Ok I had the strangest clients come in yesterday. They want a wedding cake for about 350 people. But the only hitch is that it has to be a sort of gothic / vampiric theme. At first I thought they were joking but the young women showed me some photos of her dress and she had her gown dyed black, black viel, and black gloves. She also showed me some of the decos and talk about weird. The Groom's cake will be easy, a sculpted coffin with a single red rose. They handed me $1500 and told me to be creative and the only other instructions they gave me were the cake needed to be red with red filling and the fondant or whatever I choose to use needs to be black. Guess when the wedding is... October 31. Oh, when I deliver they want me to stay and wear all black. I am at a loss for words. I don't want to do a Halloweenish type cake but every idea I come up with is so cliched. THese people want a very unique never seen before cake.
I had thought about Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney but do not even know where to begin with that one. All help will be GREATLY appreciated.

Wish I had some ideas!

Pardon my "newbie-ness" but what is Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney? People?
GL

This cake sounds like it is going to be a blast to make. If you search for corpse bride there are some really amazing cakes. Red velvet cake with red icing. The cakes use ganach dripping down the sides (blood). It is so cool I am jealous

I believe we have the same ideas, looks like you have your hands full with this one. good luck hopefully someone has their creative juices going this morning.

Two ideas for yah--Use skulls for a pillar separation--all sitting around one next to the other. Like a tower of roses look but only in one tier I think--maybe around the bottom board or something. (I think I saw something like this on the tv on the new amazing cakes episode)

Use some 'dew' drops falling off the red roses--make the drops red, maybe splash a few drops trailing off too. Or make roses with the thorns on there and have some drops coming off there.

Just some real subtle things like this I think would make a really gothic and really super cake but still elegant.

I think you could use a crackled finish on some black fondant ribbon or on the tiers.

Just some brainstorm type goth thoughts for yah.

Is the 350 servings for both cakes?

I am sooo glad to know that I am not the only one who did not know who these people were. According to my grandmother they wre the Vincent Price of Horror movies way back when. If I am not babdly mistaken Bela Lugosi was the original Dracula and Lon CHaney was the first Phantom of the Opera. I think Please don;t quote me on that it was only several decades later when I was born.

i think it sounds very interesting...not my cup of tea, personally, but fun to step out of the cutesy, white box!

if the wedding cake is for 350, that alone, at my minimum fondant price of $4/slice, would be $1400, by itself. however, there is no way i would only charge my minimum serving price, since i'm dealing with black fondant and such. it would be a minimum, probably, of $6/slice, and that's before i've even seen a definitive design.

for the grooms cake, i'd have to tack on a minimum of $150, since that is where my carved cakes begin.

i'm not sure where you are, but i would say that if they get all that cake to feed 350 people for only $1500, they're getting a deal!!

And--I just bought 20# of white and 20# of black satin ice from a distributor (but for retail price).
The white was about $50 the black was $90!!!!

Do you guys usually pay that much more for colored fondant??? Almost twice as much???

The Groom's cake will need to feed about 350 as well. Good news though, the $1500 was just half of the price. I had to make sure I was going to at least get paid something. Since I am still new about a year and a half I have had in the past been stuck with making a cake and only getting paid about a fourth of the price. So now for wedding cakes and some of the sculpted cakes I ask for at least half now and half when it is delivered. The couple had no problems with this. So glad.

OK! These folks sound really odd! But I did find a gothic style cake that I think is beautiful!

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1027723

Sorry, that is about as Goth as I could handle for a wedding!

Don't know if you're a cakewrecks fan or not, but she posted some pretty interesting cakes. I'll try to post the link.
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-sweets-undead-wed.html

Good luck!

Black with red roses would look so cool.

I called the couple to make sure that I had understood them correctly on the Groom's cake how many to feed and I did misunderstand. He only wants it to feed about 100. I am I overpricing. And I love the ideas with the roses and the blood.

Gothic doesn't just have to be macabre. There is a romantic side to it full of lace, roses, scrolls etc. I would think of something more like a black on black with lots of roses and scroll work, then dust the roses with a ruby pearl dust just enough for them to show a hint of red. Maybe some accents in gold or silver for a little more contrast if the couple would permit.

Thankfully the couple has given me free range. The only conditions were the cake had to be red with red filling and the fondant or whatever I choose to use has to be black. I love the idea of the roses, dew drops, lace, and I absolutely love the link- thanks cakefairy03. I loved the Corpse Bride idea as well as the Day of the Dead Cakes. Side note: After doing a little research I told my DH that when we renew our vows at our 10th wedding anniversary I wanted a COrpse Bride cake. He just laughed. THey are actually very elegant in their own way. THank goodness I still have a few more weeks to get a few ideas and put them on paper before I have to meet with the couple again. THank you so much for all the help. (Sorry for the typos have kid in lap hard to type).

Happy to help! Here's another from there (the one the bride wanted, not what she got!) that is very simple, but gorgeous!

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/05/gothic-miss.html

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

I saw one on here a while back that was an all black wedding cake with crows on top and maybe black or red roses, with the red cake and filling would be cool, if I can find it I will post it. I think it may have been in the wedding cake contest section.

There was an awsome cake on last season's Amazing wedding cakes. (I can't think of her name) From Cake Alchamy made it. It had a white chocolate skull with a veil on top, marbled fondant, a blood red rose(s) and a web on it... not a cake I would make but she did a great job with it. There is a small Pic by the get the recipies link http://www.wetv.com/amazing-wedding-cakes/