When you get a request for a garden-themed bridal shower cake for a bride who happens to love garden gnomes, what do you make? A giant mushroom with a gnome, of course! Add in a couple of strawberry plants and butterflies....and viola! The gnome and all other decorations are completely edible, but seriously, who'd eat a gnome?

It seems that Groom's cakes are becoming popular again. Many brides are requesting surprise cakes for their grooms to be served either at the Rehearsal Dinner or at the actual wedding. This one was based on the groom's favorite beer and pizza. The 'ice bucket' is the cake itself, the 'beer bottles' are made from Isomalt that was poured into a mold specially created from that particular brand of beer, with an edible image label, and the 'pizza' (with pepperoni and pineapple which are his favorite toppings) was made entirely from sugarpaste.

It's not very often I get a request for a completely "outside-the-box" wedding cake, but the couple who ordered this one wanted something different and fun, incorporating the colors of their wedding. After coming up with a few different sketches, this is the design they chose...a topsy-turvey cake with lots of sugar flowers between the tiers. It went up to Rancho Llano de los Robles...a really beautiful venue for a wedding! The talented folks at SNL wedding solutions were kind enough to send me this photo they took of the cake.

My daughter, Emily of Emily Takes Photos, helped me with this photo shoot for my new website. The people over at Baileyana Winery were more than generous letting us use their property as a beautiful background for the shoot while they were closed on Thanksgiving day. Here are a few of the photos from that shoot; more photos and cakes can be seen on the new website, and Emily has featured this shoot on her blog as well.

New website coming soon!

I'm very excited to announce that Cake Cathedral's new site will be live very soon! There may be a bit of downtime as we switch over, so if you need to get in touch, please contact us directly at:

cakecathedral [at] gmail [dot] com

or at

(805) 459-9572

Until then, please enjoy this preview:

WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award, 2011

San Luis Obispo, California – {January 25, 2011} - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Cake Cathedral has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Cakes! Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation. Cake Cathedral stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year. “WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Cake Cathedral for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

CALLING ALL DIY BRIDES.....and anyone who aspires to be a sugar artist!

Cake Cathdedral is excited to announce a Fall 2010 Sugar Flower Class. We will be meeting the first three Saturdays of November, (6th, 13th & 20th) from 9:00am - 1:00pm. In just twelve hours, learn how to make this beautiful cake topper in any colors you choose...a step-by-step program that anyone can learn, no experience needed! The flowers are roses, peonies, calla lilies, hydrangeas, sweet peas and filler flowers. Class size is small so there will be lots of one-on-one instruction. All materials and equipment are provided, all you need to bring is an apron, notepad and pen. The cost is $175. Don't miss this opportunity to learn a new skill, make new friends, AND create a beautiful topper for your wedding cake! Call Jenny at (805) 459-9572 or email at cakecathedral@gmail.com.