The guest list and wedding dress designer for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s fast-approaching wedding remain a secret, but now we know who will design their wedding cake.
The couple has selected pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of Violet Bakery in Hackney, East London, Kensington Palace announced today.
Harry, 33, and Markle, 36, have asked Ptak to create a cake with the flavors of spring for their May 19 wedding. The lemon elderflower cake will feature buttercream icing and fresh flowers as decorations, according to Kensington Palace.
Harry and Markle are "very much looking forward to sharing this cake" with their wedding guests, the palace said.
The choice of a lemon elderflower cake is a departure from the royal tradition of serving British fruit cake on the wedding day.
Harry's brother, Prince William, and his wife, Princess Kate, had two cakes on their wedding day in 2011, a traditional eight-tier fruit cake created by chef Fiona Cairns and a chocolate biscuit cake from a Buckingham Palace recipe that was a favorite of William's as a child and also enjoyed by Queen Elizabeth.
Markle and Harry will have two receptions on their wedding day. The first will be a reception at St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle with their wedding guests.
An evening reception for their close friends and family will be hosted by Harry's father, Prince Charles. Both receptions will be closed to the public.
Ptak, like Markle, was raised in California before moving to London. She trained under the esteemed Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Kensington Palace noted in a statement announcing her selection.
Markle has also worked with Ptak previously. She interviewed the pastry chef for her former lifestyle website, The Tig, which she shut down last year as her relationship with Harry intensified.
“I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be chosen to make Prince Harry and Ms. Markle’s wedding cake,” Ptak said in a statement. “Knowing that they really share the same values as I do about food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and most importantly flavor, makes this the most exciting event to be a part of."
Ptak started her bakery business out of her home, selling cakes at a stall at Broadway market, before opening Violet Bakery in 2010, according to Kensington Palace.
Ptak's bakery is notable for using seasonal and organic ingredients in cakes.
The pastry chef gives people a glimpse into her beautiful delicacies on Instagram. Some of her recent posts include fresh flowers on cakes, as Markle and Harry have requested for their wedding.
