Even if your significant other just recently popped the question, you’re going to quickly realize how fun and exciting wedding planning can be! From touring potential venues and meeting with photographers to mapping out your day-of timeline and so much more, it truly will be an experience you’ll never forget! As is the case with many of our blog posts, we always love providing couples with tips to ensure it’s not only an unforgettable experience, but also stress-free.
In the midst of planning your big day, one task that you’ll almost certainly enjoy is testing out potential wedding cakes. Without a doubt, the wedding cake is one of those traditions that goes back quite a few years and is also a component that has evolved significantly over the years. As a venue that has hosted hundreds of weddings, we can truly attest to that statement. Over the years, we’ve been able to witness such a wide variety of wedding cake styles, to the point we can confidently say that anything is possible. No really, anything truly is possible! We even once had a 15-foot tall cake at a styled shoot.
Throughout this week’s blog, we’ll be taking a look at a few best practices that you may want to keep in mind when picking out, designing and eventually displaying your wedding cake. After all, you definitely don’t want to run out of cake on your wedding day or worse yet, have a wedding cake that just doesn’t taste very good, right?
Photos in this blog post are courtesy of Jason Smelser Photography. Cake was created by Cakes By Gina.
Put It On Full Display
This first point applies to the wedding day itself. When it comes to the perfect wedding cake, three qualities that should be present involve the cake being timeless, delectable and beautiful. With that being said, don’t you want to show off that beautiful cake and have the photographer snap plenty of precious pics of it as well? Many wedding venues (including Madera Estates) have a specific area for putting the cake on full display, both before the reception and during the cake cutting part of the celebration. Long story short, if you’re going to take the time to find the perfect wedding cake, make sure that it’s presented as the beauty it is!
Get a Groom’s Cake
While the groom’s cake tradition hasn’t been around for as long as the traditional wedding cake, it isn’t brand new either! To sum it up, a groom’s cake should essentially be a representation of the groom’s interests or hobbies. It obviously isn’t a requirement to have one, but it certainly is a fun and unique twist you can add to your big day. Here at Madera Estates, we’ve had plenty of couples opt to have a groom’s cake displayed on their big day alongside the main cake. To provide some examples, we’ve seen cakes with a wide range of themes, including Texas A&M, the Houston Astros and even a crawfish boil. In the end, if you opt to incorporate a groom’s cake, don’t hesitate to be creative with it and come up with something you’ll always remember.
Make Sure It’s Big Enough
This may sound like a no-brainer, but it goes without saying, the last thing you want happening on your big day is to not have enough cake. For instance, are you planning on freezing the top tier of your cake? If so, make sure that’s accounted for when estimating the cake size. What if some of your guests want seconds too? Be sure to factor that into the equation as well. And last, but not least, do you already have a family member or friend picked out to cut the cake? If so, it would be wise to ask whoever made the cake how big the slices should be and communicate that to the cake cutter. As you can likely guess, there could be a potential scenario where you could be going through the cake much quicker than expected if the pieces were too big! Keep in mind that most professional cake bakers will be immensely helpful in deciding the appropriate size. As long as you communicate an accurate guest count with a little buffer room, you’ll be in good shape!
Pick Out What You Want
You’re not going to be able to please everyone. Unfortunately, that is a simple reality. And when it comes to testing potential wedding cake options, there’s no point in trying to find something that every single person will love. After all, it’s your big day, so if you find a cake that you and your significant other love, roll with it!
Plan Accordingly
In the months leading up to your big day, you’ll have plenty of tasks on your to-do list. This is part of the reason why having a timeline in-place is so important! In any case, on the topic of wedding cakes, you’ll want to leave yourself plenty of time. In addition, for those with a wedding during a busy season (like the fall), it would be wise to keep in mind that many of the bakeries will be even busier too.
Nonetheless, in terms of timing, you’ll probably want to start researching potential bakeries and cake styles about 8 months out. From evaluating local options to browsing through Instagram hashtags and Pinterest boards to look for styles/designs that you like, this is the perfect time to start brainstorming ideas. Shoot for around 7 months out to start scheduling taste testings with the goal being to have your cake baker booked 6 months from the wedding.
Utilize the Taste Testings
When it comes to meeting with both your caterer and cake baker, your taste testing is going to be an extremely important time. Since this blog is dedicated to wedding cakes though, we’ll focus solely on that today. While some may assume all vanilla cakes or chocolate cakes taste the same, that isn’t necessarily true with wedding cakes. To add to it, even though you may have your heart set on vanilla ahead of time, there could be another flavor combo that you hadn’t considered, but absolutely love. To sum it up, take your time to go through the tasting and be open to sampling different types of cake and various icings. You never know which combination might be the one!
Don’t Forget the Cake Topper
What better way to wrap up a blog all about wedding cakes than with the cake topper itself? After selecting the perfect cake baker for the job and finalizing everything, the final step will be to buy your cake topper. Try to schedule this task for about 2-3 months from the big day. And as is the case with the actual cake, there are plenty of possibilities for your cake topper. Just take a look through Pinterest or Instagram and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Whether that be something exquisite like a script with your last name or even something more modern, the decision is completely up to you. One piece of advice we do give is to try and match it with the overall color palette or theme you have selected for the entire wedding. The same can be said for the cake as well!
Need Some Recommendations?
If you’re engaged and planning your wedding near the Houston area, you’ve come to the perfect place. Madera Estates is a luxury wedding venue and event space located in Conroe, TX (just north of Houston and The Woodlands). If you’re still trying to find the ideal venue to serve as the backdrop for your big day, we would be delighted to show you around our venue. Not to mention, having worked with so many different talented wedding professionals in the Houston area, we can also help set you up with vendors truly capable of making your dream wedding come to life. Photographers, florists, caterers, cake bakers, you name it!
For those interested in booking a private tour of our venue, feel free to click HERE to take a look at our online booking calendar. On our private champagne tours, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with a member of our team, see the property in-person and ask any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!