It has only taken 4 months, but here it is. Again, sorry for the bad picture quality. I really need to remember to bring more than my phone. Maybe I can attempt to steal some from the bride! I'll have to investigate and see what I can come up with!
This cake was a stressful affair. Are you excited for the story?? I know you are.
The only actual cake was the bottom tier of this cake, as there were going to be other desserts at the wedding for the guests, and the cake was basically there for the customary "cutting". It was a key lime cake with cream cheese frosting, covered in green fondant. The top 2 tiers are Styrofoam, also covered in fondant. The green progressively gets lighter as it goes up. It's hard to tell in the above photos due to lighting. It is a really subtle difference. Here is a picture of the cake prior to being displayed. It was level. I swear. I really need to work on my photography skills. Or maybe just take a picture with a level on top to prove it!
Making of the cake occurred the night before the wedding, as did the covering with fondant. I made marshmallow fondant as opposed to using store bought. I'm not sure if this was my downfall, or if it was just late, but covering the Styrofoam was a nightmare. By 2am I had basically decided I would send the bride a text message (on her wedding night btw, since her reception was the next day) and let her know there would be no cake. I decided that I would give it one more try and by 3 am, I had a covered cake. Then I promptly went to bed, covered in icing sugar.
The reception was in Calgary, so I had to transport. Some friends and I were invited to the family dinner so we had to be there early. We got up there and thankfully the cake remained intact. There were a couple of tiny issues, that I was able to fix, and of course hide with the beautiful lace.
The cake turned out! YAY! And the bride loved it! Double YAY!
And now, the stress. The mother of the bride passed away unexpectedly in February, and so we were using some flowers that had been on her wedding cake which she had saved for over 20 years. These things were fragile. And guarded under lock and key by the father of the bride. Understandable. I felt horrible taking the box from him. I carefully found a few flowers that were intact enough, and didn't include some lovely pink tulle, and arranged them on the cake.
During the family dinner, I was positioned in a way that I had direct eye line of the cake the whole time. The photographer came in, picked it up and walked out with it. My heart almost stopped. Not so much for the cake, but for those flowers! Oh my. What if something happened to those flowers.
The cake came back after having its photo session. And it came back intact. Sigh of relief. Roughly 10 minutes later however, I notice some guys looking at the cake and laughing a bit. Then they get up and start moving it. What is going on? More people come over, look at the back of the cake, and laugh. A woman goes and talks to the bride. She goes pale. Then seems ok. The bride goes and looks at the cake. Now keep in mind this all happening during speeches, etc. So I remain seating. Again, heart stopping. Finally the dinner is over. A friend goes on a mission to find out about the cake because I may die.
A small child had decided to put their hand through it. That's right. Ripped fondant and cake. I could have died! We hadn't even made it to the reception yet! The flowers however were not harmed, so a sigh of relief was had. But seriously, after my breakdown making the cake, this hit me hard. I had to go have a cry in my car. I get emotional over cake. Deal with it.
All in all, everything was good. The bride and groom were happy and they enjoyed it. That's all that matters right? None of the drama matters. If nothing else, it provides for a good story!
Congratulations Frances and Eric
