Balbirnie House Hotel
Balbirnie House is an award-winning luxury country house hotel nestled within 400 acres of beautiful parkland in the heart of Fife. It has some seriously fabulous rooms that remind me of Downton Abbey. I always love driving up the long sweeping driveway and as you come around the corner Balbirnie appears before you in all its glory with spectacular pillars and a red carpet ready to welcome its wedding guests. This really is a special place to hold your wedding.
I first met Denise and Steven at a wedding fayre at the start of 2019 and then they came, with Denise’s Dad, to a cake consultation at my studio in Monifieth. As they sampled some cake, we discussed their design ideas. Denise had seen a cake she really liked so we used that as inspiration and put their own spin on it. They opted for blush coloured roses and peonies with gold leaves, buds and hydrangeas.
They got married in Khao Lak in Thailand in March 2020 and their reception was due to be at Balbirnie House when they returned but sadly it had to be postponed due to Covid. I started making their sugar flowers towards the end of February and had just finished making them when we were thrown into lockdown. Luckily I was able to use them on birthday cakes throughout that year. They postponed their reception to February 2021 and then again to March 2022.
And so we get to the week of their wedding reception, I’m sure they were excited but as with all of my couples who have had to postpone numerous times because of Covid I am so happy that they are finally going to get their party at long last. I set about baking on Tuesday. They chose three flavours for their four tier cake; a light and fluffy vanilla sponge, a heavenly red velvet cake and a delicate lemon sponge all filled with buttercream and then covered in white chocolate ganache and super thin Couture fondant. The bottom tier was covered in wave ruffles and then the fun part came when I added the sugar flowers.
On the morning of the wedding I took my time driving over to Balbirnie House. Those sugar flowers are just too precious! It was a bit of a cloudy morning but as I drove over the Tay Road Bridge the sun was burning away the haar. The gardens look beautiful as they always do with daffodils popping up and there was definitely a hint of spring in the air.
I stacked their four tier luxury wedding cake in a side room near the Ballroom and it was carried through by the venue staff later on in the day for all of their evening guests to admire. I just love the way the lights swag and twinkle over the dance floor.
I hope you agree with me that it looks incredibly beautiful and I feel a sense of pride at being able to produce something as wonderful as this. I am also so grateful to Denise and Steven for trusting me to make their wedding cake, after all, it’s the one thing you don’t get to see until the day!
They had the wonderful Vic from Victoria Photography taking their photos. She had also travelled with them to Thailand (lucky thing) and thankfully she took some absolutely fabulous photos of the cake that I am able to share with you today as my iPhone just doesn’t do it justice. If you're looking for an amazing photographer who is heaps of fun then send her a message. Just look at the stunning photos she has taken of Denise and her dress. If I had a train that long on my dress I would definitely be getting a photo of it trailing down the stairs.
Thank you for reading and if you’re looking for a wedding cake please don’t hesitate to contact me and tell me all about your ideas. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Peace love and buttercream.x
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