Hi everyone,
I'm making a half sheet cake for my friends first wedding anniversary. The colors she's requested are purple and orange (yikes!!). I understand that she's going with the fall motif, but I'm terrified that this thing is going to come out looking terrible!! Does anyone have any suggestions for how to decorate it so that it won't be too bold? Should I stick with a white base and add purple and orange accents? Any ideas would be much appreciated!!

They do have deep purple with orange foliage available now and it looks good together. I'm making a wedding cake for this weekend with those exact colors and the bride gave me the flowers and such to place on the cake. Yes, they are artificial ones but they do look good!

Do a muted color base icing, not stark white. Or use a chocolate icing if they like chocolate-that will slightly tone down the purple and orange.

Another idea-do like a simple shell border and base icing of the cake in a muted color (maybe beige-y or off-white). Then do small (forgetting what it is called) purple and orange upright "petals" between the shells alternating the purple and orange. Dots will work too between shells. Add a few purple or orange flowers (mums are a good fall idea and perfect in purple and orange). That would give a little "splash" of the colors without overwhelming the cake I think. Or drop side strings in the purple and orange aginst a muted base icing and border.

Thanks so much guys, those are great ideas!!

you can also tone the colors down by not using bright versions of them. Make purple kind of plum and orange kind of a burnt orange color...these are much classier. HTH!