Selecting Your Wedding Cake

We’ve narrowed the process of selecting wedding cakes into three easy steps. Get wedding cake ideas, factor cake prices, and choose your baker.

Follow these, and you will have a confection that suits your personal style and budget.

Step 1: Determine your Wedding Cake Design

As the centerpiece of your reception, your cake should represent the theme of your wedding and reflect your overall vision. Consider the style, shape, color and adornments. Make a list of qualities you like and don’t like, and browse and collect photographs of cakes that inspire you. You can get hundreds of wedding cakes ideas in the Elegala.com wedding cake gallery.

**note: Don’t forget to consider the longevity of your cake when making your selection. It may look like a work of art, but it is still food, and certain types will hold up better in extreme climates. If you will be holding an summer outdoor reception, opt for fondant icing over buttercream. While buttercream is tasty, it doesn’t keep well in heat or humidity.

Step 2: Factor Wedding Cake Prices

Cake cost is based per slice and is determined by the complexity of the overall design. The typical cost per slice can range anywhere from $2-$15 per slice. There are 2 easy ways to keep your cake within budget.

1) Simple wedding cakes are obviously less expensive, so choose a simple design with minimal adornments. Fresh fruit and flowers are inexpensive options, while handmade gumpaste or sugarpaste decorations cost more because they are difficult to create.

2) If you have your heart set on an intricate design you saw in a magazine, don’t worry that the associated cost will break your budget. Many brides opt for a smaller, intricately designed cake to showcase at their wedding, while simple sheet cakes are held in the kitchen to be served to guests.

You can find more ways to save on wedding cake prices.

Note: When determining the cost of your cake, don’t forget about additional costs such as shipping your confection. Some venues also charge a cake cutting fee of about $1.50-$3 per slice, which can significantly add to the cost of your cake.

Step 3: Choose your Wedding Cake Baker

First determine whether or not your wedding site allows an outsider baker; if so, pick a few local cake bakers and book appointments to view their portfolios. When meeting with potential bakers, consider both look and taste. The one you choose should be able to create the beautiful masterpiece you desire, and it should taste scrumptious as well. Ask to taste some samples to determine the talents of your confection artist.

**Looking to service something a bit different for your dessert course? Consult our creative ideas for unusual wedding cakes.

This article, wedding cake ideas, is being provided with permission courtesy of elegala.com, elegant galas–made simple.

7 Ways to Save on Wedding Cake Prices

Let them eat wedding cake - without eating up your wedding budget…

Wedding cakes should be eye-catching, fabulous, and of course, tasty too! And just like every other aspect of your wedding day – wedding cake prices can creep skyward. But don’t let a tight budget stand between you and the ultimate wedding cake. Size and design are the main determinants in wedding cake cost. You can play with these elements to create a confection that is super-fab….and kind to your catering tab.

Have your cake (and eat it too) with these creative ways to slash wedding cake prices

Cut that Guest List
As with all cost-per-person aspects of your wedding, narrowing down your guest list will result in a significant drop in wedding cake prices. Less mouths to feed = less slices; you get the idea. And any cake cutting fee, typically charged on a per slice bases as well, will also be reduced.

Hip to be Square
Square wedding cakes yield more slices than round ones. So go square – and make a deliciously modern statement!

Go Natural
Hand-constructed gum paste or sugar paste flowers can quickly rack up your wedding cake cost. Substitute these costly adornments with fresh fruits and flowers – an inexpensive option that is equally stunning.

Keep It Simple
While intricate, over-the-top cakes evoke the ultimate in wedding day opulence, today’s shift towards modern minimalism can foray into the world of cake design. Simple wedding cakes can be deliciously chic. So lose the ornate adornments and infinite skyward-stretching tiers, and opt for a clean design with an impeccably smooth surface. Add simple details such as a Swiss dot pattern or wide ribbon around the base. Stick to one flavor, as multiple flavors will increase the bottom line.

One Stop Shopping
If your wedding venue offers an onsite caterer, employ their services for your confection as well, and save on delivery and service fees. You will also ward off chances for a transportation mishap – a headache you surely want to avoid on the big day. Many reception sites offer a wedding cake as part of their package deal, so be sure to inquire when scouting reception sites. You can find more questions to ask your reception site here.

“Dummy Cakes”
Fancy a towering and dramatic wedding cake but don’t want to shell out the extra cash? Instead of paying for extra layers, ask your baker to create faux layers consisting of iced Styrofoam. Trust us – your guests will never be the wiser; it will be our little secret.

Outside the Proverbial Cake Pan
Of-the-moment brides are breaking with tradition and forgoing the cake all together - presenting instead pies or pastries on tiered platters as the centerpieces of their wedding receptions. Depending on your selection, this can be an uber-chic way to save. Dare we say it, even doughnuts are in vogue and have been spotted at some of the poshest black tie events!

This article, wedding cake prices, is being provided with permission courtesy of elegala.com, elegant galas–made simple.