....everything is going to be fine.
Ok, I'm in panic mood right now. I'm making my sister's wedding cake... in Spain where we are originally from. I haven't been doing this for a long time (just a year) and my original plan was that I would just make the gumpaste flowers for the cake to place there. In Spain the latest trend is to have a wedding cake that is purely symbolic which you have there basically for the picture moment and then serve some other kind of dessert (I have no idea why). Since I'm going to be very busy with all the preparations and getting ready for the wedding and helping my sister out and etc. I could not picture myself taking on the challenge of also making the cake (I admire those of you who do 
).
So, like a month ago, I told my sister to ask at the reception place what the sizes of the complimentary cakes they were providing would be so I would then plan the flower arrangement. Well, when she asked the guy: So, how many tiers and what sizes will they be? The guy looked at her kind of 
and pointed at a smallish rectangular shape and said: That's what the cake will look like.
Ok, so when my sister told me that... I just could not let her use that for a wedding cake. I mean, if the whole point of the cake was to use for the picture, who would want a picture of that???? So I volunteered to do the wedding cake. The good thing is that it won't be all cake, just the top tier that they are going to cut for the picture, the two bottom tiers will be dummy cakes but, you know, I will still need to decorate them all.
So, from the minute I finished school (I'm a teacher) I've been making roses, filler flowers, leaves, butterflies, practicing draping, trying recipes of white cake, making the topper.... And I'm overwhelmed. I'm not done yet with the topper (since my future brother in law proposed in Venice, I made him out of gumpaste in a gondola and my sister will be resting on a bridge- he proposed at the Rialto bridge-).
The main problems are: How in 
am I going to transport this to Spain in one piece? We are talking of an 18 hour long trip... I can hardly sleep thinking about how to make it there in one piece... Did I mention that when I get to Madrid I have to go to the train station for a two hour train ride to my parent's? I was thinking of putting stickers of "fragile" on everything I carry, including me, so that people don't even breathe on me...
And then, the week before the wedding I'll be assembling the cakes and then praying that they will make it to the reception place where I'll take them on the wedding day after I get my hair done (Well, that is, if I still have hair by then 
) and set it up there and put huge signs saying: Do not move, do not touch, do not breathe near the cake or there will be consequences 
.....
I mean, don´t get me wrong, I'm happy I can do this for my sister and her fiancé. They are very grateful and I know it means the world to them. They don´t know about the topper so if it survives the trip they will love it. But, I´m so stressed out I´m having a nervous breakdown.
So, could someone please say: Don´t worry, it will be fine!
Thank you for letting me vent.
Time to go make the bride. 
Inma
If there is anyway possible...I would recommend carrying as much as you can, and the most important pieces as carry-on when you travel. You should also have plenty of extras (to allow for breakage) and a back-up plan!
I think it is a wonderful thing that you are wanting to do all of this for you sister's wedding!
(Hmmmm? Do they sell seats on the plane for the wedding cake? Maybe it could have it's own seat? Carry-on luggage still has to go in the overhead during take-off! Just kidding! I hope...everything will be fill be fine!)
OMGosh! I will pray for ya! Just remain calm and perhaps you can order the cake size you want already just frosted white and some extra frosting on the side. Then you would only have to frost the dummies and put it together. That would perhaps make you a little less stressed. Call a place where they pack and ship things, maybe they have some suggestions or you could take it there to pack the pieces and all the extras? Good luck and take lots of pictures!!
Don't worry, it will be fine!
I travel to competitions sometimes, and while I've only had to go as far as 6 hours, not 18 hours, you'll find the flowers to be sturdier than you think.
Go to the fabric store or WalMart or where ever, and buy yourself a cheapie convoluted foam twin-size mattress pad (around $10). Cut it to fit in the bottom of whatever box you'll be transporting the flowers in. Layer some of the flowers in the waves of the foam, cutting holes in the foam if you need to to get the flowers to fit down in there. Add another layer of foam and do the same thing. If you have time to make extras, do so. If not, don't worry about it.
I would suggest you make a few gumpaste bow loops. Just thin ones. Not that you are planning to make a bow, but they make quick-and-easy fillers in case you start assembling the cake and find you don't have enough flowers, or you broke some, or whatever. It's just good to be prepared for the unexpected. Plus bow loops have the advantage of being very fast to make.
If you are traveling with assembled floral sprays, fold little squares of paper towels to put between any flowers - even if you have to do it for every flower - in the spray that might bump or rub one another during transit. Then just remember to take them all out when you get where you're going.
Take a piece of fresh gumpaste with you in a double baggie. If you find yourself needing some "glue", you can add a bit of boiling water to the paste and smush it together to make a sticky glue you can make repairs with.
While I don't take cakes on planes (I don't travel much), I've seen other competitors pack their competition pieces much the way I just described to you and they've been fine. I once saw a lady bring a stringwork extensionwork cake all the way from Sri Lanka on a plane without breaking a single string. Gutsy move, but it paid off for her. She won big.
I think this is going to be a VERY cool cake, and I really want you to take lots of pictures of it so we can all see it here!
Deanna
Everything isn't going to break. Even if your main piece breaks, you can fix it or do something else. Maybe you can do final assembly on the topper when you arrive if this will make it less fragile.
She doesn't have expectations and isn't forcing you to do it a certain way. Don't stress yourself out trying to recreate your vision exactly. Take tools to fix broken things. Maybe a paintbrush for water and a sealed container of royal icing? I would also take a tub of gumpaste in case you need to make filler leaves or flowers. Everything does not have to be hard as a rock when you put it on the cake. If all else fails buy some fresh flowers when you get there.
Breath! Relax! You can do something to make this cake beautiful without freaking out. This is supposed to be a happy occasion! Travel is stressful enough without carrying breakable things and sitting on the edge of your seat. Pack it the best you can and then try not to think about it until you get there.
YOU CAN DO IT!
Wow! Thank you, guys! I´m feeling better now.I just have to remember to breathe and keep working on it and hope that things will turn out the way I want them to be.
Thanks for the tips on transporting the cakes. I´ll go check that out. I´ll be making the sprays of flowers here and I have made extra flowers in case of breakage. I also baked the two 6x2 white cakes. I froze them and will take them like that to Spain where they will go back in the freeezer until I start assembling the cake. I don´t even think they´ll try the cake so I´m not too worried if it doesn´t taste the best after being frozen for a while. The dummies I´ll take in my luggage that I check in because they won´t fit in my carry on, I think but that should be fine, I hope. I´m bringing six pound of fondant. Would that be enough to cover a 6, 8, 10 x 4 inches and to do 3 drapes (from the 6 to the 8, from the 8 to the 10 and from the 10 to the board)? Needless to say, in Spain they don´t sell fondant so if I don´t have enough... then I wouldn´t know what to do (no marshmallows either).
Did I mention I´ll be doing this in a 110 F weather? Thanks Goodness it´s not humid!
Ok, breathe, breathe... (I forgot again! 
).
Thanks again to all of you. I really appreciate it. And yes, I will take tons of pictures.
Inma
When are you leaving for your trip? Could you go ahead and cover your dummies with the fondant and let it get hard before you head out? If you are doing drapes anyway, if the dummies get a ding in them somehow, you could position the drape and/or flowers to cover that, and then you wouldn't have to pack so much fondant to have to work with when you get there.
Just a thought.
Deanna
Do you have time before the trip to "ship" the fondant by mail? Also, perhaps your sister could bake the cakes and have them waiting on you there. Just thinking...less to pack, less to worry about.
I know that you can purchase pre-made gumpaste flowers and sprays, even online! [NOT SUGGESTING YOU DO THIS! BUT...] Perhaps you could start another thread and enquire to those CC users who may have purchased their flowers in this way...they may can give you tips as to how to best pack your flowers so they are not damaged in transit! (They will also be able to tell you how not to pack them...i.e: those that have had them arrive broken, can tell you how they were not packed properly)
Please keep us posted on how things go...I am always interested in extra info on how cakes travel! Great information to have, just in case!
Premade gumpaste flowers are either packed in thin foam sheets, or in thin plastic formers like egg cartons. One bakery I worked in stored their gumpaste flowers in plastic shoe box-type things, with no padding between the flowers, in big metal lockers. Needless to say, they had lots of breakage. Another bakery kept them in their original boxes and foam, which took up more room in the storeroom but prevented breakage. I keep the flowers I make in plastic egg carton-type arrangements or in layers of foam.
Deanna
Hey Inma,
You CAN do it! What part of Spain are you going to? Sounds like it could be Seville?
Hey Inma,
You CAN do it! What part of Spain are you going to? Sounds like it could be Seville?
Right next to Seville, I am from Córdoba, a beautiful and awfully hot in the summer city in the south of Spain.
Thank you again for your responses and for keeping me in your prayers to make sure everything gets there in one piece.
Inma
I just wanted to wish you luck on your adventure! I visited Spain while I was in high school and Cordoba was my absolute favorite city! We flew into Madrid and took a train south to the coast. I remember thinking how beautiful and romantic the city was. I must go look up my pictures of the trip!
I visited Spain while I was in high school and Cordoba was my absolute favorite city! We flew into Madrid and took a train south to the coast. I remember thinking how beautiful and romantic the city was. I must go look up my pictures of the trip!
Thanks! Although sounding completely partial, Córdoba is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. I don´t know what time of the year you went to Spain. But Córdoba in May is to die for. The air is filled with the smells of orange trees and wherever you look there are colorful flowers to admire. It´s my favorite time of the year in Córdoba.
Inma
I just wanted you all to know that the figurines and the flowers made it fine to Spain. Thanks for all your wonderful tips on how to pack them. I could finally breath when I got home and I loved my sister´s look when she saw the figures I made to look like her and her fiancé and the flowers to go in each of the tiers. Now I just have to relax and hope everything goes fine when I put all the tiers together and start placing flowers and such. Please keep me in your thoughts. The wedding is on the 5th of August.
Inma
Hooray! This is going to be a gorgeous cake and we all can't wait to see the photos when you get home.
Deanna
Oh wow I really hope that this goes well! Best of luck to you!!
I just wanted to give you another update. The wedding is tomorrow, Saturday August 5th, and I finished the cake. It´s all ready to go. I just have to place the figurines and one more flower spray at the reception place.... Please keep the good vibes and wishes coming since transporting it to the reception place is what worries me the most. I will definitely show the final product.
From the scorching hot Spain
Inma
I can't wait to see the final product. You are certainly a trooper for doing this cake. I'm sure your sister is touched simply by your efforts but will be overwhelmed when she gets to display your creation for all her friend's and family to see. Give yourself a pat on the back...not everyone would be so dedicated to go thru the process you've gone thru.
Good luck transporting the cake and have a wonderful time at the wedding. 
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to all of you. First of all, the wedding was a complete success. The bride, my sister, looked beautiful, the ceremony was very touching and the banquet was great! The cake looked great too. People couldn´t believe their eyes when they saw it. I think it might have gotten almost as many pictures as the bride and groom! .... although my sister had seen me putting it together, I waited to put the topper on until I went to the reception place in the morning to set it up, so she didn´t see the final product until the banquet and she and her husband LOVED it!!! Yayyyyy! I could finally breathe because everything turned out like planned and it meant the world to my sister and her now husband. When I get home (Seattle) I´ll download the pictures and post them for you all to see.
I really appreciate all your nice comments and good wishes and support. It made me feel calmer and more confident about being able to pull all this together when I read your nice words.
Have a great day!
Inma
Congratulations- it looks fantastic!! The topper turned out great- your sister must be absolutely thrilled. So very glad it turned out perfectly for you!
Your cake is gorgeous. You did such a beautiful job.
Angie
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