I am making my brother-in-law's wedding cake this September. Today I attempted the 6" top tier to practice as I know it will take a few tries. The pictures actually make it look a lot worse but I need some help!
The first picture is my disaster. The second picture is the cake that it should look something like.
A few things to note:
1. Ignore the yellow icing, it was the only royal icing I had on hand and was doing this task merely for practice anyway.
2. For the curly stencil I used 2 different colours of luster dust just to see what they looked like. The wedding colours are brown and pink and I have ordered these colours but have not yet received them.
3. The bow on top is way too big, I will make it much smaller next time. It also cracked and fell apart but it was not dry as I just made it last night.
Now for my questions...
For the bottom of each tier, how do I make the fondant look so smooth like it blends into the tier below? I am sure this is just something that comes with practice, any tips?
I'm not sure what to add with the roses, it looks maybe like lace or tulle in the original picture, any suggestions?
The top of my box is styrofoam, should I be wrapping the fondant around to the bottom of the lid a bit or just trimming it level with the bottom of the foam?
Should the diameter of the lid be slightly smaller than the cake or the same size? In mine they are the same but it looks bigger.
Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!
My only suggestion would be to make the lid slightly smaller. It looks a lot thicker than the original. Sorry I can't be more help. Good luck!
I am by no means an expert... but here are a few of my tricks and suggestions:
1. to get the really smooth fondant at the bottom, just keep stretching it and smoothing it with a fondant smoother. if i see a wrinkle forming, i'll just pull that section from the cake, reposition it, and smooth until it is gone. The 6" tiers are always tough to get smooth for me.... no idea why 
also when you trim it, either hold it or place it on an a slightly elevated surface and trim it with some over hang so you can fold it under the board. Also, since the is no boarder, make royal icing in as close to the color as possible and run that along the seem when the cakes are stacked, then dip you finger in water to blend it between the two.
I use gumpaste when making edge of hat box tops. cut a strip sightly wider than the side and wrap it around the fondant flush with the top with some overhang below (gives you really crisp corners too...i'm thinking that might be why it looks so much bigger?) I definatley wouldn't make it smaller than the rest.
I hope that helps a little! It really doesn't look bad at all, and by the time the wedding rolls around, you will have mastered it!
Here are my suggestions, I hope they help you.
The swirlys painted on with lustre dust are all the same way up (they all look like a '6') if you changed the direction of some of them it would look more random.
The fondant needs to 'underhang' the styrofoam lid so that you can't see the underside, creating the illusion that it's a hollow lid.
You've got to the those fondant sides really flat so it looks like a box - the best way to get fondant flat is to lay it on a flat cake - sounds obvious, but you really have to work the cake before you've even got fondant on it - make sure it's absolutely smooth, this is why so many decorators use a layer of marzipan under the fondant to get a really smooth surface.
I commend you for practising - I should really get into that habit, it would save me from so much stress. Good luck with it and keep posting if you have questions or need shoulders!
Great job on your first attempt!! I have not done one of these yet, so I'm not qualified to give advice. I'm saving this thread however, for when I need it!! I think I would make the lid with just a little smaller and thinner foam though...just so it looks like it's not overpowering the top. It's going to be a beautiful cake!
just my 2 cents worth but i think your roses need to be bigger maybe.. which is why the lid seems out of proportion.. but apart from that you did a great practise run... the pic of the original cake is a gorgeous cake... i am sure you will replicate it no problem
I find it easier to smooth fondant out when its a little on the thick side...when its really thin, I have a terrible time...maybe for your next practice cake, try it thicker.
Ya know, ya did a pretty good job on that practice cake, really. I can really see how you'd improve with a couple more practices.
I think you'll do great!!!
I'm not an expert either but it looks like you need a smaller lid, diameter and height wise. I made a square box cake with a lid but my lid and box were all cake. I did wrap the fondant under the lid just a little and made sure it wansn't too open so people couldn't see the underside.
I would also put more "fillng" in where the roses are. Maybe some tool or ribbon and a few more roses. I would make the roses different sizes so they don't look so uniform.
The box part looks like it's "fat" with frosting? Maybe use less frosting under the fondant or maybe the sides of the cake needs to be trimmed?
Keep up the practice, looks like you've almost got it! That's going to be a beautiful cake!
Jacqui
Another tip would be to roll your fondant out thinner. It makes that cakes look more professional looking. Other wise your design looks great.
Did you put anything under the fondant? Either way, I would look a little more at getting the sides straighter (following emma's advice). If the cake hasn't been carved in anyway, then I usually use a thin buttercream layer, and I usually get eye level to it and use something in my kitchen as a reference for a straight vertical line behind it (for me it's the tile on kitchen backsplash). Using this I just build up and smooth the BC until it looks straight - let it crust and then cover and shape with the fondant.
hth!
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