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Cake Basics

Wedding cakes are an essential part of the wedding reception. The wedding cake is the center piece for the bride and groom's cake cutting ceremony. The cake also serves as decoration usually displayed on its own table decorated with flowers, greenery or other decor. Finally the wedding cake is a delicious desert to be enjoyed by you and your guests!

Price Points
The price of your wedding cake will be based on the number of people you have to serve and the kind of cake you have in mind.  Wedding cake prices are usually based on a per-person basis. A typical cake may cost about $2 to $4 per person. Of course the more complex the design the higher the cost will be. In addition extravagant flavors, fillings, and frostings will jack up the price.

Styles & Design
Traditional wedding cakes of the past usually consisted of white, tiered or stacked cakes that lacked any unique style or personality. Nowadays wedding cakes come in all different shapes, colors and sizes. Skilled cake designers create each cake as a unique piece of art. The design options are endless. If you have seen magazine pictures of wedding cakes you like, clip them out and bring them to your meetings with bakers. Often, this will be enough for the baker to go on to give you a "ballpark" cost estimate on the spot.  But keep in mind the more intricate the cake design the more it will cost!

Flavors
Most bakers will offer a wide variety of cake flavors and fillings for their wedding cakes. Buttercream, cheesecake, vanilla and chocolate are the most commonly used flavors. Inquire with your baker about selecting a different flavor for each layer to appeal to a wide variety of tastes.

Cake Display
The wedding cake should be displayed at the reception on its own table where it can be admired by all of the guests. Remember that the cake will be the centerpiece for many pictures during the reception. You will want to make sure that it is displayed in a pretty area of the reception hall with plenty of room for guests to crowd around to watch the bride and groom cut the cake.

Don't forget to ask if your baker or reception site can provide a cake knife.  If not, you'll have to buy one of your own.  You may, however, choose to buy your own to save as a keepsake later.