Wedding Cakes and Wet Pits

A really good friend called a couple of months ago and said she was engaged. Yay! I was so excited for her. She said they were going to do a small wedding on December 23 (of 2006) and asked me to be a part of it. Double yay!!! So since they were having a small wedding with a small budget, putting it all together in 2 months and I was now a bridesmaid I was obligated to offer up my services (not those services you sicko). Actually, I was happy to help so it wasn't really an obligation. Anyways, I think I actually opened my big mouth and said ANYTHING you want I will do - cake, decorations anything. A couple of weeks later I got a call from her saying they were going to take me up on my offer. Would I please bake their wedding cake. Not just the shower cake but the BIG one!

Let it be know that I am a baker. Not by trade but out of pleasure and sometimes boredom. I love to bake but I have NEVER baked a wedding cake. As soon as the question came out of her mouth I got instant nerves. My mind was swimming and my pits were sweating. I was asking myself questions like - would I really be able to pull of making a wedding cake? What if it looks like crap? What if it tastes like crap? What if it topples over as they try to cut it? What if it topples over in the car on the way to the reception hall? AGGGHHHHHH!!! I was stuck now there would be no chance to turn back so of course I smiled, acted excited and said yes I would make their cake.

Some discussion took place about the look of the cake and their only request was that it be covered in fondant (the stuff that gives an ultra smooth look to the cake). Cue the wet pits again. I have never used fondant to cover a cake before but I figured since I was already in over my head why not go into even deeper water so I said sure, why not.

Thankfully I did a small trial run and made the cake for the wedding shower. After mishap after mishap I was glad I did that trial run. I had so many problems with that cake you would not believe it. Cakes weren't cooking right, the frosting was too thin, the frosting was too thick, I was SUPER sick and various other things. If this happened when I was trying to make the wedding cake it would take me weeks to make but after all of these problems though the shower cake was a hit. The bride LOVED it, it looked like everyone else did and as far as I knew no one got sick. I had a renewed sense of confidence. I could do this.

Fast forward to the day before the wedding. I was busily making cakes and frosting listening to bad reality TV shows while I worked. I baked and baked and baked. I discovered our oven is not level as evidence was in a lopsided cake(or two). I fell asleep while one was in the oven and about burned the house down. I made a mad dash to the store to pick up some more ingredients. 25 lbs of sugar, 8 lbs of powdered sugar, 5 lbs of butter and $80 later I was back home.

I was getting into a good rhythm and lost track of time. I looked at the clock and realized I had to pick up my bridesmaid dress from the tailor, pick up a few last minute items and be at the wedding rehearsal and SOON! I got all my errands done and was running only 15 minutes late. The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner went well but I felt a little guilty but I felt a little guilty when the bride asked how the cake was looking. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the only thing done was the cakes and they weren't even iced. I was in for a long night.