Locate your baker well in advance, at least six months before your wedding. Good bakers can show you an album of cakes they've created and provide samples to taste.
Expect to see cakes you never imagined. Cakes are designed around fountains, bridges and family heirlooms. They can be multi-tiered, one main cake with smaller "satellite" cakes or a sheet cake. Fillings, decorations, colors and top decorations are just as varied. Fresh flowers, even blown-glass decorations top today's wedding cakes. Your baker will take your ideas and turn them into a sugar rendition.
The baker will need to know what kind of wedding you are planning, where and when it will be, and how many guests you're expecting. Request a receipt describing exactly the cake you are ordering - flavor of cake and fillings, icing style, colors and types of decorations, top decorations, and how many it will serve.
At the reception, the cake should have its own table, decorated with flowers and fern or ivy.
The cutting of the wedding cake is a charming ritual, and the highlight of the reception. Guests are signaled by the best man tapping his glass, or a burst of fanfare from the band. Using a silver knife with a beribboned handle, the bride - with the groom's hand placed over hers - cuts the first slice. He offers her a bite, and she presents a piece for him to sample, symbolizing their willingness to share their lives. The rest of the cake is sliced by an attendant and served as dessert.
It's an extra treat to have a groom's cake - usually chocolate - contrasting with the white, elaborately iced wedding cake. The groom's cake may also be served for dessert, or packed in small white boxes for guests to take home as a memento.
Suggested Questions
When should I order my cake?
When does payment have to be made?
Is your specialty wedding cakes?
What type of wedding cakes do you offer?
Do you have a certain flavor or style you specialize in?
Do you offer a taste test of the cake and frosting?
When do you deliver and set up the cake?
Is a cake knife supplied? Or sold?
When are the support pieces to be returned?
Can you make flavors? What styles and colors are available?
