Wedding Cake Do it yourself

There are two things you want in your dream wedding cake, that is if you choose to have a cake. The first being, it must taste good! Don’t skimp in this area. Many guests look forward to this treat and it should be tasty. If you know someone that makes absolutely delicious cakes then by all means use them, you will save considerable money by having someone you know make your cake.

However, if you are holding your reception at a commercial site, they generally have rules about bringing in food that is not from an established bakery and require a health department certificate. If you are hosting your reception at home or a park, then this is generally not a problem and you can save substantial money and have a delicious tasting cake.

The second item you need to determine is how the cake looks. Will it fit with your theme? My best advice is to visit the person or establishment that will be baking your cake and have a taste testing party. By all means, bring family and friends as everyone’s tastes are different. Many of the new style cakes are displayed on separate pedestals giving you many options and making it easier if you can’t decide on a particular design or flavor. This way you can have a different flavor of cake and filling in each layer. The most important item of course is cost. Make sure you that it fits within your budget.

How to make your own wedding cake

Suggestion:

If you live in an urban area, consider searching for a more rural bakery that will charge less and deliver to your reception regardless of reception area. Large metropolitan areas tend to charge higher prices.

Suggestion

Separate pedestal at varying heights can serve different flavors and fillings, as well as each could be decorated differently. See picture above, that I made myself.

Choices:

When choosing your cake flavor and filling, consider your guests in this matter. The reality is that you will probably have just a bite and not really have time to enjoy it, so just because you don’t like chocolate, doesn't mean that your guests don't either. Give them what they like. Moreover, don’t choose a very unique flavor like peanut butter as the only choice, as there may be some guests that are allergic to peanut oil. They may take a bite not knowing it is peanut butter and have a severe reaction. You best choice might be to offer varied and different flavors in different layers.

When speaking to a bakery or fiend let them know that the cake should tie in with both color and presentation.

1. Make sure that they can deliver at the time you specify or as specified by your reception complex. Some bakeries take multiple bookings and have conflicts when it comes to delivery time; or may bake so far ahead in order to meet the demand that the cake is numerous days old. Check this out with your baker as to when they will actually bake the cake. You will feel better with your choice when asking these questions. Friends will bake just before the wedding and the cake will be fresh.

2. Also, inquire if they will setup and decorate at the site. Many will simply drop the cake on a table and leave table decorating to the reception vendor. This is fine, but make sure there is an understanding as to who will decorate the table, the vendor or the baker. Also make sure this is stipulated in the contract with details of how you want the table decorated. Some couples desire candles, flowers, tulle or even pictures. If there are items to be placed on the table, make sure they are on site and available for the person decorating the table.

Cake Theme IDEA:

An idea might be to have the same style cake as your parents. If this is the case, have a picture of the cake on the table next to yours and document the date. This may make your parents very happy, especially if you have a close relationship with your family and are having a family theme wedding. There are hundreds of ideas to bring in family memorabilia and the cake is just another aspect. It doesn’t have to be the same flavor(s), but decorated similarly.