Where to start?
The cake is the centre piece of the wedding reception and with all the shapes, sizes, flavors and patterns around this can be indeed a confusing experience for any bride or groom. Choosing the wedding cake is a process that should involve the couple, wedding planner and close family and friends involved in planning your wedding. You could start with the following ideas.
Baker
Visit your local wedding cake shops and meet up with the different bakers and pastry chefs. You want someone who is open to your ideas and capable of delivering what you’re looking for within budget. It’s a great idea to meet several bakers in order to make the best decision; every baker has a unique style and some specialize in a certain area such as sugar crafts. Go through their portfolio, references, websites, picture galleries and any other information that will help you judge their previous work. Then choose your ideal cake baker and book them at least nine months in advance.
It’s all about you
Come up with your wedding cake style. The Baker will ask a few questions that will assist him in designing your ideal wedding cake. Questions the baker will ask may include: what is your wedding theme? What is your wedding color? How many guests do you expect? Do you have any pictures of your dream wedding cake? How much do you intend to spend on the wedding cake? Any ideas on how you would want to customize your wedding cake decorations? Would you like to use shells, flowers, ribbons, buttons, lace, e.t.c.? The Baker will then be able to advise you appropriately and draw up your cake design.
What’s your flavor?
The wedding cake should look good and taste good as well. Different couples opt for different wedding cake flavors as a matter of personal preference. The couple could opt to have all the tiers in different flavors. The flavors chosen could be the bride and groom’s favorite flavors. The baker will help you with this .Amongst the most popular flavors include vanilla, carrot, marble lemon among others. The baker will organize a sampling to enable you to choose your flavor.
Ask your baker if your cake will be fresh or frozen. With the price you’re paying, you’d want your cake to be as fresh as possible. Some bakers, for logistics purposes, bake the layers early and put them in the freezer, and take them out only when it’s time to decorate. Consider the weather and the venue of the wedding reception. Certain climates are not conducive for certain icings; if you’re having an outdoor wedding in a hot climate, stay away from whipped cream, meringue, and butter cream because they melt.
Wedding cake cost
The bakers are able to come up with your wedding cake costs based on the following factors:
- Quality of ingredients
- Labor involved
- Number of guests to be served
- Wedding Cake Style
- Cost of delivery & setup
Have this in mind when you are choosing your wedding style and theme because some designs prove to be very costly.
Delivery & Installation
Remember to enquire about the wedding cake delivery and installation for the actual wedding day. Get details about the cost of delivery. Most bakers often include this in their wedding cake cost, but in cases where this fee is charged separately, the fee is worth your peace of mind.
Most bakers have professionally trained staff who will decorate the cake table in the theme color and will also set it up properly on the chosen cake stands. The Wedding Planner or Bridal couple should allocate a contact person for the baker so that they can liaise with the baker and his team, on the morning of the setup.
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Wanjiku Kariuki is a certified wedding planner and coordinator and is the lead consultant of Waridikenya.com, a Kenyan wedding website.