Wedding Cake & Wedding Caterer
Wedding Cake Basics: Choosing the Perfect Cake
Wedding Cake
Your wedding cake may be the centerpiece for your entire wedding, so you’ll most likely be putting a lot of thought into choosing just the right one. Even if you intend to stick with a basic tiered cake, you’ll still be faced with many choices regarding flavours and decorations. When shopping for the right cake, be sure to choose a baker who is willing to work with you and understands what you want.
Before Shopping For Your Wedding Cake
Before you start tasting samples and designing an elaborate blueprint for your cake there are a few things you’ll need to think about first. No matter how simple you’re wedding’s theme is, you’ll want your cake to match the rest of that colour scheme or any other type of theme you’ve chosen. As one of your biggest visual highlights, your wedding cake will play a key role in tying your theme together.
Know your budget before negotiating with your baker. You should have your guest list established beforehand to give yourself an idea on how many servings you’ll need. Cake size, type of icing, and number of hand-made decorations will all play a part in your final cost so it’s important to have an amount you’re willing to spend in mind before allowing your bank account to be seduced by designer decorations and fancy frostings.
Do Your Research
Before deciding on any particular bakery, read reviews and get referrals. Don’t hesitate to ask every question you have, such as what kind of delivery method your baker uses and is there an extra fee for that service. Educate yourself on the different icing options such as fondant, butter cream, and sugar icings. Taste everything, get samples, and bring a trusted friend or family member along to give second opinions. Once you’ve settled on a baker, make sure they understand your timeline and any other expectations you may have.
Unconventional Cakes
Not all wedding cakes have to be a standard, white, tiered cake from your local bridal shop. Some other ideas you may want to consider are tiered cupcake trays with delicious little mini cakes decorated to suit your theme. Perhaps you’d rather go with a smaller wedding cake for each table which will double as your centerpiece. Having your cake made by friends or family can also give an added personal touch to your wedding.
Wedding Planning: Choosing the Best Caterer for Your Wedding
Some of the biggest hassles that come with wedding planning are related to catering or food issues. You may get a surprisingly large bill loaded with additional charges or the food doesn’t taste anything like you’d expected. This doesn’t have to be the case as long as you do your research and ask all the right questions. By choosing a caterer with good references you can trust, the dining experience for your wedding will be pleasurable instead of stressful.
Hire Someone You Can Work With
Not all personality types can work together and some caterers may be either too pushy or too flexible for your needs. If you aren’t picky about your menu and want your caterer to make all your decisions for you, hire a caterer that is comfortable working with those parameters. On the other hand, a fussy chef that wants to do things their own way isn’t going to work out for you if you already have the perfect wedding dinner in mind.
Cater to Your Guests
It’s your wedding and you should definitely get your way in every respect, but keep in mind that some of your guests could be vegetarians or have food allergies. You can ask for this information on your invitation response cards and keep their answers in mind when designing your menu. If there are going to be quite a few children at your reception, it might be a good idea to have a kid friendly option available as well, especially if your dinner choices are intended for more adult tastes.
Decisions for the Bar
If your caterer is setting up and staffing your bar make sure you’re clear on how you’ll be getting charged for any drinks served. Will you have a cash bar for all or part of the night? Do you pay per bottle opened? Are there only certain drinks, such as beer, wine, and soft drinks, which you’ll be serving? Be sure that your caterer has all their proper licensing and insurance as well before your wedding day arrives.
Read All the Fine Print
Extra costs could be included for some things such as cake cutting, overtime, cancellation fees, and linens or tablecloths. Make sure you know everything that could appear on your bill so you have the option of declining or approving certain services in advance. Get everything in writing and make sure you and your caterer are in full agreement on your total costs. Discuss what kind of payment schedule you’d like to work out before you get the bill. By being prepared and informed, you should be able to avoid nearly every hassle or disaster that could come with your dinners and drinks.
Using a Theme When Planning Your Wedding
Regardless of how simple you want your wedding to be, you’ll need to follow some kind of theme, even if that theme is just “minimalism”. Determining your theme early on will help with your budgeting and planning and will let all the other little details fall into place much more naturally. Once your theme is established you’ll have a much less complicated time of choosing floral arrangements, dresses, and decorations.
Purchase After You Plan
Don’t buy anything until you’ve settled on a theme and you’re sure that’s what you want. It can be a big hassle to buy a dress you thought was your dream dress only to find it clashes completely with the rest of your theme. Anything you do buy, save all your receipts and be aware of any return policies before you leave the store. Once you have a colour scheme to follow and have visualized what you’d like your wedding to look like you’ll be able to co-ordinate your shopping efforts to ensure your flowers match your bridesmaid’s dresses and your wedding cake.
Planning a Theme around Your Wedding Date
If you aren’t already set on a theme but know your date, creating a theme that ties into that day can be a creative way to celebrate your marriage. A Valentine’s Day wedding could give you plenty of options with pink, red, and white colours along with some heart and cupid designs. For autumn weddings any earthy colours and natural leafy and pine looking decorations can add quite a bit of romance through nature. You may even choose to go a little darker and add some spook to your wedding for an October 31st wedding date. For a true white wedding, getting married in the winter can give you beautiful colour options with light blues and sparkling whites.
Keep Your Guests Informed
Whatever your theme, be sure your guests know how to dress. If you’re having a princess or renaissance type of theme, letting them know on their invitations will give them the opportunity to match their wardrobe to your theme if they’d like. If you expect your guests to dress in strict formal wear, be clear about it on the invitation. Especially for any wedding at an extremely casual venue, such as a sandy beach, let your guest know if casual wear and sandals are acceptable. If you’re guests are properly prepared, they’ll be much more comfortable and be able to more fully enjoy your wedding.
You may choose to have a theme for just your reception or you may use the same theme for your ceremony as well. Traditional white weddings are no longer the standard, so don’t be afraid to have fun with your wedding and get creative with your theme. Just be sure to plan out all the details of your wedding in advance and shape your budget around that before you start putting deposits down on anything.