Wedding Cakes

As wedding cakes are a focal point of your wedding, a lot of time and thought is being put into them – you want it to match the theme of the day, match your ‘dress’ etc. and it can often be the second most important decision after the dress. The flavour of the cake itself, the colour of the icing (frosting), the size and shape of the tiers, the type of decorations, and the style of the topper can all be customized to suit your wedding  e.g. a beach themed wedding could have the cake decorated in pale blue with shells and starfish make out of moulded icing, or a winter wedding cake decorated in all white with snowflakes gently falling down the sides. Flowers also make a great feature on your wedding cake, whether they are fresh flowers to match those in your bouquet, or iced flowers cascading down the side of your cake. Ribbons are also a simple yet effective way to decorate your cake and to tie it into your colour scheme.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Tracy Hunter

Simple But Elegant DIY Wedding Cake Decorated With Ribbon And Fresh Flowers

Traditional wedding cakes may also have a topper, which can include such symbols such as the usual bride and groom, intertwined hearts, kissing doves, tilted champagne glasses, or a decorative horse shoe for good luck. Some couples design a wedding monogram that will feature on their wedding stationery and this monogram can also be copied in icing to use as a stylish cake topper. Wedding jewelry for the top of your cake is also a popular trend or you could incorporate a family heirloom or a piece of antique jewellery (i.e. a brooch) as a cake topper, and it is a good way to include your ‘something old’ in your wedding.

There are lots of variety of cakes you can select for your wedding cake i.e. Chocolate Mud, White Chocolate, Carrot, Lemon, White, Yellow, Red Velvet as well as the traditional fruit cake. You don’t need to be worried that if you select a lighter cake such as a lemon cake that it won’t work as a wedding cake. Each layer is actually supported by dowel or straws so you don’t need to have a dense cake like fruit or mud. You can even use different flavors and fillings in different tiers/ layers if you wish.

However this all comes at a cost, with wedding cakes costing up to $50 per person, they can take up quite a chuck of your wedding budget. Below are some tips for saving money when organising your cake whether, it be through a professional or DIY:

 

Saving Money On Your Wedding Cake

  • Caterers may charge to slice the cake if they didn’t make it, so factor this in when pricing caterers and cake decorators
  • If you want to use a professional decorator - ask friends/ relatives to give a recommendation
  • Limit the tiers on your cake. Ask whether the top tier is used when calculating the amount of cake per person – mostly this isn’t included in the calculation (if using a professional decorator) as it is tradition to save it for your first anniversary or to serve at the christening/ naming ceremony of your first child. Immediately you can save 1 tier and if you do want a tier for your first anniversary you can always go to the same baker and get them to make you a fresh one as your first anniversary nears. This will also help you avoid having to freeze your cake – I froze the top tier of my wedding cake when I was married but lost it anyway as we had a power outage and it was ruined!
  • Not all tiers need to be cake – so if you want the drama of a multi-tiered cake but but not the price tag, you can have some iced (frosted)tiers make out of styrofoam.
  • You can also rent a wedding cake – using the same concept as above, but the whole cake is iced (frosted) styrofoam. Guests are the served a slab (sheet) cake which you can have iced (frosted) by a local bakery, which will be very cost effective as the decoration needed is minimal.
  • You could even make the slab (sheet) cake yourself, and there isn’t any pressure to have perfect icing (frosting), as it won’t be seen as a whole cake by anyone except kitchen staff.
  • You can get a one tier cake decorated for the ‘cutting the cake’ ceremony and have a slab (sheet) cake in the kitchen to serve guests
  • having a slab (sheet) cake also saves time between the ‘cutting’ and ‘serving’ of the cake. The usual process is to cut the cake and then take it back to the kitchen to be cut and then served, however with a slab (sheet) cake, it can be already cut and ready to serve almost immediately – which is great if your cake is also doubling as your dessert
  • You or a friend/family member can make the cake and have it professionally decorated. This may save a bit, but most of the cost is in the decorating.
  • As I said above, most of the cost of a wedding cake is in the labor i.e. hand made flowers etc. so choose a simply decorated cake to save money. This doesn’t mean it has to be plain, introduce your theme colors through the use of coloured icing (frosting), ribbons and/or fresh flowers (just make sure the flowers haven’t been sprayed with pesticides etc)
  • Plain cakes are the cheapest e.g. white, yellow or sponge
  • Butter creams will be the cheapest option for icing (frosting) but fillings add to the cost e.g. lemon curd, mousse, ganache, cream cheese

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Tracy Hunter

A Simple But Amazing DIY Wedding Cake Decorated With Choc Dipped Strawberries

  • Cupcakes are becoming a very popular alternative to tiered wedding cakes and are a lot more cost effective, depending on the amount of decoration on each. They allow for individual serves and can also be presented as a favor.
  • Cupcakes are a lot easier to make and decorate yourself

Dana Point wedding cupcake tower
Creative Commons License photo credit: kristin_a (Meringue Bake Shop)

A Simple Cupcake DIY Wedding Cake

  • Get your cake to do double duty – as a focal point at your reception and it can be served as your dessert course. If you plan to do this, ensure it is taken into the calculations of how much cake is needed – to serve as a dessert will mean a bigger portion size therefore more cake!
  • Toppers can be very expensive. Bold patterned wedding cakes and cupcake towers are both popular wedding cake trends and these could look overdone with anything on the top.  If you don’t think your wedding cake needs a topper, there’s no real reason to have one.
  • Why not try making the cake yourself or do you have a great baker in the family. There are lots of great video clips in ‘Make A Wedding Cake’ with recipes for different favor cakes and icings (frostings) and step by step instructions making, baking and decorating your wedding cake
  • epicurious – easy to follow directions and videos for a diy wedding cake – go to wedding cake category to see other recipes and ideas
  • I love this tip for icing a wedding cake – it would certainly make getting the icing smooth a lot easier especially if you are inexperienced
  • Staging your cake is also very important  – the right stand, lighting (under-table, candles) and decoration on the table (precious photographs of you as a couple or as children, or classic old photographs of parents or grandparents on their wedding day, flower petals and fun confetti) will ensure your cake is displayed at it’s best. Also, use you throw-away bouquet in a vase on the cake table – helps in the decoration and you will know where it is when it is time to throw it.
  • Also pay attention to the area around the cake table. Your wedding cake can be a focal point for photographers, friends and family, as they will be gathered around the table, so you will want the whole area to be beautiful – e.g. you could use a backdrop behind the table
  • Below is a simply iced (frosted) cake but what a difference a fresh flowers and ivy make

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Tracy Hunter

  • the number of tiers you need and sizes is determined by the number of guests you are having at your wedding. This chart it will help you work what you need if you are making your wedding cake
  • NuptualsTV’s video on Wedding Cake Etiquette will be a useful video to look at when planning your wedding
  • check out cooking schools in your area – you may be able to get a student who has specialized in cake decorating to do your cake for cheap. Make sure you check their work first
  • Wilton has a great guide for cutting up your cake if you are catering yourself

 

Hope this helps with sticking to your budget for your wedding.

K    xoxo