Romance is Dead
March 26, 2009 Look, I don't want to come across as some non-happening, behind-the-times, totally square fuss pot*, but...
Wassup with all the undead wedding cakes?
Creepy-crawly bugs and tongue-kissing skeletons, oh my!
You'd think you'd only see something like this for a Halloween wedding - if ever - but zombie mania is infecting the masses, and like a gnawed off limb, it sure ain't pretty.
Ok, so that was a massive understatement. Bleeeech.
You don't need fancy tier cakes to pull off a "deadly" wedding theme, though. And if you can't afford the tongue-kissing skeleton topper, well hey, that's just what the good Lord invented edible photo paper for!
Yes, I am cheating a little here; this is actually just the groom's cake, not the wedding cake.
This is the wedding cake:
As if the toe tags, "Til Death" inscription and creepy "last embrace" foot positioning weren't enough, I think that's supposed to be ashes sprinkled down the sides. Perhaps this is the happy couples' way of telling their families they prefer cremation?
Guys, I'm telling you, if you want to gross your guests out do it the old fashioned way: by ordering a fruit filling and letting it sit out too long:
Voila! Bleeding cake!
Kathy T., Christine K., Anony M., and Manny & Jennifer S., thanks for the killer finds.
Alright, guys, you tell me: am I coming down too hard on undead wedding cakes? Have you seen a zombie/skeleton/vampire one done well? Then send it to me at Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com, and maybe I'll feature it this Sunday.
*Particularly since I already did such a good job of that last Thursday.
UPDATE: To all the complainers in the comments: guys, lighten up. You really think I'm hating on goths because I think these cakes are Wrecks? Gimme a break! Wait'll you see this Sunday's selections, and *then* tell me I'm a goth-hater, ok? I'll show you how the undead look should be done.
Related Wreckage: Spooktacular Wedding Cakes
Reader Comments (169)
The first one isn't too bad, but the second literally looks like someone puked it up. Yummy. The bleeding cake is kind of cool, but I'm sure it wasn't appreciate at the time.
Yes, there is a Goth Cruise, and it sux that I can't afford it! X( Man, I would love to go...*sigh*
However...let me say in my defense, the last wedding cake I made was iced white with various shades of purple roses as requested by the bride. Nowhere did I put any tacky dead anythings! I firmly believe that food should never look gross.
I am damn near positive the second cake is from a wedding I attended last Hallowe'en. If it is the same cake, while it did look pretty...interesting...it tasted damn fine.
maybe more disturbing than the cakes themselves is the way people blame tim burton for them because that's their only point of reference to the weird. yay.
-a
You can NEVER come down too hard on undead wedding cakes. The very concept of edible rotting flesh is wrecky no matter how skillfully you execute it (there's a bad pun there somewhere). I find edible "living" flesh disturbing enough--I guess it might be a good idea to avoid baby showers.
IMHO, you can never come down too hard on goth "culture" in general--perpetual adolescence just oozes wreck.
If I went to the wedding with the putrid oozing muck cake complete with eyeballs, I'd probably take my gift along with me when I walked out.
That's nasty!
(and I don't care if any goth people hate me for saying that...the cake looks like a pile of vomit)
Oh...and I wanna know how skeletons tongue kiss...wouldn't that have rotted away???
I was craving chocolate ... not so much anymore! Thanks! lol
First, I have to say, I'm a gothy sort of girl, so I absolutely love non-traditional weddings and cakes-the weirder the better, but I hate to see a good idea executed poorly. That said, I actually like the first one. I think it's pretty overall, but the not-very-spidery spiders weren't really necessary. Maybe roses instead of the spiders, or least *better* spiders would have made it a little less wrecky.
The rest...are definitely wrecks. The toe tag one would have been great if it weren't a photo cake. (Or a wedding cake.) I hatehatehate photo cakes, no matter what the subject matter happens to be. They just make the customer and the decorator look cheap and lazy. That one with the eyeballs looks moldy, and NOT in a good way. Ew.
These are, overall, pretty good examples of how NOT to do a goth wedding cake.
On Ace of Cakes they did a really good one for a halloween wedding. I can't find that particular one on the Charm City Cakes website, but there is this one:
http://www.charmcitycakes.com/noflash/index.cfm?rd=cakes2&cat=2&id=409
Actually, what these most remind me of was the warning I gave my daughter when she went through her crazy-hair-colors phase:
People have cameras. And no matter how "cute" and "fun" you think this is now, trust me--in fewer years than you might imagine, you'll be writhing with embarrassment over those pictures!
Can you imagine these couples showing their wedding photos to their children or grandchildren? HA! Heaven help 'em then!
Speaking as a gal who got married on Halloween five years ago, there is a right way to do creepy romance and a wrong way. Bleeding cakes and plastic eyeballs is wrong.
Not being able to afford the $700.00 Nightmare Before Christmas dream cake is also wrong, but an honest baker who levelled with me on the cost (prohibitive) and the taste (FONDANT!) is very, very right.
In the end we went with a three tiered carrot cake topped with orange-flavoured (and coloured) chocolate curls and topped the whole thing off with a couple of Jack and Sally figurines I found at a local comic book store. Final cost: $200.00. No plastic body parts necessary.
But I'm very much looking forward to seeing this Sunday's Sweets :)
WANT!
i love the Halloween/scary cakes, keep 'em coming!
Eye roll - READ the sidebar - Jen's rules of Cake Wrecks are there. Please spare us the "these aren't wrecks just because you don't like them blah blah blah" - YES, they ARE 'cause Jen says so.
I saw a recent Ace of Cakes where Duff and the gang did an awesome zombie wedding cake. I tried to find it, but it doesn't seem to be posted online yet, probably because it's from the current season. You should send Maryanne an email and see if you can use a picture for Sunday Sweets *g*
I tried to Google images of "zombie cakes", they weren't pretty...could do a week of wrecks on those lol
Lol! They look so sad. I'm getting a Francis Bacon-esque feel out of the kisssing skeleton for some reason.
Ok.
I want to say that as someone who loves Tim Burton, zombies and skulls and bones ... I have to say that these cakes are not good at all. In my opinion.. She isn't bashing the style at all. But they're not good and gross if you ask me. Maybe that's what they wanted.
I've seen a LOT of cakes with skulls, tim burton-esque, vampiro, etc.. styles.. that were very well executed.. and trust me.. i browse a lot. i'm a geek. i totally can sit here for hours looking at cakes.. lol
so.. i agree that these should pass for Wrecks! : /
Can't wait to see this week's Sunday Sweets!!
: ))))
Let's see some GOOD *goth* type cakes.. as they've been named by everyone above. lol
;D
Let's face it, people, there are good "creepy" cakes and then there are wrecks. I don't think Jen hates goths, Tim Burton fans, or any people who would like a skeleton themed cake. The second cake looks like it was slopped together. By a blind rat. High on crack. The last cake totally made me LOL, though. Poor wedding couple! Unintentional horror.
WV: monesti, a type of modesty that can by bought by money. "She put the shawl on very monesti after har Great-Aunt slipped her $20."
Hmmm, weddings are supposed to be about life. Two lives becoming one, starting a new LIFE together. Funeral are about death. Not interchangable. In my opinion this is about class and good taste, which these are not. You can like those dark, death and creepy things but still have a classy event and use good taste. Ever see a "Platinum Wedding" done creepy? No, because it is in bad taste, because a good host and hostess (that is what the Bride/Groom are) think of their guests first. People forget this, just as the Bridezilla's do with their "It's all about me!" attitude. The wedding ceremony is to commit yourself to another, the reception is a party to celebrate and is given by the Bride/Groom for their guests. Chances are there would be guests who have the same creepy likes, but not all. It doesn't have to be lace and fru fru, a classic cake/deco's well done would be better than a funeral service/wedding.
The one with the eyeballs is so creepy. I'm not sure whether I should run away screaming or sit here and laugh :)
The top one is alright. But IMO all photo cakes are wrecks. Especially when the photo is as tacky as those tagged toes.
I've seen three really cool Halloween wedding cakes on Ace of Cakes. One recently with a zombie theme, one with a day of the dead theme, and one other one. The latter two are posted on their website but the pictures are SMALL. Boo!
* Julie
Skeletons, bugs, eyeballs, none of them bother me even on a cake (due, in no small part to living in a male-majority house). Even a cake bleeding cherry filling, I could deal with. But that second cake looks like somebody threw up. Now THAT'S gross.
Did you post the undead cakes because it's zombie apocolypse day, or was it just a coinidence?
Ok, at first I thought the first cake was not that bad compared to the others until I zoomed in and saw what everyone meant about the tongues. ARGHHHHHH! Hella creepy.
So... skeletons have tongues? ;)
Randomly came across this and it reminded me of these cakes:
http://www.tilldeathdouspart.info/
The first one was really scary. Perfect zombie cake, great way to celebrate Halloween.
I actually kinda like the first one. Boyfriend and I are getting married in a goth themed wedding. Though I think I'd like the tongue kissing skeletons off. But the rest are pretty bad.
I'm kinda surprised by the vitriol in some of the comments, especially since comment moderation is enabled. I completely agree is it is the author's choice to include cakes whose subject matter she disapproves. And, I know the internet give people a sense of empowerment and entitlement to be completely rude, but reading all this really makes me want to give up this blog which I've read for some time now. I don't really want to be lumped in with the group who cackles and points at things that are offbeat. I enjoy a little giggle looking at cakes which I don't find visually appealing, bu I've never judged myself above the people who like those designs.
mmmmm, I just love a little blood with my cake!
Sometimes, weird is just creepy.
I can't wait to see goth done right. :)
tina
I don't know. I think the ashy-looking stuff around the toe-tag cake might be a misguided attempt to make it look like it had begun to mold or something. *shrug*
Nice Posting
http://www.gaypedia.com/" REL="nofollow">Gay
The "till death" phone is a photo from Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra's wedding invitation. That worked out well.
*I'm* goth and I think those cakes are wrecktastic.
I made our wedding cake so it doesn't count as professional, but I like to think it wasn't wrecky...
http://www.the5thcircle.com/housevaruna/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=412
(It's impossible to see, but the topper has a lil bat and spider on it...awww...) ;)
I thought the first one was done pretty well considering the genre, actually. It's just well done enough, with just a few details turned upside down from the "ideal" that makes it pretty good.
It's the second one that's... ugh... errrrggghhh... uhhhhmmm... -worthy.
As for the last one..OOOOOPS!
I could see some of these skeleton cakes as possible props for an episode of "N.C.I.S.", one where Abby the Goth lab technician marries any other NCIS staff member in Dr. Mallard's morgue. Best would be if she hitched up with old Ducky himself, but she'd be a more likely bride for McGee or Palmer. Except McGee couldn't handle Abby, and Palmer is with Lee...Are my TV shows getting to be too real to me? Yes, Yes, they are.
What? You never saw "Zombie Honeymoon"?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399934/
These are definitely http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-cakes" REL="nofollow">unique wedding cakes... personally I would want something a little bit more traditional and romantic, but that's just me.
TJ
We had Corpse Bride action figures as our cake topper, but we were kind of going for goofy and home-grown with the whole wedding. (And the cake was non-professional, so it's not eligible to be a wreck.) No one said anything about being creeped out ...
anonymous said - maybe more disturbing than the cakes themselves is the way people blame tim burton for them because that's their only point of reference to the weird. yay.
Me - Just a joke, dude. Don't be so serious.
Offbeatbride.com is kind of a focal point for brides and grooms doing the wedding their way. And there are a lot of spooky or just plain bizarre cakes there. Hit their Flickr group and search for "cake".
http://www.flickr.com/groups/offbeatbride/pool
I was a goth in high school- but then I grew up. That's what's missing from these pictures- the growing up part. The wedding is supposed to be a pleasant experience for everyone who attends. Perpetual adolescents see it as a way to express every gross thought they've ever had.
Oh, wow. Those are... special. I had to look at the enlarged photo on the first to see that they were black/dead rose petals going up the side and not the trail of poo I saw at first. And that's the best of the lot, gracious sakes.
I have to say, though, I'm really more appalled by the comments to this post than by the cakes themselves. I'm not goth--I have goth friends of friends, but that's as close to the scene as I get--but I'm seeing just as much "adolescence" from people who want to hang out with the cool kids and sneer at the weirdos as I am from people who would want these cakes.
I'm not going to get into my rant about how I hate the term "classy" as a superlative, but. If you personally wouldn't have something at your wedding, that's fine. I'm casting no judgment there. But just because *you* [the editorial 'you', not Jen or any specific commentor] don't like it, that doesn't mean no one else is allowed to have it at their wedding or to have different ideas than you do about what weddings mean/have/do. It's really okay for people to have opinions and tastes different from yours. I promise the world will not end if it happens.
And besides, I'm seeing far more Ray Harryhausen influence in those skeletons than I am Tim Burton.
Totally disgusting, gross, and inappropriate for a wedding (understatement!) but call me old fashioned. Here I thought a wedding was a celebration of life and love!
Well, technically a skeleton wouldn't have a tongue, sure. But he or she wouldn't have any connective tissue holding any bones together into a recognizable shape at all.
Sounds a bit like: "A dog drives to the doctor's office and tells him he's got a bad cough due to his 2 pack a day smoking habit. Doc tells him to take up gum chewing to help him quit" and your reply is: "A dog that chews gum? Preposterous!"
I LOVE the first one, but what's up with the second? It looks like a melting blob of slime and mud! Blech!
I love love love the first cake!!! I HAVE to convince my fiance that we need one like that at out wedding. But unfortunately, I'm afraid I don't have much of a chance. He's totally lost for macabre humour (one of our main point of mutual incomprehension). Perhaps using blackmail?...
The toe-tag one was gross, but I thought the first one was pretty cool. Technically, it was fine and the subject matter is one of personal taste.
Not everyone cares for white frosting flowers, silver bells and other wedding frippery. Given a choice between flowery wedding cake and zombie cake, I'd take the zombie cake!
(I plan to have neither - my mother and I are going to cook up three tiers of my famous chocolate truffle cake).
This corpse bride cake is pretty cute:
http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/the-corpse-bride-topsy-turvy-wedding-cake-2007-04-06.htm
But those other cakes that you featured? Not something I'd really want to dig into, or something that I'd want to help me celebrate anything, really, wedding or otherwise.
Just my 2 cents, though :)