As we continue Matrimonial March on my blog, I have the pleasure of featuring a fellow author who also used to work in the wedding planning industry. These days, Jennifer Ray uses that knowledge to create lovely backdrops for wonderful books, including the short story, Declan’s Special, which is part of the Unwrapping Love Anthology. Jennifer is here today to talk about one of the single most important aspects of every wedding: the cake.
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Thank you, Tami, for having me here today. This month is Matrimonial March on Tami’s blog so, today, I’m going to talk about cake. Because it’s cake. Besides the alcohol, cake is probably the best part of a wedding.
In a former life, I owned a bakery. I made more cakes then I can count, and many of them were wedding cakes and groom’s cakes.
But I’m not going to talk about flavors, fondant, fillings, tiers, or cake flowers. I’m going to tell you a story. A story about a baker’s worse nightmare, and thankfully, nothing that ever happened to me.
Wedding Day Nightmare
Amy pulled up to the front of the antebellum home. The 200 year old white columns were identical to the columns which held the top tier of her masterpiece. “Perfect,” she released on a breath.
“What was that?” Sara, Amy’s helper, walked around the other side of the van carrying the small box which contained the tier.
“Nothing. Let’s get this cake set up. I need a nap!” Amy smiled at Sara’s chuckle and slid open the van’s door. She grabbed the large bottom tier box and started for the home’s double doors.
The cake table was at the back of the home in a large, windowed room which was as wide as the entire house and probably half as deep. A large chandelier hanging from the center sparkled and lit up the room. Four smaller chandeliers in the room’s corners complimented the large one. The cake table’s corner twinkled the brightest to accent the cake’s own glittery adornments.
“Beautiful.” Sara twirled looking at the wedding décor.
Amy walked over to the table and placed the large box on the floor. She opened it wide and lifted out the bottom tier, placing it on the center of the silver cake stand. The table wobbled a bit with Amy’s weight leaning on the edge. “Woah!”
Sara gave the table a jiggle, but it appeared to be stable. “We’re good. I’ll go get the next tier.”
Amy rotated the cake to find its nicest side and then centered it.
“Here’s the next tier. Do you need help with this one?” Sara sat the box down and opened the lid.
“No. The next two are too tall to maneuver, but I’m fine for now.” Amy leaned in and picked up the tier. She rotated it in her hands until she found the small mark she made at the bakery designating its front side. She carefully centered it a half inch above the bottom tier. Once confident of its placement, she let it drop down in place while removing her hands. She circled the table checking the alignment of the two tiers. “Perfect.” She turned to find Sara carrying in the next tier and two folded step stools.
Amy opened up the stools and set them up against the table. With Sara’s help, she placed the next tier, added the white columns to the top of it, and snapped the top tier in position.
After climbing down, Amy admired their work. “Looks great. Let’s add the flowers.”
Sara nodded and handed her the sugar flowers as quickly as Amy could arrange them. With the last flower in place, Sara grabbed the camera and snapped pictures. Amy slowly walked around the table double checking everything. She smiled as she circled back to the front.
“It’s beautiful,” Sara said.
“Thank you.” Amy grinned and leaned down to clean up the boxes.
After gathering everything up, Amy grabbed the camera for a few more shots. A soft cracking sound barely tickled her ears. She paused and looked around trying to identify the noise. She looked to her left when movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention. The table top dipped forward and the cake stand slid off, bringing the cake with it. The remains of the top tier landed at Amy’s feet, but all that met her eyes was black.
Hope you enjoyed the story. If you’re planning a wedding, cut your baker some slack on the wedding day because they’re more than likely a little worried about getting the job down without any problems!
~Jennifer Ray
You can find Jennifer’s musings at:
www.adventuresinjentopia.wordpress.com
Our next featured author is Kay Blake. She’ll be here on March 8th, talking about planning her own wedding! Be sure to stop by. Until then, happy reading!
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