Cake flower query...

So you've seen the red cake flowers... now imagine them in orange, and imagine them in yellow. If you had a four tier cake, would you:

A) put one color on each layer (and then the centerpiece at the top),

B) put all three colors interspersed on each layer (so yellow, red and orange flowers on each layer) or

C) would you jsut make the cake have only one color of flower on each layer?

Our colors are reds and oranges and yellows.

There will also be green leaves underneath the flowers.

THOUGHTS? Feedback welcomed. Very welcomed. Thanks!

Cake flowers!

Here are our fondant flowers so far. I shaped the fondant and poked it onto large toothpicks (easier; we can always cut them down, but it makes them easy to handle).

Here you can see half still white. The other half have been painted with food coloring. These are not all the flowers, but you get a good idea.
Closer up shot; the larger flowers have fake little stamen in them.

Here's the herd untouched and drying.

Here's another close-up. The stems are going to be painted green, that way only color is showing (and no toothpicks). We only did one test-run so far; B's doing the rest this week. It's easier to paint red first and then go back after they've dried and do the green (less running together of the colors).

Pretty cake.

I still like our cake idea, but I thought this one I saw today was gorgeous.

NOT a fan of all the pastels (our theme is SO bright), but i love how the flowers change colors. Thing is, the base of this cake is only 15"! That's a little narrow for SO many layers on top. Gotta have a good platform system built in there.

Things are really getting busy...

There are a lot of projects on the table right now... Thought I'd list the immediate ones, partially for my organization, and partially, well, to post.
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Invitations: B's finishing step 1 of the actual invitations down south; they should be ready to come up by next weekend. We'll work on step 2 and 3 the weekend of 4/3. I'm working on envelopes at home right now, and I'll get the outer envelopes from B this weekend so I can start labeling next week.
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Placemats: 56 have fabric on them, which means another 44 need fabric. We're planning 100 for now, and additional ones can be made if we get more than 100 rsvps. Then, all 100 need ribbon and backing. Goal to get this done: 3 weeks from now.
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Giftboxes: We've done nothing! Well, we have all the supplies. I need to cut and glue paper on to all of them, as well as make the contents. I think the making will occur the weekend of 4/3 because baking can happen while other stuff is happening.
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Registries: Will be finished up the weekend of 4/3. BBB's will take a while though... there's a lot to go through.
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Website: Needs: photos for a few things, hotel information, and registry links and info. I think that's it though!
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Centerpieces: My big project this week and next week during the week. I sit at home and cut and make paper roses. No joke. I made probably about 40 last night and cut probably about 70. Not very productive, especially considering each centerpiece needs about 200 roses. UGH.
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Lanterns: Our friend, Tiana, it cutting circles and folding, B is doing the same. Our friend, Jenn, is stapling and making lanterns. So, while I NEED to staple the petals I have, I have to work on centerpieces the next couple of weeks. Those take greater importance right now.
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Food: I need to do a test-run of the rouladin to double make sure the freezing/thawing process doesn't ruin the integrity of the item. This is more to please my parents than me... I've done this before! Ugh. But I suppose it will make me happy too. Food preparation should begin the first week in May. I figure 1.5 months frozen is an ok time. I plan on freezing the rouladin in gravy so as to keep it moist in the freezer. Spaetzle will be made probably the first week in June.
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Tablecloths: Need to be made. I have the material... but I think I will use the material I have on chair covers first, and then possibly use the remainder or buy thicker material for the tablecloths.
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Chair Covers: Need to be made. ASAP. We will be measuring the hall this weekend, as well as taking detailed measurements of the chairs. Then it will be a matter of cut and sew for me. I need to get these finished soon. Hopefully by mid-April.
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Yellow Lanterns: Haven't even begun to be made. Eek. I figure we'll probably need about 200 of these.... They will be easier than the regular lanterns because these only need to be hung on a vertical strand... but still.
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Hiring Workers: One has been hired, the other 2-3 need to be. This will occur in late April/early May.
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Flowers: Need to be ordered. Probably this weekend. I need to also order other items for the flowers, and that will probably happen online or I will call local florists.... that will probably occur next week.
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Menu Cards: Will occur late-April, once I do a test-run of the rouladin.
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Name Cards: Will occur mid-June, after we've hunted down all the RSVP folks.
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Church Decorations: I think we're going to do all-white. There had been the hope of doing color, but B and I discussed it, and we like the idea of lanterns in the church done in all white. Thign is though, white will show staples more, so we may glue these lanterns. 28 rows, each side, so 56 pews to hang on, times 3 lanterns each = 168 lanterns. I have beautiful white satin ribbon to hang them on. B & I think it will be a nice way to tie the church decorations with the reception decorations
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Dress Rehearsal: I need to fill out the card reserving things. UGH. I keep forgetting. B and I need to decide who will provide the meat... probably a local BBQ place.
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Cake Decorations: I have to get started on these. Maybe a day in the next week or two can be devoted to these....I will probably start after 4/3 weekend because I want to do a few more practice ones and get B's input.
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Rose Droplets: It depends on whether we get the centerpieces done with enough time. I'd like to have 3 rose droplets on the back of each chair at the reception, but if we dont' have time, these will become lanterns instead.
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Table runners: Need to be sewn. This shouldn't be too complicated.
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Wine Glasses: Need to be cleaned (they have logos on them right now... extras from an event) and have charms put on.

There's more, but you get the idea....

Cake flowers and leaves

I am very excited this morning.
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Last night, instead of getting up to organizing (I put it off because I took the bus to work on Thursday, thus 80% of the boxes are at my office), I folded 1 basket of red petals for lanterns AND... drumroll... made my first batch of cake flowers!

It should be noted that my darn camera (we're hopefully getting a new one soon) flash totally heightened the yellow and made it look very bright. That said, I will be diluting the yellow in the future with water so it sort of melts into the white, rather than you being able to see brush strokes.

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Here's what the live ones look like:

I've never used fondant before, and that's what they're made out of. I have a silicon mold (the flower) and a plastic mold (the leaf). I've been reading up on working with fondant and molds, and I finally felt ready last night. QUITE FUN!

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The plastic mold was more difficult to use than the silicon mold. I eventually had to spray then wipe it to get the fondant to mold in and then be able to come back out. The silicon was much easier.

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Fondant is great because after it comes out of the mold, you can easily tweak it about, take off petals, make a petal flipped, roll a leaf, etc etc. And, for the most part, it stays in the position you tweak it to (unless gravity is really NOT on its side).

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Changes in future rounds... I think I will add a pointed backing to the flower (the real ones do anyway-- see below to see stems), which will give me more of a base to put a toothpick in. I think I will dry the flowers therefore on a cookie rack, that way I can stick the toothpicks in and have them danglign below and the petals of the flowers won't get mussed up. I think I will paint the flowers and leaves after they dry, but I have to experiment to ensure that the fondant will still take the paint after it is dried (for paint, by the way, I'm using food coloring... no wackiness in real paints, don't worry).

With all these changes, I think I will have a final product that is ready-to-go onto the cake and won't need tweaking. I will be able to not fret about it! The toothpicks on the flowers (and I think I'm goign to put a toothpick on the bottom of each leaf-- at one end) will ensure that I can work them into a vertical surface. I will have icing, but if it's warm, the icing won't always hold much weight on a vertical surface. Icing + toothpick will work. And honestly, if it doesn't, at this point there's not much else I'm willing to prepare for to make this work. It either does or doesn't, and if I can't use vertical surfaces, then, well, we won't! It will still look pretty.

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The green was still drying, so I couldn't take pictures, but I laid a few vanilla beans next to the leaves and flowers and moved them closer together. Oh my gosh! So pretty. The vanilla beans just hit the plumeria spot-on. They really look like branches!!! I mean, of course they aren't, but still. And oh gosh, they smell SOOO good. Right now I have the plate in my cabinet with two vanilla beans and the flowers, and whenever I open the cabinet door, this fresh vanilla sent comes out. Ahhhh....

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99 days left.

Edelweiss

For those who know me, you know I adore the Sound of Music. And, my heritage (B's too, though not as immediately traceable) is French, German, Austrian, Polish, Italian, etc. So Edelweiss, a favored Alpine flower, has particular significance to me. I even have a pendant with a dried flower inside.

I haven't discussed it with the father yet, but I think the Edelweiss song may be our father-daughter dance at the wedding. He already made the comment of "what soung of music song will we be dancing to?" har har. But it's a beautiful song and easily waltz-able.

So, imagine my delight when I found dried Edelweiss. The bouquets and bouts are going to be yellow flowers... and I think it will be possible to wire in these on the top of my bouquet, and maybe put one on B's bout also. Special touch to things, I think.

Aren't they gorgeous? So unique... or, if you want to sing the song "small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to greet me."

Haven't really told my friend, Kerry (who's doing the flowers) about this new development... but I hope she won't mind. It's something that if it works, it works, but if it doesn't then it doesn't!

Aren't they beautiful?