I want to make my friend's wedding cake. This would be my first cake - I have until march - so plenty of time to practice.

so how do I let the bride know what I can or cannot do?? Should I just let her bring me a design??
I know how it would work for someone who has made wedding cakes before, but how would it work for me??

Thanks for the advice in advance!!
Christina

I think i would have her pick a few cakes she likes. Then you guys can get together and you can determin which one you can make. Im not sure what she would pick that you wouldnt be able to do. WHat are your concerns as far as things you feel you can not do

I am unsure about making flowers out of gumpaste...

susan: that is a good suggestion about her bringing me a few different pictures. duh - I didn't even think about that. I was afraid she would come up with one cake in mind that she wouldn't budge from.

Also I am trying to save her money but trying to make money too. should I charge her for the cake supplies and a little bit more or just lower the cost per slice?

I would have her bring some pictures of designs she likes. Also...you might show her some designs that you KNOW you can do. Then together you can decide which design to go with. I might suggest going simple and elegant. Is she going to have a florist put flowers on the cake??? Maybe you could do a smooth icing with some edible pearls or simple dots...and with the flowers that would look really pretty. Good luck...and maybe make a small practice cake since you have time!
traci

yes, I was thinking simple and elegant. I actually like that the best. I was hoping she would like to do fondant with ribbon
or like you suggested traci, pearls...

Since I am not planning on charging a lot I could tell her no to gumpaste flowers (since I am not sure I could do anyway) or if she really wanted something "over the top" and not simple I could just state that I would have to charge more.

The fondant with the ribbon sounds gorgeous! There are several pictures in the wedding cake gallery that you could show her. If she sees how pretty they are...then she might not want to go with gumpaste flowers. You have time to plan and even practice what you want to do!
traci

yes I do have lots of time to practice!!! yea! Also I will be taking course III in October. and that is all about fondant !!

As far as price goes figure out your cost first and then decide how much of a profit you want to make. depending how good of a friend she is too you and how much work the cake is i dont think i would do it for less than 50.00 profit. maybe more depending on how much detail and such she wants. hope that helps

yes that does help a lot!! I was thinking at least 50 profit and then add up the rest for the supplies and all.

Just a note on the gumpaste flowers, they are actually far easier to make than buttercream or other piped flowers. You can follow instructions in a book and though they do take a long time to make, I find them much easier than the other kinds of icing. Many flowers can be made from fondant, you don't always have to use gumpaste. You can make them far in advance, months. Just thought I would mention that, don't be afraid!
Good luck!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

I recently had a friend's sister ask me to do her wedding cake. I have done 5 weddings so far so I don't have enough pictures of wedding cakes yet. In the past, the brides brought me pics and I told them if I thought I could do it or not. This time the bride really didn't have anything in mind yet so I showed her pics from all the books I have. She choose one and changed a few little things. If you don't feel you have enogh books try the library. I haven't looked for books to check out yet but alot of people use the library as a source. Good luck! I am sure it will come out great!