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A delightful and delicious cake caps off a
wonderful wedding and offers yet another way to
show your personal style. There are as many cake
designs as there are wedding gowns, and it pays to
do your research before making a choice.
Variety is the spice of life and there are
certainly a wide variety of flavors available in the
wedding cake market. Gone are the days of the
cake that is white inside and out. Contemporary
cakes come in flavors ranging from carrot and
lemon sponge to chocolate mousse with mocha
filling, and ice cream cakes, fruit basket cakes...
the choices are limitless. If you have a favorite
cake, chances are, those flavors can be integrated
into your wedding celebration.
As for design, your imagination certainly
seems to be the limit for how your wedding cake
will look. Some of the most popular choices are
white chocolate, cream cheese and traditional
butter cream frosting—either white or colored.
Rolled fondant is a popular choice because of its
elegant, smooth porcelain-like look and the ease
with which confectioners can sculpt it. Sugar
paste flowers and other decorations make the
modern wedding cake a true expression of who
the two of you are. Bakers today have become
true artists when it comes to decorating your
wedding cake.
While the round tiered cake is still the most
popular, many couples are opting for more creative interpretations of the wedding cake. Square or hexagonal
cakes make a stunning impression, as do those with overall patterns.
Bands of color, ribbon and even gemstones are making a big
splash in the wedding cake market.
If theme is an important aspect of your wedding, ask your baker
to incorporate some of those design elements into your cake as
well. Asian themes, bright colors, filigree designs, even custom
“artwork” on a wedding cake are all possibilities.
On the other hand, many couples are mixing things up and offering
other desserts in addition to their wedding cake. Others are
opting for a dessert bar stocked with family favorites, impressive
towers of cupcakes, cookies, chocolate fountains, even s’mores.
When selecting a bakery, find one that specializes in wedding
cakes. Ask for references from friends, hotels, reception sites,
bridal consultants and other wedding professionals. If your favorite
bakery is in another town, ask about shipping. Many couture bakeries
are now offering delivery of wedding cakes within a specified
distance.
Most bakeries will offer you a book of photographs showing
some of their previous designs, and will let you sample some of
the most popular flavors. Bringing photographs or color swatches
of elements you’d like to incorporate into your design will help. If
you don’t see what you have in mind, discuss your ideas with your
baker. Likewise, if you would like to incorporate a cake topper into
the design, share this information with your baker from the beginning.
Aside from design and flavor, the baker will need to know how
many guests will be served. Be sure to ask about cake sizes, delivery charges, payment schedules and deposits during your meeting.
You might also discuss ways to economize, such as false layers,
ordering a smaller decorative cake and serving some of your
guests from a separate sheet cake. As the cakes are often cut for
serving away from the guests, most will not know which pieces
came from the tiered cake and which came from a same-flavor
sheet cake.
The flowers may bring the romance to your event, your gown
may make you feel like queen for the day, but the wedding dessert
can certainly bring the wow factor to your reception.
Some of our favorite cakes this year include those in nontraditional
colors, such as these stunning orange and pink
confections shown here. How about the garden of delights that
results when a creative baker adorns a cake with realistic looking
sugar paste flowers? We’ve drawn inspiration here from some
magnificent creations in Sedona, San Francisco, and right here
in Phoenix.
Replicating a pattern from the bride’s wedding dress or the
table décor brings the event theme to the forefront. Monograms
and cake jewels also take a cake from plain to spectacular.
We have seen wedding cakes adorned with flowers, sea shells,
peacock feathers, favorite candies, even cookies fashioned to
resemble tiny Venetian mardi gras masks. Dream a little dream
and, together with the right baker, you’ll have a wonderful
creation to cap off your wedding reception.
It is a long-held tradition to save the top tier of the wedding cake
for the couple to enjoy on their first anniversary. Many couples
arrange for the wait staff at the reception site to remove this tier
before they begin serving the guests. Often a friend or relative
will take the cake to the couple’s home and place it in the freezer.
Other couples like the sentiment of this tradition but would
rather have a fresh cake. Those couple usually ask the baker to
make a new small cake for their first-anniversary celebration.
Photography courtesy of:
Sedona Bride
Cakes courtesy of:
Sedona Cake Couture |
