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Hairy Bikers are icing on cake for Helen

Susannah Wright
24/ 7/2008

NOT many brides-to-be turn to two Hairy Bikers to put the icing on the cake for their big day.

But that’s exactly what Helen Cadwallader did - and she ended up with the wedding cake of her dreams.

The 45-year-old childminder and fiance John Miller took up an offer from the celebrity chefs to come up with a design for their Withington wedding after being contacted by a friend who worked for the hairy pair’s BBC production team. The couple were more than happy when they were presented with the five-tier cake as part of a feature for the pair’s latest series, called The Hairy Bakers.

And to make sure the cake would be one of a kind, the jovial chefs, Dave Myers and Si King, replaced the usual bride and groom figurine on top with a miniature campervan, as a special momento for Volkswagen fanatics John and Helen.

Helen said: "They made us shut our eyes and then brought it out - it was fabulous and absolutely enormous.

"The VW miniature looked fantastic and they told us they’d used something like 30 eggs!

"They watched us cut the cake and then stayed for a while to enjoy the wedding.

"They were such lovely guys, laughing and chatting, and all the crew were really nice too. "Having a unique cake made by the Hairy Bikers was amazing - it really made it our day extra special."

Around 140 guests attended the wedding at St Paul’s Church on St Paul’s Road, Withington, which was followed by a reception at Cheadle Golf Club.

The crowning moment came as Dave and Si brought out the cake.

The couple, from Burton Road, West Didsbury, love going to VW festivals in their campervan to meet like-minded enthusiasts.

They each have two children - Helen has Ashley 25 and Rebecca, 21, and John has Laura, 20, and Dusty, 11.

John, a pipe fitter, said a friend had called him saying that the bikers were looking for couples who were getting married on Saturday, July 19.

John, 45, said: "They asked us what we wanted so we said we’d like a traditional cake with a twist.

"But we didn’t know what it was going to be like until they brought it out."

The Hairy Bikers have also been filmed making bagels at Chorlton’s Barbakan delicatessen a few weeks ago, for their series, The Hairy Bakers.

The episode with Helen and John’s wedding cake is due to be screened early in September.