Easily one of my favorite things about weddings, as a guest, is the cake. I love cake. I'm always just a bit upset at the tiny portions they give you at weddings, but now that I'm looking for a baker for my own wedding cake, I completely understand why those slices are so small. Cakes are expensive!
When I started planning, I didn't even want to entertain having my wedding at a place that provided the cake as part of a package. I'm very wary about the quality of "package deals" because I think the vendors can get a bit complacent. With all of that guaranteed business, why bother trying to be the best? To top it all off, these places often had limited options for cake flavor and decoration. Being the cake lover that I am, I'm a bit picky about my cake—I want to be sure it's going to look nice, fit with the overall feel of the wedding, and taste delicious.
Fast forward a few months, and I am now in full "cake search" mode. My caterer didn't have any recommendations, as it seems the area where we are getting married has a dearth of decent bakeries. Another problem adding to my frustration—many bakeries don't have websites! I'm definitely a technophile, and will happily talk to a computer rather than an actual person. Also, I'm doing a lot of my research from work and it's a lot less suspicious to fire off a few emails rather than chat on the phone all day long to vendors. So far, I've emailed three bakeries, only one of which has gotten back to me with a price estimate.
I absolutely refuse to go for a cake tasting before I get at least a ballpark per-slice estimate. I'm so annoyed that the bakeries that do have websites typically don't even post a price range. I know how much I can afford, and I want to make sure that any bakery I seriously consider can meet my price. I'm only wasting my time and theirs if I make an appointment for a tasting only to find out that their cakes start at $8 a slice.
The prices I've seen for cakes are a big problem for me. I consider myself an amateur baker, so it kills me to have to pay for something I could probably make myself. Unfortunately, I'll be way too busy the week before the wedding to spend hours in the kitchen perfecting my decorating skills.
Also, wedding cake bakers seem to fall into two camps: those that specialize in "look" and those that specialize in "taste". I want both, but I also want cheap.
As to the look of my cake, I'm still undecided. I know that I want buttercream for the taste, but I absolutely adore the clean look of fondant. Unfortunately, fondant tends to cost more (though I'm not sure why, given the price of ingredients). I do know that I want three tiers with different fillings, and possibly even different cake flavors. No chocolate cake, though, unless RogueGroom demands it. I want some color, and I like the look of piped scrollwork. Flowers are a possibility, especially since I'm not set on a cake topper. I think we're leaning toward the monogram toppers. I'd love to do some little birds on top, but I don't thing RG will go for it.
So, if I remember to take my list of bakeries home I'll make some calls this weekend.
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