A journey into the unknown...

In a few months I will be making a wedding cake for a dear friend...

I've only made a couple cakes in my whole entire lifetime! So I'm slightly nervous. I keep brainstorming on which way I want to go. Sometimes I think it would be easiest to go with pre-rolled fondant, and other times I think I would like a more free-hand frosting effect. One thing I know for sure is that I want to use a small/light arrangement or spray of live flowers. I think the couple would like that best decoration wise.

When you google image search 'homemade wedding cakes' you get some "Okay, I could possibly do that," results, and others that you know a near professional made. And then there are the search results that make you cringe and think "Oh dear! Please tell me my cake will look nothing like that!"

While I am prepared to do a practice cake or two, especially to try some different decoration techniques, I'm still nervous about the end result. I'm a cupcake girl! If I can put it in a paper liner and bake it, I'm absolutely brillant at it. At the reception there will be a dessert bar within the catering, so no cupcakes in lieu of a cake, (believe me that was the first thing I suggested) they need the ceremonial cake to cut. 

So obviously I have been google image searching like crazy for simple but classic decorating ideas. I know getting the cake layers baked and put together with the filling will be the easy part, the beautiful decorating that needs to go on the outside is a whole other story. So here are some images I am drawn to for ideas on how I might be able to achieve a decent looking finish:

  I absolutely love how playful this cake is, and how interchangeable the cookies on the outside could be. While this beauty is three tier, I am most likely only making two tiers for the reception and a seperate top piece to hold for the couple to take home with them for their one year anniversary.

I love the height and proportion of each layer of this cake, it's perfect. The outside is crumbed, which I have never personally seen, but I do like the effect. The pink ribbon would not be included. I would rather have some small (possibly edible) purple and blue flowers on top sprinkled around the middle and bottom as well.

I love the ruffle effect, and obviously the gradient blue is amazing (though I am unsure how attainable for me it is). The fresh flowers on top are a great contrast to the blue, softening it so much.

I love the clean, classic look of this type of design. For this I would need to use fondant...Which I have never used. I know that they have pre-rolled fondant now that seems like it is pretty simple to use. And the look with this design and fresh cut flowers is amazing!

These were the best results I could find of a spread frosting. The Chocolate one is a bit more "messy" than I would like, but I love the contrast between the color of flowers and the frosting.

I like the ribbon effect, and I also think it would maybe be somewhat easy for me to master. It is a bit more girly than I would like to go for, but maybe if done on just the top layer, with a simple spread effect on the bottom layer it would be just balanced enough.

And these last three are examples of search results that I got that I felt were way above and beyond my skills, but I still love because they are so beautiful. Albeit, they all are way to girly for the wedding I'm making my cake for.

Well, back to Google Search!