i was asked to do my first wedding cake... i have no idea where to start really. i don't know much about support systems or even different decorating technics..i was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the subject for me! is there a way online to learn decorating technics used on wedding cakes?? any help would be appreciated.

If you can be more specific about what techniques you'll be needing to learn, we can probably point you in the right direction. Has the design of the cake been established? How big is this cake going to be?

Here's an article about stacked cake construction to get you started.

http://www.cakecentral.com/article23-Teired-Stacked-Cake-Construction.html

the detail design hasn't been decided on yet. so far i know that they want just a small cake for them to cut into and the one to save and they want the rest done in sheet cakes ..but they want a fountain too. i just don't know how you would make a sheet cake fit in with a "wedding" themed cake. i don't have much info yet on the wedding or the detail the couple wants because i didn't get a chance to sit down with them yet.. hopefully in the next 2 weeks i will be and i just wanted to have some good suggestions to throw out on the table.

Usually when a couple requests a small cake for cutting and the rest in sheet cakes, what they're really asking for are referred to as kitchen cakes. They are double layer cakes that match the wedding cake (sheet cakes are usually only one layer) and they need not be decorated because they will not be displayed. They'll be in the kitchen. That's why they're supposedly more economical and why people choose them.

makes sense.. do u know where i can get some ideas or help in learning some scroll work??

You have ALREADY found the best place to learn right here on CC! I've been doing cakes for- ummmmm just say for a LONG time, and everyday I read something new and exciting here! Granted, some things I will never use but knowing how something is done allows me to appreciate the time and effort others have put into their work! And often a suggestion made here will lead me in an entirely different direction than the topic of the thread but inspires my own creative thinking on how to solve a problem or create an effect I've wanted to create.

Follow all of the various categories as often as you can and see what others are suggesting. Click on links to other sites members offer for inspiration/directions. Make a file on your computer to same directions either as a web site or copy/paste the parts your interested in learning.

Try out things just for practice maybe on the back of a cake pan or a piece of plastic, or actually make something using a technique on a small cake for your or your friends to enjoy. Just DO IT! And ask specific questions about what your needing so members can get you detailed suggestions on 'how to' or "where to find"...that sort of thing.


Also you can do a general web search like Google and you will find lots of information on the net! Sure wish this had been available when I first learned cake decorating! There is so much information out there that I will never learn it all but I can certainly find things that interest and intrigue me, and hopefully make me a better cake designer/decorator/business woman. And the information is free....what more can we ask!

is there a way to make a "pattern" to design your own scroll work to put on a cake??

You mentioned incorporating sheet cakes with the wedding. If they do want the sheet cakes displayed, I have an idea that we used at my wedding. We had a small stacked cake that we cut and a top for us to save and two sheet cakes on either side with stairways coming down from the stacked cake. You can buy the plastic stairways from Wilton, I think, and add matching ribbon, bridesmaid figurines, whatever you like. You can also use royal icing to pipe additional decorations onto the stairways.

doniB - how did u do the work on ur defalt picture here on CC

Those scrolls, believe it or not, are in the pattern press set from Michael's. I think it was $4.99 or something, but i had a coupon. It's the purple set, not the teal one, though I have that set, too.

Pattern presses rock. You just have to wait until the icing has crusted, or it makes a mess. (Ask me how I know...) And it's a matter of practice, which I'm still working on. It's harder than you'd think, to follow those imprints! LOL

those presses would def. be handy!! thanks for letting me know about them....i wish i had more experience or knowledge about what i'm doing!!

No problem. Definitely try out the presses. they rock.

Experience is one step at a time... and you know we're here if you ever have questions. I love this place.

They want a "small" cake for cutting .... AND a fountain? Are they wanting the "small" cake to sit on top of the fountain? Be careful when figuring this ... you won't want to use the standard fountain plate-n-pillar stand ... the 18" plates will be too large for a "small" cake.

Here's a pic of a cake I made using very small cakes .... a 10 and an 8, (serves 60-ish) on a 14" plate. Not "too" bad of a look proportion-wise.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1219677


If you put two "small" cakes on acrylic stands and then have the fountain free-standing ... like a centerpiece ... then it may be do-able.

Here's a pic of something like I mean by freestanding: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/227647505/

For scroll work, I read somewhere recently (can't remember where, though) that you can pull the cutting strips off of saran wrap or foil boxes, tape the sharp edges, so you don't kill yourself, and bend them into scroll shapes (or whatever) to make your own press designs.

Good luck with your first wedding cake! The Successful Stacking DVD by sugarshack is SOOOO helpful. I don't know if you have time to order it before the cake is due. Her other 2 DVD's are great too.
This may help also: on youtube.com there is a video called "Assembling a Wedding Cake" that helped me a lot. There are a few companion videos that go with it where she does the dot borders and flowers.
Again, Good Luck!