A beautifully decorated wedding cake is often the featured attraction at your wedding reception. Guests will surround the cake as the newlyweds cut the first slices and feed them to each other. Then everyone dives in for their sugary reward. Wedding cakes are a major traditional element in any wedding and are one of the top three or four decisions that every couple must make. However, choosing a wedding cake usually involves more than just one choice.
First of all, you must decide what type of cake you want. The traditional wedding cake is white and lightly flavored. But recently, chocolate wedding cakes have become much more popular. Even red velvet cake is making a strong showing at some weddings. For brides who can't decide, it's also possible now to have a different flavor for each cake layer.
Once you've decided on the type of cake you want, the next decision is shape. The classic wedding cake is normally round, but square wedding cakes are also quite popular. The shape of your wedding cake is probably one decision that you can make based purely on your personal preference. Any baker that you visit should have a portfolio of cakes they've done in the past which should help you decide between round and square wedding cakes. Of course, in today's world of personalization, you can probably have any shape that you desire.
You'll also need to decide how tall you want your wedding cake to be. The height of wedding cakes is normally measured in tiers. Tiers can be stacked one on top of the other, or they may be placed on cake stands. When you're deciding on how many tiers you want your wedding cake to have, you'll have to balance the number of guests against the size of your budget. More guests will eat more cake which means you'll need more tiers which costs more money.
Every wedding cake needs a cake topper. These can range from traditional bride and groom figurines to formal monograms to informal, anything-goes cake toppers. You should pick your cake topper at the same time you decide on your cake so you'll be sure that it fits.
Another cake-related wedding accessory is the wedding cake serving set. This is usually a silver or silver-plated serving set engraved with the date of the wedding. The bride and groom will use this symbolic serving set to cut the first pieces of cake.
Wedding cake prices can be surprisingly high, ranging from $2 to $9 (or more) per serving. So if you know how many guests you expect at your wedding, then it's a simple math problem after that. Keep in mind that some reception locations will also charge you a serving fee that could add another dollar or two to the per-slice price.
Some couples have chosen to eliminate the cake altogether in favor of cupcakes. Although this may or may not work at traditional weddings, it's certainly a great budget saver. Cupcakes can even double as wedding favors. Having several varieties of cupcakes eliminates the cake flavor decision and no cake topper is needed. For that matter, no serving set is needed either.
One tradition associated with wedding cakes is to save a portion for celebrating on the first anniversary. Obviously the cake will need to be frozen. Since almost anything can happen in a year's time, it's probably a good idea to take several wedding cake pictures so that you can have a fresh replica made if necessary.
The perfect wedding cake is both a work of art and a tasty treat for your guests
