Fantasizing about the perfect cake for your upcoming
nuptials? We've got you covered! We asked 20-year cake-designing veteran Joanne
Bruno, of Palermo's Bakery in New Jersey, to share her best tips for choosing
the wedding cake of your dreams.
CHOOSE A REPUTABLE BAKERY
Brides-to-be should absolutely begin
their research online. Visit general wedding sites to obtain real customer
feedback from other couples. Then visit the bakery's website to view images of
their work. If the photos aren't up-to-date, their work isn't either. You want
to work with a bakery with positive feedback from married couples and a wide
range of cake offerings.
Next, you should visit the bakery in
person and meet with the staff. It's important to walk out of the bakery with
an image of the cake — either drawn or rendered via computer — so that there
aren't any surprises. If you don't feel comfortable with the bakery staff, you
won't be happy with your cake. Most cake specialists have a dedicated staffer
and a separate area in which to sit down and review wedding cake design. If the
sales associate rushes you or fails to answer basic questions, you should
consider going somewhere else.
GIVE YOURSELF ADEQUATE TIME TO PICK A WEDDING CAKE
Three to six months is enough time to
plan the cake. Once a bride knows her color scheme and the wedding venue, it's
good to get the cake designed and ordered before she enters the 'crunch
period,' which is usually the last two months.
MAKE SURE YOU
LOVE HOW THE CAKE TASTES
I can't stress this enough: Arrange
for a cake tasting before the cake is ordered. If the cake has multiple
flavors, taste all of them. Basic flavors like chocolate, strawberry and
vanilla will vary depending on how the cake is made, its formulation, its
frosting and more. Don't assume — taste!
Also, with regard to taste, avoid the
exotic. A good bakery can make vanilla taste amazing. Exotic flavors sometimes
alienate guests who don't recognize the flavor.
GET CREATIVE WITH THE DESIGN
The age of the cookie-cutter tiered
white wedding cake with a plastic figurine at the top is long gone and,
personally, I'm happy to see it go. Many brides bring their color scheme
(wedding gown, bridesmaid dresses) into the shop for color coordination. Others
are coordinating the jewels they wear on their special day with cake adornments
— pearls, diamonds and rubies, for example. If a bride is wearing them, we can
replicate the look on a cake.
Also, themed weddings need a themed
cake. From outdoor spring weddings to religious ceremonies, any type of wedding
can be accommodated with a custom cake.
NEED
INSPIRATION? TRY A CAKE TREND
Matching the bride's dress to the cake
is a big trend this season. We've matched the ruffle on a bride's dress to the
cake. We've also matched specific pieces of heirloom jewelry on the bride to
the wedding cake.
We're also seeing a return to classic
buttercream frosting — the original style of frosting that looks more realistic
and has a richer flavor than modern frostings. As for shapes, ovals are really
this season's hottest shift. Round is traditional, square can be a lot of fun,
but an oval-shaped cake draws a lot of attention and allows us more room upon
which to create.
DON'T MAKE
THESE CAKE MISTAKES
There are two cardinal sins of
planning a custom wedding cake: The first is waiting until the last minute to
design and order a cake. Most bakeries have their custom cakes calendared out
weeks in advance. Special ingredients and decorations sometimes need to be
ordered and, in some cases, created from scratch, which takes considerable
experimentation.
The second mistake is to have too many
people providing input. I've seen many brides driven crazy because they
involved both sets of parents, friends, cousins, the entire bridesmaid party,
etc. When you come to the bakery, keep your entourage down to one or two people
at the most. Choosing a cake is about what feels good to you as the bride.
