One of the best things about being a wedding cake designer who specialises in artistic cakes is the multitude of different requests I get in my inbox. No two cakes are ever the same! Katherine and Dan, for example, wanted a cake based on their love of nature, and in particular birds - and I loved creating this painted wedding cake to match their theme.
A bird-themed wedding
Katherine and Dan always knew they wanted a cake that was rustic in theme and related to nature, and together we narrowed that down to the bird-themed painted wedding cake design that they had on the day.
As a basis for the design, they sent me a list of the 7 types of birds they were going to be using as the names of their tables: lovebirds, kingfisher, barn owl, robin, puffin, woodpecker and kestrel. I am obsessed with the birds in my garden – I have a plethora of bird feeders and an app that identifies birds by their sounds – so this was a really lovely crossover!
I filmed the process of sketching their cake here
With a painted wedding cake to match
To incorporate the birds into the design, we decided on a painted wedding cake. It’s a really lovely method of cake decorating, as the resulting cake looks artistic, yet totally luxurious. I’ve actually painted quite a few birds on cakes before – I even taught Kirstie Allsopp how to paint a bird on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas a couple of years ago! (You can see a snippet here.) This meant that being able to design a cake with loads of painted birds was a total dream.
Though painted wedding cakes often have the details painted directly onto the icing covering the tiers, I really wanted to make the birds stand out as much as possible. Working with plenty of photos as references, I painted all of the birds onto standalone sugarpaste, meaning I could add them as the final touches.
The top two tiers of the painted wedding cake itself were a delicate sage green which had been painted directly, to get that beautiful watercolour look. I made the bottom tier look like stylised bark (beautiful, delicious bark!) using a texturing technique to add the subtle style. I’d also sourced some beautiful twisty sticks (isn’t Mother Nature amazing?) which I added to look as if they were growing up from the bottom bark layer, adding a fluid, dynamic element to the cake. Then, finally, it was time to add my beautiful little birds, perching them at various points around the cake so that they appeared 3D.
And, of course – isn’t all about the look! Katherine and Dan had also chosen 3 delicious flavours for their painted wedding cake: their top two tiers were lemon and passionfruit (the top tier a vegan version), whilst the bottom tier was triple chocolate.
A totally personalised wedding day
When I went on the morning to set up their painted wedding cake, I loved seeing all of the personal touches that Katherine and Dan had included in their day. Their table names weren’t just spelled out at the tables; instead, each table featured a colourful figurine of the bird in question, perched on top of a log slice.
Their favours were also absolutely perfect: each guest received a little organza pouch full of Mini Eggs (which look exactly like little speckled bird’s eggs!) as well as a metal pin badge that included a donation to the RSPB.
Bressingham Hall and High Barn
Bressingham Hall and High Barn is a rustic yet elegant venue on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, and was perfect for Katherine and Dan’s wedding. Not only is the Grade II listed manor house and recently refurbished barn in the middle of stunning countryside, but it’s also home to the renowned Bressingham Gardens. Over 16 acres and 8000 plants means it’s a haven for wildlife lovers!
But don’t just take my word for it…
I had the best time working with Katherine and Dan on their painted wedding cake – making a living painting birds? Yes please! – but don’t just take my word for it. They very kindly left me this review, after their big day:
“Thank You so much for the stunning cake that you created for our wedding day. From the moment we saw your drawing we were both really excited to see the finished product! When we saw the cake for the first time it certainly didn't disappoint! We loved the beautiful hand painted birds, the structure and the colours of the cake. The taste was amazing too!
The cake certainly got our guests talking and it tied in perfectly with our theme. We had the perfect day and we were even fortunate enough to catch a barn owl in flight over the gardens right at the end of the night! Thanks again!”
Here's a little snippet of when i painted the kestrel on this cake
If you’re looking for a painted wedding cake I’d love to chat. You can get in touch here to tell me all about your plans. Or perhaps you’re looking for an artistic, alternative cake to fit your nature-themed wedding – feel free to fly into my inbox talking all things birds!
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