Temari Wedding Cake

Source: cakewrecks.com via Rosemary on Pinterest

Temari? Never heard of it? Neither had I, that's one of the great things about blogging, you learn something new everyday. 

What is Temari? Expert Barbara B. Seuss who wrote a fabulous book on Temari describes it as follows: "Temari てまり ("hand ball" in Japanese) is a folk craft born in ancient Japan from the desire to amuse and entertain children with an embroidered toy thread ball. "  (quote from her book, Japanese Temari)The Japanese art of Temari is over a thousand years old. A threaded ball was created by weaving silk in bright colors onto a small ball, the perfect simple toy for a child. (Btw, once the insanity of wedding planning is over if you're at all crafty, check out her books, two on Temari (one that is on pre-order right now), one on Kimekoni.)

These Temari inspired small cakes are pretty, decorative and sure to catch the eye of all your guests. How cool! A round ball decorated with colorful icings and a two layer cake with dots to match the colors the Temari balls were iced in. I love it when a baker and cake designer take it to the next level and create a wedding cake/or cakes that really catch the eye and aren't the same old, same old!

This cake was designed by Maki's Cakes. They offer a variety of different Temari cakes to choose from. Where am I going? I'm headed to my kitchen to see if I can figure out how to make these at home, fun for my next party for sure! And then? I'm going to call my girlfriend and recommend these books to her (I'd read them just for the photos, she'd actually put it to use! A great crafter I am not!

 

Rent A Fake

Have a small family? Want to have a big wedding, or make it look like you have a zillion friends? Or are you getting married but your friends and family live across the country and can't afford to fly to the wedding? Want to have more work colleagues to pad out the guest list? Brides or grooms trying to impress the in laws or their future spouse with the sheer volume of their best buddies are padding their guest lists with these 'fake' guests. As unemployment rates rise more people are renting fake bosses and colleagues or if they've lost their jobs in the recent downturn they are trying to look more respectable.

Don't worry, if you live in Japan there's a solution. (I know, the Japanese are INGENIOUS!) They have a company called Office Agent, based in Tokyo, who will let you have as large a crowd as you want by hiring you actors to be part of your family or to be your closest friends. In Japan it's important to have a lot of people come to your wedding, so now if you're Japanese and have the spare cash but no spare friends, you can rent fake friends!

What will it cost? “For 20,000 yen ($200), Office Agents provides a staff member to attend the ceremony,” Reuters says. “For an additional 5,000 yen, that person can perform a song or a dance. Pitch in another 10,000 yen and that person can make a speech that would make you proud.”

While this may save money on invitations, it won't save money in the long run, but it seems what people are saving is 'face'.  I wouldn't pay this much for extra bodies at my wedding but my culture is totally different.

So you want to be a 'faker?' The company describes their fakers as 'cheery and clean and look like they have regular jobs.'

Is there any reason you'd hire 'fakers' to come to your wedding? If you did, what would you be willing to pay? How many guests would you need? Maybe I need to open an agency in the good old USA!