so, today i met with a bride that had a photo of a cake she liked...3 tiers, two quilted, with gumpaste calla lilies on it. It's doable for me!
but, as i was going through the consultation i realized...she was asking for NAVY BLUE omg, what is up with these brides and wanting a full color on their cake!?
I did my damage control in the consultation...informed her that navy blue buttercream is going to be very messy with the "smashing of the cake in the face" thing. Oh man...that's all the couple could talk about! i did convince them that fondant would be best, especially with it being june and the color could possibly run in the heat!
but, what should I do as the decorator here?? navy blue colored cake, lilac colored fondant ribbon on the bottom, pearls, and then ivory calla lilies. Doesn't this just sound like a disaster cake!? plus, i'm worried about doing all that NAVY blue on the cake...I can never get that color right!
what's your advice? TIA
I think it's the cake that the couple wants and it's what would make them happy. So put aside your own feelings about it, in the end it's for them and their day
Draw the design up and color it in. See if they like the colors that way.
To achieve a good navy blue, I add a little black. Or you can buy it pre made that color.
I actually really like navy blue with lilac.
I think it's the cake that the couple wants and it's what would make them happy. So put aside your own feelings about it, in the end it's for them and their day
I, in no way, lead on to a couple that I dislike a design or tell them they couldn't have something for that matter. I'm just trying to get an opinion on if this would work.
i'm trying to give them the BEST design to my ability everyone! I was looking up navy blue fondant but couldn't find any. Know of a site with navy blue fondant? I already found my diamond cutter for fondant, cuz i've only done that design on buttercream at this point.
I think i will do a filled in design on the computer just to make sure this is what they really want. she really wasn't that picky but those dark colors make me nervous!
Draw the design up and color it in. See if they like the colors that way.
To achieve a good navy blue, I add a little black. Or you can buy it pre made that color.
I actually really like navy blue with lilac.
i don't think that the colors will be horrible i guess I do like thos colors together too, but this is really like a stark contrast. worried that the quilting is not going to show up that much especially with the pearls on top of that design. i dunno...I need to doodle it!
Navy blue buttercream causes green poop!
DOES IT REALLY! OMG! i had no idea! well, i already talked them into fondant...will that still cause green poop ?
Once you tell people that colored icing will turn everybody's teeth whatever color they generally rethink the idea. Deep colored fondant will do that too.
I'll suggest to customers use ribbon (fondant or satin) to pick up deep wedding colors. Like say the white or ivory cake with navy ribbon and lilac flowers (fresh or gumpaste). A little color goes a long way kind of concept.
I think it's the cake that the couple wants and it's what would make them happy. So put aside your own feelings about it, in the end it's for them and their day
I, in no way, lead on to a couple that I dislike a design or tell them they couldn't have something for that matter. I'm just trying to get an opinion on if this would work.
i'm trying to give them the BEST design to my ability everyone! I was looking up navy blue fondant but couldn't find any. Know of a site with navy blue fondant? I already found my diamond cutter for fondant, cuz i've only done that design on buttercream at this point.
I think i will do a filled in design on the computer just to make sure this is what they really want. she really wasn't that picky but those dark colors make me nervous!
I didn't mean that you were telling them that it was a horrible idea. I only meant that instead of thinking it's a horrible idea and feeling like you'd rather it be something else, it's their cake and they want it that way so make it the best that you can, that's all no hard feelings.
Once you tell people that colored icing will turn everybody's teeth whatever color they generally rethink the idea. Deep colored fondant will do that too.
I'll suggest to customers use ribbon (fondant or satin) to pick up deep wedding colors. Like say the white or ivory cake with navy ribbon and lilac flowers (fresh or gumpaste). A little color goes a long way kind of concept.
yea, they are a little on the crazy side and going through a rough time right now. the bride and her sister MOH is loosing their mother within the next month, as in she's very sick so, that's really sad and I had sensitivity to that today and tried not to suggest a bunch of other alternatives.
they liked the idea of the navy blue fondant...didn't mind that at all. still not even sure if the "like" it. so, i might still have convincing to do :p meh
Draw it up in the colors the bride wanted. Then draw it again and reverse the colors so the cake is lavender and the ribbon is navy blue. She just might like that better.
I had to do a navy blue fondant cake for a Navy change of command and found that the easiest solution was to airbrush the color on. It worked well. Unfortunately I am stuck with a huge bottle of navy blue airbrush color since they didn't sell a small bottle. But I do live in a Navy town...
Not to get off-subject but it made me realize how toxic airbrushing can be. My DH was blowing blue snot out of his nose from breathing in the fine mist and he wasn't even in the immediate room! I also had blue tinged mucus coming out of my sinuses. So always wear a face mask.
Although its unconventional, I think it could be quite beautiful. I would never do colored buttercream, but fondant would be really pretty. Just think outside the box.
Edited to say, that is NOT my cake. It's a http://pinkpeachcakes.com/index2.php cake.
I think Navy blue can be quite elegant...but it can also fade quickly in bright light such as fluorescents so keep it covered. It is also one of the worst colors to get out of clothes and linens and stains teeth and tongues as mentioned earlier. You could approach the bride by saying, 'You know this will make a very lovely cake and I am more than happy to do it for you, but I want you to be aware of a few things when dealing with a deep color like this"...and go into your reservations. And I also think having a lavender cake with a navy ribbon...or some other options for them to look at might at least get them thinking in a better direction. You might ask too how it's going to be displayed. Will it be an afternoon reception or an evening reception where it might be lit by not much more than candlelight. It might skew to black and you could lose details on it. Ultimately it's the brides choice, and if she's making an informed decision based on your info, then you gotta roll with it! good luck...I bet it will be beautiful no matter what!
Hi, I use a program called wedding cake design pro. it allows you to show colors and a range of options for consideration before making the cake so the customer gets a fair idea what the cake will look like when complete. Great for saving color disasters.http://weddingcakedesignpro.com/
I have achieved Navy Blue in fondant but by the time I did my fondant was VERY sticky and no matter what I added to it I couldn't get it a good consistency again. Hopefully you can do the airbrush like mentioned above. I would do a couple of sketches and run them past the bride and I bet once she sees some of your creativity she will be mucho impressed and pick a different design. Best of Luck!!
Sometimes I think that we, as designers get "stuck" in our own head a little...I am doing a home theater design (not my normal job--partner owns a "Smart home" / Home Theater business and the couple didn't have anyone to design it for them, hence, I was asked to do it) for a couple who have completely the opposite taste as mine!! And when the guy sent e a photo of the color scheme he wanted to work from, that in addition to the type of design, I thought that I was going to scream!! and that there would be no way I could pull this off. But then my partner reminded me that this was THEIR theater, not OUR theater and it opened my mind up to all of the possibilities. Now, I'm having a ball working on this project!! And cant wait for the client's to see the final product of "my" work!!
Also, to help a little...I had one of the top designers in the area tell me that the BEST designers are the ones that can pull off ANY style and make it look as if they loved doing it. Even if they hated it.
It can, yes. Kinda gross, sounds immature, but it does. Fromscratchsf's cake is beautiful!
Whether or not they change the colours is yet to be seen But if you do end up needing navy blue fondant, I found the easiest way to do so without making it sticky was to buy the blue satin ice and slowly add black fondant to it until you get the navy blue you are happy with. HTH
I think Navy blue can be quite elegant...but it can also fade quickly in bright light such as fluorescents so keep it covered. It is also one of the worst colors to get out of clothes and linens and stains teeth and tongues as mentioned earlier. You could approach the bride by saying, 'You know this will make a very lovely cake and I am more than happy to do it for you, but I want you to be aware of a few things when dealing with a deep color like this"...and go into your reservations. And I also think having a lavender cake with a navy ribbon...or some other options for them to look at might at least get them thinking in a better direction. You might ask too how it's going to be displayed. Will it be an afternoon reception or an evening reception where it might be lit by not much more than candlelight. It might skew to black and you could lose details on it. Ultimately it's the brides choice, and if she's making an informed decision based on your info, then you gotta roll with it! good luck...I bet it will be beautiful no matter what!
omg! you are so right! when i did an all purple cake last summer, i took a drive with it for about 20 mins. I thought i had covered everything so well from the sun...i hadn't the color started to fade to blue on some of the flowers i had lying in a box right next to it!! they said they didn't know this but i was crushed. it was my first time learning that sun totally effected colors on the wedding cake. why does that happen??
Sometimes I think that we, as designers get "stuck" in our own head a little...I am doing a home theater design (not my normal job--partner owns a "Smart home" / Home Theater business and the couple didn't have anyone to design it for them, hence, I was asked to do it) for a couple who have completely the opposite taste as mine!! And when the guy sent e a photo of the color scheme he wanted to work from, that in addition to the type of design, I thought that I was going to scream!! and that there would be no way I could pull this off. But then my partner reminded me that this was THEIR theater, not OUR theater and it opened my mind up to all of the possibilities. Now, I'm having a ball working on this project!! And cant wait for the client's to see the final product of "my" work!!
Also, to help a little...I had one of the top designers in the area tell me that the BEST designers are the ones that can pull off ANY style and make it look as if they loved doing it. Even if they hated it.
yea! i sure hope i can pull of the design and people will say that! i was saying that to my husband last night. i thought about the fact that no matter what diff in our tastes were I'm going to give them all the options and have them informed...but still make their cake the best of my abilities!
reminds me of doing a red, white, and blue cake last summer...didn't think i could pull it off...but i did, they loved it and now it's one of my favorite cakes!
Draw it up in the colors the bride wanted. Then draw it again and reverse the colors so the cake is lavender and the ribbon is navy blue. She just might like that better.
leah, i think you're right. the cake that they gave me to go from was lavendar. so, i'm sure that's why they picked it.
Although its unconventional, I think it could be quite beautiful. I would never do colored buttercream, but fondant would be really pretty. Just think outside the box.
Edited to say, that is NOT my cake. It's a http://pinkpeachcakes.com/index2.php cake.
omg this cake is so pretty! The colors together are really nice and i wish that I was just doing those colors.
the other thing about the cake is they are going more traditional on design i would be more gungho about the cake if it was just slightly modern, i know that sounds bad, but if I was doing a brand new technique on the cake i would be thrilled! lol
One of the PPs was exactly right with the coloring... buy Satin Ice blue and black and mix them together to the correct shade and you won't have any consistency issues. If you are worried about fading, though, airbrushing won't do that (or at least is far, far reduced)
One of the PPs was exactly right with the coloring... buy blue and black and mix them together to the correct shade and you won't have any consistency issues. If you are worried about fading, though, airbrushing won't do that (or at least is far, far reduced)
hmm...i just feel like when i do this tho i still don't get the correct shade. i'm wondering if they are really doing NAVY blue tho. i'm gonna ask for an example tho. the thing is...i don't have an airbrush not gonna buy one for one cake tho which makes me bummed
thanks for the advice!
I had a cake with some crazy colors. I didn't try to talk the bride OUT of it, but I suggested we use 1 or 2 of the colors and not all three because it looked awful in my head! I drew a picture and colored and she loved it! Ah well. I made the cake....and in the end, I liked it! Still not what I would have chosen to do, but it looked good! I would draw up a few versions for her and then just jump into whatever she decides! I also use my airbrush for colors that are too hard to make (red, black, etc.) but I think the blue/black satin ice sounds like the best solution here!
I look forward to seeing this cake!
One of the PPs was exactly right with the coloring... buy blue and black and mix them together to the correct shade and you won't have any consistency issues. If you are worried about fading, though, airbrushing won't do that (or at least is far, far reduced)
hmm...i just feel like when i do this tho i still don't get the correct shade. i'm wondering if they are really doing NAVY blue tho. i'm gonna ask for an example tho. the thing is...i don't have an airbrush not gonna buy one for one cake tho which makes me bummed
thanks for the advice!
I completely understand what you're saying - in that case can you start with this method and then add paste coloring to edge the shade to just right? It wouldn't take much more coloring then.
I cover my cakes with modeling chocolate, and navy is one of the easiest colors to make. Just make it with the blue candy melts and add violet gel color to it. It doesn't take very much and doesn't affect the texture/taste of the modeling chocolate.
I have made navy blue fondant many times (mostly for yankee and batman cakes) and I just make blue fondant and add some black to it- works great every time (plus colors darken as they sit overnight)
I cover my cakes with modeling chocolate, and navy is one of the easiest colors to make. Just make it with the blue candy melts and add violet gel color to it. It doesn't take very much and doesn't affect the texture/taste of the modeling chocolate.
never done modeling chocolate. i may have to try that.
thanks for all the replies everyone! i think i will make up some drawings for them and definitely determine what they want.
I have the fondant situation and the fading situation to inform them about since the wedding will be outside.
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