Story featured in People Magazine
Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas’ wedding cake was a showstopper.
The pair — who tied the knot on Saturday in front of 220 guests at the Park Chateau Estate & Gardens in East Brunswick, New Jersey — enlisted the help of Leighann Watson, cake designer at Palermo Bakery, to design the luxe dessert.
The towering white confection was seven tiers, soared 45 inches high, and had a chandelier suspended in the middle. Real flowers lined the bottom, while the highest tier was also topped with white roses.
“It was almost all fake. The only thing that was real was the fourth tier from the top, which was right underneath the chandelier tier,” Watson reveals to PEOPLE.
It’s not uncommon for wedding cake designers to have only one tier be real cake, and the rest be dummy cakes, especially when the cake is going to be outside for an extended period of time. Watson says that and several other factors played into the decision.
The true cake was made of vanilla layers with cannoli cream, which Watson says is “Luis’s favorite.” The remaining tiers consisted of styrofoam elaborately decorated and covered in fondant.
Watson says she’s been working with The Real Housewives of New Jersey star for the last five years, so Giudice, 50, sent her a few pictures as a guide, but gave her creative liberty. “I do all of her kids’ cakes. I did her father’s last birthday cake,” says Watson.
The massive cake was all about the details — from working lights shining below the mini chandelier to carefully lined rhinestones and the Bravo couple’s initials “made out of gold.”
The cake matched the overall decor of the affair, which featured gold accents, white linens and lush floral arrangements, including two oversized hearts made of white flowers and tall, cascading centerpieces.
Giudice’s four daughters — Gia, 21; Gabriella, 17; Milania, 16, and Audriana, 12, whom she shares with her ex-husband Joe — were all by their mom’s side for her big day, as were Ruelas’ two sons, David and Nicholas, from his previous relationship.
For food, a multi-course menu included large cowboy steaks. Shake Shack, a pizza truck and a candy truck provided tasty treats for late-night snackers.
Giudice began dating Ruelas, 47, in 2020 after Ruelas asked for Giudice’s phone number when they met organically off camera.
Giudice’s makeup artist Priscilla DiStasio called their wedding “such a fairytale.”
“It was beautiful, it was really something that I’ve almost never experienced,” DiStasio told PEOPLE. “Theresa loves love as we all know. She’s got it all, she’s ready!”
