Wedding Cake Hunting Tips

Many couples consider the wedding cake as one of the more important pieces of the wedding. There are a few things about the wedding that people will remember and those are the wedding dress, the vows, the decorations and the wedding cake. The wedding cake is a tradition and is often used as a backdrop for some of the pictures. So it is not something to be decided upon lightly, you will need to put some thought into it.

The two things that will be deciding factors in choosing a wedding cake will be your budget and the theme of your wedding. Like your wedding dress, you will want to make sure there is enough time to order and have the cake decorated and delivered on time for the wedding. You should begin shopping around about 6 months before the wedding. Below you will find some tips to help you in finding a fantastic wedding cake for your big day.

Before Shopping Around

Before you even start shopping around, you may want to consider looking online and in bridal magazines for ideas of what types of wedding cakes you might be interested in. The other thing you will need to figure out before you begin shopping will be your budget. Wedding cakes can run between $300 and up to $1,000, depending on how ornate the cake is decorated as well as the size and shape of the wedding cake. One idea for saving is to make and decorate it yourself, or even a friend or relative that would love to make you a beautiful wedding cake as their gift to you. Here's a great place to find recipes and step-by-step decorating and baking instructions.

The Shopping Begins

Once you begin shopping around for your wedding cake you may want to make a list of all the places you can possibly find one. Ask around about bakeries, caterers, or maybe even the supermarket's bakery. If there are cake decorating classes offered in your area, you could check with the instructor to find out if they could recommend someone.

The Cost

You should be finding out the cost and what is included along with how much the deposit will be. The flavor of the cake could be anything from the traditional pound cake or sponge cake to chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, lemon, chocolate chip, marble, fruit cake or some variations of those. Or you could even opt for pies, pastries, cupcakes, doughnuts or even pudding. You will also need to discuss ingredients. If you or any of your guests have known allergies to gluten, nuts, eggs or milk, you will certainly want to make sure your cake will be safe for them. The baker should be able to arrange for you to sample of the flavor of the cake you will be ordering.

The decorations on the wedding cake can make a big difference in the price. You may want to consider fresh flowers, artificial flowers or even fruit as opposed to some of the ornate frosting or gum paste decorations. Deciding on one flavor of cake may also help to keep costs down. If you have your heart set on a multi-tiered cake, you may want to ask about dummy layers made out of Styrofoam or cardboard decorated as some of the upper layers of your cake. This will save you about half of what you would pay to have those layers real. Or you could have a smaller cake with a sheet cake in the kitchen to serve the guests. The guests do not have to know your secrets.

Other Things to Consider

There are a few things to make sure your baker knows is the venue of your reception and whether it will be held indoors or outdoors, in a garden or at the beach. The time of year you are getting married can make a difference on the type of icing and decorations used on your cake if it will be outdoors. Your baker should be able to give you some suggestions on how to keep your wedding cake looking beautiful until it is time for it to be cut.

One more thing to consider is to make sure the table your wedding cake will be displayed on is sturdy and is set up in a safe place in the room, for example you would not want it set up near the dance floor where a catastrophe is waiting to happen.

One thing to keep in mind while shopping for your wedding cake is to enjoy this part of the journey, it could be one of the best tasting. Happy Hunting and Best Wishes!