When it comes to planning your wedding, there are some parts that are tedious and stressful and there are some parts that are just plain fun. Luckily, choosing your wedding cakes is the latter. This is the perfect time to cut the diet for the sake of research and find the beautiful and tasty cake to serve at your wedding. When going through the process of finding your cake, there are several myths, facts and tips you should know about. Check out these six important tips for choosing your perfect wedding cake.
Photo Credit: Captured by Erika Photography
1. Choose a Bakery
Before choosing your bakery, do your research. Ask friends and family about couples who have loved their wedding cake catered by a local bakery and read wedding specialists reviews online. Check wedding websites or blogs that have customer feedback. Make sure the reviews you are finding are up to date, as their website and online photos should be. Once you have a potential prospect, visit the bakery in person. It is important that you feel comfortable with the team that would be working on your cake. You want to be working with staff that truly listens to your requests and questions. If you think you may have found the bakery for you, speak with the cake designer about specifics.
Photo Credit: McAvoy Photography
2. Choose a Style
There is an endless amount of styles you can choose for your wedding cake. You can go with a classic look or be creative. You can have an all-white cake or add some color. You can have the cake match your wedding theme or you can have your cake represent your favorite memory together. Your cake may be simple or it may have extravagant decoration that matches your dress. Wedding cakes can be round or square, flat or multi-tiered. First things first, know the basics. Do you want your cake sculpted with fondant or would you prefer a soft buttercream frosting? Fondant tends to hike up the cost of the cake, however it holds stronger in high temperatures. Sit down with your fiancé and research cake inspiration. Your bakery may also have a gallery of style options to show you.
Photo Credit: Freed’s Bakery
Photo Credit: Maisie Fantaisie
3. Choose a Flavor (Cake Tasting)
The idea that wedding cakes are just for show and not for taste is a common myth. Not all fondant tastes bad and it’s up to you to find ones that don’t. If you found your bakery through word of mouth or researching their reviews, chances are you are already on your way to finding a cake that will be great both to eat and to look at. Wedding cakes come in all sorts of amazing flavors. Find the one that speaks most to you and your fiancé. Do you prefer a rich chocolate or a light fruity taste?
There are several important things to keep in mind when wedding cake tasting; for instance, when picking your cake, consider the size of it in comparison to the number of guests you have invited. Additionally, it is a good idea to break up the tasting into multiple days so that you don’t enter a sugar overload causing you to make a rash decision.
Photo Credit: Indulge Bakery
4. Choose a Display
When considering all of your wedding cake choices, don’t forget to think about the cake’s display. What will the table look like? Will you set it on a center table with a plain-colored tablecloth that matches the wedding color scheme? Perhaps you want to decorate the table with flower petals or beads to match the cake? If your wedding is taking place in the evening, will you need to plan lighting for the cake. You can bring your cake out into the center of the venue or you can light up the table that the cake will rest on by placing a camping light or Christmas lights under or around the table.
Photo Credit: Hampton Inn
5. Choose a Time
Part of planning out your wedding cake is also planning out when during your wedding day you will bring it out. Sometimes, the best option is to make time for the cake during the reception. This is generally a time when all of the guests’ attention is on you, rather than after the reception when the guests begin to dance and sometimes drink. If your wedding includes toasts, you can also bring the cake out right before or after the speeches. Regardless of when you choose to present your cake, be sure your photographer got some shots of it before you begin cutting it.
Photo Credit: Shane Harder Photography
6. Choose a Cake Alternative (If You Want)
It’s no secret that wedding cakes are no small expense. If you are looking for a large, nicely designed cake that will feed all your guests that can really rack up your spending. Fortunately, there are wedding cake alternatives. There are many great wedding desserts that can stand in place of a cake such as pie, cupcakes, pastries, festive sweets or our favorite, a dessert bar. If you don’t want to completely give up the idea of a cake, you can always order a small, decorated cake for show, which you can display above or next to the desserts.
Photo Credit: Buttercream
Wedding cake (or wedding dessert) picking is a fun process. As long as you follow these tips and most importantly, choose a dessert that you love both in beauty and taste, your guests are sure to enjoy the special treat with you. If you and your fiancé don’t get the chance to have some cake during the wedding, be sure to have the caterer save some for you! You don’t want to miss out on the dessert you spent so long picking out. And if you want, you can even preserve wedding cake to enjoy on your first anniversary.
