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kayleighlovesjacob
Newbie
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 18
Location: Waco, TX
Birthday: May 25
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 Posted:
Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:42 am |
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I am new to cake decorating, and have a lot of learning to do, but I'd really like to do my own wedding cake... but everyone keeps telling me "noooo don't it's too stressful blah, blah, blah" but I'm sure others have, right? and I'll I want is something rather simple and small... so I guess what I'm asking is has anyone done this? any tips or advice good and bad or if it really isn't worth the time and stress... |
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tiggy2
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Oct 07, 2005
Posts: 2494
Location: Omaha, NE
Birthday: Aug 13
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:12 am |
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It all depends on the person, the design, how much you can do ahead of time, how much freezer space you have, will you have time to set it up the day of the wedding, etc. It can be very stressful but people have done it. How well do you handle stress? |
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mbelgard
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Oct 10, 2005
Posts: 2820
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:55 am |
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I made my sister's wedding cake and was glad I wasn't in the wedding party. It was my first wedding cake. Now that my brother is engaged I've told them that I'll do the cake but they can't expect me to have any other responsibilities that day.
I would never make my own wedding cake. There's too much stuff going on for the bride to not be rushed doing the cake.
If you're new to decorating that will make it even harder on you.
There are people who pull it off of course but I don't know how great an idea that is. |
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vmertsock
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 17, 2008
Posts: 66
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 11:26 am |
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I made my own and it helped keep me sane!  I know that probably makes me abnormal but I loved doing it! But it depends on what you want and how much experience you have. I did mine in fondant and I thought it helped keep it fresher. I did the baking the Saturday before, layered it and crumb coated it Sunday then froze it. I thawed it and covered it Thursday night and put the finishing touches on Friday night after the rehearsal. It gave me something to focus on other than the weather, etc. Good luck! I'm sure it'll be a gorgeous day for you no matter what you decide. |
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amy2197
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 27, 2008
Posts: 73
Location: columbia, ms
Birthday: Feb 19
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:57 pm |
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I didn't do my wedding cake, but i had a saturday evening wedding. I was going nuts all day because I really had nothing to do until that evening. It made me stress even more. I say go for it if you think you can handle your dream wedding cake, maybe it will keep your hands busy and not worry about everything else. GOOD LUCK! |
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PaulsAngel
Regular Member
Joined: Aug 08, 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Hope Mills, North Carolina
Birthday: Jan 12
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:52 pm |
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It all depends on the size of the cake, how much can be done ahead of time, the time available before the wedding, and the design of the cake. If you've got time to practice, make the cake you'd like and see how it goes. Is it something you can have done by the rehearsal on friday and stick in the fridge until set up on saturday?
I'll be making my own cake but I've chosen a simple design and accents with gumpaste flowers. So when it comes down to it, all I have to do is bake, ice, and stack. It can baked and iced in one day. The flowers can be made months ahead of time, which I've already started working on. But I am also having a very small wedding with close family and friends. |
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merissa
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jun 07, 2006
Posts: 4415
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Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:35 am |
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I think if I were NEW to decorating, I wouldnt do it. But now, if I were getting married, I would definitley consider it! |
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dinas27
Frequent Member
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 487
Location: Alberta, Canada
Birthday: Nov 19
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Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:15 am |
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I made my own cake... you can read about it here.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cak.....8896-.html
I would say the biggest thing to ask yourself is: are you willing for your cake to not be perfect? I wanted my cake to taste amazing first and foremost. And I didnt trust anyone else to make a yummy cake. I knew how I wanted my cake to look but if it had ended up with buttercream and fresh flowers unstacked that was ok too. There was definately a 'back' to my cake which was fine because it was sitting in a corner! Here is a picture - I htink it turned out ok.
http://www.cakecentral.com/mod.....id=1168723
Some other questions
Will you have all the other details wrapped up a few days before the wedding?
Are you going to have lots of family/friends staying with you?
Are you going to have the fridge space?
When would you set up the cake? Will the venue be cool enough for your cake to sit out for many hours?
Are you willing to have filling that do not need to be refridgerated?
How large of a cake do you need? How will you transport it - stacked or unstacked?
Depending on the design you are going for and how much time you could think about buying a stand that holds the individual cakes. I think the hardest thing would be to pipe a border with everything else going on (but I am horrible at piping). If all you need to do to set up is slide the cakes on the stand it would be a lot less stress! Or if you have a small enough cake to transport stacked (well chilled) then all you need to do is drop it off.
I think one of the most informative stories I read was about Anne (owner of Pink Cake Box) on making her own wedding cake. Even professionals (and the best laid plans) can't always make it work, you just have to make it work! Here is her story.
http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/mr.....-07-16.htm
I took a look at your cakes... you definately have the talent to pull it off... I would practice making a few larger, tiered cakes and sort out your schedule for that week then decide. Good luck! |
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kayleighlovesjacob
Newbie
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 18
Location: Waco, TX
Birthday: May 25
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Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:05 am |
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thanks so much for all the advice everyone! I really appreciate it and I still have a while to think about it, but I know practice makes perfect and fyi it is for a small wedding so I wouldn't need more than a 3-tier and probably a small one at that, plus I already know what I want... just a simple cake with pearls and orange and yellow flowers with brown ribbon... I just needed some good ol bakers advice! thanks again and wish me luck please! |
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CelebrationsbyLori
Frequent Member
Joined: May 12, 2007
Posts: 336
Location: Southeast Kansas
Birthday: Jan 01
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Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:43 pm |
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I would say it should depend more on how big/ detailed your wedding is. If you are throwing a party for 400 people that can turn into a 3 ring circus, then trying to bake and decorate cake in the middle of that is probably not a good idea! I did mine almost 11 years ago and I don't really recommend it. My husband and I had a very small wedding at a resort so we basically just had to show up with our guests. It was for about 30 people, so I made a very small cake (you can see it on my website www.celebrationsbylori.net), then we had a big reception a week later in our hometown for 175 people. That cake was much larger, but I only had to focus on the reception, not a wedding the same day, still pretty stressful between decor, photos, food, music and all the other things you'll be juggling, it's more to do! Just give it a lot of thought and planning! Congratulations! and good luck!
Lori |
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lutie
Frequent Member
Joined: Jun 30, 2007
Posts: 277
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Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:52 pm |
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This is your day... you will never have a day like this in your whole life again. If this is what you want, then do it... it appears to be important to you. If it is because of the cost savings, I think I would do it, too. Let everyone that is helping you take on the rest of the stress so you can concentrate on your cake. Just keep in mind that this is your special day, and you do not want to add any more stress to it ... you should be able to enjoy it. A cake is so stressful for those of us who do it for others... it would be double stressful if you were making it for your own wedding.
I catered both of my children's weddings, but would not do it ever again if I had a "do over". I did not get to enjoy all the festivities. |
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lindy01
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 20, 2008
Posts: 53
Location: new zealand
Birthday: Apr 23
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Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:07 pm |
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i'm also making my own wedddin cake, people think i'm nuts for dong it, but i dont trust any one else making me one that i want. i know it will be stressful but it will be worth it in the end. and you save your self 400-500 dollars in the long run |
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k8memphis
Forum Fanatic
Joined: Mar 21, 2005
Posts: 1294
Location: Memphis 10 C
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Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:35 pm |
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1. Define simple and small.
2. Have you made any similar cakes and delivered them?
I made my own a jillion years ago, like this December 25th it will be 30 (agh--if one of us doesn't kill the other first--just kidding... kinda sorta  . It was easy for me because I kept it frozen and it was winter so no worries. But it will probably eat up your time and that's the only time you will have to be the center of attention bridelette. Y'know, decide how much of that you wanna trade. |
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JulissaMyCakes
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 02, 2008
Posts: 22
Location: St. Cloud, FL
Birthday: Jun 12
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Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:16 pm |
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If you have people helping you with other details of the wedding... go for it!!! But if you are doing it all on your own... well... you better have a back up plan.
Baking the cakes and crumb coating it ahead of time will be the best way to go. A 3 tier cake can be stacked and decorated in one day.
Since you are new to this... practice, practice, practice if you can, so that you can have an idea of the amount of time you will need.
It is all about planning. So, plan ahead!
Congratulations and best of luck! |
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LorienSkye
Junior Member
Joined: May 06, 2007
Posts: 28
Location: Jackson, MI
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Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:31 pm |
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I had to check in with this topic because I just got married on May 24th and made my own cake. I am also pretty new to decorating, but I have done a couple of wedding cakes now and I wanted to do my own. My husband and I are WAY picky about the way cake tastes and he really really wanted a couple of his favorite flavors that I make. I kept it very simple- just buttercream and I ended up going with the separated
multi-tiered cake stand so I didn't even have to worry about stacking and assembling. In the end I am SO GLAD I did my own cake because I cut it and my husband and I served our guests which gave us the chance to chat with everyone.
P.S.- I also ended up getting several orders as a side-bonus! |
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