Masquerade Wedding Cake & Coca Cola Bottle Groom’s Cake

It’s always a pleasure working with a couple where I have the opportunity to work with them on both their wedding & groom’s cakes.  This couple’s wedding theme was especially close to my heart, as it was the same as mine – masquerade!

The delivery for these two cakes was a bit interesting, as both cakes needed to be finished onsite and the groom’s cake had to be hidden from the groom until the reception started.  With the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception all happening in the same place on the rooftop at the Ravel Hotel in Long Island City, NY , it was a bit of a challenge to keep the cake hidden!  Luckily, the staff was able to get us a screen to work behind, and while there were a few close calls where we had to hide the groom’s cake in the kitchen hallway, the groom’s cake remained a secret until it’s unveiling later in the evening.

Here’s a photo of the two cakes together in their hiding spot on the bar. During the couple’s tasting & design consultation, I got the distinct impression that while this couple wanted a traditional tiered wedding cake, they were also open to something a little bit different.  In the end, the wedding cake design was definitely a collaboration between the bride & groom and me.  The monogram on the top tier (which is one of my favorites!) was designed by the groom, and was also used on their wedding invitation.  Also, while not too overly dramatic once the decorations put on, this cake was quite unique with offset tiers, two in royal purple for a jolt of color.  The sugar anemones were a request from the bride, as she was also having the same flowers in her bridal bouquet.  The white tiers with silver decor were inspired by the view of the 59th Street bridge from the venue.

The wedding cake was comprised of alternating tiers of devil’s food cake with peanut butter mousse filling, and red velvet cake, filled with cream cheese frosting.  All tiers were frosted in vanilla buttercream, and decorated in fondant & gum paste. The surprise Coca Cola bottle groom’s cake was extremely fun to make.  As you might imagine, the groom is an a huge fan of Coke, so there was no mistaking what the overall theme of his cake would be!  To make it a little more personal than just a bottle of Coke, I incorporated a few wedding rings on the top, a lasso around the base of the bottle (to tie in the groom’s love of all things country), and a few custom labels on the sides.  The groom’s cake was comprised of pistachio cake, filled with pistachio buttercream and frosted in vanilla buttercream.

Here’s a few detail shots I took during delivery of the custom labels.  As you’ll notice, The top was left off the cake until we got to the venue, as this was another cake that I sat with in the back, and I needed a spot to hold in case of any sharp turns or unexpected short stops during the drive from the studio to the venue. Luckily, we had a fairly smooth ride and the cake construction held up just fine! And lastly, here’s a shot of me finishing up decorations on-site. (This was our first cake delivery with our new DSLR camera … so Jay went a little camera happy)  You can see the offsetting of the tiers a lot more here.