Green and White Garden Wedding Cake

Last weekend this pretty cake sat center stage at Kristina's Northern Virginia nuptials at Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston. It was a beautiful venue tucked away in a wooded area with very helpful staff and event support. The reception they were setting up when I delivered the cake looked gorgeous with touches of green and white and delicate cream colored hydrangeas. The cake fit right in! 

Kristina had a very specific idea of the cake she wanted- alternating tiers of green and white with a hydrangea sugar flower detail in the middle. The border on the first and third tier is done using fondant, and all of the details are completely handmade. 

Kristina and her husband found this cake topper online and left it for me to adorn the cake with after set up. I thought it really brought the whole design together and was a great addition.

The cake itself is vanilla bean pound cake filled with raspberry mousse on the first and third tiers, and vanilla Italian buttercream on the second. Each tier has four layers of cake and three layers of filling. As a special bonus, Kristina's mom Michelle also ordered a dozen blue moon cupcakes and a separate 10" vanilla cake filled with homemade raspberry preserves. I'm a firm believer that you can never have enough cake, and I'm glad Michelle understands this too!

 Congratulations Kristina! Thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding 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.