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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 sameflavor
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 stunning orange and pink confections.
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 Tucson.
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 couples usually ask
the baker to make a new small cake for their first-anniversary
celebration.
Photography:
Philipramackers.com
Ted Hewitt Photography
Something Blue Photography
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