The Groom's Cake- A Chance for Football, Trucks, and...Molecules?

When my step sister, Liz, described her plans for a beautiful, beachside, La Jolla wedding, I got super excited, picturing something straight out of an Athropology catalogue. With all the flowers and lace, Liz wanted something for her groom-to-be, Tedman, so she asked me to make a groom's cake. Originating in the South (like Tedman), a groom's cake might have traditionally been cheesecake and is seen as a gift from the bride to the groom.  The tradition has made a comeback, and has recently evolved into a way to bring the groom's personality into the wedding. So of course Liz asked me to design a cake involving Tedman's favorite sports team....actually, no....she knew way into this groom's heart would be chocolate and... Computational Chemistry!
Needless to say, I was a little intimidated when Liz told me Tedman's PHD focus, and the requested theme of his cake. So with my limited knowledge on the subject, I designed a masterpiece involving computers, codes and Google. Thank goodness for Tedman's sisters, who performed the most epic rehearsal dinner toast I have witnessed to date while wearing lab coats and assembling the "Ted" and "Liz" molecules, I was set straight about the elements involved in his love for science. So yes, the night before the wedding, and with the help of my step dad, I completely redesigned the cake and scrapped the computer I had built out of fondant. The inspired cake ended up involving 2 nerd (no pun intended Ted) candy filled test tubes, one for Liz, one for Tedman, spilling out to make a heart, and topped with a bride and groom molecule. Lastly, but not least, were the classically designed cake pops, around one for each guest. What a fun project! Congrats Tedman and Liz on your beautiful wedding and future together!