Almost a Disaster!

I met with a bride a couple of weeks ago to discuss her wedding cake and she asked if I had ever had a cake fall or not make it to the reception. I honestly told her no and that I wasn't sure what I'd do if something like that happened. Then, last Saturday, I had almost everything go wrong...

I woke up at 7 a.m. in order to finish icing and decorating the cake that was due by 1 p.m. It had a fountain that went under it, so I got the box out to make sure I knew how to set it up. On the box it said to use plates that were at least 14" diameter to support the cake above the fountain. When I got my 14" plates out I realized that the fountain wouldn't fit in between the columns that supported the plates and that I would need larger plates. I was already running late by the time Kelsey arrived to babysit Malachi, but I would have to fit in a trip to Hobby Lobby before the delivery.

I was on my way to the Bell Tower (I had a shower cake that needed to be set up there) when I realized that I had forgotten my camera. I always take my camera to document my work, so I turned around to head home to get it.

After setting up the shower cake at the Bell Tower, I sped into Chillicothe. Hobby Lobby didn't have the 16" plates I needed, so I went to Walmart. I had no luck there and began calling other stores. In a near panic I finally located a store (the fourth I called) that had the plate I needed.

After buying the correct equipment, I headed to the reception site, the American Legion on Main Street. I had never been there, and didn't know the difference between the AMVETS, the V.F.W. and the American Legion, all of which are on the north side of Main Street! I tried all three before finding the correct place.

After setting up the cake, which somehow hadn't melted in the car, I went to plug in the fountain and realized the extension cord was too short! I tried moving the table closer to the wall and ended up knocking the topper off, which gouged a hole in the middle tier before crashing to the floor. I was able to repair the hole with icing before washing the topper (thankfully it wasn't broken) and returning it to the top of the cake.


I got my camera out and took a picture of the cake as quickly as possible so that I could leave before anything else happened. It was 1:15. I'll make sure I'm more prepared for the next cake!