The Sweet Canvas: October 2010

So October seems to be the month of weddings, at least for people in my life. I have one more next weekend, which will make a total of three weddings this month! Needless to say, October has been very busy, but also very fun.

For the second of the three weddings, I was recruited by my friend Sarah (whom I made bridal shower cupcakes for a few weeks ago) to decorate her wedding cake. I guess the person that was originally going to make her cake canceled on her two weeks before the wedding and Sarah was in a pickle. She only asked me to make a few flowers, but I happily offered to decorate the whole thing and get my first real wedding cake experience. I opted not to bake it because Eriks was coming out for the wedding and I didn't want to spend all of his visit working on cakes. So Sarah ordered a vanilla three-tier cake from Safeway, frosted and filled with a basic buttercream, that I was able to get Saturday morning before the 5 o'clock wedding.

I made all of the fondant and decorations during the week before the wedding, and on Saturday morning picked up the cake from Safeway and got to work. We actually had a really nice time doing it, though my estimate of one hour's work was three hours shy of the amount of time it took! There were a few trying moments, namely when I was failing at rolling out the fondant for the bottom 16” layer, but Eriks provided the moral support I needed to make it through (have I mentioned that he is the best??). Transporting the three individual tiers from Pacifica to Fremont and then assembling them on site was also a little nerve-wracking, but we were successful. Seeing how happy Sarah was when she saw the cake made me glad that I decided to give it a shot. Below are some photos of the decorating process and the beautiful couple enjoying their cake.

Sketch & swatch of bridesmaids' dresses to match fondant color to