Make Wedding Cake Shopping a Piece of Cake!
It’s not every day you hire a baker to make a show-stopping dessert to feed your closest family and friends, so the planning can be tricky.
Follow these 5 tips to make cake shopping a piece of cake:
1. Prepare yourself for the cost- Cakes are usually priced per slice, from $3 sometimes up to $20. The price depends on how complicated and labor-intensive your design will be. To save money, you could order a plainly frosted creation and add your own DIY elements. Fresh flowers or a cute cake topper are great ways to accent your cake. Or if you want the baker to make your cake a work of art, budget accordingly.
2. Bring visuals to your meeting- Your idea of a vintage vibe or what the color light pink looks like may be different than your baker’s idea, so bring as many visuals as possible. Show them your colors, your invites, etc. This will be the starting point for a conversation you will have at your meeting about the design and style of your cake. You will also discuss flavors, and it is important to take the baker’s advice into consideration. They will be able to guide you toward flavors that will complement each other, and steer you away from the ones that will clash.
3. Know your frosting- Buttercream is generally thought to taste best but is fragile. It melts very quickly in the summer so it needs special storage and should be kept indoors if you are marrying in the warmer months. Fondant is the other major category. This icing, often rolled out, makes a porcelain-like finish and can preserve the integrity of the cake. If you go to a baker with great skill, they can easily make a buttercream cake look just as good, if not better than a fondant cake AND it will taste great. Now that is a win-win situation for you!
4. Have a good estimate of your guest count and listen to the baker’s advice- You’ll want to know how many guests are attending, because this detail impacts your cake’s design, and will determine how many tiers your cake will be. If your baker says for your guest count 3 tiers will be perfect, do not insist on having 5. If you had 5 tiers, the proportions of the cake will be really off by spreading the serving size out that many tiers and a good baker will explain this to you. It is important you listen to their professional advice, they know if your vision will translate into a nightmare or a beautiful reality!
5. Enjoy the experience!- You are designing a yummy treat for your guests who are there to show support and celebrate the beginning of your lives together. At the end of your wedding day, the important part is that you married the love of your life! Never forget that throughout the wedding planning process.