

The new suite will consist of 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a drawing room, and a study/dining room which will hold a baby grand piano. It's expected that Sage's design will stay true to his previous work for The Goring Hotel in that it will be contemporary with rich historical influences. Sage will design each piece of furniture himself using British craftsmen to construct them. Gainsborough silk will be used on the walls, as well as hand-painted wallpaper from Fromenthal. The smallest room; nicknamed the Throne Room will be completely lined in silk.

The new Royal Suite will be available for rental to the public in May, 2011.  It's also good to note that the Goring Hotel is a Virtuoso property so guests booking through a Virtuoso travel adviser receive extra benefits. If you are looking for old world charm The Goring is a wonderful place to host a wedding.

Dream Destinastion Wedding Planning Contest

One lucky couple will win full destination wedding planning services from Mindless Sophistication Events.

E-mail info@mindlessSophistication.com and tell us about your dream destination wedding. Put "Destination Wedding Planner Contest" in the subject line.

The winner will be picked at random. The winner will be announced on January 28, 2011 on Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter

Facebook

*Conditions apply: Travel must be booked through our exclusive travel partner. The winner must be from an area where it is legal to hold this contest and be legally allowed to book travel with a Canadian based travel company. We will determine if travel booking is allowed before announcing the winner. This prize is for planning services ONLY.

Not Just Wedding Planners; We're Virtuoso Travel Advisers Too

I'm really excited to announce to everyone that Mindless Sophistication Events has joined forces with Vision 2000 Travel Group which is one of the top five Virtuoso member travel agencies in the world. So as well as planning weddings we now have the ability to book travel. This will make the entire process of planning a destination wedding easier for our clients.

If you don't know what Virtuoso is let me tell you. They are an invitation only travel designation that is granted to only the top travel companies. 1% of travel agencies in the world have been invited to join and since Vision 2000 is in the top 5 of that top 1% I don't have to tell you that means they are the best of the best.

Clients who book travel will receive extra benefits at some of the VERY best luxury properties, cruise lines, airlines, etc. around the world. Through Virtuoso and Vision 2000 clients will now have access to luxury products that other travel advisers can't offer. A great example is that only Virtuoso advisers have access to selling Virgin Galactic flights. Could you imagine a vow renewal in space?

I'm still planning weddings both locally and internationally through my own company Mindless Sophistication Events and am looking forward to offering this new service to my planning clients; but am not limited travel booking to only Mindless Sophistication Events Clients. I am looking forward to working with other wedding planners to them book their clients travel. This is a win, win situation since we all speak the same wedding planner language. I'm backed up by an amazing team of travel professionals to help me serve all our clients.

Additionally, Vision 2000 has some great value added incentives that they offer clients; such as a free custom wedding web site with an online wedding registry. Couples booking their honeymoon without having a destination wedding receive a registry as well. Feel free to ask me about the complete list of value added benefits that Vision 2000 offers wedding couples and groups. I really believe that when it comes to destination wedding clients it's important to work with a travel adviser who can not only service the clients travel needs; but also understands the wedding industry. I hope that you all agree.

Vision 2000 has also supplied me with an online travel booking web site for general travel purposes. Feel free to check it out at Vision 2000 Travel Group - My Site and/or drop me a line. I look forward to sharing this new travel adventure with everyone.