Top Tips For Avoiding That Wedding Cake Disaster
The problem is, you'll need to bring your dream to a baker truly capable of executing it.
Because those top-of-the-line cakes -- the type that gets photographed and flown across the country -- can go for $10 a slice or more. For a cake that serves 200, that's quite an investment.
So if you turn up a part-time baker who promises to replicate your cover-girl cake with handpainted swallows, lustre-dusted pearls and a gilded fondant bow for $175, you just might have just stumbled onto the world's biggest bargain.
But more likely, you've stumbled onto the bane of many a bride ... having your heart set on a cake that's "too big" for your budget and your baker.
For example, let's say your dream cake involves sharp plaid lines or a flowing triskel worked out in bright fondant, to celebrate your celtic heritage. Great!
But give that assignment to your local grocery store, and you just might end up with some sad, saggy lines pressed out from a tube of day-glo gel, or a (shudder!) poorly-reinforced creation that collapses on itself before the champagne gets chugged.
Sure, the local CostSlasher should have known they weren't up to the task. But you also should have known that they couldn't deliver a three-tier, magazine-ready work of art for just a Bejamin and change.
The bottom line? If you want an artisan cake, choose an artisan baker. Pour over their portfolio. Ensure that they've done cakes, and done them recently, that involve a similar level of skill, complexity and difficulty to yours. Ensure that there are a lot of cakes in their portfolio, and that the baker you'll be working with actually made them. Expect to pay commensurately for their skill, time and equipment.
That's not to say you can't put "value" and "wedding cake" in the same sentence. For example, Publix consistently draws raves for beauty, taste and cost-consciousness, leading to scores of happy brides.
Because those top-of-the-line cakes -- the type that gets photographed and flown across the country -- can go for $10 a slice or more. For a cake that serves 200, that's quite an investment.
So if you turn up a part-time baker who promises to replicate your cover-girl cake with handpainted swallows, lustre-dusted pearls and a gilded fondant bow for $175, you just might have just stumbled onto the world's biggest bargain.
But more likely, you've stumbled onto the bane of many a bride ... having your heart set on a cake that's "too big" for your budget and your baker.
For example, let's say your dream cake involves sharp plaid lines or a flowing triskel worked out in bright fondant, to celebrate your celtic heritage. Great!
But give that assignment to your local grocery store, and you just might end up with some sad, saggy lines pressed out from a tube of day-glo gel, or a (shudder!) poorly-reinforced creation that collapses on itself before the champagne gets chugged.
Sure, the local CostSlasher should have known they weren't up to the task. But you also should have known that they couldn't deliver a three-tier, magazine-ready work of art for just a Bejamin and change.
The bottom line? If you want an artisan cake, choose an artisan baker. Pour over their portfolio. Ensure that they've done cakes, and done them recently, that involve a similar level of skill, complexity and difficulty to yours. Ensure that there are a lot of cakes in their portfolio, and that the baker you'll be working with actually made them. Expect to pay commensurately for their skill, time and equipment.
That's not to say you can't put "value" and "wedding cake" in the same sentence. For example, Publix consistently draws raves for beauty, taste and cost-consciousness, leading to scores of happy brides.
