Help! Wedding Cake Request...need Decoding!
Decorating By flutterbyu Updated 26 Apr 2008 , 12:29pm by Auryn
Ok, I have been decorating cakes for nearly 10 years but I am STUMPED with this request. Anyone have any idea of what her style really is, or is she as confused as I am?
(Pieces from 2 emails):
I want an elegant but young fun Victorian styled cake. My wedding colors are black,red, silver.
I want a fondant covering with decor. I dont want ANY flowers on the cake at all. I'm very very picky and i'm not a flower type of person. I want something more my style and his We are more of a new age couple. So i want something thats elegant and classic with a new age twist.
do you have a phone number that you can actually talk to these people? or have them email you pictures of cakes they like?
I do. I was just trying to get a general gauge of her style, so I could give her some options, but I'm not so sure even she knows what she wants!
Well then, I think a meeting with the couple/bride is in order so she can clarify her wants better.
I don't think that we can help you, CC has a bunch of talented decorators but I don't think they have crossed over into the mind reading aspect of cake decorating yet.
lol
Good luck and let us (me) know what she ends up getting.
I know no one is a mind reader, I just hate to appear as dumbfounded by her request as I feel I am...I would rather provide her with some choices that make sense so she doesn't opt not to hire me because I don't have a clue what a young, fun, Victorian cake with a "new age" twist is.
Tramski, thanks! The ribbons are a great way to incorporate the red and black without the cake ending up goofy looking!
I'm very very picky
Out of all that nonsense that she wrote this is the phrase that would make me cautious about this! You definitely need to get her face-to-face with pictures of cakes that she likes so that you can see what the heck she's thinking. Those criteria she listed are so all over the place I wouldn't even know where to start without some kind of a visual clue!
I've been thinking about the cake and was wondering if a very fine scroll work ( like Mendi, but in black and not so orante?) in black and a small black bead border.
Some Red roses? done like Victorian poseys?
Costumeczar, that phrase is what made me think about mind reading, if they don't know what they want, how is the cake designer supposed to work with a design?
Ugh.
I would suggest you ask her to email or send you some samples of designs you like.
What sticks out to me is "new age" there are so many definitions for that
the thing is that the standard definition of new age doesnt really go with 'victorian', victorian is defined by opulance, flowers and drapes and just a whole bunch of stuff.
new age generally is the opposite, simple, natural - a lot of people throw celtic knotwork and design into the new age definition
if I were you I would ask her for samples too.
She just might not be a girly girl and is trying to make you understand that and is juts not capable of expressing it well. thats why she was vehement on the no flowers thing.
I would just call her and explain to her that you want to really understand her and her groom so you could do the best possible design for them.
Thanks guys...I did have a chat with her. I showed her several samples and she picked two that are actually very simple piping and scrollwork with very little other decoration. She said she likes the piping and scrollwork, and likes strings of pearls. She wants an infinity sign and a "T" incorporated into it somehow, which I should be able to accomplish with some piping.
I think this was more of a case of not knowing how to say what she wanted.
Auryn, you're right...she doesn't really want "victorian" because she's adamant against flowers and doesn't really want anything overly opulant at all.
i totally agree that meeting with them would be best-the biggest obstacle being that "victorian" and "new age" seem to me to be totally contradictory victorian is flowery, lots of scrollwork and fancy "latices" ect whereas new age makes me think minimilistic so maybe something inbetween would be small scrollwork and beading-maybe completely white with ribbon trim to bring in the colours (as with that first pic that tramsky sent-hope that helps it can be frustrating
I would think a corset (sp) cake... like a victorian dress.. no flowers some scroll work and what looks like lace... black embellishments could be ties, button.. along with the red..
"Victorian" and "fun" are also a conflict in terms/philosophies. "Victorian" is considered straight laced and proper ..... no "fun" intended!
Thanks again for all the great suggestions. This definitely turned out to be a case of "I don't really know what I want". I drew up the attached for her last night and showed it to her this morning and she's in love, saying: "Its perfect I LOVE it I'm really Excited now glad i found someone who could share my vision and make it live."
So, she's happy and I'm very happy because I thought this was going to be soo much more difficult!
Thanks again for all the great suggestions. This definitely turned out to be a case of "I don't really know what I want". I drew up the attached for her last night and showed it to her this morning and she's in love, saying: "Its perfect I LOVE it I'm really Excited now glad i found someone who could share my vision and make it live."
So, she's happy and I'm very happy because I thought this was going to be soo much more difficult!
wonderful design, I can see why she loved it
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