Wedding Cake!

My first wedding cake- hooray!!

I was excited and a little nervous because I haven't made such a big one, or one of such importance!

But it was fun and the Bride loved it!

They chose a cinnamon cake with cream cheese frosting.

See that cinnamon-y swirl?? 

Remember my other post about the flower nails? 

Well, I'm just loving using them! 

I also learned that instead of dowels, straws are a great option!

They displace less cake, and I'm not worried about leaving a splinter in the cake!

I was also excited because I read that milkshake straws work better because they're so much bigger, and I found some in the ice cream section at Winn Dixie.

So, the cake wasn't very intricate, but still just lovely!

I used a 'diamond' banding around the bottom of the cake that was 5 rows tall, and then added the big diamonds on the corners.

After talking to the bride and her friends, there was a discussion about freezing the top layer for the anniversary. The bride wasn't too keen on adding another layer to the cake, but the friends were insistent to the tradition. 

I remembered that my mom found these great little mini cake pans for me. I told her I could make one for both the bride and groom, and in their favorite flavors: Lemon and Red Velvet. 

I used the recipes from Ming Makes Cupcakes, since I didn't need a large batch, and the pans were closer to cupcake size. 

But, I didn't tell her the surprise. After speaking with her friends, we decided to make the cakes a little special for each of them. 

A loves Chanel and purple, so it was no contest to make a purse-themed bag!

I started with the classic quilted look from the purses:

Next, I added a golden chain and made the logo out of gumpaste.

Then, for D's Red Velvet, his sister found out his favorite shoe:

The Air Jordan XXIII

I decided to take the swirly design and add it to the bottom tier. 

Looking back, I probably should have made the second tier have some little laces loop around, but hindsight is 20/20!

I did make the crazy jumpman and the number 23 out of gumpaste, and I think they turned out just fine. 

They even got added to the special table for the bride and groom, instead of the big cake display. 

I call that a success!