Non-Traditional Wedding Cakes....Awesome

So, I thought I'd pull out a wedding cake photo for a wedding last month to share.  I love it when the personality of either the person, or the event shines through the design choice for the cake.  This happens all the time for birthdays, graduations, retirement, and even Mother's and Father's Days.  When it comes to weddings, I rarely get the opportunity to stray from the traditional round, white tiered cakes with simple, understated designs.

Don't get me wrong, I actually really enjoy those cakes.  I find that they fit my personal design style most closely.  I love a great clean cake with focal point details like an over sized flower on a smooth, sleek cake, or tone on tone design elements that create texture and subtle visual interest.  I love a good frilly, frou-frou design just as much as the next gal, as overly described here and here.  But, at the same time I believe it all has it's place, and it's....moderation if you will.  You can certainly over do it in any given design.

So, when I was handed a drawing of of a four tier wedding cake for a large wedding that captured visual symbolism of the cultures of both the bride and groom I was so excited!  Not only did they know exactly what they wanted and all I had to do was execute, but that it was truly an original, custom cake!

This monster had to easily weigh at least 75 pounds.  It served about 240 generous 6 inch tall slices.  I made each tier an extended tier at 6 inches tall to help highlight the diagonal placement of each tier's design.

I loved the thought behind this cake which was designed by the bride's cousin (one of my favorite people actually).  The Bride was Samoan, and the Groom was Hawaiian.  To represent the two cultures and honor the two families, we included a traditional Siapo or Tapa pattern which is very prevalent and symbolic of the Samoan culture, and plumeria which are commonly used to make leis in the Hawaiian culture, all on an ivory fondant cake.  The wedding decor color scheme included black, electric blue and yellow, which are all represented on the cake.

I always love plumeria.  They are fairly simple flowers in that there are only 5 petals, not much frill to each petal, and no center...but I LOVE plumeria.  I think that has to do with the association with Hawaii at least in part.  So beautiful.

I was absolutely in love with the Siapo pattern.  I loved the striking contrast between the soft ivory and the bold black.

This was an honor to create for the happy couple, and the setting could not have been more beautiful.  Admiral Kidd Event Center in Point Loma, CA has been rated the best wedding venue for the quintessential San Diego wedding experience with breathtaking views of the bay and the San Diego skyline.  Amazing.

Thanks for checking in with me.  Enjoy your weekend, I will be back with more cakes to share with you next week!

Flour Girl