Westheath School in Sevenoaks was the former boarding school for Lady Diana Spencer, then to become HRH Princess of Wales, and her two sisters Sarah and Jane. Dating back to the 17th Century, Westheath was once an elite boading school, but fell into receivership in 1997, the same year in which Diana passed away. The School was then acquired through the generosity Mohamed Al Fayed, and to date runs as a boarding school for emotionally damaged children. It is documented that at Westheath Diana spent the happiest years of her life
The School is located just outside Sevenoaks and is a unique and intimate venue, set in the most wonderful grounds. .
Deborah selected Hall of Cakes as her cake designer as she particularly wanted her cake design to reflect the traditional elegance of the Victorian Period and the level of intricate detail that was applied in this era. Deborah and Julian had chosen winter red roses as their main floral centres and also wanted to incorporate the roses within their cake design. Having visited Westheath previously I recommended we use a design with ‘height’, otherwise the cake could be lost in the grandeur of the main dining room.
Deborah and Julian chose a four tier design, which comprised two tiers of rich fruit cake and two tiers of chocolate with cocoa buttercream. They planned to cut three of the tiers on the day and to keep the smallest tier (fruit) for a future celebration.
As you may have read previously on the blog, creating designs with height can involve some architectural challenges as well as some nerve wracking transportation! However, with some designs, such as the one chosen by Deborah and Julian, it is possible to stack the cake at the venue and the cake is transported in individual tiers.
In the chosen design polystyrene separators and support structures are used in between the tiers. These separators not only provide a level base for the tier above, but a ledge on which the fresh roses will sit. The posey on the top then finishes the design perfectly.
Unfortunately, with the heavy snow fall, Deborah and Julian encountered more than a few problems on their day….. Let’s just say they only made it to their hotel after a very kind motorist heard their SOS plea on Kent Radio……
Deborah and Julian, I know you plan to host a big party in the summer for family and friends, as not all of your guests made it on your day, so I look forward to meeting with you to design your ‘second’ wedding cake!…