Can We Get An *honest* Critique Of This Cake?
Decorating By DollyCakes Updated 20 Sep 2009 , 9:21pm by kakedreamer1212
This is the first wedding cake we did where we pretty much had free reign - she just said red roses, black ribbons, and white fondant.
Please let us know what you think of this cake - the good AND the bad. Feel free to be honest in your constructive criticism - that's what we are asking for!
Thanks Cakers!
It's really gorgeous. I love the height, design and your roses. I can see a couple of tiny, I mean tiny, fondant flaws but it's my experience that pictures show off WAY more than our naked eyes would ever catch. I just saw a huge fondant bulge on the cruise ship cake on Ace of Cakes last night.
I think it's absolutely gorgeous! Of course, I love when people mix black, white and red together! If I had to say something that I didn't think was perfect, (but this is only in my mind I'm sure) I would make the roses a little shorter in length. I know mine tend to stretch when I'm putting them together and I hate when that happens. But your's are still way better than anything I could pull off! I think you did a fabulous job! And I bet the bride was very pleased!
It's well done and very pretty.
For me, it's a very very balanced cake artistically, so the random arrangement of some of the roses leaves me going in two directions. We doing balanced or random? If all the roses were random yes. If they were all balanced yes. I'd be thinking--they ran out of time or someone else placed them for the cake artist.
It could be direction of the camera shot but the top seems too tall for the rest--but it def could be the camera angle.
I know the b&g had to be very happy with it.
First impression: WOW! It's gorgeous. So elegant and I love the combination of colours. The roses are beautiful - the whole thing is stunning. If I were the bride, I'd be absolutely thrilled.
Now,if I really had to find something to pick at for some constructive criticism: I really like the quilted layers but don't like the tiny flowers/dots as much, though can't put my finger on why, exactly. I'm sure that's really helpful, right? And proportion-wise, the top tier looks a bit too tall, to me. But maybe that's the style. I'm admittedly clueless when it comes to wedding cakes, so I'm not sure why I'm offering my 2 cents.
Were you happy with the finished product? I sure hope so!
I actually like the look of the roses - somehow, they seem more sophisticated with the longer look.
I did notice a few fondant bubbles, but I agree that the camera seems to highlight those more than you would notice in person...
Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!
I would have preferred the roses to be more in full bloom....but that's personal preference rather than "talent" or "ability" for sure!
Except a few small fondant boo boos it looks awesome!!!!!!
first off, it is beautiful. i love how you dusted every other diamond on one of the tiers. I too think it may be the angle that the picture was taken at, but the top tier looks a little taller, and i would have like to have seen the black tier/pot that the roses on the top sitting in a little smaller and more tapered. but in anycase you should be very proud of your work, im sure your customers loved it.
I think it looks great. I would probably have added the rose leaves. To me flowers look out of place on almost anything without the leaves.
Great job!!
first off, it is beautiful. i love how you dusted every other diamond on one of the tiers. I too think it may be the angle that the picture was taken at, but the top tier looks a little taller, and i would have like to have seen the black tier/pot that the roses on the top sitting in a little smaller and more tapered. but in anycase you should be very proud of your work, im sure your customers loved it.
First of all your cake is gorgeous! If I had to change something, I would get rid of the roses scatter on the cake layers & make the topper smaller, is a bit tall & maybe cover it completly with the rest of the roses. But then again I have no experience doing wedding cakes!
Very lovely! The top looks to me like a vase with flowers . Only thing that looks a wee bit odd to me are two roses right by the bow. Maybe it is the angle as others have suggested. Again, lovely!
Honest-OK you bet. But you promises not to shoot right?
After gazing at it for several minutes it finally came to me what could have been done differently. Now donât get me wrong- it is a lovely cake all tall and statuesque! I love the black and white drama and the double barrel top white tier. Your roses have a wonderful depth to them. Your quilting looks even and nicely done as do the triple pearls.
Ok so donât shoot me but here are some ideas:
Make all the bows have tails or none of them.
Make the ribbon wraps all the same thickness around each tier to really off set that beautiful double barreled tier and make it a focal point.
Arrange the roses on the top in more of a rounded mound by using a half round styrofoam ball.
Those gorgeous roses need leaves, and longer calyxes.
Again it is a lovely cake but it missing some finishing touches and a cohesiveness that your other cakes have which I admire. Ya know the little things that just pull it all together and make it really sing like the rest of your work.
I think a full bloom would have looked better on the tiers. I love the closed blooms on top though and that black part on top is too wide for the overall view, but I'd take the cake any day!! If we weren't in this "sweet land" we wouldn't pay attention to any of those things!
I agreew tih sadsmile. I think you also should ahve roses in full bloom mixed witht he other roses. Soemthing about the roses on each tier doesn't look right, maybe petals would have been better. Other then that, it is very elegant. I like the design you put on each layer. great job!
Firstly, it's a very pretty cake overall. I too like the color combo.
It looks like the cake is very well put together, and cleanly decorated.
My only personal thought would be that there is too strong of a 'black' influence on the cake, especially for a wedding cake. Again, i think that's just my personal preference. I think i would've like the see the black added in a more subtle way. Perhaps, thinner black ribbon around the teirs, or by just adding black dots around the quilting effect or on the alternate teir. It just seems dark to me, especially with the strong, deep red roses added. I picture a wedding cake more dainty..but i know people are moving away from this sort of design. I agree with a few of the others that the random roses seem out of place a bit with the design. I too, would've liked to see the roses atop the cake to be inserted into a foam ball, for a more full effect.
Overall, i have to say it's a pretty cake, it's just a bit 'dark' to me..does that make sense. For your first wedding cake i'd have to say grrrrrrreat job! I'm sure they were pleased.
Suz
It's really gorgeous. I love the height, design and your roses. I can see a couple of tiny, I mean tiny, fondant flaws but it's my experience that pictures show off WAY more than our naked eyes would ever catch. I just saw a huge fondant bulge on the cruise ship cake on Ace of Cakes last night.
That is so funny because I just watched it today and thought the same thing. Right on the side that was facing the camera
I think the cake is beautiful.
You did a great job.
My critique is just like sadsmiles I would not have that black bowl on top and made a fuller higher mound of the roses I love the height and balance.
Well you asked for honesty! I think that your biggest critic would have been the bride and groom. If they were absolutely ecstatic over your cake, then that is all that matters really to me. Cake decorating is an art, a self expressed art, and like artists everyone is different. I LOVE your cake!! What did the bride and groom say????
Thank you all for the constructive criticism. The bride and groom absolutely loved the cake. They were ecstatic with it. I just wasn't sure, in hindsight, if I really liked the random'ness of the roses on the tiers. And whoever said they looked a little too long, you are absolutely right. It wasn't something that we ever noticed until we started placing them on the cake and then realized that they could have been a lot shorter. The top tier and the 3rd tier are taller than the bottom and second tier - it's supposed to be that way - I actually love the tall top tier.
I agree with the comments about the rose topper that would have looked better on a rounded half ball - didn't think of that!
I just asked for comments because I wasn't sure if, artistically, we had nailed it. I definitely am proud of it, but see some room for improvement, too! Thanks for all the comments - I really appreciate them!
I think it is great. I agree with some and would of left the roses on the layers off and the topper is alittle tall. The colors are just so elegant together, that sometimes less = more. GREAT job.
I love the cake! Very sophisticated and couture. I'm not really a fan of red, white and black but you did a terrific job on this one! I totally love it!
If I were to do the cake, I'd make the roses in a full bloom--but that is just me.
Once again, you are AWESOME!
I think it's wonderfully done and extremely clean. I love the different textures of the tiers. Great job!
Overall I'd say you did a fantastic job... very classy. As others mention, there are a few minor fondant smoothing issues, but nothing major (and non-cakers most likely wouldn't have even noticed). As far as the flowers are concerned, I would have like to have seen more of a natural-looking bouquet (some larger, fully-opened roses, some small buds) and I personally like a tiny bit of greenery with my flower arrangements, again just to make them look natural (except when a full white look is desired). Not a whole lot, but a leaf here and there as accent--that's just a personal preference. Maybe a few less flowers on the lower tiers as well... again this is just my personal preference... I think just a few less whole roses and a few sprinkled petals may have had a nice effect.
Again, a lot of this is just me, and what I like. I really think you did a fab job! I'm sure they were pleased!
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