Photograph by Katie Clancy
When Carolyn Simon and Jackson Noon—both artists—started planning their June 2008 wedding, they knew they wanted a creative, DIY approach. What better way, they decided, than to use duct tape to “accent” the overall look, from bouquets to boutonnieres? In their younger years, both had made duct tape wallets—a rite of passage for any young punk rocker; Simon remained interested in the material into her adult life as an artist, using it to make decorative ribbons for gifts.
The couple’s wedding planner mentioned the duct-tape theme to pastry chef Mathew Rice, of Niche and Veruca. Simon and Noon hadn’t thought their cake would be included in the thematic mix, but Rice was determined to make it happen. He set up a tasting for the couple and pitched his idea: a design that would look “really traditional, even classic” from afar, but would, upon closer inspection, reveal its surprise. They loved it.
Simon and Rice collaborated closely for weeks making the cake’s duct-tape lilies—rolling out eight inches of generic tape (it wrinkles less than brand-name), inserting a floral wire, flipping the tape over and cutting out the shapes of leaves and petals. Simon accessorized the finished arrangement, inserting gray and green Czech pressed glass beads—which she’d also used to make the bridesmaids’ jewelry—into a select number of flowers. Rice’s own breakthrough was deciding to mix edible silver dust into the frosting—a subtle touch. “I was afraid it wouldn’t look the way I wanted it to,” he admits, “but it worked.”
So how’d it taste? “Fabulous,” she says. The cake was a twist on Rice’s “Soda-Licious” creation, using Coca-Cola and—for the frosting—strawberry Nesquik powder. (Rice usually uses cherry buttercream, but the father of the bride is allergic.) Rather than freeze extra pieces, the couple shared the wealth. “We had friends who took pieces home,” Mrs. Simon Noon says. “My friend Zach ate it every single day—even for breakfast.”
