Smith - Simply Modern Wedding Cakes: Over 20 Contemporary Designs for Remarkable Yet Achievable Wedding Cakes

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Well known and highly respected in the cake decorating industry, Lindy Smith has over 25 years experience in sugarcraft. A former chartered surveyor, Lindy was originally inspired to start cake decorating by her own wedding cake. Lindy is a cake designer who not only creates amazing edible creations, but also loves to share her passion for sugarcraft and inspire fellow enthusiasts. She is the author of 15 cake decorating titles, 13 of these being for D&C; the most recent including Lindy Smiths Mini Cakes Academy, Creative Colour for Cake Decorating, which won an International Gourmand Cookbook award for Best Pastry Sweet Book in the UK in 2014, and her internationally best-selling The Contemporary Cake Decorating Bible.

Lindy has appeared on television many times, most recently on Create & Craft TV, but she has also appeared on programmes such as BBC1s Generation Game and presented a sugarcraft series for Good Food Live. Lindy loves to teach and has travelled to many parts of the globe to share her skills and knowledge through hands-on classes and demonstrations, both large and small. She also teaches online via the Craftsy platform.

Lindys cake mission is to inspire and bring a fresh contemporary look to sugarcraft design. Her well-established company Lindys Cakes Ltd supplies, via its online shop, quality cake-decorating products including Lindys own ranges of sugarcraft cutters, cookie cutters and cake decorating stencils.

In 2012, Lindy won Insight Magazines Business Woman of the Year title. Katherine Benson, the editor said: Lindy Smith is a remarkable woman. Not only does she boast high level skills to create her own designs, but she thrives on helping others achieve their goals when it comes to making that cake not only taste good, but look good too. Her range of knowledge is extensive and from her website to her books, cutters and stencils and classes, Lindy has shown that being business savvy isnt all about profiting yourself, but also about profiting others too.

To see what Lindy is currently doing, become a fan of Lindys Cakes on Facebook or follow Lindy on Twitter and Pinterest. For baking advice and a wealth of information, visit her blog via the Lindys Cakes website.

www.lindyscakes.co.uk

Creating a book is always a time-consuming process with many steps along the way, from the initial in-depth researching and experimenting to the eventual creating, writing, photography and editing. I would therefore like to thank those who have helped me move from one step to the next. I would especially like to thank my mother for introducing me to her die-cutting machine and her many papercraft punches, and also for teaching me the basics of using these effectively.

A special mention goes to my fabulous, now grown-up children for gallantly volunteering to dress up and be photographic models. Charlotte, you make such a beautiful bride and Tristan, I know that cake was heavy, so thank you for your strength in holding it steady. Id also like to thank my husband Graham, who was given no option but to don a morning suit and became a part of this book too it really wasnt that bad was it?

I would like to mention the generosity of both my sugarpaste suppliers. Without your wonderful pastes, covering these wedding cakes wouldnt have been so easy. I would also like to thank Marvelous Molds for supplying me with samples of their innovative Onlays, my inspiration for the Flamboyant Fleur-de-lis cake.

Thank you to Jack Kirby for yet more stunning photos, it was a pleasure working with you again. To see more of Jacks wonderful shots, take a look at my Mini Cakes Academy and Gourmand award-winning Creative Colour for Cake Decorating books. Finally, Id like to thank the team at my publishers for allowing me a huge amount of creative freedom and for letting me develop and implement my ideas.

It may be obvious, but everyones taste and style is different: what appeals to one person may not necessarily appeal to the next. Choosing a cake is all about what feels right to you.

You may find it helpful to create a moodboard of pictures that you feel drawn to: I have included a moodboard at the start of each project to show you what helped inspire me to create each design. These dont necessarily have to be images of wedding cakes or bridal inspirations; they can include everyday items, such as gorgeous cushions or sumptuous fabrics, photos of somewhere really special to you, the latest haute couture fashion range that you think is fantastic, the amazing natural world or even the work of an artist you admire. Use either an old-fashioned pinboard or websites, such as Pinterest, to help you organize your ideas. The process of creating a moodboard will help you narrow down your choices and assist with prioritizing; it will probably inspire more ideas but ultimately it will enable your dream wedding cake to start to take shape.

Wedding venues like wedding cakes vary enormously, from wonderful medieval stone castles to gorgeous open-air marquees set in beautiful scented gardens. They can include sophisticated city hotels, delightful vintage village halls and sunny beaches. Your venue can be an important influence when choosing the design of your wedding cake. For example, I added decorations on thin wires to a cake I designed and created for a couple whose reception was on a moving boat; the gentle movement of the boat meant that the decorations danced around the top of the cake delightful!

Your venue is important, however, dont think that because your reception is in a stately home, for example, that you cant opt for a modern cake. A modern design that reflects your style can look simply stunning centre stage in a grand ballroom or positioned by a sweeping staircase.

Your wedding colours can help to set the style, atmosphere and mood of your celebration. Most brides these days choose a colour palette from which to theme their weddings. Although white is still very much the predominant colour for bridal gowns a fashion credited to Queen Victoria gone are the days when the cake has to be all white too.

Colours like fashions come and go, so my recommendation is that you select colours that appeal to you. Think about the colours and patterns that you surround yourself with, look in your wardrobe and around your home and use the shades you find as a starting point. Your wedding colour scheme can also be inspired by your wedding venue or the time of year.

It is a good idea to check that your chosen colour palette works in your venue. Clashing palettes arent good I once made a delicate lilac wedding cake for a lilac-themed wedding, only to discover when I delivered the cake that it was to be displayed against red and gold flock wallpaper!

Having a theme can help you focus. Your theme can be dictated by your chosen colours, a significant flower, an era or even your venues own style. It can be as simple as a country-themed wedding or as glamorous and over-the-top as an opera-inspired celebration. Whatever theme you choose, your wedding cake can be created to complement it. Alternatively, it can be designed to stand alone as a personalized centrepiece of edible art to amaze and delight your guests the choice is yours!