Last May, Bride’s Magazine asked me to design a cake for an article inspired by a Mediterranean-style real wedding with lots of herbs, lavender, and shades of purple, based on this inspiration. (Photos: Gia Canali)

I immediately sat down to create a sketch to submit to the Bride’s team. (I should mention that I was in the thick of my Summer-of-2012-Berry-Phase, so I felt compelled to include some blackberries. I also did this raspberry cake and a blueberry cake–which hasn’t yet been published–last summer.) I always like to do a sketch when I work on a magazine shoot to ensure that I’m on the same page as the art/creative director(s). Here’s what I came up with:

I didn’t know that the cake was for their “Get the Look” column, which features products similar to those used in real weddings. Bride’s felt that my design was actually too similar to the original cake, and asked me to make it more modern and streamlined. (I do plan to execute my original design at some point. Perhaps I’ll go through another berry phase in the Summer of 2013.) I came up with a traditional-meets-modern concept: a spin on appliqued flowers, extending them off the cake and incorporating some 3-D elements and the shading seen on traditional sugar flowers.

This is the cake. (Photo: Aaron Dyer)

And the article in Bride’s Magazine October, 2012. You can see more of the article here.

Special thanks to Aaron Dyer for generously sharing his photo.