DIY Wedding Cake's

Alley2b

Hello!I am a complete DIY bride. I'm making everything myself! I'm designing and constructing the invitations, I'm hand throwing 150 ceramic mini-vases for favors, and my mom and I are even making our own cake! We have been practicing for the past year and have decided on these flavors and ingredients. Buttercream frosting (blue to match)Paula Dean Lemon Cake Cream Cheese Frosting and Raspberry fillingWhite royal icing decorations (paisleys to match)Is anyone else making/ or have made their own cake?Please post any tips and tricks you learned, along with pictures or comments. Thanks!Dana Hall

jenn.daniel

That sounds really good. We're not making our own cake (I'm worried about moving it to the reception site.), so I can't really help.

txbride2011

Dana, Wow! You really have your hands full, I am so happy that you are making your wedding truly yours, however I would advise against making your own wedding cake.  I am a pastry chef and make wedding cakes for a living and trust me, the stress of delivery and ensuring that the cake looks its best, and depending on the time of year you are getting married...doesn't melt outside..is not something that you nor anyone in the wedding party is going to want to worry about on the day of the wedding.  If you do decide to make your own cake though and have any questions, like which buttercream (i.e. american, french, swiss...) is the best for the season of your wedding, or the best way to smooth the sides, or where to put the supports and how to best transport the cake to the site please feel free to email me!! jen.payton@yahoo.comBest of luck to you!

WhiteViolets

I'd also advise against DIY any food unless you are a licensed caterer.  do you even understand the food safety rules that pertain to cream cheese frosting?

[Deleted User]

I agree with pp, leave this one to the professionals. Plus I'm thinking of blue teeth with the frosting.

sarabellam

Do you have the refrigerator space to store the assembled cake? Have you ever made a tiered cake before? Who is going to deliver and set up the cake? Does your venue allow food from an unliscenced kitchen? Do you have enough liability insurance in case someone, God forbid, gets food poisoning and sues you?That said, I made my own cake. I would advise any bride against it. Yes it was beautiful, delicious, exactly what I wanted, and a whole lot less expensive (but only because I already own the pans needed). In the end, I don't think the stress was worth it.

gretchen333

I'm considering making my own cake. If we end up with enough money leftover in the budget I will buy one, but if not - I will make it myself. I can make the cake in advance and freeze it, and make the icing/fondant (whatever I decide to use) in advance, as well. My decorations will be fresh flowers stuck to it, so not a lot of work there.I have started practicing and still have almost a year to master it. I've volunteered to make cakes for anyone who wants one so I can practice and learn. I made a two tiered cake for my SIL this weekend and it was really cute. Not a wedding cake, but still cute and good practice. There are two photos in my bio under "Inspiration & More DIY".  I've still got a LOT of practicing to do, so be kind! ;)This week I will play with Marshmallow fondant. I have to make a cake for our holiday work party.I know everyone tells me not to do it, but I'm not picky and want something simple, and am having a small wedding.... so I'm not worried.

futuremisses710

I am doing the cake.  The wedding is at a venue where I can have our cake, catering, etc. from where I want to.  I have been baking for a long time.  I have made plenty of tiered cakes.  I'm not a baker for a living, but I have done it as a hobby for about 6 years now.  For our wedding cake, I am making a french vanilla cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting.  It will be 3 round tiers (possibly 4 if our guest count gets any higher than it is right now) and it is VERY simple.  I am just going to wrap a red ribbon around the bottoms of the layers and seal around the ribbon with "pearls" of buttercream.  The venue will let me put the cake together at their facility the night before and place it in their fridge.  The owner (it's a B & and her husband will carry the cake to the reception area during the ceremony while everybody is occupied.  That way it isn't sitting outside for a super long time before we actually cut it (the whole wedding will be outdoors).  They do this whether the bride makes her own cake or a baker delivers it.  If we were going to do a cake with a ton of work for the design and all, I wouldn't be doing it myself.  But since ours is super basic and I have a ton of practice, I really don't see the problem.

Alley2b

Our cake isn't going to be really elaborate, and probably only going to be serve about 150 people.We HAVE been practicing and doing a ton of research on making cakes. We've contacted the site and have a place to refrigerate it once made. We have transportation also. I know many people who have made their own cakes and I'm not sure if they worried much about liability but I guess it is something I should look into. We are mainly doing this to cut costs, not everybody can afford $400+ for a cake to feed 150 people.

MesmrEwe

Just remember that $400 to deliver and feed 150 people cake is cheaper than the stress and the cost of materials you'll have to purchase to pull it off will run you.  (It's actually closer to $1200 in most cases when you figure it out to the penny if you don't already own the stands/supports/pans/equipment/etc. and the cost you're taking on by making these "trials")..Like PP have pointed out, make sure you check with your reception site AND caterer to make sure it's o.k. to bring in food from an unlicensed source.  We had a situation with a knottie here a few years back who didn't check into this (thought *I* can do WHATEVER *I* want because it's MY DAY, and *I* am paying for them to do XYZ...) only to discover that not only was there the clause at the site that she couldn't bring in DIY food, but that the caterer refused to serve the cake her aunt had made but because of the contract still charged the serving fee for the cake because it wasn't THEIR fault the bride didn't check to be sure first... Nothing like 248 servings of cake the day after the wedding to figure out what to do with... Do your homework and realize that you're going to be doing a TON of stuff the days leading up to and the day of the wedding and you can't set up a cream cheese cake the night before if you want it safe to eat.  Also, the day of your wedding you won't have time to set up the cake yourself nor your Mom if you want her there for your getting ready (even if she tells you it's not a big deal, yes it is to a Mom to see her little girl who seems like just yesterday was playing with dolls and pigtails to be getting ready to be married)...

MaddysMum

I have now done cakes for two weddings that I was also involved in. I was a bridesmaid in the first and the second was my BIL's wedding two hours away, and my husband was a groomsman. We left the first wedding at 10:00 pm because I was SO exhausted from being up all night working on the cake after the rehearsal (that we also left early). And the stress that day of ensuring that the cake got there, got set up properly and that nothing went wrong at the last minute...between hair and makeup, pictures and the ceremony...it was no fun. The second was out of town, so we had to have the cake done in advance and transport. Then, on the wedding day, I had to transport and set up without the husband to help (what a pain). Oh, and I did do this professionally for years. It was so not awesome. Sure, I was super prepared. And of course, since I had done it professionally, it all took me much less time than it would take some one who does it as a hobby. And hey - a simple, three tier cake...how hard can that be, right? But when you factor in not just slapping a little icing on, but all of the stacking, ribbon wrapping, cleaning, transporting, etc. even if you've baked and frozen everything ahead of time that is a HUGE chunk of time on a day when you have SO much else to worry about. And that's assuming the cake goes smoothly. After doing it for year, I ran into unexpected issues ALL THE TIME. And always at the last minute. On top of that, it costs a lot. And I own the pans, all the supports and boards, all of the specialty ingredients that you only need a teaspoon of, etc. Having to purchase EVERYTHING for a single use? Well, it adds up.Anyway, even as a guest/bridesmaid it impacted my enjoyment of the day. I cannot fathom doing it as a bride.