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So, you and your bride- or groom-to-be just don’t look like the stereotypical couple on top of the wedding cake? And, hey, you’d really like a cake topper that does kinda look like the two of you? No problem.
Seek out the oodles of artists who craft individualized cake toppers to represent the specialness of each new couple. Possibly the most senior cake topper sculptor in Canada, Hunter Vaughan of Magic Mud, has made a career of creating tiny brides and grooms, and brides and brides, and grooms and grooms. He’s not the only one in business. Eastside Culture Crawl coordinator Valerie Arntzen told the Straight that most artists at the festival do commission work. If there’s a sculptor you liked on the crawl, go to www.east
sideculturecrawl.com/ to directly commission a smashing topper you can keep after the last blob of icing has been licked.
Several of the city’s cake stores also create custom fondant toppers, while Greg Hook at Chocolate Arts (2037 West 4th Avenue) makes finely designed cake toppers from—you guessed it—chocolate. Commission your topper with several weeks to spare; the results are well worth it.
Pastry chef Paula Lyons has worked in shops from Italy to China, but now calls Burnaby home. She has made desserts for notables including Jean Chrétien, Bill Clinton, and Rudy Giuliani. Now, through her business, Aeyra Cakes (www.aeyracakes.ca/), she crafts edible custom cake toppers from fondant, the stiff icing that gives traditional wedding cakes their smooth, appearance. Lyons specializes in making mini fondant purses and briefcases, to symbolize the bride and groom. Custom orders start at $60.
Magic Mud has created literally thousands of clay cake toppers since the 1960s, each one highlighting a couple’s quirks. The Ontario-based Vaughan family can do all ethnicities, integrate pets, and highlight a couple’s passions. The cake-topper gallery, at www.magicmud.com/, captures couples who are sports fans, hunters, horseback riders, rockers, motorcyclists, model-train enthusiasts, and more. Man, people are nerdy. The figurines range from $175 to $270.
Send photos of yourselves to the Hong Kong–based Microdwarf (www.microdwarf.com), and the team of artists there will send you a handmade polymer-clay cake topper that looks like you. Starting at US$269, plus $4.95 shipping, you can pick a premade body, and the face will be painted on to look like yours. Or get the whole thing custom-crafted, including integrating a cellphone, a dog, firefighting equipment, a medieval theme, et cetera. Couples with kids can have their little ones included too, for an extra charge.
Vancouver’s InspirAsian Creations offers a classic look for the top of your cake: initials made from brushed steel with jewels embedded. From $8 to $10 apiece, and just five business days to fill an order, it’s an inexpensive and easy solution. “I think [monogramming] is a trend,” InspirAsian owner Raquel Do told the Straight. “Especially since it’s all about personalization.” At www.inspirasiancreations.com , Do sells premade cake toppers depicting South Asian and Asian couples.
