See Inside Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design

We're so excited that our new wedding design book Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design will be on bookshelves shortly after Christmas!  We've updated our website with lots of new information, too!

You can see all the confirmed scheduled speaking engagements on our tour...if we're not coming to your city, but would like us to...please email pr {at} sashasouzaevents {dot} com to schedule a Souza-palooza event in your city!

You can see the buzz surrounding the book, the blogs are starting to talk about it and the excitement is building! 

We now have an short three page excerpt from the book on the site - just a little bit of the eye candy that will be in the printed version.

If you're interested in providing information on your blog or in print, please contact sasha {at} sparkliatti {dot} com.  We're thrilled to give you information to share with your readers. 

Some stats about the book & the website:

• The Signature Sasha website is the only place you can pre-order signed copies of the book! 
• You can now also pre-order online at Amazon, Borders & Barnes & Noble booksellers.  The book will be available at all of our upcoming speaking engagements also!  For the speaking events in November 2009, the book is available for pre-order.  
• The book is 9 x 12 and 256 pages with hardcover & a dust jacket - a gorgeous coffee table size
• Sasha wrote the entire book herself - and did not use a ghost writer...just a very patient editor.
• Sasha has a line of product available soon on the site including invitations & tools for planners.
• Team IDo is now linked to the Signature Sasha site, for information on our coaching program

Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design - Exciting News!

For quite a while we've been working on a design book which will debut in January 2010. 

The wedding design book Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design is a stunning, hard cover wedding design book featuring beautiful photography of all aspects of wedding design including never before seen Weddings by Sasha Souza Events.  The book will have a cover price of $50.

The four color, hard bound book will be available at all major bookstores and online through our website:  http://www.signaturesasha.com  Which will feature the most up to date information about the book release, speaking engagements and book signings and information about our line of products including the Team I Do Business Coaching program. 

As the release gets closer, we'll share on the site information from the inside of the book and probably even a sample chapter!  Keep an eye out for these updates by following us on Twitter & becoming a fan on Facebook! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving and showcase an amazing cake our baker Lisa Colley from Fleur de Lisa Cakes made a few years back for a wedding couple.  Yes, it's a cake and so is the wood board it's on!

Little Bites of Heaven

More and more often I have couples who come to me and say that they don't eat cake -- they want something "different' for their weddings.  Like me, many of my couples have grown up on Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Zingers.  Remember Zingers? 

Here I've put together a group of yummy miniature desserts you can talk to your baker or caterer about provding.

It looks so scrumdilliumtious..I may have to have me a cupcake :)  Waistline be damned!

Some items to consider:

• Candied Apples, Mini Crepes, S'mores Tarts, Pumpkin Pies, Doughtnut Holes
• Creme Brulee Spoons, Cinnamon Rolls, Meringues, Lava Cake Cups
• Tarragon Blueberry Spoons, Cupcake pops, Eclaires, Dessert Sushi
• Peanut Butter/Banana Sandwiches, Churros, Ice Cream Sandwiches

Nuveaux Vintage Cake Toppers

With the renaissance of everything vintage, it makes sense that the cake topper is making a comeback of it's own.  Cake toppers have traditionally been really ugly plastic pieces with a bride & groom on top when have NO RESEMBLANCE to the couple (except the plastic hair color) and isn't something you would want to keep (or even display) in your home for years to come.

We found some really great cake toppers on Etsy -- handmade by real people -- and I think you should check them out.  Just do a search for Wedding Cake Toppers (beware of the strange) and have a great time!!

 

Food Idea...Popcorn!

I don't know about you, but I loves me some popcorn.  All kinds of popcorn -- sweet, salty, chocolately, cheesy and I like it as individual flavors or mixed together in weird combinations (which is odd because it grosses me out when somebody dips their fries in their milkshake -- but oh well).  I was at a conference in January and I had some nummy popcorn in great flavors by Dale and Thomas'. 

Dale & Thomas' Popcorn provides popcorn "bars" all over the country -- will ship you the product and you can DIY a popcorn bar or have it staffed by your caterer or just go whole hog and let people pack their own (and make a HUGE mess in the process).  How fun is that?   

What a great time in the lounge after dinner & dancing, guests carrying around custom takeout boxes full of popcorn in flavors like "Buffalo Dale's Hot Wing or White Cheddar and Black Peppercorn.  And!  The carryout containers could be so fun...you can use chinese takeout boxes, old fashioned popcorn boxes, lunch bags stamped with your monogram and ribbon - the DIY possibilities are ENDLESS...bwah hahaha!  They even have a spiffy little truck.  Which I think would be a hoot at weddings...

Nobody Ever Eats the Cake...

I hear it all the time.  "Nobody ever eats the cake!" -- ah, not true, mon frere.... let me tell you a little story. 

In 2007 I had a wedding outdoors in Napa at a private estate.  There were 200 guests and we had an appropriately sized cake for 180 guests (which once the caterer cut it, actually serves about 200 - but I digress).  The cake had three different flavors and was made by my divine cake baker Fleur de Lisa Cakes.  After hors d'oeuvres, a three course seated dinner with a dual entree and many drinks -- it was time to dance.  And boy did they...for about an hour before we cut the cake.  Once the bride & groom had their ceremonial first slice and declared it "really good!" -- we took it to the catering kitchen to cut and plate and serve. 

As the servers emerged from the kitchen carrying trays of Caramel Apple cake, Lemoncello & Poppyseed cake and Double Chocolate with raspberry cakes the onslaught began.  About 20 older ladies were stalking the kitchen and the servers.  Each time a new flavor of cake came out, they all grabbed a slice from the trays.  In total, these ladies ended up eating about 80 total slices of wedding cake.  No joke.  Them ladies ate 44% of the available cake for the party. 

As the night wore on (and I'm surprised they weren't getting sick in the portalets), guests had heard how divine the cake was and wanted to try it for themselves -- except we had a problem.  There was no more cake.  Not a slice for the catering staff to put into the bride & groom's takeaway basket, nothing.  We had to turn them away all the while I wanted to point at the group and say -- "don't complain to me, they ate all the cake".

Is this an extreme example of bad manners?  Yes, but honestly... just plan on everybody having their slice of cake -- and buy for your wedding size.  You can always serve the leftovers at the brunch! 

Here are some fab cakes I found on the web that were just as yummy and I had to share

Fleur De Lisa Cakes:

Butterfly Cakes:

Beau Gateaux: