The perfect cake is key to any fabulous reception but picking a wedding cake is not quite so simple as picking a birthday cake. Here are some of the many factors you might need to take into consideration. Mary Alice Yeskey of Charm City Cakes located in Baltimore helped to provide us with a better understanding of the cake choosing process. Although many couples think of design first, she noted that factors like cost and flavor need to be taken into consideration too.
Astrid Photography featuring Charm City Cakes
Cost:
This is no grocery store sheet cake and will need to be factored into the total wedding budget. You can expect your cake to run anywhere from $1.50 to $12.50 a slice. The range could stem from a minimum of $100 for a very small and simple cake to thousands for a large and extravagant cake! How big of a role you want your wedding cake to be in your budget is your choice.
Flavor:
More wedding cake flavors exist than you could even imagine, sponge cake, ganache cake, banana cake, devil’s food cake, mocha cake, red velvet, how on earth are you supposed to pick one? Charm City Cakes has unique flavors such as green tea and ginger too. Do you and your fiancé both have a favorite flavor together, a deep dark chocolate perhaps? Did you eat a certain cake flavor on your first date, maybe red velvet? Or would you like a seasonal flavor like a carrot or pumpkin spice flavor in the Fall? More than one flavor can also be incorporated into the layers of your cake. Whichever company you chose to create your cake will allow you test most if not all of the flavors available. Charm City Cakes allows couples to choose which flavors they would like to sample and bakes the samples fresh for them that day. You even get to take your box of flavors home that night too! Pick whichever one you think your guests will enjoy the most and you won’t mind eating again from the freezer on your first anniversary.
Frosting:
To match that cake you need the perfect frosting as well. Whether you love buttercream, cream cheese, or the decadent designs of rolled fondant – there are plenty of options when it comes to selecting the perfect topping! Read our Frosting Dictionary to help create the perfect match. It’s important to know that many of the more intricate designs that you see on wedding cakes must be created with fondant, so your frosting preferences may be more limited with certain designs or styles!
Décor:
Layers, flowers, designs, ribbons, pearls and diamonds o my! The design of the overall cake should flow well with the theme and décor of the wedding. Having a preppy wedding? Use a Kelly green ribbon and simple flowers to accent the cake. Having an extravagant affair with shimmer and shine? Carefully intertwined pearls with gorgeous frosted flowers and patterns can be just stunning. Popular trends these days? According to Yeskey, “A lot of the hottest designs feature fondant and gumpaste work on the surface of the cake to create textures that mimic fabric, ruffles, and layers of shadow. Flowers are getting simpler and cleaner.” Tangerines, golds, and grays are some of the popular shades at the moment too.
Sources: Martha Stewart & Mary Alice Yeskey of Charm City Cakes .
