on her dress cut out and put on her fondant cake. Can I do this and what would I use to glue it on? thanks.

You mean she wants an actual piece of her dress stuck to the side of the cake? Surely I'm misunderstanding you.

please tell me there is a punch line to that question...

okay...if am understanding right, and she wants her ACTUALL dress on the cake.. uhhh.. say NO WAY IN HELL. Tell her to use it on the table if she wants but on the cake?? wow.. i can see the Health Dept all over that one. Unsanitary. I can picture little sequins falling on to the cake and choking people. That is a liablity I just would not do under any circumstances. Let her use it on the table somewhere.. let her put the cutting knife and server on it, or the wine glasses..

how about re-creating the dress pattern and sequins on the cake with royal icing and edible gems?

I've seen articles where you can make an image from lace to place on a cake. You probably use gumpaste for the replication of the lace. I would rather go that route, as it's not dangerous.

Eh, no...no real sequins on cake. I agree...choking hazard! No telling what ditzy cake servers would do that thing.

kitagrl pm on the way.

she has actually given me a huge piece of the unworn dress. It's embroidery and there are little pearls. It's for this Friday. She says she will take them off the fondant cake before serving. She has called me three times. If I have to do this, could I get her to sign a waiver?

She saw so many lace patterns on cakes, she thought it would make her cake more personal. I actually don't have the lace in the contract, just ribbon so I was surprised when she gave me the lace. I'm going to say that the Health Inspector has informed me that this is not allowed and we have to use regular ribbon. Some one could sue me even with a waiver.

Can I make a suggestion?

Can you make a copy of the lace and then pipe royal onto wax paper to duplicate the pattern Once set, transfer onto cake. I'm at a loss on the sequins.

At least this way, the bride gets what she wants (sort of) and you have zero liability...even with a waiver, I see a potential for problems. You are the professional and if there were a problem which involved an attorney...they would hold you to a higher standard than the bride, because you are the professional.

Technically though, aren't pearl dragees more of a choking hazard than a single piece of dress?

And the dress hasn't been worn... people put ribbon on cakes all the time.

I'm almost thinking if the dress is only one piece and all the sequins are secure, there's really not a good reason to not do it...other than the fact its weird...

And I would make sure you talk directly to the person who will be cutting the cake, and explain exactly what to remove before cutting.

ok she started crying....OMG I will get signed waivers from bride and reception manager and type out instructions, give to reception manager and ask him/her to verify they received my instructions and will follow same. So should I just use royal icing to adhere?

thank you for looking out for me - you're the best.

if you are going to do this.. you big softy.. then i suggest cutting a piece of parchment paper and adhering the fabric to it. (you just dont know where it has been?) what if they had a cat and it layed on it? what if a dog did a butt scootin boogie on it? ya just dont know.

okay. adhere fabric to parchement paper with RI. then adhere the whole piece to the cake using RI. Using corsage pins, to hold it in place while it is drying. REMEBER to remove the pins. and dont forget to sterilize the pins first, before use!! BUT !!! you knew there was a but coming.. test and make sure the RI does not discolor the fabric. That is the only bad thing about RI and fabric the fabric likes to soak up the oils and discolor the fabric...

another option is get double sided tape, adhere fabric to parchment paper with tape then adhere that piece to cake.. using pins while drying..yada yada. the instructions from above..

I cant wait to see the cake. make sure you post pics

Is it a fondant covered cake? If yes I would use dots of same coloured royal to adhere to the fondant. If it's Buttercreme I would attach the lace to something else first. Or you could attach the peice of dress to gumpaste and attach that to the dreaa, just carefully cut around the gumpaste, so that you don't see it, it should be exact size and shape as the piece of dress. you could prepare that in advance as well

But if you ask me, that bride is weird

Can you use the cake on the cake board and have another cake board under your cake (same size of cake), so that you are using the fabric but it is not touching the cake?

...just to stir the pot....
ribbons aren't exactly made in sterile environments either....

Personally, honestly - I think some of you are way too uptight about using non-edibles
Don't flame me - it's just my personal opinion that I'm allowed

As was said......ribbon, corsage pins, and lots of other things we use are NOT sterile yet we use them w/o hesitation(sp?).

To OP: use the lace and don't worry about it. You have thought it out and are getting waivers so go for it. You siad it was a fondant covered cake. Just some dots of melted choco OR royal will hold it in place the same as one would use ribbon.

I would think Royal would be the way to go...One more idea...

I, personally don't put ribbon on a cake unless its backed with waxed paper. Not saying its right or wrong, but it is the method that Nicholas Lodge teaches and I learned from him. Can you back the lace with wax paper?

To answer your question...I would think there are two ways to adhere.
Royal being one and Edible Glue (Tylose/Water mx) as the other. Secure with a straight pin and remove once dried. Lord knows you don't want to give them a straight pin toothpick.

For those that read this and are thinking...this woman wont use ribbon but she puts a straightpin. Yep...again, how I was taught! BUT...all straightpins are dropped into a hotwater bath with vinegar and allowed to dry before using.

I just can't wait to see how this turns out, AND see pics!
Just when I think I've heard everything...

I'm sorry but I'm not seeing the big deal? Yes tell the kitchen to remove the big piece of lace on it... I'm pretty sure it would be tough to cut through.

I know there are some really stupid people out there but i dont believe that a venue who possibly does dozens of weddings every year wouldn't know that a big peice of material on a cake isnt edible.

No you dont know where it has come from but really? Do we know where all of our food has come from? Are you sure that lettuce from mcdonalds has been washed? No, you just dont know. And how toxic could it possibly be? Its not like its been laced with hemlock....

<let the flaming begin>

Why not just make the display cake a dummy cake and provide kitchen cakes to serve to the guests? It gives the bride the look she wants and removes all the liability issues that are a concern.

I'm not getting notifications so sorry for not responding sooner. Thank you for the instructions and they are all appreciated. didn't think of the RI maybe discoloring the lace.

She told me something else (brace yourselves). You know how the lace has embroidered patterns sewn in and then they're topped with the sequins, beads whatever? - she didn't mean put the entire lace on, she meant for me to cut out about 7-8 patterns from the lace and put them on the three tiers. I don't know if I'm making sense.

Ooohhhh my goodness, does anybody know how this turned out??

I know! I wish she would tell us how it went!