Protect Your Cake at an Outdoor Wedding Reception
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My husband and I both love the outdoors, so for our summer wedding, we had our reception outside at a vineyard. The biggest concern I had about the outdoor reception was protecting the wedding cake from leaves and bugs (not to mention prying fingers from curious children). I wanted the cake to be featured in the beautiful gardens, but I couldn't just leave it under the trees without some sort of protective cover. But how do you cover a cake? Then I came up with the perfect solution.
I got an inexpensive round hoop bed canopy (available in many colors) and I sewed a few dozen tiny little white bows to it in random places for an extra pretty touch.
I then got a very tall shepherd's hook and placed it next to the cake table. I hung the canopy from the hook and gently draped the netting around the cake.
It really was that easy! The cake was perfectly protected yet still visible, and the light and airy netting of the canopy looked perfectly at home in the garden.
The effect was quite beautiful and everyone commented on how pretty the cake was. When it was time to serve the cake, we simply moved the canopy to the side and enjoyed the completely bug-free and leaf-free cake!
14 comments so far:
That was a wonderful idea. It looked really pretty too!
Thanks, Pammya. It was the hit of the reception.
It occurs to me now that it would've looked adorable to sew on tiny butterflies instead of bows, too, especially for a butterfly-themed wedding. Wouldn't that be cute!
Thank you so much for your idea! When I looked up wedding cake covers, this is the only image that came up. I'm really excited about using this idea at my wedding next week. I'm glad I checked because I had completly forgotten about the shepards hook. Problem solved, thanks again!
So glad we could help, Shiloh. We'd love to see how your cake comes out, so feel free to add a photo after the big day to our Flickr group!
Thanks so much for the wonderful idea. I used it for my niece's outdoor birthday party at a local zoo. The guest were quite impressed!
Carmella, great thinking to use it for any cake. It is also useful for a small table of appetizers or drinks at an outdoor event.
Thank you, I'm having an outdoor wedding in July was wondering how we were going to protect our cake it is a great ideal.
Thank you for this tip! I am planning a wedding with an outside reception. I will definitely use this idea.
I absolutely love this idea and definitely plan to use this idea for my wedding next June. I am concerned about the cake frosting melting, even in the shade. Do you have any suggestions?
Vachelle, the lifespan of the frosting will depend a lot on what it's made with. For example, a true buttercream made with butter won't stand up to hot temperatures at all, but a decorator's frosting with shortening will do better. Ask the bakers who make your cake to help you choose something that will work well for your location.
Thank you so much for this idea! I have a bride who is having an outdoor wedding reception and this was our major concern since there is a huge oak tree right near the cake location. This was perfect and the links all correctly took me to Amazon where I was able to buy the whole thing. Thanks for making a decision for me on how to accomplish this for the bride!
Pam, we're glad we could help. This idea saved the cake at my wedding!
Thank you for such a great easy tip to save the cake. I notice the bed canopy on Amazon none had the pretty top of netting it looks like on it. Did you add that and how did you add that. Thank you again as I needed ideas for my daughters outdoor wedding in August.
Joyce, I did add the netting at the top. If I remember right, it might have even been a pew bow from the church that served double-duty. To create your own, just get a few yards of tulle and form a loose bow, then tie it on with a pipe cleaner or ribbon.