The Tale of a Wannabe Wedding Cake Decorator

I have made no secret of the fact that I harbour a dream to quit the medical sales rat race one day and make a living from baking and cake decorating. I do in fact have something of a game plan for this, but have a little superstition (founded from blowing out the birthday cake candles I fear) that if I speak my goals out loud they will fail to come true. Maybe one day I shall surprise you all with the big reveal when it happens, and be all nonchalant .."oh yes, I planned this all along"... 

Anyway, I digress. When I first started this whole cake decorating/ recipe developing/ blogging malarkey back in September, a very dear friend of mine approached me and asked me to make her wedding cake, for the big day in June 2013. At that time, my cake decorating skills had pretty much started and ended with this...

... pretty huh! None-the-less, I have a terrible character flaw in never saying 'No' to anyone, and more importantly, my gorgeous friend had a seemingly bottomless supply of faith and belief in me, something which I will never forget, and will cherish for the rest of my life.

The wedding was last weekend, and after months of planning, taste testing, sharing photos and ideas, and colour matching buttercream, not to mention a 16 hour mammoth baking session, the finished cake took its place amongst the stunning vintage-style floral displays and table decorations. 

The brief was this: A selection of vintage style cupcakes, displayed in a tower, with a small one tier cake on top for the cutting the cake ceremony. The wedding colours were a selection of pastel lilacs, pinks and ivory, and the wedding flowers included memory lane roses, sweet avalanche roses, and frilly lisianthus. 

Colour-matching buttercream using paint colour charts!

Memory Lane Rose Image

Sweet Avalanche Rose Image

 The Creative Process...

Sugarcraft Flowers in Production

And here are a selection of photos of the finished display...

The finished display installed at the venue

The display had 6 different cupcake designs, with each design in 3 colours

Edible pearls added to the 'Vintage' theme

Additional sugarcraft flowers and leaves were added to the stand as decorations

We used these adorable shimmery lace cupcake wrappers for a more elegant feel

How cute are the personalised Lego Bride and Groom!?

The cake was 8 inches, with a mini 3 inch cake for the Bride and Groom to stand proud

Handmade sugar eucalyptus springs added some greenery to the display

The stand was decorated with strings of pearls too

There were a mixture of buttercream and fondant topped cupcakes

The edge of the cake was decorated with ribbon and lace, and embossed with edible pearls

A very vintage inspired wedding cake and cupcake tower!

Without sounding self-indulgent, this whole process was so exciting, and rewarding, and has totally re-affirmed my desire to do this and only this for a living. From the original planning, right through hand-making the flowers, and finally assembling the tower and seeing the vision come to life, I loved every moment, and would do it every day if I could. Thank you so much to my amazing friend for giving me the trust and the opportunity to do this, and I'm so pleased that you loved it! xxx

Is it possible for the cake decorator to get post-wedding blues too? My dining table seems very bleak now it is no longer covered in sugar roses! 

Product Review: Paper Themes Personalised Cupcake Wrappers

This week I was sent a few of these gorgeous looking cupcake wrappers to review by Paper Themes. I was really excited to receive the samples for these, as I have agreed to bake wedding cupcakes for two of my close friends this year, so have been researching a inordinate amount of wedding cupcake related paraphernalia over the last few months, but I hadn't come across personalised wrapper yet. 

Doing a little pre-review research, I googled Paper Themes and learned that they are primarily a wedding stationery business, based in Shipley in Yorkshire. Not only that, but they have been in the wedding stationery industry for over 100 years! I'm a big fan of supporting British business wherever possible, and I was really pleased to see that all the design and production of their products comes straight out of Yorkshire. The other thing that really struck me as I surfed their website was that for a company that is over 100 years old, they have done a fantastic job of keeping up with the times. Their website is fresh, their online shop is slick and easy to use, and the products themselves are wonderfully reflective of current trends and fashions, with a strong vintage influence, and trends such as 'Keep Calm and Eat Cake', and 'OMG' featuring in some designs. Their full range has expanded out from wedding invitations and stationery, and there are some real gems on here such as Lottery Ticket Holders, Personalise Table Plans, and Bunting. 

The wrappers came flat in the post, and have a tab and slot to assemble. Nice and easy so far! My first observation was the thickness of the card that the wrappers are made from. The board is really nice and thick, and has a great texture to it, there were a combination of matt and gloss finishes. It is obvious that the company is first and foremost a stationery company by the quality of the board that they are using. In addition, the cut of the wrappers is flawless, there are no rough edges, and the printing is clear and sharp in focus (unlike my photography...) 

To assemble the wrapper, simply bend the wrapper round into shape, and slide the tab into the pre-cut slot, as shown below...

I have to be honest and say that one of the wrappers I was sent refused to hold together by itself, however I was able to fix this easily by fixing a small square of sellotape on the inside to hold the tab in place. 

Once the wrappers are assembled, the idea is to use a cupcake that has already been baked in a standard cupcake case. The wrappers will completely cover the case, so there would be no clash of colour if you were unable to get cases that matched the scheme of the wedding. Take a baked and decorated cupcake, and drop it into the wrapper, and voila! 

All together, there are currently 18 different designs of these wrappers available, to see the full range you can visit the site here. The wrappers are priced at £12.99 for 24, which for the quality and the personalised element I think is reasonable, and they would certainly add a great personal touch to a wedding or other special occasion such as a milestone anniversary. 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, however I was asked to be honest in my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.