Wedding season begins!

Wedding season begins!

Wedding season has begun!  So, I thought I would write a blog post about my first wedding cake of 2017!

Despite being in business for eight years I tend to find the beginning of wedding season nerve-wracking.  Actually, it’s almost like new-job nerves and it’s always a relief once that first cake of the year is in-situ at the venue.

There is a current trend for muted, pastel shades.  And, whilst I do love gentle colour palettes I am drawn to bold colours and relish working with a strong palette.  So, I am just thrilled when my couples plump for a vibrant design!  We drew inspiration from the fresh flowers, the wedding attendants’ dresses and, of course, the bridal gown!

The wedding venue

A glorious one close to my home.  (I love a short cake transit!)  Namely, The Sun Pavilion, Harrogate…

Set in the beautiful Valley Gardens, it has oodles of natural light, a stunning stained glass dome and the friendliest and most helpful venue manager!  Wonderfully, the sun shone all day and it must have looked beautiful all dressed.  So, I’m keeping an eye on the couple’s photographer, Dan Dalton Photography’s, social media for professional shots.  This first photo Dan’s released is stunning!

The wedding flowers

For the sugar flowers we took inspiration from a colourful floral bouquet by the couple’s chosen wedding florist, the very talented Leafy Couture.  The fresh flowers included Miss Piggy roses, ranunculus in yellows and pinks, hot pink tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinth.

I was hoping to photograph the floral displays.  But, as the cake was a four-tier with the usual nice tall tiers (each around five to six inches) all with four layers of cake and three layers of scrumptious fillings, it weighed between around 17kg.  Therefore, I had to assemble the top tier and do some final decoration work in-situ.  So, I was there nice and early and left before the ‘Leafy Girls’ were due to arrive.  However, I did stalk their Instagram feed.  Here are some of their beautiful florals captured by Leafy Couture on the day…

Happiness right there!  Aren’t they beautiful?!

The wedding attendants’ dresses

Next, we considered the attendants’ outfits and decided to include some detail from the ChiChi London ‘Rhiannon’ dresses.  So, using royal icing lace brush embroidery, I replicated the lace on the bodice on to the second tier and the scalloped neckline on the bottom two tiers.

The wedding dress

Here’s the dress… Martina Liana ‘Elizabeth’…

Check out this video to see the beautiful sparkle and swish of this dress!  This modern silk fitted gown with a French satin ribbon belt with the twinkliest diamante embellishments was the inspiration for the detail on the top tier.  I achieved this with diamante brooches and hand piping, over-painted with silver and white pearl edible lustre.

The final design

The wedding cake

Closer….

…and at the venue…

You’ll also notice buttons all the way down the back to match the dress!

And here are some close-ups of the sugar flowers which (I think) complemented Leafy Couture’s fresh ones nicely…

Professional photographs by Dan Dalton Photography

Thank you so much to Dan Dalton Photography for these images of the wedding cake in situ at The Sun Pavilion…

Closer…

and cutting the cake…

Flavours

The flavours were…

• Champagne & Strawberry layered with Marc de Champagne buttercream and strawberry & Marc de Champagne conserve, coated in a layer of Belgian white chocolate ganache
• Belgian dark chocolate fudge, layered with Madagascan vanilla buttercream and coated in Belgian white chocolate ganache
• Lemon, layered with zesty lemon buttercream and lemon curd, coated in zesty lemon Belgian white chocolate ganache
• Madagascan vanilla layered with Madagascan vanilla buttercream and raspberry conserve, coated in Belgian white chocolate ganache

…. and I’ve been told by the couple that they went down very well!

First wedding of the season – tick!

If you’re planning a Yorkshire wedding (I’m based in Harrogate and deliver to venues throughout Yorkshire and parts of the North East) and would like to commission me to design and create your wedding cake please feel free to get in touch!

With love, Amanda x