Ron Ben-Israel's Jewel of a Wedding Cake

When we asked celebrity wedding cake designer and TV personality Ron Ben-Israel of Food Network’s Sweet Genius WHICH of his fabulous cakes was the most glamorous, he immediately thought of the cake he designed for the wedding featured in every girl’s favorite Chick Flick, Sex and the City 2. Chances are, if you’re a woman you’ve not only seen the movie you’ve memorized every part of the wedding setting! (like us, of course).

Sex and The City Wedding Cake by Ron Ben-Israel
Ron Ben-Israel

The most fabulous design elements in the wedding was the stunning tiered white wedding cake dripping with Swarovski crystals placed on its own draped stage! Talk about DRAMA! Well, that sensational confectionery creation is an inspiration for brides around the world who want every aspect of their wedding, right down to the wedding cake, to reflect modern opulence and glamour! We spoke to the Sweet Genius himself, Ron Ben-Israel (below right), to hear how he and his team made this unbelievable wedding cake.

Ron Ben-Israel

We were contacted by the team of set designers for the Sex and The City movie who had seen our work in the media. We have also collaborated in the past with Swarovski Crystal to showcase their newest products on cakes. It was a nature marriage of the two and we were thrilled to design the cake! For the design, the set designers asked us to create a white wedding cake that was elegant, of course, but which would fit the over-the-top wedding setting they were designing. Interestingly, the design did not call for the use of sugar flowers, for which we are well known. Rather, the key words used to describe what the set designers were looking for were “frozen water” and “sparkle”! So, I designed a cake dripping with crystals!

Ron Ben-Israel
Sex and The City Wedding Cake by Ron Ben-Israel

We started looking at chandeliers for inspiration, but most of the shapes had too much flare on the bottom to become elegant cakes. Then we started looking at the use of crystals in fashion, and came upon a razzle-dazzle gown American actress, singer and dancer, Mitzi Gaynor, wore for her shows in Las Vegas. It was designed by Bob Mackie and was the most svelte and glamorous inspiration for our cake. You have to see it to believe it! We were also inspired by Gustav Klimt’s famous painting, The Kiss.

Ron Ben-Israel

When it came to making the cake, we wanted to extend the cake tiers and achieve the illusion that they were floating on air. Acrylic proved the best material and we had a custom stand fashioned for the cake. Swarovski provided us with over 4,000 individual crystals, mostly chandelier type which have a tiny hole for hanging.

Ron Ben-Israel

Constructing the cake took nine people fifty hours so the total amount of hours worked was 450!  The five cake tiers standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall were transported separately and placed on the stand in the movie studio itself. The end result was simply stunning, don’t you think? Love, Ron

Ron Ben-Israel

Some fun facts about this cake:

  • It took a staff of 9 people and 50 hours to put the cake together
  • The wedding cake stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall
  • The cake stand was a custom design and made out of acrylic
  • Approximately 4,100 Swarovski crystals were used, mainly using chandelier elements
  • The cake serves 485 guests
  • Retail cost is $32,000