Anatomy of a wedding cake -- June 2011

I've posted about the Anatomy of a Wedding Cake (Part I and Part II) in the past, as well as pictures of the wedding cake I made in Honduras last year for my nephew (baking and decorating), and decided it was time to post pictures of a more recent creation. These photos are from a cake I made this past Friday and Saturday with the help of my daughters. While it was a bit over-the-top for my personal tastes, it fit the design of the rest of the reception perfectly, and the bride and family were very happy with it! Enjoy the creative process!

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It takes a lot of supplies and a lot of table space to get started with making a large cake.

Look closely -- one of the eggs we used had a double yolk!

First layer into the oven.....

All four layers glazed and cooling on the table.... sure doesn't look like much right now, does it?

One layer with icing, second layer added and waiting....

Two layers iced and it's time for BED!! It took most of the day to get to this point, believe it or not!

Saturday AM -- and now working at the small kitchen in the upstairs of the church. The flowers the bride's mother got for the cake were all white and needed to be painted -- YIKES!! Here is Morgan busily at work, painting the icing orchids.

All four layers iced and waiting for decorations.

Happy with how her painting is turning out thus far!

A look at the flowers in process.

Ribbon and edible beads added to cake -- and yes, EVERY SINGLE ONE of those beads had to be placed by hand! What a tedious process.....

Adding painted flowers to the cake

A close-up of one of the orchids Morgan painted -- she did a fabulous job!

More flowers, adding feathers.....

Still working....

Another orchid.....

Gold-tinged roses

Beginning to assemble the top of the cake. We wanted to create a "mound" of flowers, but knew that a pile of icing would not support the weight of the flowers trailing down the sides. We considered several possibilities, then ended up using a paper bowl upside down, poked it full of holes to put flowers in, and used icing to "glue" it to the top and toothpicks to help anchor it! Strange solution, but it worked!

Arranging the roses....

Adding more flowers

In process.....

..... and more flowers added.....

Another angle.....

After adding more flowers and peacock feathers.....

Orchid close-up....

Nelson and our friend Becki put the cake on our "litter", placed it on top of a rolling cart, and took it via elevator to the first floor of the church.

Moving it into the reception hall

Waiting for the caterer to give her OK to place cake on the table

Carrying the cake up the stairs to the platform

.....and moving towards the table while Morgan supervises!

Almost there!

Morgan completes some final touches around the cake base.

A view of the stage with drapes, DJ, and cake on the left.

Cake in place, ready for reception!

Bride and groom getting ready to share cake! (sorry, but I didn't remember to ask permission to show their faces, so I'm not going to do so right now!!)

And that's it!! Wedding cake from start to finish. Hope you enjoyed the process!

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Day #5 in Honduras -- The Wedding Day!! (Part 1 -- Getting Ready)

My previous posts have been getting a bit long, so I think maybe I need to break up this particular day's posting a bit!!  There was so much that happened that day, it won't be difficult to put together at least two posts, I think!!  Without further ado:

Mackenzie, cousins, and new friend, Sammy Ward, were dressed, ready to go, and playing Uno to pass the time!

In the outdoor pavilion, the tables were decorated and food was being set up on the buffet (far end of the room)

Another view of the tables and buffet.

The Bride and Groom's table.

My sister, Trish and neice, Kirstin were ready, too!

Grandparents were milling about taking photos and schmoozing with the local Peace Corps members.

I was repairing some damage that had happened overnight to the cake.  If you look carefully, you'll see that one of the "drapes" of icing (to the left of my elbow) had gotten knocked off, as well as a flower that came off  (top of the cake towards the left of the picture). Additionally, there was a large chunk on the bottom layer of the cake that needed fixed.  Repairs were made, and the "chunk" area became the back side of the cake! (Less noticeable that way!!)

After repairs were made, the topper was added to the cake and some finishing touches were added to complete it.

The final product!

These little girls were members of the wedding party.  Here they are, getting last minute touch-ups before the wedding begins.  Aren't they cute??

The ladies making the food for the reception were still busily cooking in the outdoor adobe oven.

The stage at the front of the larger, enclosed pavilion was decorated.  The two little stools were for the bride and groom to sit on during the ceremony.

Curtains were hung on the windows and the flowers and ribbons were all in place along the center aisle.

The guests began arriving in all sorts of vans, trucks, and SUV's.  Small cars are not the most practical on rut-filled Honduran roads!

More guests arriving.....

....as well as a free-loading, uninvited guest (maybe that's a "free-range free-loading" guest??).

Mackenzie stood in line with the guests, waiting to enter the hall.

Mackenzie signing the guest book.

A view of the guests.  In the center, you can see the Peace Corps workers, as well as the local Mennonite missionaries.

Another missionary family in Honduras, and friends of Trish's family -- Brad and Trish Ward (they have two daughters who also attended, Sydney and Sammy, Kenzie's new-found friend!)

Another view of the assembled guests.

The groomsmen were all ready to go....

..... and so was "Joe-Cool" ...... oops, that's the GROOM!!

So let's get this wedding going!! See Part 2 in a little while for more photos!!

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