Cream and Blue Hydrangea Wedding Cake

I wrapped up my summer wedding season this year in South Port, NC with a wedding for some very dear friends of mine, Hannah and John. Their gorgeous and laid back wedding perfectly reflected their relationship, especially taking place in such a charming town as South Port, where the bride grew up going on beach vacations. We wanted to carry those vibes through to her cake and settled on a simple but classic three tiered cake adorned with cream and blue hydrangea blossoms and delicate cream filagree on the middle tier. 

The cake was a different flavor for each tier beginning with vanilla bean pound cake on the bottom filled with fresh berries and sweetened whipped cream. The middle tier was lemon chiffon cake filled with almond cream cheese filling and it was topped off by a white chocolate almond cake with milk chocolate ganache filling. Choosing a variety of flavors was definitely the way to go; Hannah and John's guests appreciated having so many options and from what I heard, had no problem returning for seconds and thirds to try all of the flavors.

The cake is sitting on a beaded glass cake plate from my personal collection that I offer for clients to "rent" free of charge to display their cakes.

The hydrangea blossoms are all handmade out of gum paste to custom match the blooms used to make Hannah's bouquet. They can be kept indefinitely after the wedding as a unique keepsake of the day!

I wish so much happiness to these two and I was so honored to be a part of their big day!

Gum Paste Flowers

Fresh flowers are absolutely my favorite adornment on a wedding cake but when fresh isn't easily available, gum paste flowers are a very close second. Made from sugar and painted or dusted with color, these beauties will stick around ten times longer than fresh flowers, and they're 100% food safe edible too (minus any wires used to attach them to each other). It's possible to re-create any flower under the sun in a remarkably botanically correct - and delicious - form. Here's a corsage that I've completed recently that would look beautiful on top of a cake, or taken apart and scattered on the sides.

Included in this spray (from left to right) is a two tone ribbon bow, stephanotis buds, rose and rose buds, hyacinth, hydrangea, calla lily and a six petal tiger lily.

Filling it out are rose leaves and ivy leaves peeking between the flowers, and all wires are covered in floral tape and twisted together to attach.

All flowers were hand formed using gum paste and minimal tools and all the color used is food safe powder or gel coloring. 

The centers of the calla lilies are made using gelatin and yellow powdered color to add a realistic texture.

Gum paste flowers will last forever as long as you keep them away from direct moisture and extreme heat, making them a great keepsake from your wedding day for years to come.