Life By The Pool. . .it's just BETTER!: Wedding Cake and Cake Charms

I always look forward to seeing the wedding cake and the groom's cake at a wedding reception. It usually gives you an insight of what the bride or groom is interested in.

Mrs. B collected various photos of wedding cakes to show the intricate details she wanted on her cake. I always had in the back of my mind who I wanted to make Mrs. B's cake. I chose Clarissa with Little Sugar Bake Shop in Alvin, TX. We met several years back while we were taking Cake Decorating Classes at Michael's. I knew her attention to detail would be just what Brooke would want.

At our first meeting, we went over the date of the wedding, the design and the cost. We paid a deposit to secure the date and scheduled a tasting. Let's just say the samples were delicious!!! Mrs. B chose pineapple, raspberry and plain for the fillings of the three tiers.

Mrs. B's theme for her wedding was the fleur de lis so she had it incorporated into the design of her cake. She chose the crystal fleur de lis from Little Things Favors as her cake topper. She looked everywhere for silver letters and finally found them at Hobby Lobby.

The florist added flowers at the base of the topper. The only problem we had was the topper was so heavy it kept slipping into the cake. Looking back I should have inserted something to keep it from dropping. Oh well, you live and learn!!!

During our meeting with Clarissa Mrs. B asked her if she could put cake charms into the bottom layer of the cake. Clarissa had never heard of that before and was a little nervous about putting them in so she did a sample layer with a few pins in it and it turned out perfect.

The tradition of a wedding cake charm dates back to Victoria, England, when a wedding cake often contained small charms hidden between the layers. The sterling silver charms were each tied to a ribbon and the bridesmaids in turn pulled a ribbon out of the cake to see what sort of future the attached charm predicted. In the United States, this custom tends to be more popular in the South than in other parts of the country. It is a tradition during the reception in which everyone gathers around the cake to watch the bridesmaids and flower girls pull their charms from the cake.

I had ordered silver charms for Mrs. T's wedding 11 years ago. Let's just say the price has gone up considerably. Fortunately for us, Clarissa suggested the charms at Hobby Lobby. Here are the ones Mrs. B chose: