Confetti Magazine
An annual supplement of Colorado Expressions Magazine
The
cake is one of the things that is remembered most about a wedding. The
guests will not only remember what the bride wore and the food that was
served, but whether or not the cake was beautiful and how it was presented.
The wedding dress and flowers are significant line items in a wedding budget. But who would think that the wedding cake could be a four-figure entry as well? Well, Sandy Hargrave's customers do.
Hargrave owns Classic Cakes of Aspen, where she specializes in elaborate custom-designed cakes. She's earned the reputation as the most sought-after cake designer for weddings and gala events for the rich and famous in Aspen, as well as around the world. Her clients include Jimmy Buffet, Ann-Margaret, Don Johnson, Danny Sullivan, Ambassador Bandar Bin Sultan, Senator John Warner and President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter.
Hargrave, who specializes in large wedding cakes made in the European style, with rolled fondant and white chocolate draping, is renowned for her success with high-altitude baking techniques. She has studied with sugar artists from around the world to learn the techniques involved in making these elaborate cakes. Many are complete with edible flowers, feathers, ribbons, and bows. Cake flavors, fillings, the overall style, and the amount of handmade decorations account for the price of Hargrave's wedding cakes, which average $10.00 per serving, and go up to $25.00 per serving.
If that seems like a heavy tab for dessert, remember, a wedding cake is
far more than dessert. It is one of the things that's remembered most about
a wedding, says Hargrave.
"Guests will remember what the bride wore, the food that was served, and if the cake was beautiful and well presented." Most often, Hargrave's clients are not from Colorado. Instead, they're visiting Aspen from New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and other far-flung places including Europe and Australia.
Hargrave has lots of recommendations for brides-to-be when it comes to selecting a wedding cake. Consider it advice from an expert - she is the author of a newly released book called, "White Chocolate Draping; Dramatic White Chocolate Draping and Quick Decorating Ideas Using a Pasta Machine with a Motor." Available through Hargrave, the book reveals the fundamentals of wedding-cake creation, starting with an equipment-and-supply list 27 items long.
In the book, Hargrave presents beginning draping and advanced draping of cakes. "I can tell you that a bride will be so thrilled that you can actually put her exact lace pattern on her wedding cake! You won't believe how excited a bride becomes when you suggest this idea," she writes.
Embossing and ruffling are two more of the techniques Hargrave teaches in her book. "Make sure your wedding cake is exactly what you want," Hargrave urges all brides-to-be." Ask for a tasting." Hargrave's tasting's - for which she charges - include 5-inch fully decorated cakes. She sends the extras home with the bride to try again later before making a final decision.
Hargrave's wedding cakes come with a special box for storing the top layer. The majority of her clients still follow the tradition of taking home the top tier of a wedding cake to be eaten on the first anniversary. This tradition got its start in the late 19th century when fancy cakes were baked for christenings as well as weddings. Because it was expected that a christening would occur soon after the wedding, brides began the practice of saving the top tier of the wedding cake for the christening party.
Another popular tradition involved in weddings is that of giving cake to wedding guests as they depart the festivities. This grew out of an old wedding tale - documented as early as the 17th Century - that promised that single women guests who took home slices of cake and slept with them under their pillows would dream of their future husbands.
A third tradition is the groom's cake, a separate, darker cake often made as a surprise for the groom. This too can be taken home by a single woman and put under her pillow to encourage dreams of future grooms. Personalized to reflect the man's interests, Hargrave has made cakes adorned with things such as a black Labrador retriever, ducks, violins, footballs, and even computers.
Traditions aside, brides often will make the mistake of putting off their selection of a cake until all other details of the wedding are handled, Hargrave says. One such bride spent $20,000 on floral arrangements and then requested a cake from a grocery-store bakery in order to save money. "The cake is the first thing people will look at when they come into the reception. It needs to be representative of everything else in the entire affair," says Hargrave.
THINK BIG
Brides often order a cake that's too small, says Hargrave. They think
that not all guests will want a piece of cake, or that they'll only want a
small taste. But a reception starts with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and moves
into the main course followed by dancing. The cake may not be cut until late
in the evening, midnight even, and that means that guests have been eyeing
it all night long. To not get a piece of cake is an insult and a disappointment.
Transporting the cake can be as rigorous as making it. Just ask Hargrave, who has carefully inched wedding cakes over rut-ridden roads and on gondolas up a mountain. The process can take hours, and, to the uninitiated, can spell real disaster. She's heard stories of cakes that have collapsed en route to various destinations, but she's been skilled enough (it's not a matter of luck so much as it is understanding the cake, she says) never to have had that experience.
Recently, Hargrave put the finishing touches on a cake to top off a wedding with the theme of "Dr. Zhivago," complete with a sleigh. The bride wore a Vera Wang gown with a white fox stole. The entire room was white and glistening. Hargrave's creation was a wedding cake decorated in edible crystals and glitter that shimmered with pearlescent silver.
You see, dreams really do come true. They're of sugar and all things nice.