So I need y'alls expertise...I'm doing a wedding cake and the bride wants a portion of their vows written on the cake as well as some scrolls. Which would be better the gold piping gel recipe on this site or royal icing painted with gold luster dust. She also wants gold dragees on the bottom of each layer as a border, how in the world do I get them REALLY shiny? I'm going to be making them myself for financial reasons. PLEASE HELP! Thanks in advance...

I would use royal painted gold for the lettering as the piping gel will never harden and if anyone touches it then the letters will be smeared. Once your homemade dragees have firmed up a bit put them in a container with a lid and a small amount of gold luster dust and shake them around. They should come out shiny. I did this with pearl luster dust and it worked great however, I don't think they will ever be as shiny as actual dragees.

thanks much for the response, I didn't get a chance to read until now.