I haven't read all of this thread yet and i only flipped quickly through that article but i thought it was " tongue -in - cheek " like : yeah you can make your own wedding cake ( 'cos it's sooo easy ! ) but THIS is what you'll end up with !! or am i wrong ??!!

julie

As awful as that cake may look, just remember we all started with awful looking cakes.
I agree that the article does need to be more accurate when it comes to the times though.

I do agree, as do most, that the instructions and presumptions she made in the article are insulting to cake decorators.

On the flip side, I have seen worst wedding cakes than that, so my attack isn't going to touch upon the cake. I don't think it looks that bad.

What is disturbing is this air of ease she's portraying. I can't imagine tackling my own wedding cake on the day of my wedding. Any student that I ever had that had any notions of doing their own wedding cake changed their mind real quick after the first cake they worked on. Especially for a first-time decorator.

It's just insane.

Angie

Ok...i agree the article made it sound easier than it is , but think of this:
What if the article had been "How to cut and highlight your hair for your wedding day" and it gave step by step instructions. How many of you would follow the article and do it yourself for your wedding day with having no experience, just to save $100? I know I wouldn't ....and If for some reason I chose to try it....it sure wouldn't be right before my wedding. So i really think most brides are smart enough to take this article with a grain of salt.

My sister in law got married last year and I did her cake. It was stressful enough to set up the reception (the night before) and attend the wedding (had to skip the luncheon to set up the cake) blah blah - how are you supposed to do all that when you are the BRIDE?!?!?! I am all for saving money, but the price you pay in stress and worry would not be worth the money saved.....

I'm glad that you guys didn't see the first wedding cake that I did for my sister fifteen years ago when she renewed her vows (I knew nothing about decorating) : . I did the cakes from scratch but used canned icing and didn't know how to really smooth...boy, it was a mess but it tasted good

Thank goodness for use of steps, flowers and bridal figurines to help with the coverage At least my sister really appreciated it and never said a negative comment. On the other hand, one of my other sisters still laugh about it . Everytime she sees one of my cakes now, she laughs and talks about that "ugly" wedding cake...she won't let me live it down

This cake is beautiful compared to the one I did

stephanie214 we are all our own worst critiques. (Literally have seen tons of posts to that effect.)

Now after saying that, I bet your cake was very lovely. Even if you have a sister who teases you and could still be pushing your buttons.

tiptop57,

Believe me, it was awful, I refuse to even look at pictures of the cake. The last time I saw that cake was fifteen years ago at the reception

I made my sister's gown with detachable train, her veil and bouquet; all the dresses and bouquets for five bridesmaid, maid and matron of honor and two flower girls and all their head wear. Thank goodness I could sew way better than cake decorating

People took pity on that cake when they found out that I had done all that sewing...redemption for me

Okie Dokie, now it's my turn! Yay! I've spent the better part of the last SEVERAL HOURS reading the tutorial and all the comments here. Seems there's a lot of opinion about this little article, and not all of it productive ...

Okay, the directions ARE misleading ... 1) it does take longer than a few minutes to slice, torte and crumb coat even one tier, let alone three. 2) The baking time is a little short unless you have at least two ovens. 3) If you're trying to SAVE money by baking your own cake, you're in for a BIG surprise when you discover that the three cake pans alone are going to cost you anywhere from $35 - $50, depending on where you find them, not to mention the cost of ingredients [I'm surprised the author didn't use the line, "after all, a wedding cake IS just flour and eggs ......"]. 4) Does anyone really do THREE layers of icing? 5) Can we show a newbie how to smooth icing here??? No, it's not a particularly difficult skill, but it will take some time and I guess that is one of the things the DIY Bride wants to save on after saving money ... time!

Okay, so we can ALL find fault with the article. As someone whose first large wedding-type cake was a stacked, 6-tier cake for 350 at the age of 14 (may parents' 25th anniversary), and it was pretty decent, I had to learn a lot of things from that first big one. None of the items discussed in this article would have helped me make a better cake, but I tackled it by studying everything that was available to me at the time (a mere 31 years ago ... cough, cough, cough ...) and made my own mistakes that I learned from.

The point I guess I'm trying to make is that even though this article isn't perfect, nothing we study first before tackling a cake project is necessarily perfect. We simply have to take the information we are given and make the best and the most of it to make the best cake we can. I've read plenty of things about rolled fondant and I can probably spit out plenty of good things you should know and do when working with it, but I don't do fondant because I am still not comfortable working with it. The fact that I've read plenty about it doesn't make me any more an "expert" than it makes me the Easter Bunny, but I can probably make a successful cake with the stuff if I take the time to really apply the knowledge I do have (just like I can plan, execute and hide the basket with the best EB I know). Would it be as perfect a cake as an Earlene Moore cake or a Collette Peters or Duff Goldman cake? Probably not, but eventually I could get that good, if only I try .....

Well, I'm glad some of us have had such a good laugh about this article. It's better to laugh about life than to go through it sucking lemons, don't you think???

Happy Baking (and Laughing) One and All,

Odessa

I've actually used that recipe that was on epicurious several years ago...

It was my first wedding cake that I did for my grandparents 50th anniv. (pink and yellow were their colors)

It was actually a bit expensive to make, and pretty time consuming. I tool baking and pastry arts in school and couldn't imagine a bride trying to make this herself.

Here's a pic of my finished cake of that same recipe

But yours is pretty!!!

That is pretty! Our point was exactly what you said about expensive and time consuming. Add in the fact that you took bakery arts in school and you go agains what was said in the article.

I hope you all realize that every time I see this post, I get traumatized all over again!!!!!

Yep, I'm making my own wedding cake this summer. Yep, it will be stressful. Nope, we don't have the budget to hire a decorator, caterer, or any help besides my MOH. Done this before (DIY wedding), all except the cake, and I am already insane enough that the stress won't make too much difference in my mental state!

But, keep the post going, please! LOVE the DIY surgery idea - could use lipo in a couple of places, and the jewels from the Bedazzler would be perfect to show off in a bikini! Just remember to add some strong vodka or Everclear to the supply list - useful for sanitizing as well as dulling the pain. We all have that already for Luster dust, right? Maybe some powdered sugar "coke" to get up the courage?

Another discussion on the DIY wedding cake guide:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-600697.html

I'm by no means a pro and I can see that this article is ridiculous. However, I wanted to state that I too, am a Guide for about.com. They rely on their guides to be professionals and experts in their fields. (I am the guide for the city of Indianapolis, for example). Now, I think where the issue lies is that this guide is in "Weddings" and not the expert for "baking". She cites another guide who's expertise is in "Theater" as her source for helping her. So, there is the problem. This guide is relying on someone who is clearly not an expert, to explain the process.

All this stated, About.com is owned by the New York Times and we are trained extensively before we are even hired. However, they do not have a huge editorial staff and they rely on their experts to be just that, "experts". Writers are employees of About.com and not simply contributers who go online and add their information.

I do think, that for most people, the idea of tackling your own wedding cake is insane. I think cupcakes would be much more doable, but still time-consuming. I just don't think it's a good idea to recommend a bride or her attendants take on this sort of project. There are a lot of things you can skimp on, but I wouldn't suggest it be the cake. God knows even those of us who do this all the time run into issues!