Ok, I have the first cake I am getting paid for this coming weekend. It took them like 2 weeks to say for sure I was making it, and then there was only a week until they needed it. I thought this was some family event and I was doing them a favor (charging them about half what I should). Come to find out this anniversary party is at a freaking art gallery where the daughter works.

Anyway, so the ametureish cake I was doing needs to be a lot better than I thought lol. I have had horrible luck smoothing buttercream using Viva, printer paper, parchment paper, even the melvira method. I think the culprit may be my frosting, so I am gonna try out Indydeb's recipe.

But in the even this doesnt work either...I need some ideas for what I can do besdies smooth fondant looking icing.

I attached the original wedding cake, mine wil be much different, but the daughter wanted some elements of it incorporated.

This is what me and the daugher talked about.

2 tiers, 8 inch and 10 inch. All white with yellow, lavendar, and pink flowers (like from the original cake). A pearl border for the 30th anniversary. And nothing on the top bc she will be putting the wedding cake topper on it.

So what are som ealternatives to the smooth icing that would go with this theme. I thought abotu fluffy frosting looking kind of cloud like, but I dont feel iike that would look right with the decor. I dont want to just load it up with flowers if I can help it. I am not very good at buttercream roses, and it takes soooo long to make the fondant ones for the money I am making off this cake.

If there a type of desin anyone can think of that would work with this. I am ok at piping, although my first attempt at ruffles like were on the wedding cake didnt work out...then again that was also at 11:30 last night lol.

She did say at one point she wanted stuf off their original weddging cake, but a little more modern. So maybe I could spin off that.

I thought abotu fondant, but I would like to mak that an absolute last resort (covering the cake with it I mean) bc the few fondant cakes I Have dont have still been kinda lumpy and not as good as I would like.

Anyway, I know this was long, thanks for the help .

The only way you are going to get the essence of this cake to me is by doing the swags. There is just no way around that because that is what makes the cake. The only thing I have to tell you though, through my experience, fondant swags on buttercream tiers don't work. They slide right off. For smooth icing (the one thing that worked for me) try putting a fairly smooth layer of icing on the cake. As smooth as you could get it before using any "smooth icing tricks". Stick the cake in the freezer for about twenty minutes untill the icing is hard to the touch. Pull it out and frost again. The icing at this point acts like a joint compound and fills in any imperfections in the icing. You will have to work fairly quickly though before the icing begins to melt. Hope it works for you as well as it does for me. One last thing, the magic angle for your smoothing tool of choice is a 30 degree angle for smooth, bubble pocket- less icing.

Ok, I checked with the brother buying the cake from me (him and his sis). The origina wedding cake pic was just to give me some ideas if I needed them. This is the new plan. They didnt necessarily want it to look like that.

This icing swirl.
http://newsletter.bruner-realtors.com/images/special%20occassion%20cake.jpg

Pearl border and fondant flowers in yellow, pink, and purple. The colors on the original cake. No columns, no swans lol. Load off my mind bc I was freaking out a little. I will just have to keep practicing on cakes that arent for sale to get the icing really smooth.