I need some advice and a chance to vent here... I volunteered to make my cousins' wedding cake as my gift to them so I sent them a site of wedding cakes and told them to let me know which designs they liked.

They sent back around 6 styles and I told them which was my favorite (a 4 tier fondant with cascading gumpaste roses down the front). I heard from my aunt that that's the one they were going to go with.

Fastforward a bit...I sent them a message (They're in CO, I'm in Canada) asking which flavours they would like and they sent three different combos for the three tiers AND a picture of a cake which was photoshopped into one cake.

It's three tiers with two layers of roses around each tier, columns with roses underneath and a large topper with more roses! It's buttercream with diamond imprint and pearls and with heavy seashell piping on the top of each tier.

Yikes! What should I say? I was excited to do it but I don't want to do this cake that they've "designed" especially because it's free!! It'll take me three months just to do the flowers! Plus, I really think that fondant will travel better as the wedding is in July and we have to travel 2 1/2 hours.

My biggest issue though is that I want to make a classy cake, not a tacky one! How should I handle this? Thanks for any advice!!

Maybe redesign the cake in a tasteful way incorporating many of their ideas and send them a sketch. Let them know that you need to simplify the design since the other one would take too much time for you alone to tackle.

Thanks for the suggestion PinkLisa! I should have also added that my husband and I are doing the music (violin/piano), our son is singing a solo and our daughter is the flower girl!! Yes, I've taken on way too much...but that could be my out, right? I need something much simpler so that I can set up really fast!

Yes of course! You have a perfect out! There is no way you will have time to do such a complicated design. I would compliment them on their choices and then say "look at this design". I find that people are very visual so they will likely just go with what you suggest as long as it incoporates some of their design ideas.

I like Indydebi's saying.
if you are choosing to give it as a gift, then you get to pick the design with some input from them.
They don't get to make ridiculous demands

You and your family are incredibly generous! I'd be so appreciative I wouldn't care what design you chose. You have the perfect escuse....the cake will be travaeling. You may want to put it this way "Your design is great, unfortunately the design you choose will not travel well. I used your original design and modified it to this(include design). This will travel safely and set up quickly." Hopefully you have no futher problems....good luck.

Thanks eveyone for your ideas and suggestions! I thought I would include the picture of the cake as designed by my cousin (who is the groom) and the sketch that I am thinking of presenting. What do you think?

Here's a quick sketch I came up with - does it have enough of the elements without looking overdone?

My only comment is a personal thing of mine, so feel free to ignore it.

I like all of my tiers to have the same border around them. So I'd either to do the ring of roses around all tiers, or just remove it entirely.

To me it looks like those flowers are either real or silk. If you could do it that way you wouldn't have to worry about making the flowers at all. No worry about breakage or anything. I like the ring of roses in your design. But I would place the roses on the topper or to the side like the bottom of the cake. Make sense? HTH

I LOVE your sketch as is! I think it's tastefully simple.... adding another row of roses might be a little too much. Just my opinion

one time savign thought, is to buy to roses. then for you it comes down to price vs time.
xx

I'm thinking that the ring of roses would be to appease their desire to have them all around each tier and to also give some height instead of using pillars- I really have my heart set on making gumpaste roses and I know if I don't they'll use fake flowers.

Joybeth, I like your idea of placing the flowers to the side of the topper - that's what you meant, correct?

Yes thats exactly what I meant!

the ring of roses is the border of that tier? or is it in the division between that tier and the next?

- Good grief, i soooo hope they go with your design cherrycakes.
Have to say, that design of theirs is so 70's and very .



Bluehue

The ring of roses would be done using a 2 inch high separator so it would be the division of the tier - not sure if I'm explaining myself correctly!

I love your sketch as is!