Traditional Bridal Shower 2.0

  My cousin is getting married.  I guess technically she is a second cousin, but when it comes to picking relatives I will promote her because she is a pretty awesome person.  At Christmas word had leaked out that she was officially engaged, to a pretty terrific guy (I say this because he survived a family gathering at my mother's house around Thanksgiving and did not run out screaming-he even appeared to have a good time which in my book makes him a good guy).  So now that we know that my perspective is slightly squewed and that I most definitely have my fathers sense of humor, let me carry on with the story of the cake.
  So with news of the impending nuptials my mother offered to throw a bridal shower, complete with cake from me.  Now you know it takes nothing for me to make a cake.  I love baking and decorating and making people smile when they put something sweet in their mouths.  However this cake came with some challenges shall we say?  The shower was for female relatives and being held at the Commonwealth Club in Richmond, VA.  This is about an hour from where my mother lives in Virginia.  So that meant baking cakes in North Carolina, driving five hours to Virginia with the cakes.  Decorating them at my mother's house, then driving another hour, to put them together at the venue site.  No pressure or anything.  The cake needed to feed 25. A typical cake feeds 20.  So I was going bigger and better (kind of like Tim on Home Improvement, with more power).  Putting my I pad to good use and the Wilton cake app on it to better use I found a combination of cakes to use.  Now the original cake would feed 65.  I made it smaller so this cake would feed about 40.  I baked the butter cake layers at home and transported them everywhere.  The plan was to assemble and decorate on site before the party.  However one element did not happen.  I made two big Es (for Elizabeth) in color flow to place on top of the cake.  However when I got there the Es had melted due to the humidity so I had to plan B.  Fortunately I took a large amount of icing with me and all my cake tips.  I made a big E on top of the cake, not exactly the effect I was going for but not a shabby plan B.
  When it came time for the party I had done a little decorating, everyone arrived, had a good time.  Lunch was some kind of fabulous, and the bride to be walked out with lots of items to stock her new kitchen.  All and all I would say it was a successful day and I hope the happy couple much happiness together.