Your Wedding Advice - StrictlyWeddings.com Blog

Metallic Drama – Golden Wedding Cakes

These striking metallic and golden cakes are not new, but we think it’s a good idea to share with our new brides some of the different options that can be available when planning your wedding. Or think about a dessert table with different kinds of sparkly cupcakes and desserts.

Source: Belle The Magazine

Wedding Cakes: Stunning Couture Cake Designs

StrictlyWeddings.com found these stunning custom designed cakes in our ongoing search for amazing wedding ideas. Created by The Caketress, Lori Hutchinson who creates beautiful one of kind cakes for her clients from Toronto, Muskoka, and to the Blue Mountain area and is dedicated to providing quality custom designed cakes that are entirely unique.

Might even be the reason to a different type of destination wedding!

The rich flavor of the three tier square cake below was an Opera Cake (top two) and the bottom was a Lemon Cake. Both favorites of the Bride and Groom. The delicate  piping was based on the lovely invitations the bride had choosen, and the falling pink blossoms and coral hydrangeas gave the right pop of colour for their elegant affair.

The bride loved the look of rustic rolled white chocolate for her golden wedding cake. This four tier oval golden cake needed to match the old world feel to her wedding decor. Filled with raspberries and white chocolate ganache, this cake screams decadence. Handed made sugar flowers, each uniquely painted in actual gold, finished this beautiful and delicious cake.

Wedding Dessert Tables …so much more!

As we research unique luxury wedding planners in New York City, we came across the phenomenal talents of Amy Atlas‘ and her oh so special wedding dessert tables. Yumm-o! Made us want to get married all over again.

We encourage you to visit her website to view the hundreds of photos that she has of all her sweet treats. Definitely worth the time to marvel at the creativity and (no doubt) flavors that can be experienced from her many goodies.

Photographs courtesy of Gemma Commas

Exquisite Touches – Wedding Cake Stands by Clara French Ceramique

Micaela Willis founded Clara French Ceramique to honor her great-great grandmother Clara French, who was a painter and the first female artist in her family. Her grandmother provided her with an abundance of art supplies and encouraged her to create (and she never stopped). Micaela started Clara French Ceramique after making her sister’s wedding cake stand.

The photos below are beautiful representations of just a few samples of what you can find from her delightful website – clarafrench.com. This site is well worth taking the time to browse (the lovely music makes you think your sitting in a French cafe sipping coffee and eating pastry). And the online “boutique” gives you many options to choose from.

Cakes that Inspire – For Weddings, Bridal Showers, Parties

Our founder, Kay, worked for Chanel for seven years, so when she saw this blog post on Merci New York recently, she wanted to make sure our readers outside New York got to see this precious cake by Pink Cake Box. Maybe you’re looking for a “cake that inspires” for a bridal shower, bachelorette party or even your wedding reception.

Anne Heap of Pink Cake Box created this carrot cake with meyer lemon buttercream for a competition called “Art of Cake Design” sponsored by the Smerset Art Association in Bedminister, NJ and won the “Show Stopper” award. You can’t deny, this cake is most definitely an incredible design!

Photos courtesy Pink Cake Box.

It’s all about the cake

Well, at least for some of us who have a sweet tooth!

If you are still searching for your bakery, visit the husband and wife team of Jace and Carrie Crockett at Le Gateau Cakery, who have been an integral part of the best weddings in Texas for over 10 years. They have a unique talent of combining sumptuous flavors with expertly crafted classic and contemporary designs to offer the ultimate experience in wedding cake artistry and taste. If you can imagine it, Jace and Carrie can make it a reality. What truly sets them apart is their superior level of service that welcomes you to be a part of the family.

Your Ideal Wedding Cake

When meeting with your cake designer, bring photographs of cakes you love or fabric swatches of your color scheme to help them design the perfect cake for you. Also bring ideas for your groom’s cake. It should be designed to reflect a particular hobby or personality trait of him.

Here are some questions to ask your cake designer:

• Do you specialize in any certain styles or flavors?
• Do you recommend a certain type of cake for an outdoor or seasonal reception?
• Can you create individual cakes to be used as favors?
• Can you create specialized cakes for certain dietary needs?
• Do you offer a tasting?
• How much time do you need to prepare the cake at the reception?
• Do you offer instruction on how to cut the cake?
• Will you supply a proper container in which to freeze the top of the cake?
• Will you charge for any supports or bases on the cake?
• May I return the supports and bases for a refund? When?
• Are the cakes priced by the slice or by the cake? Do you have a price list?
• How far in advance must I book your services?
• What is your cancellation policy?
• Is a deposit required? If so, when and how much?

How to Choose a Stunning Wedding Cake

For those who love dessert, there is no greater decision than coming up with the perfect wedding cake! And with designs, styles, and flavors, which range from the traditional to the fanciful, this is no small task. In fact, it is often akin to choosing the right piece of baked art for your special day.

Reserve your designer – the sooner, the better
Whether you go with the local bakery down the street or a more commercialized wedding cake designer, this is a decision that should be made sooner in wedding plans rather than later. Allow for four to six months prior to needing your wedding cake to make sure that the designer you want is available. If you are not familiar with wedding cake designers, you can often see and taste their wares at local bridal fairs. Many wedding reception facilities and caterers will also either offer wedding cake services or can recommend a wedding cake designer to you.

However, there is more to buying a wedding cake than walking into your local bakery. As with anything else in your wedding, style should be considered as well. You can ask for photographs of a wedding cake designer’s latest creations. Talk to previous customers to find out how well they liked the service. And of course, you will want to have a taste or two of your favorites – since that is usually equally important as the look.

Choose a style with great taste
Each wedding cake designer will have his or her own specialties. Before you go in for a consultation, you may want to think about some of the elements that you are looking for in your wedding cake.

Your style
Do you want a traditional white cake, a brightly colored one, or one flowing with real flowers? Consider taking in pictures from weddings, bridal fairs, or magazines of design elements that you like.

Your guests
How many people do you have attending? This will often affect the number of tiers that your cake will need. Some brides will also choose to have multiple cakes – one for pictures and the ceremonial cake cutting, and then large sheet cakes to use to feed the guests.

Your frosting
Traditionally, you have three options in frosting for your cake – butter cream, fondant, and royal icing. Certain styles can only be done in certain types of frosting, and certain frostings go better with certain cake flavors.

Your flavor
Do you want a traditional white cake or are you in love with chocolate? Maybe you want each tier to be a different flavor? Some couples also like cakes to be filled. Make sure that you taste a sample of the different flavors to see which ones you really like.

Your design
Do you want the entire design done in frosting or do you want other accents? You will need to talk to your wedding cake designer about gum paste or edible flowers, edible beading, and other accents.

To top it off
Does your ideal cake include the traditional bride and groom at the top, or do you have another design element in mind? Your wedding cake designer can help you come up with the perfect look – even utilizing crystals in the shape of your initials.

Your price
If you have a wedding budget, you will need to consider the price of the cake, as well as any delivery and set-up fees. Also, different design elements, cake flavors, or frosting styles may cost more.

Other concerns
If someone in your wedding has food allergies, you may inquire about the ingredients in the cake, frosting, and design elements. You can see if any of these are able to be substituted if necessary.

Remember, your wedding cake should be a part of your wedding style and theme. And since it will likely be the last thing your guests will eat before they leave for the night, you want it to taste as good as it looks. Other than that, only your imagination will limit your design options.