so I am a super novice who can't even really make shells and couldn't make a BC rose to save my life. I have done a couple birthday cakes and stuff but mostly for free just to get started. So an old friend called to say she is getting married again and asked if I wanted to do her cake. I said yea and we agreed that I would do it as a gift. Well now she tells me that it is for 200 people!!!!! I don't have a clue how to do something like that! I figured second marriage for her, 3rd for him and they would do something little in their house for maybe 50 max. What is a giant wedding cake without flowers???? Any advise on easy, easy cakes that look nice? Thank goodness I have until April!!!

Machel

You can always use fresh flowers.. That's what I do because I can't do flowers either! My first wedding cake is in my pictures if you want to check it out..I'm working on another tonight that I will post pictures of tomorrow..
Good Luck!!

First of all, take deep breaths. April is a long way away. Practice, practice, practice. Make cakes for anyone and everyone you know. Get a styrafoam dummy and practice frosting it. The hardest part of a wedding cake is getting the icing smooth and the cake straight and level. If you can do that, place some fresh flowers and a bead border on it, and boom you're done. Remember, a wedding cake is just a lot of little cakes. Check out the Wilton site for lots of possible size combinations:

http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/choosing/index.cfm

Here is one of my very simple wedding cakes with fresh flowers.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_93732.html

Here's a simple fondant one by GrannieJ that is so beautiful you don't notice how simple it is!
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_873953.html

Good luck!

I am super new too and haven't made any flowers but simple ones. I did see a post not long ago on how to make Duff Goldman's roses. I will add the link. I haven't made any yet but with a little practice I'm sure you could! Hope this helps. Thanks awoisch for posting that!!


Melanie


http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1149096.html

Fresh flowers add so much to any cake, plus they draw attention away from any imperfections--also, if you can't perfect the art of smoothing the icing, you might practice learning how to do basketweave or cornelli lace--both so easy, but impressive!

And when in doubt, you can always buy premade flowers for decoration as well.

Good luck!
Debbie

Congrats on your first wedding gig! IMO, the biggest challenge is construction, not decoration. If you don't want to tackle a stacked cake for 200, you can arrange several single tiers on stands of varying heights.

I agree with the others as far as what to practice - making level cakes, smoothing the icing, and practicing cornelli lace and basketweave. Get your hands on a few cake dummies and just keep at it.

Good luck!

Super new to all this myself....doing my first wedding cake (as well as expecting my first baby anyday now!) this weekend. I practiced a cake and made flowers and scrollwork on it.....hhm, not at elegant as I wanted. So, I went and purchased some satin ribbon and picked out some fresh flowers. The florist even recommended putting in a few faux pearls to dress it up. Fresh flowers add SOOOOO much more than icing ones anyway, and a quick way to add color and elegance (imo) is the satin ribbon, plus can't get much easier than that

Diane is right about the construction. If doweling and pillars-n-plates makes you nervous, check out the acrylic stands (see my M&M cake for an example: http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=415413 ). You can buy premade flowers at a cake supply shop; you can use real or silk flowers; a ribbon base with swiss dots is simple.

And as Kelleym said, a wedding cakes is just a bunch of little cakes. One at a time ..... just think of them one at a time.

here's some wilton links to servings sizes (so you know what size pans to use) and assembly tips:

http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/cakedata.cfm
http://www.wilton.com/wedding/makecake/building/index.cfm

I'm fairly new as well. Just wanted to say YOU CAN DO IT!!! And with all the help from great people on CC, you'll do a great job. Practice and confidence!

Luckily you have time on your side to practice and maybe take a cake decorating class. Are their any cake stores or Michael's in your area that offer classes? They teach you the basics and then the possibilities are endless from there.

There was a photo, that I cannot find at the moment, using fresh flowers. The flowers were fabulous and very unusual. I know you're doing this as a gift and these flowers are expensive but the WOW factor is extreme. Here's the link to the one site that I found a picture. Sorry I couldn't find the cake here on CC.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/September/06/style/stories/03style.htm

Hey, you can do this. Take a deep breath. Relax. I made my first wedding cake and never had lessons. I didn't know how to do fancy style frosting so I frosted it and covered the frosting with fondant. I painted the fondant with luster dust and put some flowers on it that I had made with the fondant and gumpaste. The thought of doing it was scarier than actually doing it. Don't forget to post your picture here when your done.

Amysue,
You are going to do just fine... I say that to myself every time I do a wedding cake too. "This is just little cakes put together to make a big cake! " Really read about construction.. IT MAKES THE CAKE.. Check into the Stress free system if this is something you will be doing again. Otherwise the multi separate tiers are a great look and no stacking... all on their individual stands.. no stress there...OH!! Check out Sugarshacks new DVD on how to frost a super smooth cake with Buttercream I just got mine yesterday and it is great!!! Very basic but ton's of information!!! I have been decorating for 23 years and learned new things... totally worth it to have !! Especially if you are just starting out.... Good luck and keep us posted!