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How did you know you were ready for wedding cakes? - Page 2

post #16 of 30
4/3/12 at 10:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by debbief



These were all gifts but I'm with Elcee. I'm in Colorado and now with the CFL I'm hoping to actually pick up a real paying order as well! Somehow that makes me more nervous than doing it as a gift...



THIS alone is a super stressor icon_lol.gif
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post #17 of 30
4/3/12 at 11:25am
I'm waiting for the California Cottage Food Act to be decided. They are supposed to have some kind of vote April 10, 2012, but who knows if that will even be the "final" vote. IF it is passed, then I will definitely be doing some cakes for extra money for the kids' college fund (or their parents' broken car fund, or..... well, you guys know the drill.)

vgcea, I REALLY, REALLY recommend doing a "practice" stacked cake that would serve at least 200 people. [Thank you for the lovely compliments on the cakes! I really wanted to do a huge, in-your-face-stacked-cake, but logistics for the 100th birthday party simply didn't allow time to cut/serve/plate unless I went with separate cakes.]

As debbief said: "I've since made another smaller (3 tier) wedding cake and felt so much more comfortable since I knew I was capable."

You can have a friend play the role of "bride" and give you an "order" for what SHE would envision as her dream cake with a specific day that the cake has to be delivered. You will learn SO MUCH that it will give you a HUGE amount of confidence and reduce the stress of your first paid order.

If you haven't used SPS, that is the ONLY way to go. LeahS has great, easy to follow instructions on her sticky.
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post #18 of 30
4/3/12 at 8:30pm
Thread Starter 
I've heard SPS mentioned so many times here. I think I'm going to check it out. I'm also looking to order Sharon Zambito's Successful Stacking DVD.

Any other DVDs recommended? I might as well go ahead and order everything I need at the same time.
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post #19 of 30
4/3/12 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vgcea

I've heard SPS mentioned so many times here. I think I'm going to check it out. I'm also looking to order Sharon Zambito's Successful Stacking DVD.

Any other DVDs recommended? I might as well go ahead and order everything I need at the same time.



I use bubble tea straws for all of my tiered cakes and I feel very confident with them. HOWEVER, when I did my first wedding cake (the 5-tier one) I used sps. I'd never made a cake that big and heavy and I didn't want to take any chances. That helped relieve the stress more than I can say. I would definatley recommend it.

Search youtube, you can get a lot of great tutorials there.
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post #20 of 30
4/3/12 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by debbief


I use bubble tea straws for all of my tiered cakes and I feel very confident with them. HOWEVER, when I did my first wedding cake (the 5-tier one) I used sps. I'd never made a cake that big and heavy and I didn't want to take any chances. That helped relieve the stress more than I can say. I would definatley recommend it.

Search youtube, you can get a lot of great tutorials there.



debbief your cake is stunning! How did you get your roses so glossy?
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post #21 of 30
4/3/12 at 10:46pm
Here's the link to the SPS instructions provided by Leah_S:
http://media.cakecentral.com/files/sps_104.pdf

Here's the link to a 60 page thread about SPS if you want more info:
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-603925.html

Here's an excellent place to buy SPS and other online cake supplies:
http://www.fondantsource.com/bacrsiplse.html

Here's a thread with a ton of free information and links for newbies:
http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=8&threadid=160184

Before you purchase the Sharon Zambito DVD's, contact your local library and see if they can be ordered so you can check them out and view before buying. (Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.)
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post #22 of 30
4/3/12 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
OMG Apti! I can't thank you enough for pulling up this wealth of information. I know how I'm going to spend the next few days icon_biggrin.gif
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post #23 of 30
4/4/12 at 7:01am
vgcea~~When I started this cake hobby 2 years ago, I knew NOTHING. I mean, zero, nada, zip, bupkus. I asked a million questions and spent countless hours looking at threads and videos and reading books. The Wilton thread is a compilation of all those hours.

My avatar on Wilton is whoknew? because nobody was more surprised than me that I could learn to do lovely cakes. The information provided should give you a very solid foundation. So many people helped me out, that it's great to pass it on.
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post #24 of 30
4/4/12 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vgcea

Quote:
Originally Posted by debbief


I use bubble tea straws for all of my tiered cakes and I feel very confident with them. HOWEVER, when I did my first wedding cake (the 5-tier one) I used sps. I'd never made a cake that big and heavy and I didn't want to take any chances. That helped relieve the stress more than I can say. I would definatley recommend it.

Search youtube, you can get a lot of great tutorials there.



debbief your cake is stunning! How did you get your roses so glossy?



Thank you so much vgcea! I airbrushed the roses with a pearl sheen
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post #25 of 30
4/5/12 at 9:07am
Thread Starter 
Pearl sheen huh? They look so real and fresh from the garden. Great job, I saved your cake in my faves.
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post #26 of 30
4/5/12 at 2:16pm
Once I felt I had a handle on small stacked cakes, I started doing bigger stacked cakes for family parties, functions, etc... that I was invited too. I didn't tell anyone I was bringing cake, I just made it and brought it. No one turns down free cake, lol. Once I did a few of them, I knew I could handle a wedding cake no problem. I only do them for friends and family, and have done two wedding cakes to date. There will be a few more coming up in the next few years though. There is a cake competition that I go to every year and they have a wedding cake division. I have been entering a wedding cake in it for the past 6 years, so that is some practice also - though it's not the same as a real wedding cake.

~Chelle
Interested in ICES? www.ices.org Live in Mass? www.massices.com
Want to see my cakes? www.chellescakes.com
http://cakingmysanity.blogspot.com/
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Interested in ICES? www.ices.org Live in Mass? www.massices.com
Want to see my cakes? www.chellescakes.com
http://cakingmysanity.blogspot.com/
Reply
post #27 of 30
4/5/12 at 3:15pm
My first was for a bride that was also a cake decorator. I was asked by her to bake the cakes and ended up being the only decorator when another friend of hers backed out the day we began to assemble the cakes. ( I'd baked them on my own.)
I had TWELVE cakes to do in just under two days. ( A 14, two 10 inch, three 8 inch and six 6 rounds. And I'd never stacked cakes before....yikes....and actually forgot to put dowels in one of them. My husband saw it leaning at the reception, but I was able to remove it ( it was on a plastic plate) off the columns and put it back just long enough for pictures.

I really didn't have time to think about what I was doing. It just happened and I keep swimming for three days of baking and decorating.
By the way my five month old baby was at the church and I kept having to stop to nurse him. I had to have one of my teenagers with me at the church to be my baby wrangler.
It was just the craziest experience I've ever been through.

I look back on it now and think, "I could have done that piping SO much better."
It's the big cream colored wedding cake in my gallery.


My daughter ( who took the Wilton classes with me about a year earlier) kept telling me, "You've got this Mom. It's going to be great."
Amazing what a little positive reinforcement can do for you when the pressure is on.

mommachris

wife to David for 25 years
mom to 13 blessings
Nine who are still living at home that range from 22 to 4 years old.
Holly, Amy, Aaron, Evelyn, Zebedee, Melody, William, Melissa and little Tobin
and four more sweet babies in heaven.

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wife to David for 25 years
mom to 13 blessings
Nine who are still living at home that range from 22 to 4 years old.
Holly, Amy, Aaron, Evelyn, Zebedee, Melody, William, Melissa and little Tobin
and four more sweet babies in heaven.

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post #28 of 30
4/6/12 at 1:07am
Thread Starter 
Mommachris your experience is so encouraging! It seems like for many people necessity was the driving force.
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post #29 of 30
4/7/12 at 8:33pm
Vgcea, thanks.
It really is true that if you don't have time to get anxious, you just do it.
If I had known ahead of time that I was decorating the cake, I might have freaked. Once my friend passed it on to me...I just put my head down and covered things in frosting.. icon_smile.gif

mommachris

wife to David for 25 years
mom to 13 blessings
Nine who are still living at home that range from 22 to 4 years old.
Holly, Amy, Aaron, Evelyn, Zebedee, Melody, William, Melissa and little Tobin
and four more sweet babies in heaven.

Reply

wife to David for 25 years
mom to 13 blessings
Nine who are still living at home that range from 22 to 4 years old.
Holly, Amy, Aaron, Evelyn, Zebedee, Melody, William, Melissa and little Tobin
and four more sweet babies in heaven.

Reply
post #30 of 30
4/8/12 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommachris

Vgcea, thanks.
It really is true that if you don't have time to get anxious, you just do it.
If I had known ahead of time that I was decorating the cake, I might have freaked. Once my friend passed it on to me...I just put my head down and covered things in frosting.. icon_smile.gif

mommachris



^^ That expression made me chuckle icon_lol.gif
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