A wedding is a much awaited occasion for every couple; the frenzy of the wedding preparations and planning are proof of this. Every detail in a wedding ceremony and celebration are being planned to make it perfect; from wedding dresses to wedding souvenirs, wedding decorations to wedding receptions, and wedding guests to wedding invitations. Everything must be in order for the day of the wedding. And of course, who could ever forget about the wedding cake? A wedding celebration won’t be complete without wedding cakes, be it a simple one or the grandest ever. And every guest is curious about what and how the wedding cakes will look like, yes, everybody will get excited about it; everyone wants to see the wedding cake! That's why choosing the right wedding cake baker is so important!
During weddings and at the wedding receptions, aside from waiting for the bride and groom, there’s another center of attraction for the guests, and that’s the wedding cakes. Everybody seems to be eager to see what the wedding cakes will look like, not to mention how it will taste. So nowadays, wedding cakes won’t just look like a plain wedding cake. Today, most wedding cakes have motifs and different styles, this depends on what design of wedding cake the couple wants or what the wedding coordinator thinks best fits the wedding. Every wedding cake in this modern day, has a theme and different categories; and it’s among the wedding details where you’ll have to spend some more if you want it to be the best.
The internet offers many wedding cakes ideas for your wedding and wedding themes. You can have traditional wedding cakes if you’re planning for simple but elegant wedding themes. You can have multi-layered wedding cakes or single-layered one. Wedding cakes also vary in sizes, it’s for you to decide how big you’re wedding cakes will be. Nowadays, conventional wedding cakes designs and themes are becoming common. So, if you want unique wedding cake touches, you’ll look for one of the best wedding cake artists in your area. Available wedding cakes designs today includes heart shaped with flower designs that looks like a jewelry box; there are also wedding cakes that look like an artistic decorative gifts with matching ribbons and laces. There are also wedding cakes that have floral themes. You can also have wedding cakes that are separately baked and designed. These wedding cakes may be used as a table decorator as well. Whatever wedding cakes designs and themes, you decide on; make that wedding cake and it’s sweetness a lasting reminder of your wedding vows.
Wedding cakes can be the symbol of unity and the beginning of fun at a wedding reception. Images of a bride and groom smashing a piece in to each other’s face are not necessary.
Going local
One of the easiest ways to pick a wedding cake is to go to your local bakery. Better yet, you can go to the bakery in the town where you will be married. When you go with an out-of-town wedding cake, you may not be able to access them quickly in an emergency.
Being close to the bakery helps you if you have any questions or concerns as the wedding gets nearer. You may want to choose a larger style or a smaller one, depending on the responses to your invitations. In fact, smaller bakeries can be more flexible than the larger, more impressive ones.
Since you won’t be competing with hundreds of other couples, you have a better chance of getting personal service too.
The size matters
Although the baker that you have selected will be helping you with a size that is appropriate for your guest list, you may also want to consider a few other things.
A larger cake style is more impressive in pictures at the cake-cutting ceremony. You may want to choose separate tiers or just multiple ones to give the cake a better height so it’s not hiding behind you and your spouse.
The size is also a consideration when choosing the flavor.One of the newer trends is to have particular flavours for each tier. So if you want to have more flavours, you’re going to need more tiers, and an overall larger cake.
And don’t forget to save the top tier for you and your spouse to eat on your first anniversary. It’s a really a sweet tradition.
A different idea
If you’re still interested in having multiple flavors, but not a larger cake, you can try separate cakes for each table. Some couples have opted for this as they can provide different flavors, but also guests may move from table to table to try other flavors—and in so doing, create more conversations and relative interaction.
Your wedding cake can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose. If your budget is a concern, then you may want to keep in mind that at the end of the night, you will be eating it and that no one will worry about how expensive it was.
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How to Choose Your Perfect Wedding Cake
Your wedding cake is an important element to your wedding celebrations. Many couples use their wedding cake as the focal point of their reception, so it will need to look fabulous & taste fantastic. Here is some guidance on choosing your perfect wedding cake.
Find your cake style
Traditionally wedding cakes are multi-tiered & covered in white icing. This remains a popular choice today; however the designs & icings get ever more creative & elaborate. Take a look through magazines & online to get an idea of the style that appeals to you most. You may choose a traditional tiered cake with pillars or without, a stunning display of cupcakes, a luxurious chocolate cake or something more novel.
Seek out the talent
When you have an idea of the shape you want your cake to take, start looking for someone to create it for you. As ever recommendations from friends & family is a good place to start or ask your venue if they can recommend someone. Bridal fayres offers you the chance to see cakes in ‘the flesh’ & even have a taste. When you start looking for a cake designer, look for one that specializes in your particular choice of cake, some may be able create fabulous traditional cakes but not a novel cake with intricate decoration.
Choose the flavors
Fruit is the traditional choice for wedding cakes & although still popular, flavored sponge cakes are increasing in popularity. You can choose to have various flavors applied to the plain sponge mix such as lemon or honey. If your have chosen a tiered cake you can have a different flavor for each tier. This is particularly good advice if some of your guests have special dietary requirements. If you choose a sandwich style cake you can also go to town on the fillings such as fruit combinations, cream cheese or chocolate.
Decide on the decoration
The decoration is probably the bit you have given most thought to & will co-ordinate with the rest of your chosen wedding scheme. Traditionally the wedding cake was iced to match the brides dress. Fresh flowers are still a popular choice & you can ask you florist to create to some small arrangements for you cake. Edible flowers can look very impressive & a good designer can make flowers that you will have trouble tell apart from the real thing. A good designer will be able to guide you & come up with a stunning design for your cake, try & furnish them with as much detail as possible about your dress, color schemes & venue.
Top it off
They may have been out of favor in recent years, but cake toppers are making a comeback. The traditional cake topper was a plastic version of the bride & groom, but modern toppers are far more sophisticated. Whimsical toppers, fondant characters of the bride & groom & even elaborate crowns are just some of the options available. Other toppers will match your theme such as snowflakes, or you may go for glamour & have your monogram made up to sit on top of your cake.
Check it for size
You may design a fabulous cake but will it be big enough to feed all your guests? Once the third course is over, hopefully all your guests will be full so you don’t need to serve up large portions. Your cake designer will be able to tell you how big your cake needs to be ensuring sufficient for all & on the portion size. As a general rule a 10″ cake will serve around 70 guests. A square cake is a more economical choice as there is no wastage when cutting, unlike with a round cake. If your budget is tight, have a decorated cake on display at the reception & smaller plain cakes or cutting cakes, in the kitchen for your guests.
Think about presentation
As you will have spent all that effort in designing your beautiful cake it would be a shame to let it down by bad presentation. Place it on a table on it’s own & perhaps add some flower petals or candles to showcase it perfectly. Place it somewhere it can be seen by your guests & not tucked away in a corner.
Save some for later!
Traditionally the top tier of the cake was saved for the christening of your first child. However this only works if the cake is made from fruit & hasn’t been cut into. After the wedding wraps it well & store in an air-tight container. When you come to use it strip away all the icing & ‘feed’ it with brandy to moisten it, and then re-ice. It is worth remembering that after a long period of time your cake may not taste as good as it did on your wedding day & so you may decide to enjoy it on your wedding day & forgo tradition.
Below you will find list of questions you should ask the pastry chef, baker, or cake decorator at the wedding cake bakery. It is your special day you have every right to ask questions!
Questions to ask at the bakery:
1. Can pastry chef/cake decorator create custom cake from your instructions and to look like your wedding-cake picture.
2. What flavors of wedding cake and icing are available? Or if you already have an idea what you want, ask "Can you make a (type of cake) with (flavor of icing)?"
3. Ask to sample some of the bakery's cakes. If you don't care for any of the cake samples offered by the bakery, ask for additional samples or as what other choices are available. Even if you have to order a small cake to try the baker's version of what you want, it is a small price to pay for satisfaction.
4. In case you want to use fresh flowers to decorate the wedding cake, ask if the bakery can provide them or if you or a florist must deliver them.
5. Request to see pictures of wedding cakes from their photo gallery. Take a look at their album and see if you like the looks of the cakes. Ask how old the pictures are and if the person who baked and decorated these cakes is the same person who will create yours.
6. Does the bakery, baker, pastry chef, or cake decorator has the required licenses and has passed health inspections. Licensing varies from state to state, but a bakery is probably required to be licensed as a retail food establishment or as a food preparer. The health department of the city, county, or state probably issues licenses. The baker, pastry chef, and decorator may also be required to be licensed or qualified as a food handler. You can go to most states' web sites and find out just what licensing is required so that you know what to ask for. Most bakeries will gladly let you look at the kitchen to see where the cake will be mixed, baked, decorated, and stored; this is probably as satisfying as seeing the licenses. You should probably ask to take a peek at the kitchen after asking about the licenses. You can also ask to see the results of the latest health inspection.
7. If you simply don't like frozen food and don't want it served at your wedding, ask if the wedding cake will be frozen. But understand that some people believe the taste of several cakes improves after freezing.
8. Ask how long before the wedding date the cakes will be prepared and how they will be kept until time for delivery. If you think the time or the method of storage will result in the bridal cake not being as fresh as you want, express your feeling to the person you are talking with. He or she either will explain or demonstrate that this will not be a problem or will negotiate a shorter length of storage. She may let you sample some cake kept for that length of time. Some cakes keep well when frozen, and others do not. Pound cakes and some carrot cakes seem to improve with freezing. If you are not satisfied and cannot reach some agreement, you must use another bakery.
9. To find how much time and attention will be spent on your cake, ask how many orders the bakery typically has for the weekend of your order and how many of those your pastry chef might be producing. A large volume can be an indication that not a lot of time and attention can be devoted to your cake. But a very busy bakery also indicates that many people like its products and trusts its work. Wedding cake bakery that no one likes will have plenty of time to dedicate to your cake, but that alone will not guarantee good results. Neither will a very busy bakery guarantee good results all the time. For one, you may need to check with them during the week of production to make sure that things are going well. For the other, you may want to check to make sure that your order has not somehow been overlooked among so many orders. In either case verify that your cake is in the process of being prepared.
10. Ask if the decorator is experienced and good and if he or she decorated the cakes pictured in the bakery's gallery. The point of such a question is to find out whether you will be getting the best the bakery has to offer and whether you will be served by the same personnel that did the work seen in the bakery's photo album and for the references you will contact. You may be satisfied that all decoration is supervised by a master decorator with long experience and excellent references, even though the actual work may be done by one of several less experienced decorators.
11. Ask to be introduced to each of the people who will bake, decorate, and deliver the cake. You may have questions you want to ask. If you do, ask them. For example, you might be concerned with the experience each one has. If so, you might ask how many cakes they have baked or decorated. I might be more concerned to simply ask whether they did the cakes in the bakery's album of cakes. If you have no questions, ask to meet them anyway. Introduce yourself and try to make it easy for them to remember your name and your face. Show a great pleasure at meeting the people who have created the wonderful masterpieces that have come from this bakery and tell them that you look forward to having them create your wedding cake. What you are creating is a personal relationship with these artists at the wedding cake bakery. Like all workers and artists, these people like being appreciated and will do their best work for someone who has praised them and treats them as a master of their craft. This goes as well for the person taking your order, whether it is the owner, manager, or just the order taker. I suggest that you work to make as good an impression on them as you expect them to try to make on you. Dress well when you are shopping for a bakery. You don't have to dress like you're meeting the Queen or the First Lady, but don't be dressing like you're about to be hitting the bars with your friends on your bachelorette party--not unless you dress a lot better for that than most of the young women in my neighborhood. Please try to time your visits so that the bakery is not crowded with customers. This is particularly important in smaller bakeries.
12. If you are concerned, ask whether the cake be made from scratch or from packaged mixes. Packaged mixes are so much more expensive that few busy bakeries would use them. And if they produce the wedding cake you want and it tastes good, do you care whether it's from a mix or from scratch?
13. Ask what the price will be. If the baker can give you an estimate but not the final cost, ask how much the final cost might vary from the estimate. If the baker says that they will charge by how long it takes because they charge by the hour, ask how many hours it will take and do the calculation yourself. Again, if it's an estimate of hours, ask how far the hours might vary from that estimate. If you feel uncomfortable with the bakery's commitment to giving you a number, maybe you should find another bakery.
14. Ask for customer references so that you can talk to with them. Then actually contact them and ask about their experience with the bakery. While they were probably very pleased with the bakery (otherwise you'd think the bakery would not be giving them as a reference), they may give you some pointers about how best to deal with the bakery.
15. Request a written proposal that includes the size of the cake, the flavor, the icing type and flavor, the description of the cake: Number of tiers or number of cupcakes or miniature cakes, decorations, the date and time the cake would be ready, whether it would be delivered and where and when, and the price. Some bakeries will put all of this in a proposal and some will commit to just the basic items.
Press for commitment to everything that is important to you.
