Wedding Cake: Elizabeth and Chris

Elizabeth and Chris just celebrated their 6 month anniversary – and that is how behind I am on posting.

Their wedding day was on a gorgeous September Saturday at a beautiful winery in Geyserville, California. The weather was perfectly sunny with a crisp chill, which is the ultimate cake-baking weather. Elizabeth and Chris chose chocolate mocha and lemon raspberry as their two flavors of choice.

Everything for this wedding cake went smoothly, until it came time to transport it. I loaded up my friend’s hatchback with the cake, my flower friend (and roommate, she does all the flowers for my cakes), my chauffeur (who is also the owner of the hatchback), loads of extra frosting and piping bags, and we set off for the 100 mile journey.

Huge lessons learned here. Lesson one – wedding cakes do not like road trips. We had to drive under the speed limit with a 3 tier cake in the back, so what google maps tells me is an 1 hour 40 min drive will actually result in a 2 hour 50 min drive. Throw in unexpected road construction, 1 road-side stop in the beginning to readjust the cake sliding around in the back, plus a desperate gas station bathroom stop which doubled as a “quick, open up the back and let me fix the top tier because half of it is falling off”. Part of the top fell somewhere within the first 1.5 hours and until we stopped, I had to force myself not to turn around and look at the cake, because everytime I did I had a mini heart attack freak-out. If you were one of the folks who happen to be filling up at that gas station we stopped at, I sure did give you a lot to stare at with the hatchback open and me frantically re-frosting a cake. Which brings me to lesson two: always bring loads of extra frosting, your offset spatula, and plenty of paper towels. I am so thankful I did.

Lesson three – bring a jacket. We drove the entire way with the air conditioner on full blast for the sake of the cake, and I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. No doubt I was freezing my toosh off and slapping myself for forgetting my jacket. When you’re cold and shivering, your hands start to shake. Or it could have been because I was nervous. Or running late. Or lacking a weeks worth of sleep. Anyway, trying to decorate a cake with shaking hands is not a pretty sight. The cake table on site was also in the middle of the room with the ceremony right outside, so guests were also watching me decorate, which quadrupled my anxiety.

But after all was conquered, the wedding cake ended up alive and well. It was actually a very scenic and beautiful drive up to wine valley too, had I taken a moment to stop and soak it in. Elizabeth filled me in after the honeymoon to let me know that everyone enjoyed the cake, which made it all worth it. She even facebooked me a picture of her friend trying to sneak a lick of frosting before it was cut! Hilarious.

Congrats Elizabeth and Chris, and happy half-year anniversary too – Biz, you were stunning, and I’m thrilled to have been part of your wedding day!

– Ai

*All photographs in this post are courtesy of Bella Pictures Wedding Photography