Wedding Cakes
Wedding cakes are a part of most wedding traditions. However new trends are emerging where alternatives such as cup cakes or other desserts are 'dressed-up' to take the place of the wedding cake. Wedding cakes are not always considered the dessert of the dinner but make an appearance later in the evening (and the meal is instead followed by a separate dessert), usually after the speeches and some dancing, in between dancing and some more dancing.
Traditionally at weddings, it is the big camera opportunity where everyone wants to see the groom and the bride feed each other some delicious wedding cake. But it does not have to be, instead it might be more of a quiet thing were the cake is brought out and the groom and bride share a piece with their close family around. Or you make a big announcement and cut the cake with everyone around – really, the choice is yours.
Wedding cake decorations are fun things to play around with and an excellent opportunity to tie in an overall theme you may have used on your wedding invitations, room decorations or the colors used in the wedding. Visit a bakery with experience making wedding cakes or other alternatives such as cup cakes and ask to see their previous work. Some bakers may also let you do some free tasting or offer tasting for a discounted fee to make sure the wedding cake not only looks the way you want to but also tastes the way you hoped. An advantage with having something smaller like a cup cake is that you can often get them in different sizes so even if your guests are good and full from the dinner they may be able to squeeze in just that small cup cake. Cup cakes are also easy to eat while you mingle and talk to people and you can mix different flavors such as vanilla and chocolate and different flavored frosting. If you want to go more traditional with a wedding cake there is still lots of playing you can do here again with decorations and colors etc.
Make sure to be very clear to let the bakery know when you need to pick up the wedding cake and make a follow up call a few days before the wedding to make sure all is going as planned. If you place your order online it is still recommended to call to make sure that your order made it and to clarify any questions they baker might have regarding details of the wedding cake.
You may also want to consider delegating the responsibility of picking up the cake the day of the wedding. Ask a friend or family member to pick the cake unless the bakery will deliver directly to your reception venue. Bon appetite, enjoy your wedding cake!
Many wedding venues will offer a cake cutting service for a small fee pre guest that includes forks and dishes as well as the actual cutting of the cake. If this service is not offered, it is wise to make sure that someone is prepared to cut the cake as it can take a while to service all of your guests.
