All The Quirky Details
When it comes to weddings, most couples want to add personal touches throughout the ceremony to reflect the genuine love and friendship that has brought them together on this momentous occasion. From the flowers to the bomboniere, many brides and grooms make choices that are solely theirs – and the cake is no different! The flavour and presentation are what the wedding cake is all about. Some want to dazzle and amaze, while others want something a bit quirky to reflect their fun and dynamic personalities. Regardless of what you’re going for, whether it be classy or unique, there’s a perfect wedding cake out there for every bride and groom. To explore the personality you can bring to your wedding cake, editor for Western Australia Wedding & Bride, Robin Harper, sits down with the owner and head chef of My Delicious Cake & Decorating Supplies, Lyn Meyers.
Image Credit: Kevin McGinn Photography
With more than thirty years of experience as a qualified pastry chef, Meyers has always loved to bake. Her mother was a hospitality chef who taught Meyers all the ins and outs on how to prepare food for people with dietary requirements, such as gluten and dairy-free foods. Meyers opened My Delicious Cake & Decorating Supplies seventeen and a half years ago with her husband and mother, and the rest – as they say – is history. Her training primarily revolved around the wedding industry, from creating beautiful wedding cakes to smaller desserts, such as cupcakes and cookies. Her impressive expertise in the industry will help walk us through what you can expect from the process of organising your dream wedding cake.
And So It Begins
Organising a wedding can be such a daunting task. Once the excitement of the proposal has worn off and you have to sit down and plan, the list of things you have to do can be endless. Thankfully, choosing what cake you want for your wedding may be one of the most fun, stress-free choices you’ll get to make. While tastings and templates are stock standard, if you’re looking to spice up your cake with personal flourishes, Lyn has you covered. “I like to sit down with my couples and get them to describe the details of their special day. Everything from venues, colours, quirky things that they have between themselves. Not only do I get a feel about their day, but I get to know the couple themselves and the love they have for each other,” says Meyer.
There are so many moving parts in a wedding. You might have chosen a certain theme that you want reflected in the décor, or a certain colour scheme that you want strictly adhered to. If you’re one of those people, then planning the cake down to the most minute detail is an absolute must – which means having open communication with your cakemaker. “There is always a colour or shape or theme to every wedding,” says Meyer, “and every couple have a budget that they are trying to stick to … I would again travel through with them about their day, and things just start to manifest to help build the design.”
Tricks Of The Trade
Choosing what you want for your wedding cake is really up to your imagination. If you can think it – then Meyers can make it! There are many cakes she has made in her long and successful career. There’s no need to be sheepish with your requests when she’s seen it all. According to Meyers, flowers and cake toppers are the most popular stylistic elements couples tend to incorporate into their cake. However, she has certainly created features that are much more personal as well. “I have made fondant icing figures of the couple or their pets, and even down to using lace from grandma’s dress … Every couple is different,” says Meyers.
Regarding the more technical aspects of creating a cake, there can be much for a cakemaker to consider. “Sometimes we will use foam and cover the foam to look exactly like the cake. Or I have built framing to help support the cake and design. Every design is unique in what needs to be made,” she explains. “From making the Tardis for their wedding cake to specific flowers – no two cakes are ever the same. There is always something that needs to be added or changed to make it the couple’s cake.”
A Cake To Remember
When asked for some examples of what she has previously worked on, Meyers reveals all: “The most recent cake was for a couple that took their cake back to an old-school design. Fondant icing, royal icing piping, bridges, fountains, attendants, groomsman figures. The cake was a lot of designing and work, but the outcome and the couple’s face was so worth the hours of work required to make their day.”
For those looking for some fun and unique decorating to be added to their cake, there are a few techniques Meyers used at the most recent photoshoot that could inspire you. “There’s never two cakes that are the same. I used a new design with rice paper sails. The other is the classic fondant with quilting and diamantes – such a timely cake. Sophisticated, elegant and a showstopper at any venue.”
If you’re a cakemaker about to embark on your first wedding cake, Meyers has some parting advice: “Make the cake be a reflection of the couple and the vision they have. Don’t settle for the norm, settle for what best makes them. That way, you will always have the most perfect cake.”