I can thank my Dad for instilling in his boys the constant pursuit for the perfect knot. Thirty plus years of suits and ties and the man never settled for less than perfection. Three tips he gave us:

1. The length
   1. The end of your tie should touch the middle of your belt. Yes you can have a giant knot and still have your tie the right length.
2. The knot
   1. Consider the width of your collar when deciding on the knot size. Wide collars need a larger knot.
3. The dimple
   1. Take your time. Make it look good. This is a little detail most overlook.

Jeff Mix at Tom James shared these graphics on how to tie a tie. He is a great resource if you’re looking for a new suit for your rehearsal dinner, a new shirt and tie for your wedding day, or even a custom tux.

A big thank you to Keli Fayard, Co-Chef and Co-Owner at Vanille Patisserie in Chicago. I photographed one of Kelli’s cakes last year that she used in an ad shortly after the wedding. I asked her for a blog posts and she went above and beyond. I know you will find her tips useful!

5 Wedding Cake Planning Tips:

1.Consider your budget On average, wedding cakes for 80 to 100 guests cost between $800 – $1200 (plus tax & delivery).  Pricing is based upon number of guests and upgrades you may consider, such as sugar flowers, intricate piping, figurines, multiple shapes or carved tiers, multi- flavored tiers, etc.  Does your budget fall below this dollar amount or above it?  This is important to decide before making your cake tasting appointment.   Also, the type of place that sells cakes will fall within different price ranges.  Are they a high-end boutique or a corner bakery?  Are they allowing their clients to customize or choose from a catalogue?

HOW TO SAVE: A trick on cutting costs for wedding cakes is the number of servings.  If you have the cake served to each guest at their seat then you need a slice for each guest.  If you have the cake cut and served on a sweet table then you can cut-down the amount of servings.  Perhaps supplement cake servings with other sweets that are cheaper than the wedding cake price point.  Example:  A wedding cake is generally $7 – $9 per slice.  Sweets are generally priced between $1.00 – $3.00 each.   And, sheet cakes are generally priced at half the cost of the wedding cake price point.

2.Know your designer Each designer has a different style and expertise. I suggest limiting your tasting appointments to 3 designers who best suit your design liking. Some venues have a list of suggested vendors – make sure your cake designer is approved at your location before making tasting appointments.  Narrow your choices down after the tastings by choosing the designer who fits within your budget and whose cake tasting you prefer.

3.Color swatches are very important for a cake designer. There are lots of shades of red or burgundy. Green for example has many different shades. Even descriptions like sage, celadon, sea foam green, are not as good as a swatch.  Sometimes if my brides cannot get a swatch of their accent colors I suggest matching it to the paint swatches they can find at Home Depot.  There’s a rainbow of color variations and tones to choose from and it costs nothing.  Bring a few home, match it to the invites or fabric overlays, just be able to show the cake designer the correct color.

PRO TIP: Another consideration when choosing colors is to know that purple, in any shade/tone, is the most difficult color to match when making purple fondant.  For some unknown reason, purple food color has a chemical reaction to fondant and may turn it baby blue or gray.  Make sure the cake designer you have chosen knows how to mix the color you need.  It takes practice mixing reds and blues to create the perfect shade of eggplant or lavendar.

4.Be prepared for your cake tasting.  Some designers get inspired by the first impression of meeting you, which will in-turn be reflected in your cake design.  For instance, if you come in wearing sweats, pony tail, tennis shoes then you make the impression that you are easy-going, relaxed and simple. Your cake design might be clean lines, softer edges and tone-on-tone colors.  Sounds ridiculous, but these little details can play a part in the design aspect of your cake.Have questions ready. Here are some basic questions you might want to add to your list:

1. How accurate can you match my colors?
2. What size will my cake be for my anticipated guest count?
3. What if my guest count decreases significantly after I’ve signed the contract?  Am I locked into the original numbers of servings or can I decrease it to suit the final guest count?  Am I penalized for this?
4. If you bring in a photo of a cake from a magazine, ask if there is a way to personalize it.
5. Do they offer sheet cakes to supplement servings.
6. Who does the cake delivery and how is it delivered?
7. When is the cake made?
8. If you are having a smaller wedding, around 50 guests, ask if pick-up is available to avoid delivery fees.
9. When does the design and flavor need to be confirmed?  Are you allowed to change your mind about the design & flavor after the contract is signed?

5. Know your cake style.  Clean lines and intricate piping sort of contradict each other. Being able to explain your style in detail will result in an accurate sketch.   Some descriptive words you might consider using:

• sharp edges or soft-rounded edges.
• modern and minimal design with plenty of negative space.
• Elegant.   – this is a broad term used quite a bit.  Make sure you know what you mean when you say elegant.  I often visualize fondant swags or elements pulled from the wedding dress.  Every person has a different definition for the term elegant.
• Ornate and intricate details.  Piping and string-work. Fondant decals.
• State what base color you want your cake.  Be able to provide a swatch.  There are several variations of the color Ivory.
• Shape of cake.  Round. Square. Oval. Custom carved shape.
• Sugar flowers are actually called gumpaste flowers.  (sugar flowers can also mean pulled-sugar flowers.  Completely different thing are much more expensive.)
• Chocolate fondant:  specify chocolate flavor or chocolate color.  Chocolate flavored fondant may be an upgrade.
• Stacked tiers.  Separated tiers.  A mix of stacked and separated tiers.

A special thank you to Keli Fayard from Vanille Patisserie for taking the time to share this fabulous information with us. Please click the following link to see more of her work.More cakes

Vanille Patisserie

2229 N Clybourn Ave

Chicago, IL

email: vanillecakes@gmail.com

phone: 773-868-4574

I’m guessing you probably didn’t think you would come across a weight loss tip on a wedding photography blog. No this is not a scam or a shortcut. Yes, you will have to work hard. However, with the following tips this may be easier than most of the running you have ever done.

Running. Okay wait, don’t leave yet. I hated running too. I remember trying to run a cross country race once in middle school. I kept playing one scenario through my head. If I fall over and grab my ankle surely someone will have to come get me and I won’t have to finish this agonizing three mile race. My attempt at running was like many other peoples, I just went out and decided to run a certain distance at some random pace, and quickly thought I would die. Since then I’ve learned a few things. You don’t have to run fast to lose weight. You also don’t need to even come close to the feeling that your lungs might explode or your eyes might pop out of your head as you gasp for air. As promised here’s the key to enjoying running and getting the most out of it.

Most people don’t realize that you burn more fat running at a slower pace. Yes that’s right. All those times you’ve gone out at your aerobic pain threshold has actually only really burned calories that you consumed that day. If you want to target fat you need a LONG easy run. If you want more info, Greg McMillan has a great article. Click here and look for THE LONG STEADY RUN. I found the following info from a post from Runner’s World just a few days ago. It easily explains how to burn fat while running.

1. For trained athletes, maxFat occurs at about 70 to 75 percent of your max heart rate. If you want to remember just one number, the 70 will do fine. When you exercise within 5 to 10 beats of 70 percent of your max HR you’re still very close to peak fat burning. (However, once you go about 20 beats higher, fat burn drops precipitously. That’s because your muscles “prefer” carbohydrates-glycogen when you are going hard.)
2. What I find interesting about this 70 percent of max HR is that it almost perfectly matches the pace you naturally choose for EZ and Long Run days. Many runners do up to 80 percent of their training at this pace. Why are runners thin? Because their typical running pace puts them squarely in the maxFat zone.
3. Your maxFat pace also burns a lot of total calories because you can maintain it for hours on end. Unlike your maxCal pace, which you can only maintain for 10 seconds, as noted above.
4. If you’re relatively fit, exercising at 70 percent of your max HR feels quite comfortable. However, an exercise physiologist would consider this “vigorous” exercise. In other words, you get a lot of the big fitness benefits from running at 70 percent of your max HR.

For more info on weight loss and running check out this great post from Runner’s World.

Max Heat Rate Calculation

If you’re still with me I’m assuming you want to know how to figure your Max heart rate. After all, it’s hard to figure out 70% if you don’t know what 100% is. I make things pretty for a living. Math is not my strongest subject. Luckily that skill was given to my boys from my wife. This will be easy I promise. Find a treadmill or if winter ever ends go find a hill.

Run 6 times at  [1 minute hard uphill with 1.5 minutes slow downhill]

For those not into math the info in the bracket should be done back to back. The first 3 should be at 80% effort followed by the last 3 at a 100% effort. Now count your heart rate for 1 full minute. That is your 100% HR. Now multiply that heart rate by 0.7 or 70%, and that is the fat burning heart rate in which you need to work out at in order to lose fat. Now that your heart is pounding out of your chest hit the hot tub and get ready to find a running plan.

You’ve done the math now set some goals!

Just like the rest of your life you need goals. Without a plan your mind starts to wander. Think about it, how many times have you skipped a workout for a random excuse. Long day at work, it’s cold outside, the dog is lonely and I need to spend time with him. These excuses are so much easier to use when you don’t have a plan. When you have defined workouts written down in your calendar they don’t seem so daunting. You know exactly what you need to get done. Go do it and cross it off your list. Type A people click here to see why goals and a plan will work well for you and makes sense with running.

11 marathons and 8 years ago I used Hal Higdon’s training schedule for my first marathon. He has training schedules for everything from the 5k to the marathon. If you don’t want to do a race that’s fine. Just pick a schedule and stick to it. You’ll love the feeling of accomplishment on Sundays when you cross off your last run of the week. Personally I like to race. It’s my time to push myself to new limits. I ran the Lake Geneva marathon last year with 60 marathon finishers. There’s not much of a show and you really don’t see anyone out on the course. At 32 degrees, a 20 mph headwind, and sideways rain the race becomes a complete mental game. My inner monologue certainly would have been censored if put on tv. Did I think about quitting, yes. Did I quit, absolutely not. This race was a training race for the San Francisco Marathon in July. If you spend 16 weeks training for a race, crossing off the daily workout boxes and putting in the work, there really isn’t a bigger feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. So be careful. You’re going to lose some weight, but you also might get addicted to running.

Click here to view the entire image gallery from the RMHC-CNI – 6th Annual Big Mac Under Glass. ***ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO RMHC-CNI***

For those of you that are wondering, yes this wedding was in Milwaukee. It is however not that far from Chicago and we all live here. That said Milwaukee is a great town and an unbelievable place to shoot a wedding. The Grain Exchange and Intercontinental were only a start to all the great locations.