Sugarcraft Wedding Cake

When downloading the new photos from the digital camera some strange photos were nestled amongst the new ones. Even though the card thought it was deleted, when I downloaded it onto lightroom some pictures from my brother's wedding appeared.

I was proud to be asked to make their wedding cake. Although in all honesty everyone else groaned, because sugarcraft can be quite a stressful occupation. It takes weeks to make all the flowers and leaves. Then when you've decided on an arrangement so many things can destroy it. Every cake I've ever made has had a series of disasters inherent within it. This one was no exception.  

As the big day arrived I had a team of people knocking out ivy. Normally I have complete creative control, but time was not on my side. I prayed that when they were all together the overall effect would be convincing. It was. This was the cake that made me realise I had to let go. That everything couldn't always be perfect and people rarely notice the tiny mistakes. 

The wedding was in a woods on a rainy day in October. 4 months of slaving away, sanding and moulding. Late nights -the occasional tantrum- and stress related insomnia. And I arrive on the site where obviously there's no electric, therefore no lighting. People could barely see the thing! I'd also failed to realise that the cake would essentially be kept outside. Anyone who sugarcrafts knows that unless it''s a sunny day, the damn thing will melt. 

I have to admit I felt extremely upset. I realised I had quite possible wasted a lot of my time. I watched on as the michaelmas daisies- each with two layers of intividually crafted petals- melted in front of my eyes. 

We quickly took the picture before it was too late!

In my brother's speech he had to tell everyone that the flowers were in fact made of sugar. I think the drooping daisies actually made it look more lifelike.

In the end, I was glad that I made the gesture for my brother and his wife. However, I learnt a valuable lesson. Don't invest your soul into a cake. It's not worth it. The harder I tried the more the flowers looked real, therefore why not just put real ones on it? I've made cakes since, but I know now that even if there's a crack in the central rose (always a crowd pleaser) people rarely even notice!