One of my oldest friends Lizzy got married to her  fiancee Jeff back in March at the Warbrook House Hotel. I had the honour of making her cake :-)

The whole wedding was very clean and unfussy featuring a lovely deep blue theme with accents of pink. The cake was a smooth white four tier round number with dramatic ribbon bows wrapped around two tiers. A diamante brooch in the centre of each bow added some bling to the design and picked up the detail on Lizzy's dress.

I have to let you into a little secret about the fabric bows; they were a bloody nightmare! Trying to tie a conventional bow around a cake is not a easy as it sounds. The bow looks crap and don't sit properly against the cake. So after a lot of stomping around the house i ended up making the bows the same way i make icing bows. I added the sash around the cake first. I then cut 2 tails and stitched them onto the sash. For the main bow i shape i stitched closed a loop of fabric and then wrapped a small piece of fabric wrapped around the middle of the loop pulling it into a knotted shape. I then stitched this bow onto the sash. 

I am aware 98% of you are screaming at your computer/phone screen 'Just tie the ribbon around the cake!!!' and you are probably right. The 2% who aren't understand me perfectly and can come round for tea.

The cake was 4 different flavours and was displayed on a iced board and silver cake stand. Lizzy and Jeff decorated the cake table with pictures of their parent's weddings which was a beautiful and personal touch. I received a lovely note from Sheila, Mother of the Bride, and it appears the cake was so popular there was nearly a fight over the leftovers. Now that has to be the perfect compliment...

Wedding cake production planning is in full swing for next week and one of the elements i really want to get perfect is the bow on the top. 

Sally would like the bow to sit flat on top of the cake with some tails. I am conscience that bows can look rubbish if not done well. So i went in hunt of the perfect icing bow and found this amazing bow from finessecakes.com

Look how beautiful the bow looks on the cake with the stitch detail and realistic knot.  It looks like a real fabric bow which is exactly the quality i want for Sally's cake. 

Lots of bows are needed for the upcoming wedding cupcakes. I have been working on them in the past few days and am really pleased with the results.

The larger bows will have tails added whilst the little ones will sit on a embossed topper. The foil is providing support as they dry to keep the 3D shape.

My favourite ones are the candy stripe bows which involve rolling stripes of pink into the white sugarpaste before consutructing the bow. They take longer to make but they have great impact.

Next i will be moving onto he leaves for he rose and cluster cupcakes.