When choosing a Wedding Cake Designer you should give at least 6 months notice. Not only does this give time for your fruit cakes to be matured but GOOD cake designers do get booked very quickly. Some take bookings a year or more in advance.

Gaynor Collingwood from Cakesunlimited explains...

During your initial consultation your cake designer should be able to offer you a tasting of wedding cakes in order for you to choose whether you want fruit, sponge, chocolate or something different like carrot cake or a flavoured sponge. Next you need to decide how many portions you need from your cake. This will depend on number of guests and whether you wish to keep your top tier [traditionally for the Christening of your first child] As for decoration - you should take with you any pictures you may have found in magazines along with colour swatches of your bridesmaids dresses if you want the colour incorporated into your cake. If you want hand made sugar flowers on your cake ask your florist for the names of the flowers you have chosen in your bouquet so that your decorator can reproduce them in icing.

Your chosen decorator should be able to show you pictures of their past work and NOT just pictures in magazines or books. Also thank you letters or cards from satisfied customers are always a good indication of the quality of past creations. You should also discuss whether your decorator will deliver and set up your cake for you at your reception venue.

Be very careful if a well-meaning friend or relative offers to make your cake. A wedding cake is a lot different to making the odd novelty cake here and there. Disasters can happen for instance when the cakes have not been cooked for long enough or the other extreme been cooked for too long and are burnt and dry. Or icing that hasn't had time to set. Cakes set up without dowels can collapse - and you don't want to be featured on TV's Wedding Video Clip Disasters!!

© Gaynor Collingwood - Cakesunlimited.net

Back to the Wedding Articles