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We promise you: Your wedding cake will make
as much of a statement as your wedding gown. Looking to be sweetly inspired?
From finding a top cake designer who can create the confection of your
dreams to a guide on cake shapes, we have the goods on getting the cool cake
you crave (and eating it, too).
#1 As you start setting up appointments,
find out when each baker's next tasting is scheduled. At tastings, clients
are invited into the bakery to sample exemplary cakes, ask questions, and
review portfolios. This is an excellent opportunity to meet bakers and fully
understand the range of their abilities.
#2 When it comes to decoration, adornment
costs run the gamut. The most inexpensive option is fresh fruits or flowers
that, in some instances, can be applied by your florist for a minimal fee.
On the high-end is gum paste or sugar paste flowers, which are handmade and
extremely delicate, painstakingly constructed one petal at a time. However,
here is the bottom line: All add-ons -- including marzipan fruits,
chocolate-molded flowers, and lace points -- will raise the rate.
#3 Butter cream or fondant? That is the main
question. Buttercream is much more delicious to eat. If you love the smooth,
almost surreal-like look of fondant, consider frosting the cake in
buttercream first and then adding a layer of fondant over the entire
confection.
#4 If you are having an outdoor wedding in a
hot climate, stay away from whipped cream, meringue, and buttercream: they
melt. Ask your baker about summer icing options: Instead of pure butter,
vegetable shortening, which melts at a higher temperature, is added to
buttercream icing. This increases the cake's ability to withstand the heat.
Or go for fondant -- it does not need to be refrigerated.
#5 Be sure to ask your cake baker what his
or her going rate is. Are the cakes priced by the slice? Are different
flavors or fillings different prices? Will there be extra labor costs if the
cake is one-of-a-kind or complex? Ask for a price list.
#6 One-Way to cut costs? Order a small cake
that is decorated to perfection but can only feed a handful (or even a fake
cake made of styrofoam but one that is decorated in real sugar) and then
several sheet cakes of the same flavor to actually feed the guests.
#7 Be aware of hidden costs. If your
reception site has an in-house baker, but you bring in your own baker, you
will probably pay a fee. Ask about this when you reserve your site; a
"cutting fee" can tack another $1 (minimum) per person onto the cost of your
wedding cake.
#8 If you want to garnish your cake with
fresh flowers, find out if the cake designer will work with your florist, or
if you are responsible for the blooms. Be sure to garnish with seasonal
flowers and fruit for an elegant (but less expensive) effect.
#9 If you are using fresh blooms,
triple-check with your florist that they have not been sprayed with
pesticides. Make sure all inedible decorative elements are removed
before the cake is sliced and served.
#10 Take note: The popularity of grooms
cakes, traditionally a Southern custom, is on the rise. The bride's cake --
the one cut by the couple at the reception -- is traditionally eaten as
dessert. The groom's cake is usually darker and richer (often chocolate) and
nowadays crafted to show off the groom's passions and obsessions. Give
slices to guests as a take-home memento or cut and serve both for dessert.
#11 Many bakers agree that the idea of a
mini-cake (where each guest gets his or her own) is a great idea -- in
theory but not in practice. Not only does each cake require its own
decoration (often as intricate, if not more, than one four times its size),
each will require its own box. Unfortunately, boxes do not come in mini-cake
sizes. Often the bakery must construct individual boxes in which to
transport these cakes. Multiply by however, many guests you will be having,
and you will see what a costly, time-consuming feat this actually is -- very
different from the one, five, or 10 little cakes that a magazine might
produce for a shoot.
#12 Keep in mind, magazines (like ours) have
food stylists, editors, and assistants working nonstop to keep the cakes
looking perfect. These people spend hours fixing the sweating, dripping,
leaning, or sagging that can happen to a cake after a while, or under hot
lights. In addition, if what they do does not work, they can fix it with
PhotoShop. They also have the luxury of creating cakes from stuff that is
not edible -- most cakes in magazines are iced pieces of Styrofoam, which
from what we can tell certainly does not taste very good. So do not expect
your cake designer to be able to replicate to a T exactly what you see in
print.
#13 When it comes to drafting up a contract
make sure the date of the wedding, the deposit amount for the cake, and the
check or credit card number are all clearly indicated and legible.
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