This cake is from 1957. They are unable to ask the parents because it would possibly give away the surprise anniversary party.

They want this cake duplicated as closely as possible.

The roses are apparent. What is not so clear is what is at the top of the swags on the sides....I was thinking possibly those doves...looking like they were draping the swags...I'm getting a headache looking at it though.

any ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Jeanne

Hmmm 1957 that was my mom's favourite year lol it was when she had me lol Sorry I cant tell what they are either to me they just look like more cascading flowers but was wondering if perhaps the children could kind of bring up the subject saying something like hey I just found your wedding cake pic and was wondering what the heck this is you know just ask sort of out of curiousity. I do this often when I'm trying to surprise someone and it always works like a charm.

could it be a bow that is at the peak of the swag drape?

My sister and I threw a surprize party for my parents. I needed to know what a certain picture was and so I just grabbed it one day and just said, "Hey, Dad who is this?" He never even clicked ... now, he is a man =) But my mom was pretty oblivious to direct questions as well.
To me it looks like there are definite swags and roses ,,, and it looks like cupcakes around the base (but I am pretty certain that they are not!) Maybe bows as well? Do you have the topper? Does your mom have sisters or a mother that you can ask (or some woman that would have paid attention?) Did a relative make the cake? I'd just ask her (or have some else ask). Tell, her you need ideas for a anniversaryyou are doing as ask what her cake looked like. She might be rather flattered and never think that the party you are doing is for her! Good luck!

They look like bows to me sort of, kind of.
And I don't think those are cupcakes, they look the the tops of wine glasses, with the pic cut off where the stems are?

wow what a sweet thing for them to do!
Sounds like they could either pass through old photo albums casually and ask - have done this also; or find a professional photographer to enhance the photo professionally.
(what are the chances they have the negatives in storage lol)

The clincher(s) to the photo/asking situation ...."sis, stole this pic..." "this is the only one that showed the cake..."

the woman who ordered the cake was sent the picture from Kentucky...she lives here....communication is minimal and "mom is a smart cookie..."

oh yeah, those are the tops of punch cups...they looked like they were filled with sherbet punch...looked like a really sweet backyard reception.

could you put the image into photoshop (or a similar program) and play around with the contrast? i don't know if it would work but its worth a try good luck!

yea that will definitely make you blind. I've use the photoshop software works wonders on black and white photos. Definitely worth trying it might give you enough contrast to figure it out

oooooooooooooooo....this is the result of an hour and a half of playing in photoshop with brightness and contrast and blowing it up 'til it wouldn't blow up no more.

looking at the picture I was given, it's difficult to tell where the cake ended and her dress began...it is white on white on white on bright white.

it's for this wednesday.

I appreciate everyone's take on it...really I do.

I had hoped maybe ya'll could see something I couldn't.

The bow idea mentioned above might just be it. It looks like something jutting outward at the tops of those swags.

hmmmmmm...might even be stinkin' bells.

oh, it ain't for my parents. It's for a woman's parents that I work with.

Well I tried to photoshop it for you...

I have a question... was the original wedding in winter? Maybe its just me but the topper looks like a snowman peeking out of the top layer with a witch's hat... maybe my mind is wandering.

Also I circled one of them, I think those are bows. It looks like it has roses on the edges of the tops of the rounds with a bow directly underneath on the side of the round. It also looks like each of the bows have 2 swags that attach to the bow to the right and to the left of it. Hope this helps.

lol...I cropped the topper out. So, uh...I don't about any snowman.

You can see it a bit clearer in your's(thank you very much btw), the swags or drapes look like Nike swooshs and that something, possibly a bow is resting at the top. A sideways dove just seems to make more sense to me....kinda like the bluebirds decorating Cinderella's dress...they're decorating this cake....

I hope they cry happy tears when they see it is all.

that's too bad it's not more clear- I really wish you luck in figuring that out - it's a whole different ballgame when you can create a masterpiece with free licence- when you're recreating something, you cant really get creative lol.
I'm sure they will love it! Good luck!

My mother would know in a heartbeat, too. Not worth the risk of ruining a surprise by asking, I don't think. I can hardly see anything in the picture, so it looks like you are doing better than I, but............

As long as you get the "big" details close, i.e., the shape, tiers, roses, size, etc., I think they will be absolutely ecstatic!!! Whether it's doves, bows, etc., won't matter as much, if she even remembers (I know I wouldn't, and I was only married 18 years ago, not 50!!!!)

Good luck. I'm sure it will be gorgeous. remember to post a pic!

I just spent about half an hour online trying to find wedding cakes from 1957 ... but I am not very good at "surfing"!

Anyway, I had an idea -- there is definitely a dove on there that looks like the Wilton wedding doves. Does anyone have an old Wilton book that might have a picture that resembles this one? Or how about writting Wilton? I have no clue what their customer service is like but it might be worth a try!

Oh yeah, I thought about this silly cake all night long ... which makes me think that you are about at your wits end! Hope you can figure something out!!! If you make a white cake with doves, roses, and swags I think that they will figure it out! =)

pidge, the local store only had the full flight glitter doves. I am going to attempt to make some with royal. If they work, great. If not, I've got buds for backup.

Thank you all for helping me with this. I will be sure to upload a pic when it's done.

Thanks again.

now i know that i am hooked ... it's like the ultimate cake mystery! Here is a picture I found on Wiltons sight ... it has the same "feel" of the other one (although wrong color and shape).

http://www.wilton.com/recipes/recipesandprojects/wedding/gki_declair.cfm

pidge, I was looking for the wings to be in a backward motion like the ones below

http://oasisupply.com/Products/MoreInfo.asp?ProductID=1%7ELK+14086

I need to check my molds...omg...I may have one in there!
ah'll be bahk...

Okay, here is what I was talking about

http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/wedding/Wangels.htm

(The small doves on picks ... although the picture it bad)

but if you could make your own that would problably be a better idea ... edible is better =)

I am also doing a wedding cake reproduction for a 50th anniversary later this year and I had the same problem with the photo I was provided. I used Microsoft Picture It--Photo Premium 9 and used the "negative" option under "Effects" and with making the picture look more like a negative, I was able to see more details of the cake. I found details that I hadn't noticed before. Hope this helps.

I tried making them in royal icing. I couldn't find a mold with just the doves.


http://www.cakecentral.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/52155/normal_HPIM1286.JPG

You did such a great job! I think that everyone will love the cake ... you have put way too much thought into it for them not to see that! Do they still have the original glasses that the 1st cake was set on?

The cake, in the whole picture, is just on a thick board on the table. The glass that is in the picture is punch cups set in front and around the cake.

I did manage to hunt down a topper that was almost identical to the original.