Wedding cakes will be one of the main focal points for your wedding. Guests will view your cake as a center point of a reception and many of your pictures will be centered on your cake. Furthermore, your wedding cake can tie together your wedding colors ,the appearance and the atmosphere you've worked so hard to create.

With today's pastry chefs, your choices are limitless. You can dazzle the taste buds with mousse filled cakes or cheesecakes. Others may want to have fruit or pound cake. And of course you can choose the standard chocolate and vanilla. Be imaginative! most experienced pastry chef's can decorate your cake just how you want. Consider also that each tier can be made of a different cake or flavor so everyone can enjoy! 

Marzipan, rolled fondant or even basic butter cream frosting and top your cake. Design your cake according to your theme or reception atmosphere. Add designs such as ruffles, lace designs or other interesting shapes. Such shapes and flowers can be created from pulled or blown sugar, icing, pastiage or a combination of any other ingredients you enjoy. Ivy leaves can be an excellent accent to marzipan and sugar flowers. Be creative!

A Good Starting Point!  First, analyze the following:

• number of guests 
• how much have you budgeted for your cake 
• what design, style or number of tiers 
• what colors and decorations should be included 
• what type of cake top (if any) will you be using 
• will the cake be the main dessert or will it be part of a sweet table 

Some tips to finding a good chef:

• start with word of mouth, ask your friends and think of a wedding you attended where you thought highly of the cake
• bakeries will have a cake portfolio to look at
• If taste is important to you. Sample the different textures and tastes to find what is your favorite

Simple Steps for success:

• your cake should be ordered 6-8 weeks in advance take along your sketches, ideas, pictures pulled from magazines 
• give the pastry chef examples of your colors 
• get your agreement down on paper and in writing! 
• your pastry chef should take care of all details, including getting the cake to the reception hall and setting it up.

Here is a little caveat, the more elaborate the cake, the higher the cost. Other costs to be considerate of are delivery, set-up, flowers, embellishments and number of guest will all play a role in cost.

Creative Cake Tops

Are you looking for something a little different for your cake top? Below are a few ideas for creative and memorable cake tops.

Out of the ordinary

• Add a twist to the traditional man and woman figurines by buying a musical cake top and watching the little folks waltz.
• Rather than the traditional people, think of using  wedding bells, hearts or fresh flowers.
• If your wedding has a religious theme think of an appropriate cake top that highlights your theme

Wild life

• If you both enjoy animals have figurines made up to represent your favorite pets and place them next to the bride and groom figurines.
• If “two lovebirds” describes you and your fiancé well, consider crowning your cake with twin hummingbirds, doves or swans.
• Replace human figurines with dressed up teddy bears for a cute touch.

Pastimes

• How about dolling up cake top figurines according to your favorite pastimes. Do you both enjoy fishing? Have fishing rods in the hands of the figurines and dress them in fishing attire!
• Are you a road hog?  Harley Davidson has created several cake tops complete with a motorcycle on top.

Themes

• Enjoy Cartoons? Adorn your cake with Mickey and Minnie cake tops or a Cinderella coach for the top of your cake.
• Are you looking for a timeless keepsake to adorn your cake? Lladro porcelain figurines, although pricey, are considered the highest quality.  
• Engaged to a musician? Buy a cake top with a groom with his guitar that to truly represent his tastes. 

All these cake tops can be found over the Internet with a little searching. In the event that you can’t find what you are looking for, many companies will gladly custom make your cake top. With a little creativity and some time, you can have a cake top that people will remember for years to come.

The Cake Top and Your 1st Year Anniversary

Most of you are familiar with the tradition of saving the top layer of the cake for the first anniversary and even though there are various methods of preserving your cake, it rarely is delicious let alone even bearable. Unless you enjoy eating stale cake or have your heart set on this tradition you might think of forgoing this tradition and starting one of your own. Come your first anniversary, think of buying the same type of cake to celebrate.

Another alternative, is to carefully wrap your cake top and place it in a plastic, airtight container and then put it in the freezer and eat when you get back from your honeymoon. Maybe during an intimate one-month anniversary celebration.

Top Tips For a Scrumptious Wedding Cake*

The new trends in wedding cakes allow brides to have a cake that not only looks good - it tastes good too! Brides don’t need to settle for the traditional white vanilla cake with the plastic bride and groom on top any more. From fruit cake to cheesecake, icing to ice-cream, there are many decisions to make when it comes to choosing a wedding cake to suit you, your fiancé and your guests. Take a glance at the following tips to devise the delicious wedding cake you deserve.

• Have a multi-flavored cake! This is a great option if you can’t decide between one flavor or another, or if you want to give your guests a selection of cakes to choose from. If you will be having three layers of cake, you could have a layer of mud cake, a layer of vanilla cake and a layer of rainbow cake, something for everyone!
• For some extra flavor, have a wedding cake with filling. Talk to your baker about having a filling made of white or dark chocolate, strawberry, mocha or preserves.
• What about using a modern type of icing? While the traditional soft white icing is still very popular, white chocolate icing would be a delicious, and surprising, alternative.
• Have a wedding cake with an unusual shape. At the moment, one very popular style is to have a wedding cake that resembles a stack of presents. This is a fun cake, and generally has two or more square layers, is heavily decorated and tied with a bow.
• For a modern looking wedding cake, think about having your layers made in different shapes. For example, a square layer, a heart shaped layer and an hexagonal layer would make your cake modern indeed.
• If your wedding will be having a color scheme, decorate your cake to suit. If your color scheme will be rose pink, you could cover your cake with small, romantic, pink rosebuds, either real or made of icing!
• For a special touch, talk to your baker about using some of the detail on your wedding dress to make decorations for your cake. If you take a picture of your dress to your bakery they should be able to copy some of the lace, beading or other decorations from your dress onto your wedding cake.
• Get sentimental! Copy the cake top your grandparents or parents used at their wedding. To make the parents of the happy couple feel extra special, serve them the first slices of cake you cut yourself, before it is taken to the kitchen to be cut and served to your guests.
• Personalize your cake by having your, and the groom’s, initials intertwined in icing on your cake as decoration.
• Have a wedding cake with a special meaning. For example, if you have been to France together, you may like to have a croquembouche. This is the traditional French wedding cake, a yummy tower of cream-filled pastry!
• You may like to follow a special wedding cake tradition practiced in Bermuda. With this tradition, a tiny green tree is used as a cake topper. After the wedding, the bride and groom can plant the tree in their garden and watch it grow, as their marriage does!
• Add some accompaniments to your cake for your extra sweet-toothed guests. Chocolates, fruit, sugared almonds or lilies can be placed on your guests’ plates for a decorative touch.
• The look of the moment is a wedding cake decorated with fresh flowers. Some favorites include roses, carnations and pansies. These flowers can be made into cascade designs or other styles. For a simply stunning look, have one single, perfect, bloom on your cake, such as a lily or orchid. Using fresh flowers to decorate your cake looks great and need not cost a fortune.

Questions to Ask Your Baker

Flexibility in design choices - Will they "custom-make" your cake based on your individual preferences? Unless you want your baker to replicate a particular cake, all wedding cakes should be custom made and reflect your personal and wedding style.

How the cake is made - Some bakers may use packaged cake mix while most use all homemade ingredients.

Request pictures of their work - Take a look at their portfolio of cakes. Do you like what you see? Does it reflect good workmanship, a steady hand, and creativity? Do you like the baker's style?

Extra charges or deposits required for pillars, cake tops, or columns - If there are pillars or columns that are rented, ask how much the deposit is and about how and when those items need to be returned. Sometimes if the baker is familiar with the reception site or caterer, they may pick up those items on their own. Sometimes it will be your responsibility to return them. If you’re heading off to your honeymoon, remember to designate someone to return these items to your baker while you're gone.

Delivery and set up charges - If your baker is close by, there may not be an additional delivery charge. Some may charge $35-$60 for delivery. Usually, the set up charge is included in the price of the cake.

Who will be setting up the cake - Talk to your baker about how you'd like the cake table to be set up. Usually, they will use some fresh flowers and greenery to decorate the cake table. However, flowers should be used in moderation, because you don’t want the flowers on the cake table to draw attention away from the cake.

Price per serving - For a three-tiered cake, prices average between $1.50 - $5.00 per slice. Price per serving, varies based upon the intricacy of the design and decorations of the cake. Elaborate frosting decorations are time and labor intensive which equals a higher price.

If you're using fresh flowers for the cake, will they be provided and already be in place or is the florist responsible - This is an minor, yet important detail. Situations have occurred where the bride had paid the florist to provide fresh flowers and decorate the wedding cake, but the baker did not want anyone else to decorate her cake. So, there was a bit of confusion between the two vendors, and the bride essentially paid "both" vendors to decorate the cake. On the flip side, some bakers will tell you that they will not provide the fresh flowers and must be provided by the florist. So, you just need to ask…

Anatomy of a Wedding Cake

The traditional wedding cake called for a tiered, white cake with butter cream frosting. Today, just about anything goes! Wedding cakes come in all different shapes, styles, flavors, colors and decorations. Your wedding cake should be individually designed to your match own personal style and taste (no pun intended!) as well as the wedding decor and color scheme. So, let’s start with the basics…

Shapes & Sizes - The traditional shape of the wedding cake is either round or square. But, don’t let your imagination stop there. Many shapes are now available to enhance and give a unique look to your cake. Many bakers offer oval, hexagon and heart shapes - just to name a few.

Square shaped cakes can be decorated in the style of gift boxes in beautiful designs with cascading ribbons. A creative baker can create a magnificent castle or a lighthouse, for a "seaside" wedding. Keep in mind that a square or round cake can be cut and served more quickly, easily and will likely serve more guests.

Fancy Flavors - Having trouble choosing a flavor for your cake? Choose a multi-flavored cake. They come in so many yummy varieties from vanilla to chocolate, marble, lemon, carrot, spice and even cheesecake. The fillings get even more tempting with raspberry, coconut, strawberry, lemon, mocha and white chocolate cream.

Icing on the Cake - Most cakes are covered in a soft white or ivory icing but sometimes pastel pink or peach can be used to match your wedding colors. You can choose a traditional white, butter cream, cream cheese, white chocolate icing, or rolled fondant. As the name implies, rolled fondant is icing that is rolled over the layers of the cake for a completely smooth and very elegant look.

Another option that looks great for summertime or outdoor weddings, is the basket weave. This is usually more expensive because the baker has to actually hand weave the fondant.

Dazzling Decorations - Here, your choices are endless…Some brides like to take a particular element of the wedding decor and design the cake around that theme. Bakers can decorate cakes with the look of embroidery, lace, appliqué or elegant drapes or swags. For instance, many brides will use the lace or detailing from their wedding gown as a design for their wedding cake. Bring in a picture of your gown and talk to your baker to incorporate the lace or pearl beading detail into the cake.

Some choose cascades of fresh or confectionery flowers or satin ribbons that coordinate with the wedding color scheme. Some bakers are even painting designs on the cakes for a truly exquisite look. Cakes can be decorated to match the bride’s china pattern using this "painted on" technique. Simply breathtaking!

Fresh Flowers - When choosing decorations for your cake, fresh flowers are always a very popular choice. In addition, fresh flowers are a less expensive alternative than confectionery flowers because there is less labor involved.

Roses, pansies, petunias, Easter lilies, tiger lilies, daisies, and orchids are often used. Choose your flowers for the cake carefully. Roses can wilt very quickly when they are not placed in water. The cake is set up and arranged sometimes an hour or more before your guests will arrive. By the time you cut your cake these flowers may not look as beautiful as when they were first arranged on the cake. Consult with both your baker and your florist for the best choice of flowers.

The Tiers - The tiers of your wedding cake can be displayed in a variety of ways including three or more tiers, one on top of each other or set on solid or clear pillars. You can be creative when it comes to pillars and use champagne glasses filled with flowers. Some elaborate designs even include bridges or a real fountain!

The Top - Many brides are foregoing the plastic figurines of the bride and groom. Instead, a popular choice is fresh or silk flowers, candied flowers, sugared fruit, or frosting flowers. Try a cake top decorated like a gazebo - very charming!

On the Side - Most cakes are delicious enough to stand alone, but who can resist a delicious raspberry sauce, fruit sorbet, or chocolate covered strawberries? A nice touch is to place chocolate covered strawberries around the base of the cake. One couple actually chose to feed each other a chocolate-covered strawberry rather than the slice of cake.

Final Thoughts - Your wedding cake should be as individual as you are. Choose your baker carefully - because your wedding should taste as good as it looks!

A Visit To The Baker

When you go to visit a baker, there's lot more to do besides just tasting cakes! You need to consider and discuss with your baker the following...

• Your style and preferences
• Your budget
• Is the cake going to be the only dessert served? You want to think about your menu and choose a cake or dessert that will compliment your menu.
• What time of year are you getting married?
• Is the reception indoors or outdoors?

If it’s summertime, even if the reception is indoors, many bakers have restrictions on certain items, such as no butter cream frosting!

If you’ve seen any pictures of cakes that illustrate a particular style, element or decoration you like, bring them with you!

Your baker should work with you to create a magnificent cake that matches your individual style, personality and wedding decor.

For questions and items to discuss with your baker see Questions to Ask Your Baker....

The Groom's Cake

The groom’s cake is suppose to be a gift from the bride to the groom. In ancient times, it was believed that if a single woman put a piece of the groom’s cake under her pillow, she would dream that night of the man she would marry.

This cake is usually dark, liquor-soaked, CHOCOLATE, or deep chocolate fudge. The cake would be displayed next to the wedding cake and later cut up and put in small white boxes for the guests to bring home.

Sometimes the groom’s cake is served at the reception as an alternative or SECOND DESSERT choice. Until recently, many couples had chosen to forego the groom's cake, as an unnecessary expense.

However, the groom’s cake has made a recent comeback. It has shown up as dessert at the rehearsal dinner or a "late night snack" to be enjoyed with the wedding party. It makes for a great surprise, a few laughs and who can resist a deep, double chocolate fudge cake?

Many are getting creative with the groom’s cake and making it in various shapes and styles to match the groom’s personality or a particular interest or hobby. How about a cake in the shape of a golf club, computer, boat, or a slot machine, just to name a few…

12 Great Tips for Your Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

The Rehearsal Dinner is a great time to meet everyone, relax and begin your wedding celebration. The groom's parents usually host the dinner but this is no longer a strict rule. Sometimes the bride and groom will host the dinner or it can be hosted together by several people.

1. Your rehearsal dinner should have a different style and menu than your wedding. For instance, if your wedding is a formal sit-down dinner, then plan a rehearsal dinner that is more casual. And, if you are serving chicken or beef for the wedding, then try Italian food for the rehearsal dinner.
2. Many brides and grooms are having lots of fun with the rehearsal dinner by incorporating a particular theme such as a Mexican Fiesta, a Western Barbecue, a Hawaiian Luau. Think about a nautical theme and chartering a boat and having a dinner buffet on board! You can plan a clam bake at a restaurant or on a beach. Or, a fun picnic at a park or in your backyard.
3. A formal sit down dinner at a restaurant is always a great option. Some restaurants have private rooms which are great for a larger size party. If you have a private room - ask the restaurant to set up a table of hors d'oeuvres. Plan the first hour of the rehearsal dinner as a cocktail "hour" where your guests can walk around and mingle with each other before dinner.
4. It’s not required that you send out invitations for your rehearsal dinner, but if you have time - it’s a good idea. The invitation will tell people exactly where and when the rehearsal will be held (sometimes it's not always held at the church or ceremony location) and where and when the dinner will take place. You should include directions to the restaurant if people are unfamiliar with the area. If you do send out invitations, they should ALWAYS be less formal than your wedding invitation.
   You should invite all those who will take part in the wedding ceremony to the rehearsal dinner. Spouses or dates of all adult attendants should be invited. Parents and grandparents of the bride and groom should be invited. 
   It is not necessary to invite the musicians or soloist unless they are close friends or family. If you're having small children in the wedding, the parents of the children should be invited, but many times the children will not attend the dinner in order to get to bed early.
5. You can always invite other family members who are not part of the ceremony and out-of-town guests to join your rehearsal dinner. It's always nice to have more time to spend with your family and out-of town guests that you may not see very often.
   
6. You should make sure that everyone is introduced to each other, either through formal introductions ("going around the table") or informally by "mixing and mingling".
   
   Here’s a nice idea: Once everyone is seated, the bride or groom introduces everyone and says something personal about each one. Such as:
   
   "Susan Miller, is my maid of honor, we’ve been best friends since first grade and I never would have been able to put together this wedding without all of her help. In fact, she helped me make ALL the favors for the wedding."
   
7. A nice gesture is to thank your parents and future parents-in-law and propose a toast at the rehearsal dinner to say "thank you" for all their love, support and help for a wonderful wedding!
   
8. If you haven't already -- this is the time to give your gifts to the attendants and thank them for being in the wedding.
   
9. Many rehearsal dinners are showing home movies or video clips of when the bride or groom were very young. Some take baby pictures and enlarge them and display them throughout the rehearsal dinner. These all make for a good "ice breaker" and certainly add a lot of fun to the evening.
   
10. You could also think about having the Groom’s Cake at the rehearsal dinner. It's a nice surprise and who can resist a deep, double chocolate fudge cake? Many are getting creative with the groom’s cake and making it in various shapes and styles to match the groom’s personality or a particular interest or hobby.
    
11. The rehearsal dinner is a good time to go over any last minute details with your family and wedding party – just in case someone doesn’t know where and when they are suppose to meet the next morning.
    
12. Don’t drink a lot of alcohol at the rehearsal dinner and go home EARLY. You want to make sure you get lots of rest to look your best on your wedding day!
    
    Most of all, relax, enjoy and get to bed early!
    

Mimosa Cake Directions: 

I call the long flower sprays Mimosa which of course they aren't. I just named it that. Similar flower sprays are featured on a cake in the WILTON wedding cake book: -CELEBRATE WEDDING CAKES-, on pages 90 and 91. It also explains how they did them. 

• CAKE SIZES are (top to bottom): 8 - 12 - 16 and (7)8-inch cakes 
• SERVINGS: By my calculations this cake serves 420 guests (If you plan to keep the top tier for the first anniversary, reduce the amount of servings by 30). Serving size calculations were taken from WILTON'S CELEBRATE WEDDING CAKES book. 
• CAKE MIXES NEEDED: You would need about 16 cake mixes. Two 8 inch pans hold 1 cake mix, one 16-inch pan holds 2 1/2 mixes for EACH pan and a 12-inch pan holds 1 1/2 mixes for EACH pan. 
• FLOWERS: hand-made gumpaste orchids are on tops of the bottom 8-inch cakes and in the top piece. Buttercream roses (previously crusted for easy handling) are used in cluster on the 16-inch cake sides and also in the cake top. Flat royal icing tip 35 apple blossoms are added to bouquets and to vines decorating all the pillars. 
• MIMOSA-TOP PIECE: (can be assembled ahead of usage) I used Wilton's long covered florist wire. Each wire is 18-inches long and I cut each in half. Loop a hook over in the wire at the top. Pipe royal icing tip 101s tiny rose buds around the wire. I use less pressure at the top to make them smaller there. 
• I used about 24 sprays in the top piece. To assemble: Cut a Styrofoam ball in half, place it on a plastic-wrap-covered 6-inch cardboard circle, secure ball with icing. Insert the flower sprays into the Styrofoam ball. Add about 3 orchids with a rose between each. Fill in with apple blossoms. Add pale green leaves. 
• OTHER BOUQUETS: I used shorter-length Mimosa with gumpaste orchids on the 8-inch bottom cakes and 12-inch intermingled with bows and tulle puffs (fine netting). I did not assemble these bouquets. I just added what was needed as I decorated the cake. 
• BELLS AND BOWS: For the bells and bows on the tall pillars around the cake fountain For each of the 6, I used 1-18-inch wire cut in half. Wire the bells and ribbon together and fasten to the pillars. (I lay the pillars in a sturdy box to deliver- already assembled). 
  

CAKE ASSEMBLY:

MULTI-TIER: Ice each cake separately and place them on a 30-inch round covered Masonite board with a dab of icing beneath to hold them in place, as shown in DIAGRAM 2. 

Diagram 1 shows assembly of upper cakes. You should set each 2-layer cake on a cardboard cake circle the SAME size as the cake.
Diagram 2 shows assembly of the 8-inch multi-tier base. If you don't need the 8-inch center cake in Diagram 2, replace it with several cake cardboards in a stack, wrapped with plastic wrap so you can re-use them). This would decrease the servings by 30.
TIP: So cake won't be so tall, while decorating the cake, use 3-inch pillars between the 18-inch plates. The tall pillars can be added when cake is delivered.
NOTE!: You MUST wrap the 12-inch cardboard for the 12-inch cake in foil. Be sure to cover it on both sides. This is to prevent grease from the icing soaking into the cardboard. If grease weakens the cardboard, it will warp and the cake will become lop-sided. It could even fall over! 

1. Ice cakes: Assemble entire wedding cake on a sturdy ball-bearing turntable.
2. Mark where 18-inch separator plate will go with an 18-inch cardboard circle.
3. Insert straws into the seven 8-inch multi-tier base cakes as shown. Be sure straws are placed approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inch from the edge of the marked 18" circle marks.
4. Place an 18-inch circle of plastic wrap on top of muti-cakes.
5. Place an 18-inch fountain separator plate on top.
6. Place 3-inch pillars (for decorating) on the feet of the 18-inch plate and set the assembled 16 and 12-inch tiers on top of the pillars.
7. Follow DIAGRAM 1 for the rest of the assembly. Make certain that all the cakes and pillars line up evenly. You are ready to decorate. 

DECORATING THE CAKE: 

BOTTOM MULTI-TIER: 

1. Divide each 8-inch cake into 2 sections and pipe a tip 104 ruffle on each section. Pipe tip 16 garlands at top of each ruffle. Add two tip 3 strings on each garland/ruffle.
2. TOP BORDER: Pipe tip 199 scrolls, overpipe tip 14 scroll, then tip 5 scroll, creating a Lambeth look.
3. BOTTOM BORDER: Pipe tip 199 shells and add tip 4 -loops- above each one. 

16 AND 12-INCH CAKES TIERS WITH BEVEL: Diagram 3 

1. At base of the 12-inch cake, pipe a thick line of icing with open coupler all around.
2. Smooth piped icing upward and downward using a smooth-bladed table knife.
3. Smooth out the knife marks with a facial tissue.
4. Mark 12-inch cake off into 8 sections. Pipe tip 3 lattice on the bevel.
5. Add tip 4 zigzag at top edge of bevel.
6. Pipe three tip 3 strings above the bevel on the 12-inch cake.
7. Add tip 18 reverse shell border on top of the 16-inch tier.
8. Top border of 12-inch tier: First, pipe tip 199 pull-out stars, then add tip 3 loops over the points. 

16-INCH CAKE (SIDE): 

1. ARCHES: I used plastic 2-inch wide arches (not Wilton, but available from Sugarcraft), cut each arch in half lengthwise , cut to height of side 4", and place against the cake spaced at 6 intervals.
2. Pipe tip 16 reverse shell on the edge of each arch.
3. Add a pair of tiny doves under each arch with a tip 2 bow between each pair of doves.
4. Bottom border, tip 199 shells.
5. Place the rose/apple blossom clusters on and add tip 352 pale green leaves. 

TOP TIER: Mark cake off into 8 sections. Pipe tip 16 garlands and three tip 3 strings on each garland. Pipe tip 18 reverse shell top border. Bottom border as above.
BOWS: Pipe tip 102 bows on bottom tier. Pipe tip 101 bows on top tier.
Add flower bouquets. 

TIP: Leave cake assembled the way it is until time to deliver. Disassemble, deliver to hall and re-assemble, with flower-covered pillars. Also note, if you leave a tiered cake all assembled until you take it apart to deliver it, you are going to find out if you have a problem where you have all the tools handy for repairs. 

NOTES - NOTES - NOTES - NOTES - NOTES - NOTES 

• If you don't want to use the fountain, wrap the cardboards for the 16-inch cake with foil back and front. (Use 2 together for sturdiness). Add your straws and place a 16-inch circle of plastic wrap on the multi-tier cake. Set the 16-inch cake directly on the mutli-tier. 
• You can use just the top 3-tiers. Or, you could use the top 3 tiers with the fountain below and eliminate the multi-tier cake. 
• Important! If you try to reduce the servings/sizes of the cakes, check to be sure that the fountain WILL fit between the pillars! 
• Multi-tiers can be used wherever a very large tier is needed that will not fit into your oven. 
• For planning WHAT size cakes will fit together, have on hand some cardboard circles. Place them atop each other, as if they were cakes. Find out what sizes go together and CAN be used. 
• NOTE: The cake fountain always requires 14-inch separator plates, or larger. 
  
• Butter mints are shown at the base of the cake. We make those 2-3 days ahead of the wedding day so they will have time to crust some. These are done in the yellow rubber mint molds. They come in various flower, heart and leaf shapes. I usually flavor them with peppermint oil. 
• Gumpaste orchids are also available pre-made. They are available in large and small. The flower sprays are also available pre-made. 
• I used 7-inch pillars between the 12 and 8-inch cakes so that the Precious Moments cake top would fit between them. 

Cover Masonite cake boards with white Contac Paper(c), front and back-completely. They are easy to wash and re-use. Write with water-proof marker: Name, Phone number and the amount of deposit withheld if the board is not returned. (Very seldom will you lose a board). Then cover it with pretty foil in bride's colors.