Amazing Wedding Cakes - Episode Guide

Only in LA could someone order a wedding cake that resembles one of their favorite icons -- the convertible car. The Cake Divas must prove themselves up to the challenge. In Chicago, the Cake Girls encounter a first, a groom who wants to order the wedding cake. He's confident, assured, but does he get it right? Business is booming in New York and the Cake Atelier has taken on interns to help with the heavy load. But will the extra hands help or hinder their perfectionist personas as they create another of their masterpieces?

Getting the cake to the reception on time and in one piece is the challenge of this week's episode. The Cake Divas wrestle with a supersized cake; the Cake Girls must deliver a freestanding guitar cake; a cab ride may be trouble for the Cake Atelier.

A spur-of-the-moment cake for 100 people pushes the Cake Divas to the edge. The Cake Girls face a looming deadline. The Cake Atelier struggles with the concept of less is more.

At the Cake Atelier in New York City, things are moving away from the traditional and over to the Goth with a skull wedding cake. Will Ruth let Lauri have her way or is a battle of the wills just starting?

Elegant is usually the last word one thinks of when describing monkeys, but that is the challenge placed in front of the Cake Divas' Marc. Chicago is a sports town, and it's no surprise that the man who proposed to his fiance in Wrigley Field would want a cake to reflect the event. Mary and Brenda team up to create this homage to the Cubs, but of course it can't be smooth sailing when the sisters team up on a project. In New York, the expanded staff of the Cake Atelier is met with a new challenge -- 150 individual wedding cakes. Will they get the job done with task master Lauri measuring each cake?

The trial this week for the Cake Divas: can they make a pink wedding cake manly enough for the groom? Joan gets all the Divas involved with this one. When Brenda of the Cake Girls took the order it seemed so simple, an engagement cake comprised of four ring boxes stacked upon one another. Yet when Mary decides to up the ante and stack the boxes at different angles, the straightforward becomes an arduous building feat. At the Cake Atelier, the battle between perfection and practicality rages on between Lauri and Ruth. Will Lauri's strident exactitude delay the delivery of a wedding cake with blown sugar decorations?

The Cake Girls in Chicago get an order from two of their biggest fans for a heart-shaped engagement cake. Given total creative freedom, Brenda takes a stab at making and designing the cake herself, and insists on having the most fragile part of the cake suspended in the air for full effect! Mary's thrilled and excited by Brenda's urge to take on the challenge. Although they don't usually do deliveries, Mary and Brenda make an exception this time and delight the couple by hand-delivering the over-the-top confection directly to the engagement party. At Christopher Garren's Cakes in Orange County, CA, Chris gets an order for a rose panel wedding cake incorporating the couple's red, black and white color scheme. Chris pushes his staff to create an epic pastry that weighs over two hundred and fifty pounds! Complete with intricately painted paneling and rose detail work, the one-of-a-kind cake leaves the couple speechless. When Lauri from NYC's Cake Alchemy receives an order for a terra cotta wedding cake, she's delighted at the chance to create something different than the traditional plain white cake for which so many brides opt. That is, until the bride calls and changes her mind back to the plain white cake. Lauri has no choice but to grin and bear it, re-roll the fondant and deliver the cake her customer wants.

Chicago's Cake Girls receive another unique wedding cake order, this one from a DJ who wants an exact replica of his turntables! The girls take on the challenge and create a life-sized exact replica of his equipment, complete with spinning records. Over at Cake Alchemy in NYC, Lauri gets an order for a surprise engagement cake in the shape of one of Gaudi's most famous Barcelona buildings. She feels like she's finally able to flex her creative muscles and create something that will really turn heads. In Los Angeles, Reva and Marc of Merci Beaucoup receive an order for a garden-themed wedding cake. At the last minute the bride changes the design, ordering butter cream flowers instead of sugar flowers. Giving Marc a chance to show off his flower handiwork and butter cream expertise, the garden cake has an elegance about it that harkens back to an old-fashioned art form.

Reva at Merci Beaucoup Cakes meets with a couple who are self-professed comic book geeks and dream of an engagement cake that encompasses their passion for super heroes. There's no need to fear here - Marc and Reva know just what to do. Lauri at Cake Alchemy is confronted with the challenge of her first topsy-turvy wedding cake. The couple is very specific in their desires -- a cake that is both elegant and topsy-turvey, complete with a monogram and Lauri's famous sugar balls. Christopher Garren's Cakes receives a request from a couple for an aquatic-themed engagement cake -- specifically a coral reef with sea creatures. Yet Chris and his team, not quite satisfied with the challenge, add to it even further with sculpted figures of the engaged couple and a treasure chest suspended rather precariously over the cake. What could go wrong?

At Merci Beaucoup Cakes, it's Marc's moment to shine as he creates a buttercream groom's cake that is a combination of the groom's favorite cigars and his surprise trip to Australia. Marc affectionately calls this the Cigar-roo cake. Cake Alchemy is overjoyed when they are presented with a beehive design for an engagement cake. Lauri wants to test Stephanie and Melanie's abilities by creating a beehive suspended from a branch. Will their tree structure hold the twenty-pound beehive? Will it survive the delivery? The team at Christopher Garren's Cakes is about to usher in the art deco period, building a cake that features a sculpted dancing couple, a five-foot tall skyscraper and more piano keys than one can count.

At Merci Beaucoup Cakes, Marc takes an order for an origami crane wedding cake. His first challenge is to talk the couple out of their original design. Then he must create a white chocolate crane. Meanwhile, Cake Alchemy gets an order for a cigar humidor cake. Lauri has made this type of cake before, but decides to assemble her team in an effort to take the cake to the next level. Christopher Garren's Cakes just received an order for a cake that reflects the elegance and simplicity of the couple's cherry blossom invitation. Will Christopher reign in his natural inclination to "go big or go home"? Will the "simple" design present new tests for Marjie, Lindsey and Hasung?

Christopher Garren's Cakes is delighted with an order for a wedding cake that incorporates futuristic architectural design elements. Of course, Christopher just can't help himself and ends up taking his vision way over the top. Lindsey, Marjie, Crystal and Hasung help him materialize his plan, which keeps growing and growing...until it reaches six feet! What could go wrong? Merci Beaucoup Cakes receives an order for an outdoors reception. Marc inadvertently makes the bottom layer too big for the refrigerator. Now it's up to Reva to decorate a cake that has to be assembled on site -- a dreaded situation for every cake decorator. The Cake Girls take an order for a wedding cake that is inspired by the bride's favorite fabric design. Brenda wants the bride to get the cake she wants, while Mary wants to follow her own vision. As always, it's a showdown between sisters, with a cake stuck in the crossfire.

Merci Beaucoup Cakes get an order for a uniquely LA wedding cake. The cake must incorporate elements of the silent movie era for a pair of actors ready to tie the knot. Reva and Marc couldn't be happier with the design, which will utilize each of their talents to the max. The Chicago Cake Girls get a bridal shower order that plays right to their strengths. The bride-to-be wants a feminine cake that's fashion centric. Mary immediately thinks designer purses, shoes and jewelry, and asks Ben to paint a zebra design on the purse. Lauri and Cake Alchemy are attending the New York Magazine Bridal Show, a major showcase for all that's new and cool in weddings. Their creation, a chandelier cake, has everything that makes the shop such a stand out -- a unique design, perfect fondant in an au current color and their trade mark blown sugar.

Merci Beaucoup's assignment from a Los Angeles groom is a Lakers-themed cake. The big, basketball-shaped purple and gold cake will be a challenge for even the most experienced professionals. Will buttercream maven Marc be up to the task? Will Reva meet the fondant challenge? Only time will tell. Over in the windy city, Mary and Brenda are working on a treasure chest bridal shower cake. Mary's swamped with other orders, so it's up to Brenda to step up to the cake. Will Brenda meet the challenge, or will the sisters have another one of their famous spats? Lauri and the girls at Cake Alchemy are ready to take on a very tall - and very lacy - wedding cake.

Merci Beaucoup receives an order from one of their most loyal - and demanding - customers, who requests a peacock-themed cake. If Reva and Marc don't deliver, they can definitely expect a call. Christopher Garren's Cakes is about to take on a client whose vision is a highly personalized cake that will incorporate an abundance of mementos from the couple's world travels. Now, Chris must try to balance his artistic vision with the clients' demands in order to create an elegant, one-of-a-kind creation. Finally, the Cake Girls prepare for an all-important bridal show. Brenda wants desperately to create a cake that will represent her shop well, but she is consumed by other business. It's Nicole to the rescue, as she is forced to step in, step up and create a masterpiece.

Christopher Garren's Cakes receives an order for an anniversary cake, from a couple of return customers who want a variation on their castle wedding cake. Of course, Chris has some ideas about how to make it better the second time around. The CakeGirls are challenged to make a cake, featuring a retro 60s circle pattern, look au currant. Brenda suggests fondant, but Mary disagrees. Mary cooks up a new way to create the mod circle pattern but things don't go smoothly for long. At Cake Alchemy, Lauri is tasked with creating a hexagon-shaped, colorful cake that's covered in a frenzy of flowers.

Merci Beaucoup Cakes sets out to create an elegant and flowing cake that draws upon Ascot Races and incorporates feathers, lace and grace. The CakeGirls work on an anniversary cake that must incorporate blades of grass in its design. Christopher Garren's Cakes is tasked with creating a wedding cake that is both floral and masculine. The bigger challenge, of course, will be to reign in Chris' sensibilities.

The Cake Girls get an order for a groom's cake modeled after a Persian fountain. First item on their list -- find out what a Persian fountain looks like. A couple asks the ladies of Cake Alchemy to create a 3-D luxury car cake for their engagement party. Christopher Garren's Cakes is tasked with incorporating the bride's wedding dress design into an otherwise white wedding cake. Chris is busy with bridal meetings, so it's up to Marjie, Lindsey and "Oh Interns" to pull this one off.

Christopher Garren's crew has to create a wedding cake that matches the bride's gown. The dress has some beautiful pleating that quickly becomes a challenge to replicate. The CakeGirls get an order for a Chicago themed wedding cake, so Brenda sets out to create an elegant cake that incorporates the Chicago skyline. Merci Beaucoup Cakes' challenge is to create a cake that looks like a Russian building.

The CakeGirls get an order for a simple white wedding cake. But what seemed like an easy cake quickly challenges Brenda, when she decides to paint a quilted design. Marc and Reva get a dream order for a cake to be delivered to a Renaissance Faire, for a couple who met at a similar event. All they need to make is a cake that captures the spirit of that time. Christopher Garren's Cakes just received a wedding cake order from an eco-friendly bride who wants a simple cake modeled after her invitation's design.

The Chicago bakery produces one of their signature gravity-defying cakes, when Brenda and Nicole create a bridal shower cake for a tea party. This cake design is three beautiful teacups stacked one on top of another, topsy-turvy style. Working the curved edges proves to the challenging, but there's no cake problem the Cake Girls can't solve. Chris at Christopher Garren's Cakes meets with a couple who wants a cake that will represent the "Steam Punk" motif of their wedding. "Steam Punk"? What is that?? As Chris finds out, it's a modern blending of the romantic costumes from the Victorian era with the science fiction of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, all powered by steam. If anyone can take an intricate, outlandish concept and turn it into a cake, it's Chris and his team. LA's Merci Beaucoup bakery gets an order for a wedding cake that plays right into Marc's strengths. The couple wants color, fun, and butter cream. They also share a love of tattoo art. Marc, being the artist that he is, decides to push the design to include intricate airbrush work, and "koi" fish swimming on the layers. It's just a typical day at Merci Beaucoup.

The CakeGirls get an order for a "Pantry Shower" cake from a bride whose family fetes the newlyweds with a party that will fill their pantry. The idea is to give the couple all the ingredients they'll need for the recipe for a great marriage. So the sisters create a wonderful design that aims to defy the law of gravity...but will the execution of the cake go according to their plan? Christopher Garren's Cakes gets an order to create a wedding cake inspired by the movie "Edward Scissorhands". It's a busy week for Chris, so he assigns his intern Kristen to take the lead on the cake. This is a huge deal for Kristen, but she needn't worry too much, she'll have plenty of help from Chris and Lindsey. And maybe a little teasing too. Lauri and the ladies of Cake Alchemy are tasked with creating a cake that pulls inspiration from the modern chandeliers at the reception site. Yet Lauri being Lauri, she not only wants to include elaborate sugar work and life-like flowers made of gum paste, but she wants to suspend the tiers on a support system that includes a lighting mechanism. What could go wrong?

Christopher Garren's Cakes meets with a couple who wants a wedding cake inspired by the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The cake is black and white, with Tiffany blue accents, and has to feed 275 people. To make matters more complicated, there are tons of ribbons that surround the tiers and these must be perfectly even. This is a big, complex cake, and the tensions run high as Chris is watching everyone to make sure it's up to his standards. Mary, one of the owners of CakeGirls, is in heaven when she receives an order for an ultra modern wedding cake. This is her opportunity to test a technique that she's been dying to do: cover a tier with two layers of contrasting colored fondant, then cut a design out of the top layer so the bottom layer is exposed. Sounds easy. What could go wrong? New York City's "Cake Alchemy" has just received an order for a white wedding cake adorned with orchids. But will that be enough of a challenge for Lauri and her team? Lauri ups the design with a chandelier stencil and pearls, to a wonderful effect.

LA's Merci Beaucoup Cakes gets an order to make an unusual Pirate Ship wedding cake, for a couple who got engaged in the Caribbean. Marc can't wait to create all the fantastic details for the ship made out of butter cream. There's just one small hurdle. Marc wants to make the sails out of gum paste, and he's never done this before. Will it be smooth sailing, or a ship wreck? Christopher Garren's Cakes is asked to create a bridal shower cake that will remind the bride and her girlfriends about when they used to hang out together at a local diner. So the All-American design includes a milk shake, a chocolate cake slice, and a giant cupcake. And since this is a Christopher Garren cake, all these elements will be stacked on top of one another, and look just like the real thing, only larger. But surprisingly, in the end, it's the lowly cupcake wrapper that causes the most problems.... Chicago's CakeGirls owners Mary and Brenda think it's time for Ben to take on more challenges. That's why he's going to create this Magnolia wedding cake from start to finish. We know Ben's great at the fundamentals. What's going to happen when he's asked to be more artistic? Will he conquer the airbrush? Or will it conquer him?

The mother of the groom would like Chicago's CakeGirls to create an offbeat wedding cake for an offbeat wedding, where the reception will be a picnic. This cake will have a red-and-white checkerboard pattern, blades of grass, ants, and the topper is a pig roasting on a spit. LA's "Merci Beaucoup Cakes" bakery meets with a bride who wants to incorporate the southern tradition of a groom's cake into their reception. Her husband-to-be is clueless as to what a groom's cake is. But since it's HIS cake, and his choice, he wants a cheesecake. And he wants it to look like: a wheel of cheese. This sounds like a perfect match for Reva's and Marc's talents. Christopher Garren's Cakes gets an order for a wedding cake for a bride and groom who want bold colors, inverted tiers with a quilted pattern, and orchids. Chris follows the game plan…up to a point. As the design evolves, he realizes yellow calla lilies will be much better for the overall look than the white orchids requested by the bride. Guess who wins this battle of the flowers…

The CakeGirls have just gotten an order for a groom's cake that must replicate the groom's vintage Mustang muscle car. Mary is thrilled, but not as much as Ben, who finally gets to work on a more masculine cake. Plus, it's Ben's first time sculpting a car. Cake Alchemy receives an order for an incredibly tall, bejeweled wedding cake. The bride makes it known she wants bling, flowers, and something to "pop". Lauri and her crew are ready to raise the bar. Jewel-studded separators -- Check. Three-pound sapphire made of sugar -- Check. Giant sugar sapphire popping out of the top of the cake? Is that even possible?? At Christopher Garren's Cakes, Chris designs a wedding cake that is elegant, feminine, and understated (or as understated as Chris can be). Navy blue and white are the colors for the wedding, and the design elements include intricate layers of pleating as well as a draped fabric effect with a blue-stenciled pattern on the edge. As Chris puts it, "after 9 years, we finally did a ‘girly' cake!"

The Chicago sisters receive a challenge they can't refuse -- to create a bobble head groom's cake. The groom is a huge football fan and has his heart set on seeing this cake at his reception. Can Mary design a structure that will bobble, but not fall? She comes up with a game plan, but the pressure is on. She has just one chance to line up the cake-filled helmet and send it through the uprights.... At Merci Beaucoup Cakes, Reva creates a cake concept which marries the opposing masculine and feminine design requests from her bride and groom. So it's black & white stripes for the groom (named Taylor), and drapery and pink roses for the bride. Marc's background in fashion design comes in handy when it comes to making fondant "drape", now if only they can get the color right.... Cake Alchemy has an order for a wedding cake with a custom stencil scroll pattern, and gum paste flowers. But it's summer in the city and Manhattan is in the middle of a heat wave. Will the fondant wilt before Lauri can even get it on the cake? And if they can get the fondant to stay, will the steamy temps turn their stencil designs into melty rivers of purple icing? On an all-white cake, that would spell disaster!

Christopher Garren's Cakes is asked to incorporate a fun, beach motif into a wedding cake. The clients trust Chris implicitly, and give him full creative license on the project. The only item they give him for design inspiration is a gift bag, which appealed to them because of its colors, clean lines, and flowers. To bring his vision to fruition, Chris wants to try out some new techniques. But will the learning curve for these new skills throw Chris and his team off their schedule? Between the new techniques and the complicated detail work, will they miss their deadline? Reva at Merci Beaucoup Cakes designs a large wedding cake that incorporates the "Masquerade" theme of the couple's wedding. The colors are bold -- black, white, and red. Reva also wants to incorporate a "collar" around two of the layers, and plans to construct the collars out of "pastillage." "Pastillage" is a sugar-based dough which dries quickly into rigid, decorative forms that are often quite fragile. But neither she or Marc are proficient at working with "pastillage", so will they succeed in executing her design? Lauri of Cake Alchemy has earned a reputation for making wedding cakes that are art pieces. Her client is a bride who has an unusual request: she wants to surprise her husband-to-be with a groom's cake inspired by a piece of furniture! But it's not just any piece of furniture, it's a whimsical and eye-catching footstool created by one of the groom's favorite design companies, MacKenzie-Childs. Lauri and her team are excited to re-create this unique piece of art in cake.

Halloween weekend in Los Angeles can only mean one thing—the Day of the Dead. Marc and Reva get an order to do a wedding cake based on the holiday. Marc needs some inspiration, so the Merci Beaucoup team takes a road trip to the Olvera Street marketplace, to drink in the colors and culture of LA's Mexican heritage. Could this be one of Marc's greatest creations? The CakeGirls get an order for a champagne wedding cake: actually, one large cake depicting a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, with 15 smaller replicas for the wedding party. Sounds like a lot of work, but then Mary gets the clever idea to fill the bottle (made of sugar) with actual champagne. Now we're talking challenge! Especially for Ben, who has to deliver the cakes to the venue, while hoping that the champagne bubbles won't make the sugar bottle disintegrate! Cake Alchemy owner Lauri is making an engagement cake for one of her favorite people in the world: her loyal and beloved employee, Stephanie. The cake (and engagement party) will be a surprise, so Lauri keeps Stephanie distracted by having her work on this mysterious client's cake. Will Lauri's team be able to keep their secret, while crafting this unusual, inverted cake for their colleague?

LA's Merci Beaucoup bakery gets an order for a 40th Wedding Anniversary cake. The clients are two sisters, the daughters of the anniversary couple, who want Reva to create a cake that reflects the artistic life their parents have created for them. The party is going to be inspired by Alice in Wonderland, so the cake should reflect that as well. Reva gets carte blanche to go as far as she wants with the design...and she delivers with her "Through the Looking Glass" creation. The CakeGirls in Chicago get an order from a bride and groom who want clean lines and minimal decoration. Brenda and Mary decide to work on this elegant, 5-tiered cake together. Brenda wants to practice her decoration skills, so she goes to work on the elaborate stencil applications. Mary's fine with that, because she'll be watching Brenda's every move. Brenda doesn't get it right at first, but eventually gets in a groove, and her ivory stencils on chocolate fondant make the cake both modern and elegant. After this tall cake is decorated and then stacked, the finishing touch must be added: a monogram on the top layer. In order to carry out this last bit of decoration, Mary pulls off the rare, one-handed monogram application (with double-tip change) while perched on a ladder -- not for the faint of heart. It's no secret that Lauri at Cake Alchemy loves to make skeletons. So when a couple comes in and orders a skeleton bride and groom for the top of their cake, Lauri is in her element. But Lauri won't be satisfied with just two skeletons, she wants a whole tier of festive skulls for this New York couple's Halloween wedding.

A couple seeks out Christopher Garren's Cakes to create a non-traditional wedding cake. In fact, they say they don't want "their mother's wedding cake". The couple specifically wants to incorporate Lotus flowers (because they reconnected at LA's Lotus Festival after first meeting in New York City), henna designs, and lots of color. Chris is overjoyed because he gets to use the airbrush, create appliqués and detailed mosaics, and sculpt the layers into hourglass shapes. Chris gets the whole team involved in crafting the elaborate decorations, with fingers crossed that when all the parts come together, it will be a glorious yet cohesive cake design. Reva at Merci Beaucoup Cakes designs a wedding cake with dramatic draping effects in fondant, as a nod to the bride's interest in acting. There is also the tedious project of cutting out dozens of tiny tassels to trim the "fabric" draping. Thank goodness Marc has a background in the fashion industry, because he's definitely going to have to help with this one.... At Cake Alchemy, Lauri meets with a client who only has one request for her wedding cake, and that's to incorporate the groom's last name, Swan, into the design. Sounds relatively simple, except Lauri always has to raise the bar: why make just one cake when you can make EIGHTY little ones instead? The Cake Alchemy team swings into assembly-line mode to crank out dozens of individual wedding cakes, each with a poured sugar swan on top.

Chris at Christopher Garren's Cakes meets with a woman who wants to wear her grandmother's wedding dress at her ceremony. The bride-to-be wants her cake design to reflect the vintage/antique feel of her wedding, and to also evoke her grandmother's dress. Chris gets inspired by other elements of the wedding, including the graceful arches in the courtyard of the venue, and a harlequin floor pattern in the main foyer. His final design includes lace detail from the grandmother's dress fabric, flowers like the ones in her bouquet, and uses a soft, romantic palette. The sheer amount of detail will be the biggest challenge to the bakery team, but the end result will be an old-world masterpiece. Lauri at Cake Alchemy meets with a couple who wants a modern wedding cake. Lauri suggests that to make this cake truly unique, they should deconstruct the cake into individual tiers, and place them side-by-side, rather than stacking the tiers. Each tier will be displayed atop its own vase, with the vases being of varying heights, and placed next to each other. The vases will contain live "Vanda" orchids (the couple's wedding flower), and Lauri will create the same orchids in sugar to decorate the cakes. The couple loves the idea, and Lauri loves that she gets to present a cake in this unconventional way. Reva at Merci Beaucoup Cakes meets with a couple who wants to pay homage to their South Asian heritage. They decide to go with a Bollywood theme for their wedding cake, and using that inspiration, Marc creates an incredibly colorful and over-the-top design. Each layer of the cake is decorated like a piece of exotic fabric, covered with intricate "embroidery" that's piped on by Marc and gets gilded with edible gold dust. There's also a tier covered with tiny edible sequins made by Reva, who even recruits Mic for the tedious task of punching out hundreds of tiny circles. The end result -- although incredibly time-consuming - perfectly captures the energy and vibrancy of Bollywood.

The White Flower Cake Shoppe takes on clients Amanda & Chris, who got engaged in Italy. Co-owner Marianne suggests an Italian-themed wedding cake, and draws the elements, including The Leaning Tower of Pisa, a wheel of cheese, and a wine bottle. Matt takes lead as he is a sculptor by training (but a procrastinator by nature). When the wine bottle cake cracks, he needs a solution, so more experienced bakers Marianne & Lauren come to the rescue and apply fondant detailing. Marianne & Matt successfully deliver the cake to Amanda and Chris, who are thrilled with the results. Now "that's amore"! Christopher Garren meets with Marlon & Christie, who are about to be married, and met while working at NASA. The couple want their cake to have an aerospace theme but not look silly. They also want it romantic along the lines of "Fly Me to the Moon". Chris takes on the sculpture of an intricate dancing couple that will be atop a moon made of crispy rice. Marjie creates pastillage clouds that float. Kristen does the hand painting and sequins that line one tier. Everything is on schedule until...Chris decides to add just "one more" element 15 minutes before they leave. Vinny Buzzetta, the 21-year-old owner of "The Cake Artist" in Staten Island, takes a consultation with Veronica & Mike. This bride is all about bling & bedazzled, while the groom is one of NYC's finest. With 250 family and friends coming, they need a big cake. Vinny suggests five tiers. He says he'll give it a quilted fondant effect and...what about crystal strips running all around the cake? Veronica & Frank leave ecstatic. Everything's going great, until Vinny's girls cut the strips of pricey crystals too short, and now they won't encircle the tiers. Vinny hurries out to deliver it with boyfriend, Spiro. Unfortunately, the route to the New Jersey venue is full of potholes - when they go to unload the cake from the car, will it just be a pile of fondant and crystals??

Marlene & Frank from Staten Island want one of Vinny Buzzetta's Topsy-Turvy cakes. Their wedding theme is black & white with calla lily accents. They get to work on the cake, but Teresa loses valuable time by trying to make the calla lilies out of fondant, which is too thick for the job. Then, Vinny goes to stack the cake, and needs more dowels to secure the gravity-defying tiers. Are there too many dowels? As he hammers them into place, a tier of the cake cracks! But they quickly patch it up because there's no time to start over. Delivering the cake with his Cousin Joey, Vinny grabs the wrong directions. One hour and many Jersey turnpike miles later, he calls the venue. The reception is about to begin. Will they get there in time? Stephanie & Pete are having a large wedding in St. Paul, Minnesota, and right away, they knew that Robin at Gateaux, Inc., is the woman to make their cake. The gold invitations and color scheme, as well as the purple orchid centerpieces are the design inspiration. The cake comes together beautifully: Julia makes the rose petals & orchids. Jenna makes branches, and Robin airbrushes the cake gold. But on delivery day, Minnesota is hit with the blizzard of the century. 20 inches of snow! The couple is trying to make the best of things, even though their church never opened, the linens never arrived, and there are no flowers, or even a band! But will they have a cake?? Chris Garren meets Reid and Rebecca, and learns they're looking for a koala bear cake. Why koala? They met while both were in the Navy and strictly followed military protocol about 'no signs of public affection'. So they came up with a code-word to represent their love - 'koala'. Chris & Kristen begin sculpting two koalas and a competition kicks in, who will create the cutest koala? Kristen makes a branch of a eucalyptus tree with lifelike leaves. But Marjie struggles with aboriginal decorations. When Junior misses the off ramp, will Reid & Rebecca ever meet their koalas?

Kelly and Kristen have come to White Flower Cake Shoppe with a unique request for their engagement cakes. These two sisters, both engaged, have been competing with each other for as long as they can remember, so they keep the competition going by having a double engagement party complete with dueling cakes. Kristen's cake, designed by Marianne, has a woodsy cabin/true love theme, and Kelly's cake, made by Lauren, incorporates the couple's hobbies and the lifeguard chair at the shore where Kelly said "yes." The bakers jump right into the spirit of competition and vie to outdo each other – which of these two incredible cakes will be the best? Anthony and Samantha met, fell in love, and became engaged. But duty called, and the couple decided to quickly marry before Anthony was deployed to Afghanistan. Their last-minute wedding was on Amelia Island, Florida, near Anthony's Army base – a romantic, simple affair, but without any family from back home in Minnesota. Anthony has returned safely and now he and Samantha want to have a real wedding for their family and friends in Minnesota. Robin of Gateaux convinces them to 'bring the beach' up from Amelia Island and share memories of their vows – sunshine, the sea and sand. But there's an added twist to the celebration - Samantha is pregnant, and only the couple knows the gender of the baby. With her typical flair for cake theatrics, Robin suggests that they make the color of the actual cake under the fondant either blue or pink. So, when the first slice is cut at the party, all their guests will learn whether the couple is having a boy or a girl!

Robin and her team at Gateaux Inc. are working on a wedding cake for Marissa and Robb. Marissa spent several years in the bright lights of New York City while Robb did the LA thing. Last year both moved back home to Minnesota, and within a month cupid struck. Their 'Tale of 3 Cities' is to be told with the creation of a towering cake depicting the skylines of the NY, LA & Minneapolis. Robin even enlists her handy father-in-law 'Magic Phil' to help her recreate the Minneapolis 'Cherry and Spoon' sculpture. Will this skyscraping cake be too tall an order? At the White Flower Cake Shoppe in Cleveland, Ohio, owners Marianne Carroll and Lauren Bozich have been best friends since 7th grade. The team also includes Marianne's husband, Matt, who is skilled in sculpting. This week, they're working on a wedding cake for Courtney and Brent. Their holiday-themed wedding of ornaments, silver & snowflakes inspired Lauren to design a cake consisting of all these elements, and a huge stack of neatly wrapped black-and-white Christmas presents. The bride insists that the gift-wrapped boxes look like they're wrapped in paper, not fondant! The challenge of using black and silver is that they can stain white fondant. They've also had disasters in the past when black fondant went grey because it was exposed for too long. Solution? Work in the dark! Christopher Garren's bakery works on a groom's cake for Brian, a rock climber from Northern California. His fiancee Sarah wants his Groom's Cake to play up this obsession. Chris suggests a cake that features a 3D human hand emerging from a boulder. In Chris' opinion, "It's tough to make an artistic mountain, the end result always resembles a turd".

In Minneapolis, Hailey & Chelsea want to host a party for their soon-to-wed older sister, Heather. And they concocted a unique theme: it's an ode to all the really bad bridesmaid dresses that every girl has ever worn. The sisters and guests even plan to wear real bridesmaid dresses to the event. So Robin is to make a cake that will replicate three of the brightly colored yet hideous dresses that will be worn to the party. White chocolate molded bodices are made to drape the fondant dresses on. High heel shoes are sculpted. An edible bridal bouquet is crafted, but time is running out... Christopher at Christopher Garren's Cakes meets Sarah and Brian, a down-to-earth couple who want a wedding cake that's not formal or fussy. Chris gets his design inspiration from their wedding invitation, which features a fun picnic theme. Chris and his team will create picnic tablecloths out of fondant to drape from the cake layers, and watermelon slices, dragonflies and dandelions will complete his vision. Chris wants to make sure that Kristen creates watermelon slices that appear very real. He asks his newest intern, Junior, to find three unique watermelons to use as references. But accident-prone Junior brings only two melons back to the bakery -- what happened to the third? Kate & Anthony ask Cleveland's White Flower Cake Shoppe to create a wedding cake with a winter theme. Considering there's plenty of snow on the ground, co-owner Lauren agrees this seems appropriate. The bride insists that the ivory-colored cake must be elegant, with only a hint of sparkle. Lauren's design incorporates snowflakes in all tiers, and some even dangling off the cake. Marianne is dumbfounded. How are they going to hang the dangling snowflakes? Adding to this the dilemma, how does one judge what is "too much" sparkle? In the end, they create a tall, elegant cake with twinkles of rock sugar and dangling snowflakes, truly completing the winter wonderland wedding theme.

Caroline and David just got engaged and love to cook together. Christopher Garren creates a design for their engagement cake that incorporates lots of their favorite culinary things, including a crate of fresh vegetables, recipe cards, a wok, plates, and a Dutch oven. Then there's a breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast & a coffee mug. Next there's the Peking duck, a chopping board and a knife. To top it all off, figurines of David and Caroline as chefs are made out of chocolate. It's a big cake with a lot of pieces to attach, so Chris and Kristen will have to assemble it on site at the party. Can Garren's team avoid a cake-tastrophy? This week, the White Flower Cake Shoppe is working on a Rubber Recycling grooms cake. Holly, the bride-to-be, wants to surprise her future groom, Dave, with a cake that honors the family rubber recycling business. Matt concocts a design that replicates the actual recycling plant, complete with stacks of tires and a grinder (used to grind up the rubber). Things get complicated, however, when Matt promises that he'll make the grinder on the cake actually move. Holly loves the idea, but the problem is that Matt doesn't know how he'll actually make it happen. With some help from a childhood mechanical building set, Matt and the White Flower team create an amazing cake that includes a working rubber tire grinder! Bride-to-be Susan and her mother Donna come to see Robin at Gateaux for the wedding cake Susan has always dreamed of. Since Robin designed the invitations for Susan's wedding, she's very familiar with the wedding theme and color scheme. The bride wants a cake that reflects who she is - formal, yet simple, elegant and fun. Robin comes up with a stunning, shimmering design that incorporates elements from the invitation and is perfect for celebrating both this winter wedding and its New Years Eve date. The glimmering gold cake has confetti bubbling up its tiers, just like a glass of champagne.

Jennifer meets with Robin at Gateaux about creating a very special surprise wedding cake. Her brother, Anthony, has been in the Army for the past several years and got married in a rushed wedding to bride, Sam, in 2009. The couple are now having a proper wedding for family and friends on New Years Eve and have ordered their own wedding cake from Robin. For this extra surprise cake, Robin designs a clock that will feature a working, ticking clock to chime in the New Year – and the couple's new life together. Bride and groom are starting off the new year with a new home, new job and even a baby on the way. But things are off to a rough start for Gateaux when they can't get the clock to work. Marcella and Sergio are having a lavish wedding reception for over 200 people in an iconic Los Angeles landmark, the Park Plaza Hotel. This venue is grand, classy and very over-the-top. And that's exactly how this couple wants their wedding cake. They meet with Christopher, who learns Marcella wants the cake to dazzle with her favorite color, burgundy red, and explode with flowers galore. The team at Christopher Garren's Cakes goes into overdrive as they make hundreds of flowers to cover what will be a cake that's nearly 5 feet tall. In addition to the flowers, the cake features an urn, lots of intricate gold detailing, a Faberge-style egg and a sheen so soft that the cake looks like it's covered in lush red velvet. Ayman and Entesar are an engaged couple who want to show their family and friends how happy they are to have found each other. They reveal to Marianne at White Flower Cake Shoppe that their engagement party will be in a trendy club's Moroccan room, so they want a cake that compliments the room's decor. Nothing is too good for this classy bride, including a 4-tier cake with a 24-karat-gold dome and a sugar version of the engagement ring perched atop a soft cake pillow.

Lindsey is a pilot engaged to another pilot, Sean. Since she's never in town long enough to plan for her big day, this busy bride is becoming a bit of a bridezilla. Her maid of honor wants to nip this in the bud by hosting a pampering bridal shower, so she turns to Robin at Gateaux to create an amazing cake that's all about the bride. Robin conceives a cake that celebrates Lindsey's travel adventures. But making a completely round globe cake proves to be an incredible challenge, and Robin worries that her team won't pull it off. But they do - complete with all 5 continents, and flags that indicate all the important places in Lindsey and Sean's relationship, like Rome, where he proposed, and Bora Bora, where bride and groom plan to go to for their honeymoon. Tony and Tracy come to White Flower Cake Shoppe with visions of gold and jewels for their wedding cake. Tracy wants fancy - and what Tracy wants, Tracy gets. The resulting bedazzled cake design features hand-sculpted wine colored roses and calla lilies, and lots of edible jewels. It promises to be stunning, but Marianne and Lauren first have to figure out the tricky process of making the jewels for the cake that Tracy has her heart set on. Opposites attract…and this whimsical wedding cake proves how much fun a little difference makes. Katie and Adam are as different – and madly in love – as a bride and groom can be. They reveal to Christopher that they want to celebrate their differences through their wedding cake. Instead of standing tall in normal wedding cake fashion, this multi-tiered cake is chopped down the middle with both sides teetering away from each other at the most outlandish angles. Popping out from the inside of one half of the cake are the things Katie likes. From Adam's half, his "guy" interests are revealed. And bridging those two opposites are figures of a bride and groom madly diving for each other with unbridled passion.

Marcella and Sergio are having a lavish wedding reception for over 200 people in an iconic Los Angeles landmark, the Park Plaza Hotel. This venue is grand, classy and very over-the-top, and that's exactly how this couple wants their wedding cake. They meet with Christopher, who learns Marcella wants the cake to dazzle with her favorite color, burgundy red, and explode with flowers galore. The team at Christopher Garren's Cakes goes into overdrive, as they make hundreds of flowers to cover a cake that will be nearly 5 feet tall. In addition to the flowers, the cake features an urn, intricate gold detailing, a Faberge-style egg and a sheen so soft that the cake looks like it's covered in lush red velvet. Ayman and Entesar are an engaged couple who want to show their family and friends how happy they are to have found each other. They reveal to Marianne at White Flower Cake Shoppe in Ohio that their engagement party will be in a trendy club's Moroccan room, so they want a cake that compliments the room's decor. Nothing is too good for this classy bride, including a 4-tier cake with a 24-karat-gold dome and a sugar version of the engagement ring perched atop a soft cake pillow. Erin comes into Gateaux Inc. to discuss a very unusual groom's cake. It seems that Erin would like to incorporate her nickname into a cake. However, her husband's 'term of endearment' for her just happens to be 'possum'. This is a first for Robin, who must now create a cute version of an animal that is most famous for playing dead.

Rebecca comes into Gateaux Inc. to order a bridal shower cake for her twin sister Melissa. Melissa met her fiancee Tyler, a baseball player, at a bus stop where, upon seeing Tyler in his baseball uniform, Melissa asked if he was a basketball player. It was love at first sight. Rebecca, being the good sister that she is, wants a bridal shower cake that reflects both bride and groom. Robin suggests a sexy baseball-themed cake complete with scoreboard, peanuts, sexy lingerie and a caramel corn box that holds an exact replica of Melissa's engagement ring as the prize. Mark and Brittany meet with Christopher Garren to discuss their unusual wedding cake design. This couple vacationed in Paris and took a side trip to the Palace of Versailles. They not only fell in love with Versailles, but Mark produced a ring and proposed to Brittany in Louis XIV's opulent gardens. Now, Christopher must create a wedding cake for them that replicates elements from the Palace. This is no easy task, since Chris' vision involves lots and lots of pastillage elements, hand-painted frescos, and copious amounts of gold. Kate and Sam meet with Lauren from The White Flower Cake Shoppe, hoping that she can design the perfect wedding cake for their very specific tastes. They've always loved the art deco style and are having their wedding reception at the famous Silver Grille, a fully restored vintage art deco building in downtown Cleveland. Lauren suggests pulling specific design details from the Silver Grille as well as from their wedding invitations. Marianne doesn't fully realize the challenge ahead until they try to stencil the intricate art deco pattern evenly around the entire cake, and things don't go quite as planned.