My parents were married 40 years ago today. They were both poor. My mom bought a yellow dress that had white cuffs because she couldn't afford a wedding dress. My dad borrowed a brown suit. They were married in an apartment that my grandparents lived in by a preacher. Only both sets of my grandparents were there along with my mom's brothers. Afterward, they went to a hotel for dinner and *gasp* it cost around $25 for all of them. There was just a tiny little cake and no honeymoon.
Fast forward 40 years and they are doing well except the marriage has been going through a rough patch the last few years. Their anniversary is always horrible because we buried my grandpa (my dad's father) on their anniversary about 10 years ago. My dad hates their anniversary because of this and it's never a fun day.

My SIL and I decided to throw them a 40th anniversary party but in the next few weeks. It's going to be a surprise. We are renting a hall and making all the food and SIL use to be a florist so she's doing the flowers.
There will probably be around 60 or more people.

If this was your parent, what would you plan for them?
Would you make a wedding style cake for this kind of event?

***Can you tell I don't know what to do for them.***

A wedding cake ,I think, would be great. I also think that a slide show of pictures from the forty years of marriage would be nice. Hor de vours and other finger foods would be really good too. A nice reception type party, not formal but not casual would be a good idea. Kinda like the reception they never got. Just some ideas.

I would make them the wedding cake they never got. You could talk to your mom about her cake and ask what her dream cake would of been. Of course just keep it as general conversation since it's suppose to be a surprise.

I think a "wedding type" cake would be wonderful! Of course, you know your parents better than any of us so your judgement is best.

What about a tiered cake featuring edible images of their life and family on the sides? I've seen a couple examples here on CC and it's such a wonderful way to commemorate their anniversary. Your local cake store or DQ should be able to print them for you, or you can email pics and have an online company print them. Good luck!

Alana

Thanks for the responses. I'll make a cake that looks like a wedding cake. My parents are such opposites though when it comes to personality. My mom is more formal and my dad is low key. I always say my mom prefers crystal and my dad a mason jar to drink out of.

Thanks for all the suggestions about the cake. I'm really taking all if it to heart since it's for my parents and they never had the wedding they wanted. I'm for sure going to make it a tiered cake. I'll talk to mom about her dream cake and then go from there.
I really want to do the edible image pictures cake though but I'll make sure to talk to mom first. The good news is my sons b-day is right at the time we have this planned for. We are saying it's his b-day party but it's really their anniversary party.

I also want to make a grooms cake for my dad, but between decorating, making the food and the cake I don't know if I can swing that also.

I really like the slide show idea! I'll check in to it.

Thanks again for the ideas. If you have anymore please keep them coming!

Do something with fresh flowers. To me, fresh flowers are very elegant and pretty but not as delicate and fussy as sugarflowers. HTH

My parents were recently married 50 years. My cousin, who is also a cake decorator made a wedding cake with hex pans and each side had photos of children, grandchildren, and them over the years (edible images). It was a lovely cake and everyone commented on it. It was like a walk down memory lane, good memories always warm the heart.

Congratulations to them on 40 years! That is wonderful!

Edited for clairification.

Yes, a wedding cake.

My aunt and uncle, married for 50 years, renewed their vows and I was honored to make their cake. Both of them were Quaker ministers and lived their entire life, shall we say, "frugally". She never had a wedding cake and cried when she saw the 5-tier cake I made for her.

My in-laws marked their 50th and also never had a wedding cake. I felt SO bad because hubby committed me to make the cake on a VERY busy catering weekend and I could only do a sheet cake with a 6" round tier on it. MIL thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Make the cake. They will love more than you'll ever know.

I also like the idea for making a tiered cake with the pictures of their lives, and if you can get a lot of hor,douvers because I have had big parties where I made a whole lot of food and also a lot of hor,douvers and all the hor'douvers went and I was eating left over for days, and in this case you will have time to do the groom's cake for your dad, because you will not be taking up so much time cooking, that can be a very hassleing job. just my idea though.

An elegant cake with mason jars as separators.

A tiered cake surrounded by or resting upon several small cakes with edible images of the 'wedding party' participants (cool if you could get pictures of them 40 years ago too) on each...maybe applied to a plaque and framed so they could stand upright. A double frame on top with then and now pictures of your parents done with the ei on an edible framed plaque....
like they've been supported throughout their years together. Then, on the what would be the middle(but actually the bottom of a two tiered) tier, images of milestones in their lives...accenting each tier/cake with either favorite flowers or the flower symbolizing the 40th anniversary.

http://marriage.about.com/od/40thweddinganniversary/p/40anniv.htm

I think it would be sweet if you made the cake cream, brown and white. Like the colors of the wedding day clothes.

Also, some local grocery store will print edible images for you, if you decided to go that route.

If I'm doing my math right, then your parents were wed in... 1969? I googled old fashioned wedding cake styles and here are a few it turned up. I personally think channeling a classic-style bc cake would be perfect for this occasion...

70's...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k-zNM0X23zQ/SJ3u-3yYbuI/AAAAAAAAAGY/EoaArQ8MIbg/s1600-h/Jane+Parker-Foreever+More+wedding+cake+catalog.jpg

50's...
http://www.jerabeks.com/images/oldWeddingCakesm.jpg

This one is recent but it definitely channels old-fashioned...
http://www.weddingcakesbygail.com/images/cakes/square-buttercream-two-laye.jpg

Also there are soo many of these "buttercream beauties" here on CC for inspiration...Good luck!

I recently did a 40th anniversary tiered cake my sisters inlaws. I made it 4 tiers for the 4 sons. On the top tier I make sugar figures of them today sitting under a cherry blossom tree on a bench. On each tier I dedicated the tiers to each of their sons and their families. I make little frames out of gum paste and used edible images in the frames. I included the grandkids and those who didn't have kids, I included picture of their 4 legged kids. They were really touched that I made it personal to them.

Hope you have a great celebration!!

Wilton makes these separators. http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=ED71F2FC-802D-F658-0D505D3CAD8EFE15

You could like them with picture and it would still be the elegant cake with pictures between each tier. plus you don't have to do edible images.

Judi

Since a tiered cake to feed 60 would not be tremendously large, I'd also put a couple of dummy tiers under it. I really like all4cake's ideas too.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm not sure exactly what design to do yet since I have a few cakes in mind. It's so hard to narrow them down.
I'll make sure to use my cake dummies though to add height.