A: I would advise brides to stay away from relying too much on family and friends to do large job at your wedding. There are some details that you might get people who'd like to help with do, such as make wedding favors, etc., but for large jobs such as photography, flowers, and cakes you should get someone experienced. If that's a friend, great, but be aware that you should still sit down with them and get a contract spelling out the specifics. I've heard of people who had a friend who had said that she would make their cake cancel the week before the wedding because she was suddenly too busy to do it. If you have a contract, then you at least have some assurance that the person will be responsible for your cake. It might also make someone who isn't really taking you  seriously see that they'd better think about it before promising to do the work for you.

A: Wedding cakes are much more labor-intensive than, for instance, a regular birthday cake. The
difference lies in the fact that many of the decorations on a wedding cake have to be made ahead of time, and the cake itself takes much longer to assemble due to the fact that they're just bigger! They're built with a system of supports and separators that prevent them from collapsing, and it takes time to put it all together. I will generally bake the cakes two days before the wedding, frost and get them ready for assembly the day before, and finish decorating the day of the wedding, often assembling them at the reception site. For wedding cakes with perishable fillings and icing, I will sometimes wait until the morning of the wedding to frost and decorate the cake. The cost of the ingredients, while more for some types of cake than others, is usually not the deciding factor in the cost of a wedding cake. Rather, the type of decoration and the time involved in assembling the cake itself is what determines the final cost. You are also paying for the expertise of the baker/decorator, and this is one time that you often "get what you pay for."

A: It depends on the baker. These days, most people charge by the serving, although some people still charge by the pound. Keep in mind, however, that you won't know the true cost of a cake until all the fees are added up, including delivery fees, "art fees" (which is another way of saying decorations for the cake,)extra fees for different flavors on each tier, etc. Everyone calculates the cost of their cakes differently, so one person's seemingly lower beginning price may not end up being any lower once all of the other factors are added in. I calculate my prices based on a flat per-serving price plus a delivery fee, and I don't add any fees for different flavors and fillings. The per-serving price is based entirely on the cake design itself, so I can't really give price estimates until I work out a design for your wedding cake with you.

A: I have talked to many people who want to pay less for the cake in an effort to make up for overages in other areas of their costs, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, as I mention above, the wedding cake is the centerpiece of your reception. Your guests will be looking at it before you arrive, all through the reception until it's cut, and it will figure prominently in the photos of your cake cutting ceremony. I once spent a very amusing wedding reception watching a poorly built wedding cake tilt slowly as the night went on, and while it made for interesting conversation with the other guests, that probably isn't the kind of attention you want your cake to get. Second, most bakers can give you a lower price, but to do this you'll be limiting the types of designs that you can choose. Talk to your baker, but people need to realize that certain cake designs just cost more than others due to the labor involved and the skill of the baker.

A: The possibilities are almost endless these days, but you have to know the difference between the various types of icings and what you can do with them.

--Buttercreams come in a number of formulations, some being sweeter than others. If you'rehaving an outdoor reception on a hot day, this might not be your best bet, since it could melt off the cake.

--Rolled fondant is a sugar-clay type of icing, and it gives the cake a smooth, porcelain-like look. It holds up in heat well, but it shouldn't be refrigerated, so you might not be able to put fillings that need refrigeration in cakes covered with fondant unless you'll be covering them the day of the wedding. Some people don't like the taste of rolled fondant because it can be very sweet, but it's fine for covering wedding cakes, since the amount that you'll get in a serving is relatively small. (I also make my own fondant, so I'm able to add extracts to flavor it to a certain extent...but it will still end up being sweet regardless of how you flavor it.) It's more expensive than buttercreams, but you can do more with it in terms of modelling decorations.


 Chocolates should only be used during cooler months, since the heat will make it
sag and give it a sticky finish. 

--Gumpaste is another type of sugar clay that is used to make flowers and other modelled items. It dries to a very hard finish and breaks easily. It's edible, technically, but not very appetizing. It's used for decorations such as flowers, and can be used on cakes made with buttercreams or rolled fondant.

--Marzipan, fondant and other types of edible sugar clays can also be used to make flowers, modelled items, and other shapes. Marzipan can also be used as a filling layer if you like almond.

A: Different bakers have different responses to this question. Some won't use anything on a cake that isn't edible, so won't put fresh flowers on their cakes at all. Others prefer fresh flowers, often because they're doing a lot of cakes per day so the decorating is less labor-intensive that way. Because I don't like the idea of having flowers that have been treated with floral preservatives and pesticides touching the icing, I prefer to do sugar flowers for my cakes. However, I will put fresh flowers on the cake if I can get in touch with the florist beforehand to work out the details. I will place the flowers on the cake myself if the florist leaves them at the reception site for me...I actually prefer to do that to make sure that stems aren't inserted into the cake itself. (Keep in mind that some flowers are poisonous, so shouldn't be used on a cake at all. Always ask your florist) In that case, the sugar version is a better option.)

A: Since heat is the natural enemy of buttercream, an outdoor reception will limit your choices, sometimes severely. Depending on the weather, you may have to go with fondant as a covering for your cake, since buttercreams will melt and slide off the cake if it's too hot. (Some types of buttercream will hold up better than others, but they're all subject to being damaged by the heat.) You may also have to avoid fillings that are perishable, depending on how long the cake will be sitting out in the heat. If it's at all possible, you could arrange to keep the cake in an air-conditioned area until it's time to cut it, and this might open up your options a little.

A: In general, you should see how many guests will be at the reception and order a cake for about 80% of that number. However, there are many other factors that might affect how many servings you'll need, including how many flavors of cake you choose to have, whether you'll be serving alcohol at the reception, whether your friends and family are big cake-eaters or not, and whether the wedding cake will be the only dessert. You should discuss these factors with your baker to decide on a final figure.

A: I don't ship cakes at all because it's just too dicey a proposition. I deliver in the Hamilton/Burlington Area,but outside of that it depends on my schedule for the day in question. There are added delivery fees for locations outside of Hamilton. If you're feeling adventurous, and if the cake in question is small and will travel well (depending on its design, etc.) I am willing to allow you to pick the cake up and transport it yourself. If you choose to do that, though, you have to be willing to take responsibility for the cake when you drive off, and your choices of fillings, etc., may be more limited due to lack of refrigeration options.

A: I can do different flavors of cake on separate tiers with no extra charge. If you do choose to have more than two flavors you may want to order a larger cake than you would normally, because people tend to go back for seconds if there are more than two flavors.

A: It's possible, but be aware that many of the cakes that are shown in magazines are very labor-intensive. When you get a price quote from a baker for the design that you want, it may be substantially more than you were planning on budgeting for the cake. If that's the case, you should work with your baker to imitate the elements of your cake that you love, but eliminate some of the other details. Also remember that cakes in magazine shoots are generally "dummies," which means that they are styrofoam forms that have been decorated like a real cake. Because of this, some designs that are shown in magazines are impractical for real cakes, and are done mainly for artistic purposes.

Also, keep in mind that since cakes are decorated by hand, each person's style will be slightly different. I can mimic designs pretty well, but there will always be the imprint of my style on the cake. For example, I tend to make flowers in a "soft" style, so if you brought a picture of a cake with very precise, "angular" style flowers, I won't be able to make them look EXACTLY the same. 

A: If you're confused by all the design options out there you're not alone. I often tell people that one way to narrow down what you want if you're totally lost is to look at your wedding dress. If there's a specific design element in the lace or the embroidery that you love, it can often be recreated on the cake. Have your baker look at your dress with you, and you might be surprised at how easily you decide on a cake design. You should also think about the overall tone of your wedding. For example, a casual outdoor reception might call for a different cake design than a sit-down dinner for 200 at a formal club. You can also go to the cake design ideas page on this website to get started.

A: I've heard things like this before, but I have no idea where the idea came from! It might be traditional in some areas to use a pound cake for the bottom tier, and perhaps some bakers were just taught that and have always done it that way. There's no reason that a cake has to be any specific flavor. Wedding cakes are constructed in such a way that the tiers aren't resting on each other, they're resting on supports that are placed inside the tiers below them. You could do an angel food cake for the bottom tier if you wanted to, and as long as the cake is constructed and assembled correctly it should make no difference.

A: Many bakers will not do this, just because it's their name on the cake and their reputation on the line! However, as long as there's no mistake about the fact that a family member or friend baked the cake, and it's likely that information like that will get around the reception pretty quickly, I am willing to work with you on either decorating the cake myself, or preparing a "decorating kit" that includes sugar flowers, leaves, etc. with instructions for someone else to do it. The cost for a kit like that would be based on the type of decorations you want.