Lace cake image courtesy of Eden Cake Company | Camper Van Cake image courtesy of French Wedding Cakes
Shopping for your wedding cake has to be one of the most fun parts of your wedding planning! We’re talking butter cream, yummy icing, layers of spongy gorgeousness – what’s not to love. But before you embark on your tasting extravaganza, there’s a few things you need to think about. Today, our cake experts are sharing their pearls of wisdom, with their top tips when it comes to choosing your perfect wedding cake. Here’s what they had to say…
Selena from Timeless Cakes for You – View Profile Here
1. Set a Budget. This is very important, it helps the cake maker create within that budget and not come up with wonderful ideas which you can’t afford. This will also save everyone time. It’s so easy to overspend when we buy with our eyes, so setting this budget will define things for you.
2. Consider the season your wedding is in. You may want to have a fabulous chocolate creation that won’t last in the heat!
3. It’s Your Day – choose a cake you like to eat. We all love our family and they think they’re helping, but it’s your day. Eat what you like!
4. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Your cake/centre piece doesn’t have to be a cake!
Julien from French Wedding Cakes – View Profile Here
1. The first thing I would suggest is to do a little research on the web to see what styles, designs and tastes appeal to you. Classic cakes, modern cakes or very tasty ones like a croquembouches or macaron towers.
2. You would then have to consider your budget. You might be surprised by prices of wedding cakes but this is not just a cake, this is a piece of sugar art, a lot of time will go into it, especially if you wish to incorporate your own ideas and colours.
3. When you do arrange to meet a cake designer (and not a businessman), you should ask for some cake samples, show them ideas and styles you like (bring some pictures) and ask him/her to give you some of their own ideas.
4. Be honest about your budget, so while having a look at cake pictures, you can get an idea of what is expensive or not, you might be surprised.
5. If you wish to go for a lightly decorated cake (sometimes less is more) make sure that the quality of the icing is perfect on your cake designers pictures, simple designs are only efficient if the icing is perfectly smooth.
Nadene from Eden Cake Company – View Profile Here
1. Your cake design consultation should take place when most of the main theme and overall look of the wedding has been decided.
2. Some golden advice I always tell couples: “Design the wedding cake as the centrepiece in the reception room. With the exception of the Bride’s wedding dress, nothing receives more attention from the guests than the wedding cake”.
3. When choosing your designer, make sure you interview your cake designer. Ask them how long have they been in the business? Do they have pictures of their recent work? What do their customers say? Do they offer delivery and set up?
4. For your consultation, keep the cake tasting to just you and your partner, or you and a close friend or relative who has the same taste style – too much input will just confuse the design and process.
5. There are some key elements which you will cover in your consultation so it might be worth thinking about things like portions – is the cake for dessert or for a taste with coffee later in the day, what kind of decoration and finish you want (butter cream may not be suitable for warm rooms and lengthy display whereas sugarpaste offers a flawless, elegant finish and keeps the cake fresh), where and how your cake will be displayed?
6. Lastly, the best design advice I’ve received is to always remember that cake is food. The design should be beautiful, but ultimately the taste should come first.
