Wedding Cakes KnowHow

So ever wonder what it takes to make your Wedding Cake? For Most of you ,Couples, this will be uncharted territory! And thankfully for most of you, you won't have to go thru it again so of ALL things in life, perhaps ordering/getting/dreaming about your Wedding Cake will be one of the few things you will only do once!

I have Brides telling me "I don't really know what to do" and to be fair , it is completely understandable. You want something, you don't really know what and then you are assaulted by a huge amount of image information while researching for a Wedding Cake. Not easy and can be confusing.

So , I thought to put together some thoughts about what to consider when going thru the process, not about Design or Flavours or Colours as I think these are very personal to every Bride/Groom but about what you should be asking or should know. So here is my Wedding Cakes KnowHow thoughts...

1. DO have a Budget. And be realistic with it! If you are having a party for 300 people and a Budget of £300 then you are better off not having a Cake or decorating it yourself [ added stress ] or going to a major supermarket and getting some fairy cakes.

2. DO NOT Compromise with Style. Have a smaller Cake if you fancy a beautiful elaborated Design. Not everyone have Cake at a Wedding. and only you will truly care how fanciful it is! It will be part of your memories! It'll be always in your pictures!!

3. PLAN for 10-20% less Cake than the number of Guests you are having at your Reception. Some people will not notice where the Cake has gone, mostly the young crowd. It helps you with your budget/design and reduces the wastage of Cake at the end of the day. Unless you are planning to send some by post to those who couldn't attend [ and those who did and forgot ] I always think that catering for a slightly less number is wiser.

4 .ASK for alternatives if having a really REALLY Big Reception. Serving/Cutting Cakes are basic Cakes with no decoration for cutting and giving to guests, they will be non the wiser with this and reduce the cost of your Main Cake [ i.e. Could be smaller and more striking design for example]

5. If you want a fabulous Cake, ASK your Cake Designer if they can use Dummies for some Tiers. This idea would reduce the overall cost and allows you to have a much bigger , maybe taller Cake.

6. BE very realistic about Sugar Flowers and even Fresh Flowers. This is one of the most expensive items to go on a Wedding Cake. It takes time to make them, especially rare Flowers and materials are expensive as well. Most Cake Designers will include 2-3 in the overall cost of your Cake but if you want a lot more, expect to pay a lot more for each one of them!

7. Fresh Flowers? Think ORGANIC. And slightly more expensive. All flowers sold commercially are grown using pesticides. Some might be safe for Humans but remember the Flowers will be in contact with your Cake and these pesticides are not for Human consumption. Ask your Florist and Cake Designer and make sure when using Fresh Flowers.

8. NAKED Cake? After doing your 10-20% less excersice, go back up by 10%. Why? Naked Cakes will be, well , naked to the enviroment and will go drier around the outside quicker than covered Cakes.

9. Always make sure your wired Sugar Flowers are not directly inserted into the Cake. They should go into posy picks. Toothpicks are fine, they are after all safe for Us but Wires are a no-no. And always be careful with the little ones. They do love a Sugar Rush and likes bees to honey , are attracted to Sugar Flowers and all the Decoration on your Cake. Make sure with your Cake Designer.

10. ASK for an Allergen Report from your Cake Maker! It is always important to know roughly what went into the Cake in case someone has an allergy!

11. Make it your OWN. You like something but with your Cake maker you can take it and make it yours! Maybe even better!

12. Trends are just Trends. They are not there to be followed religiously, just as information, so don't be put off if you want something that isn't fashionable right now. This applies to Colours and Flavours too.

Wedding Cakes are expensive because they take longer than standard Cakes. There should be a maximum attention to detail. Flowers are hand crafted weeks before assembling, Cakes are baked days in advance and covered so they do not go dry , covered in fondant, decorated and assembled, maybe even hand painted! It is a long process that involves a lot of caring and passion. It's all these that goes into the price of a Wedding Cake. Remember that, it is not the ingredients for the Cake itself that cost but all the other details and artistic input from whoever designs your Cake. Some people appreciate it.

Hope you enjoy reading my little mini Guide here...now back to work on my first exhibition....Hopefully I can actually released some infor soon!!!

Nite Nite!