Some (hopefully) helpful thoughts
when you are considering what to order for your
Wedding Cake.
1. Consider the time of year and location where you will be having the cake.
Cakes can be very temperamental beasties.
Too cold, the frosting may be hard.
Too warm, and the cake may ooze apart.
Ideal cake temperature is 65 to 80 degrees.
Indoors, out of the sun. Period.
I know, I know.
It's SUMMER! which means
the Wedding cake simply must be outdoors.
Everyone LOVES the outdoors.
Cakes...do not.
Let me explain.
Most of the time, cakes for outdoor wedding work out just fine.
A bug or two may wander off with some of the frosting
but that's not a big deal.
Weather is the big factor.
People are a lot more adjustable to a little heat or rain
than a Wedding cake will be.
Mid August, cake placed in the sun
is an excellent recipe for puddle of cake.
We recommend having the cake indoors, if at all possible,
especially in the Summer as there is usually a/c.
If the cake is going to be outside then a cooler, shady spot is best.
A tent or under some shady trees
will go a long way to keeping the cake happy.
Avoid direct sunlight & heat.
(Kind of like vampires)
Also, if the cake will be outdoors, we recommend using fondant.
Fondant is a lot sturdier in warm weather
than buttercream tends to be.
A lot of people don't care for fondant
either because of the texture or the taste
(really, it should be similar to a marshmallow, slightly sweet & vanilla and a touch chewy)
but for warm weather,
it's the cake's best friend.
2. Keep in mind that bakeries don't all make/do the same things.
For example: At the Dessert Tray, we make a cream cheese filling
but we don't use it as a frosting whereas others bakeries do.
Most bakeries are somewhat flexible on what they will do but
don't try to bully them into something they won't do.
3. If you want something put on the cake that you want to save
such as a cake topper that's made from fabric or something;
it's always best to let the person putting the cake together know
so that they can work with you to plan the best method to keep it clean.
4. If something is supposed to go on the cake,
please designate someone on site who will know
where/what the item is.
We've had a few weddings cakes lately that were
supposed to have flowers ready at the site for us to put on the cake.
They weren't, and no one on hand knew anything about it.
A couple of times it was due to the florist not arriving when scheduled,
other times we managed to cobble something together.
We try to be efficient and quick so as not to disrupt
the festivities but the key thing, the stuff needs to be there
for us to work with it.
5. Take a deep breath and enjoy the day.
