Top 10 Wedding Cake Cutting Songs & Ideas

Your wedding reception is almost over, and the fun and lightheartedness of the day has finally kicked in - it's time for the cake! One of the least stressful moments of your wedding has begun and to celebrate it, cut your cake with a light, fun song! Traditionally, many brides have used "The Bride Cuts the Cake" (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell), but many modern brides are selecting more contemporary cake cutting songs.

Whether you choose something traditional such as "Happy Together" by the Turtles or something a bit edgier with a rock sound such as "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard, the song you select for your cake cutting ceremony should be reflective of both of your personalities. This is the one moment of your wedding where you do not have to be very traditional, you can be as funky and different as you want to be. When you are cutting the cake you certainly want people to remember the moment for as long as you will and playing the right music will definitely help to make that happen.

Since most songs are several minutes in length, the cake cutting ceremony may be shorter than the song itself. You will want to consult with your band or DJ and let them know exactly how to play the song. Most songs can be cut in length or have only a chorus or two played.

If you are stuck for ideas for songs for your cake cutting ceremony, here is a Top 10 List of Cake Cutting music compiled by DJ Robert Fayder, Owner of Party Perfect NYC.

1. Wanna Grow Old With You - Adam Sandler
2. When I'm 64 - The Beatles
3. Ice Cream - Sarah McGlocklain
4. Sugar Sugar - The Archies
5. Love and Marriage - Frank Sinatra
6. Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations
7. Going To The Chapel - The Shirells
8. How Sweet It Is - James Taylor
9. How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees
10. You Make Me So Very Happy - Blood Sweat and Tears

Designer Wedding Cakes

A beautiful wedding cake is an essential and traditional part of any wedding ceremony and Designer Wedding Cakes are an extravagant but fantastic way of celebrating the style and theme of your big day.

Wedding cakes can be individually crafted to suit even the most outlandish ideas with just about any ingredient preferred by the bride and groom. If you have absolutely no idea of what type of cake to have but want it to be special and the centrepiece of the wedding reception table you will need to enlist the help of a professional cake makers who specialise in designer wedding cakes. They will be able to give you expert advice and help you make up your mind as to what type of wedding cakes would suit you.

You can let your imagination run wild when thinking of ideas for your cake and there is no need whatsoever to stick to traditional three tiered fruitcakes. Companies that make designer wedding cakes will create a cake just how you tell them too whether it is intricate and elegant sugar flowers or themed novelty figures of the happy couple.

You can also opt for tiered arrangement of fairy cakes which will make sharing them amongst your guests a lot easier although this may mean you will not be able to cut the cake in the traditional way unless you still include one of the tiers as a solid sponge cake. Fairy wedding cakes would not really be classed as designer wedding cakes and would probably suit a less formal wedding.

Most wedding cake designers will be happy to give you a full consultation and provide you with a free sampling to help you make up your mind. Before you go ahead and place an order check out various wedding and bridal magazines and go online in order to get quotes from various places and ideas for designer wedding cakes. This will ensure you also are getting the best deal for your money.

The best way to decide is based on recommendations so ask around your family and friends as they may be able to recommend the best cake designers to you.

Designer wedding cakes do not come cheap and you should always consider the cost when shopping around and more importantly who will be footing the bill. Traditionally it is the bride's parents who pay for the wedding but these days this is far less an expected occurrence. If your parents are indeed paying for the cost of the cake and it is your intention to shop for designer wedding cakes then it is only fair that you include them in considering which cake to buy an offer to pay yourself for any excess expense as designer wedding cakes can easily cost hundreds of dollars.

Perfect Baker For Your Beach Wedding Cake

To have that perfect cake for your beach wedding, you're going to need to find that perfect baker. That perfect baker is going to be the one who can create the most gorgeous and tasty cake that you can afford.

Time is always of the essence, because really good bakers are always very busy. So, don't delay.

Now is not too soon to start looking. Bakers think it reasonable to have conversations with you six to twelve months before the beach wedding. If you plan this far ahead, chances are you'll be able to obtain a lower price than if you delay. Indeed, you may face a "late" fee if you finalize your order only a month or two before The Big Day.

I've found that brides are more satisfied with their wedding cakes when they have taken the opportunity to check out three or four bakers during the early planning for the wedding.

They'll find that some bakers can't be relied on to produce anything more elaborate than a very basic style, but others are legendary for their extravagant artistry.

At the same time, they will have an opportunity to taste samples that the baker will prepare just for them and rate the cakes on taste, texture, moistness as well as beauty. And price.

It is a great time saver for busy brides if they can obtain before the face-to-face visit the names and telephone numbers from the baker of couples whose wedding cake the shop produced. In that way, bakers who disappointed previous couples can be placed much farther down the list of candidates, or dropped altogether.

Here are some of the important questions to consider when you interview bakers:

• Are you impressed with their cake designs?
• How do the samples taste?
• What do other couples say when you ask them for references for the baker?
• Can the baker's work fit into your budget and theme?
• Is the baker's schedule open for the date you need your cake so that it can be prepared and delivered on time?
• If the baker's first price estimate is too far out of reach, what can the baker suggest that would lower the cost to you?

Even though you are probably thinking that you are arranging for the purchase of a cake, the baker is thinking in terms of the number of servings you will need, and pricing accordingly. In today's world, it will be difficult to find a baker who would be able to prepare and decorate a basic wedding cake for much less than $1.50 per serving. A cake with several tiers but relatively simple decorations will run closer to $5.00 per guest. Fancy cakes with fondant icing, a gourmet filing, and loads of details may cost $15.00 per serving-or more.

All is not lost if even the most basic beach wedding cake seems out of reach. After all, following these suggestions can cut that cost to the bone:

· Grocery store bakeries can make and decorate sheet cakes at the most attractive prices around. You can keep the sheet cake in the kitchen and have a small "show" cake for public view. Or you could even "borrow" a beautifully decorated Styrofoam cake from an agency such as Rent-A-Cake.com that has a secret compartment for you to place a slice of angel food cake to grab at the right moment to feed your groom.
· Cake toppers provide a wonderful finishing touch, but they are generally inedible and end up for a short time after the wedding in someone's curio cabinet. If funds are really tight, consider asking a relative or friend to purchase your wedding cake topper as your wedding gift.
· Fresh flowers, ideally edible ones, make a splendid low-cost alternative to hand made flowers that bakers make from icings or marzipan.
· Be alert to the possibility that you may be asked to pay a cutting fee at your reception site. That fee can run to $1.50 per guest or more. Abandoning a cake that must be sliced and served to your guests in favor of a buffet table with assorted decorated cupcakes and mini tarts, cheesecakes, éclairs, brownies and so forth can make that service fee go "poof".
· As a last resort, some brides will ask a friend or relative to prepare their wedding cake in lieu of some other gift. Keep in mind, however, that this could be a very costly proposition for the gifting baker, especially if the cake must accommodate many guests. And most important of all, it is critical that the reception site be consulted to ensure that they will permit the serving of a cake prepared by someone who doesn't necessarily have a food license.

Stacked Wedding Cake Construction

That day you've secretly feared since you started decorating cakes is quickly approaching. You've been asked to make a wedding cake - a five tiered, stacked wedding cake! And it's for your sister's wedding!

As you go over designs with your sister by day, you dream about the cake at night. The cake in your dreams is taller than any cake you've even seen. As bride and groom pose for the cake cutting ceremony pictures, you look on as each tier slowly sinks into the one beneath it, and just as your sister and her new husband smile and begin to slice their first piece of cake, the force of gravity and the domino effect take hold and the cake implodes.

All four top tiers sink into the bottom tier, turning a once majestic beauty into a giant pile of fondant covered cake rubble! (And then you wake up, covered in sweat, only to realize that this dream could actually become reality.)

But wait! This nightmare does not have to become reality. And no, you won't have to add therapist bills to your cake budget to get through your big project. These sorts of nightmares are normal for first time wedding cake makers. Beyond a healthy amount of butterflies, you have absolutely nothing to fear if you follow these tips.

Stacked Wedding Cake Construction 101

Unlike wedding cakes with tiers that are separated by plates and pillars, the tiers on a stacked wedding cake appear to rest directly on top of one another. This is just an illusion since the cakes actually rest on a system of hidden pillars and plates. To stack a multi-tiered cake without plates and pillars is a very risky proposition with the weight of each cake.

Stacked cakes of more than 4 layers need some sort of support in the form of plates, spikes and/or dowels to keep the upper layers from sinking into the lower layers.

So whether your wedding cake will be stacked Victorian style (graduating round tiers) or à la chic with fondant covered gift-box style tiers, here are the basics:

To create a perfectly constructed tower rather than an experiment on the effects of gravity on cake and icing, you can either use a purchased set of cake plates and spikes, or you can build your own system using cardboard cake plates and dowels.

To build your own system, pick up some 1/4-3/8-inch round cake dowels (or other food safe wooden dowels) and a hammer (yes, even if you flunked high school Woodshop) and follow these tips:

1. Plan the dowels' placement by centering a cake plate the size of the next cake to be placed on top of the bottom cake, and then marking the spot by pressing down gently on the plate.

2. Within the boundaries of these markings, insert four evenly spaced dowels. Insert the first dowel straight down through to the bottom of the cake and mark the dowel even with the top of the cake. Pull out the dowel and, using wire cutters, cut off at the mark. Cut three more the same height. Then push the dowels straight down into the cake in the places you marked so that they form a square inside the circle. (Be sure the dowels are perfectly even with the top of the cake for the best support.)

3. Place your next smaller tier on a round cake board of the same size, and then place it on top of the bottom tier. The dowels will prevent the top tier from sinking into the bottom tier.

4. Measure the next set of dowels from the bottom of the bottom cake to the top of the top cake. Cut the dowel at an angle to taper the end and cut it so that it is just slightly shorter than the height of the two bottom cakes. Insert the dowels tapered end first straight down through the cake. When the dowel stops at the first cake board, give it a firm tap with the hammer to break through the board down to the bottom of the cake. To prevent the hammer from landing in the icing, place another small section of dowel end to end with the measured dowel to hammer it into position.

5. Finally, ice over the little blemish to hide the tip of the dowel, and your tower construction is finished! You can rest easy knowing that your wedding cake is stable enough to withstand the forces of gravity. No more nightmares!

Things to Ask Your Baker About Your Wedding Cake

Your wedding cake can be ordered from a baker, a caterer, or even your reception location. When ordering your wedding cake some things you should consider are: the price, the workmanship, the quality (of both flavor and design) and the taste. Some reception locations will charge you a fee if you order your cake from an outside baker. This fee is known as a cake-cutting fee. However, ordering from a baker who specializes in wedding cakes will ensure you are getting exactly what you want for your wedding cake.

You will also have to decide on other options such as: size, shape, color, decorations, flavor, filling and frosting. An experienced baker who specializes in wedding cakes will advise you how much cake you will need, what flavors are popular, and which frostings will hold up over the course of your reception. Frostings are very delicate - some do not perform well when exposed to air or heat for long periods of time (whipped cream is an example of this). Ask for photographs of wedding cakes from each baker you are considering, and also ask if you can taste samples of their cakes.

Once you narrow down your choices for a baker here are some questions to ask before making a final decision:

Name and Address of Bakery:

Contact Person and Phone Number:

1. How many years have you been designing and making wedding cakes?
2. What are your specialties?
3. What is your most popular flavor?
4. What is your most popular filling?
5. What frosting would you recommend for our event?
6. Do you have photographs of some recent cakes you have made?
7. Can we sample your wedding cakes?
8. Do you freeze your wedding cakes?
9. How far in advance should I order my cake?
10. (If applicable) Can I order a groom's cake?
11. How much is my desired cake?
12. How much per piece does my desired cake cost?
13. What is your cake pillar fee?
14. What is your cake plate rental fee?
15. Are these fees refundable upon the return of these items?
16. When must these items be returned?
17. Do you offer a specialty box in which we can freeze the top tier?
18. If so, How much does this box cost?
19. When will you deliver the cake?
20. What is your delivery fee?
21. What is your set up fee?
22. What is your payment policy?
23. What is your cancellation policy?
24. Do you offer a money back guarantee if something should happen to the cake?
25. Do you have liability insurance?

Wedding Cake Toppers

Avoid buying one of those cheap plastic bride and grooms that you can find in discount department stores, and some bakeries. Your topper should be as special as your cake, and reflect your dreams and taste, not those of the baker.

Use your imagination, there are some really humorous cake toppers available, that you might enjoy. However you may want to think about whether or not it might offend some of the guests on both sides of the family, like grandparents and other older relatives.

There are military, and police cake toppers as well as cartoon characters, teddy bears, animals, sports themed toppers to name just a few, as well as the traditional bride and groom.

Maybe you would like a wedding cake topper to reflect interests that you and the groom share. Do you both love music, dancing, hockey or bowling? You can likely find a topper to recognize that. Did you know, that there are Harley Davidson cake toppers available?

Of course you can get doves, bells, gazebos and hearts to adorn your wedding cake.

Any of these paired with the bride and groom figurine would look wonderful.

Fresh, silk, marzipan or frosting flowers can make a spectacular wedding cake topper, that will have everyone talking about the beautiful cake.

Maybe your Mom and Dad still have their wedding cake topper or perhaps your mother-in-law has her mother’ topper. What a special significance either of these toppers would have, if used on your wedding cake.

It is possible to have a cake topper designed to your specific wishes. Marzipan artists can make figurines to resemble the bride and groom, or even a favorite pet. Churches, temples, your home or the car you just bought together, can all be created as a cake topper for your wedding cake. Swarovski Crystal will be offering some truly different but exquisite crystal cake toppers. I can't wait to see those.

If your wedding will have an overtly religious theme, then please choose your cake topper design, with that theme in mind.

Guide to Wedding Cake Frosting

Next to the bridal gown, the wedding cake is perhaps the most detail intensive element of planning your event. It will take days if not weeks before the future bride can choose the exact design and color of her cake. On top of this, it may take her forever to decide the cake frosting to be used by her baker.

This is the reason why you need to get a reputable baker so they can make intelligent suggestions as to which frosting would be best for the chosen cake design. You may know a thing or two about cakes but only those who have experienced in decorating them can tell you the pros and cons of using a specific frosting. Here are some of the types of cake frosting commonly used today.

Butter cream

Butter cream is a very versatile ingredient because it can be used both as a filling and a frosting. Bakers prefer this frosting because it is easy to color depending on the motif of the wedding. It is also easy to come up with various designs using this frosting. The only problem is that it can easily melt especially if the temperature is not controlled so watch out for butter cream if you are holding an outdoor reception.

Fondant

If you have seen satin smooth cakes that look perfect even if shaped like a gift, flower or anything at all then most probably it has been designed using fondant. Fondant icing is picture perfect and no one can argue with that. However, it does not taste as delicious as the other icing and some would even say it tastes bad. Some bakers however have a trick of using butter cream beneath the fondant to give it a really nice flavor.

Marzipan

This is a favorite among bakers as it tastes good and can be made to look like fondant icing. Marzipan contains sugar, eggs and crushed almonds making it a very tasty topping. However, using marzipan can be very expensive so be prepared for your wallet to take a hit.

Royal icing

This is perhaps the cheapest frosting anyone can use for a wedding cake. It can also produce picture perfect cakes with very intricate designs. Royal icing is actually a very hard frosting so there is seldom need to refrigerate it. You can have your baker create miniature cakes for you using some of the frosting you are interested in and then you can taste them and decide which one will look and taste the best.

Summer Wedding Ideas

Summer weddings are always more preferred because of the versatility in wedding themes and ideas during this time of the year. With the abundance of nature blooming in the surrounding area, a pleasant summer wedding is easier to put together. Not to mention, the beautiful warm outdoor weather is always conducive to a celebration and outdoor ceremonies.

The most popular theme for a summer wedding is a beach themed wedding. For a beach themed wedding choose a public or private beach for your wedding. Set the beach wedding theme from the very beginning. Let the beach wedding theme reflect on your invitations and stationary by adding sea side elements and decorations to them. You will save on the wedding decorations for a beach themed wedding as the beach itself will set the scene. Add subtle touches to your tables and centerpieces with seashells.

For your menu, definitely seafood in your menu and there are some fabulous wedding cake designs with a beach theme. Select a cake topper that reflects seaside elements to tie it all together. To top it all off make sure to give out wedding favors with a beach theme such as a sea shell gel candle. The most fun part of a beach wedding affair is picking out wedding favors. There is an abundance of beach wedding favors to select from. For a formal beach wedding give sand and seashell tea lights and use personalized Adirondack chair tea light and place card holders to guide your guests to their table at your beach wedding reception.

If you are having a casual affair, give out seashell bottle openers or seashell gel candle favors. Another great part about beach weddings is that you can incorporate the beach theme into the bridal shower or bachelor party as a precursor to the beach wedding. Fun beach bridal shower favors are perfect pair flip flop candles or for a more elegant favor give French lavender bath salts in a seashell. For the guys, tropical shirt candle favors are great. One of the best beach wedding favor is for the bride and groom to take on their honeymoon, Just Married Sandals. Just Married Sandals are also great for the guests at a casual wedding on the beach. Most popular beach wedding favors can found at Chic Wedding Favors.com.

A beach wedding or a nautical wedding theme can be a lot of fun. It's easy to be whimsical and more relaxed with a beach wedding. However, if you want to go all out, a formal beach themed wedding can be a gorgeous affair. Beach wedding ideas are available in abundance. Whether you are getting married during winter or summer, you can incorporate the beach theme into your wedding to create a beautiful wedding affair. Make your beach wedding fun or elegant with creativity.

If you are not crazy about the beach or the ocean is just too far away, a mid-summer wedding theme is beautiful. A mid-summer wedding theme should be magical. For this theme combining nature and old-world charm, choose an outdoor venue and have the ceremony under a flower-covered altar. Choose mid-summer motifs such as butterflies, vines or even fairies for your stationery. Use the brightest summer blooms for flowers, decorations and bouquets. Brides can use fresh flowers in their hair instead of other accessories. A Summer Wedding Cake using fresh flowers or fruits, a light menu with lots of fresh fruits and cool drinks or ice-cream will complement the theme perfectly.

In a beautiful garden in the summer afternoon, the most elegant wedding favor idea is intricately carved sandalwood fans. More recently, the sandalwood fan wedding favor has become very popular for Spring Weddings, Garden Weddings, Summer Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Beach Weddings, and other weddings with themes. The Sandalwood Fan Wedding Favor is a great idea for large weddings, as it is a fairly inexpensive wedding favor. If the favor can not be handed to all your guests, then your bride's maids would look beautiful holding them also. The Sandalwood Fan also makes a nice bridal shower favor and is appreciated by the ladies at a bridal shower any time of the year. Sandalwood Fan Wedding Favors have become increasingly popular with both large and small weddings. Its beauty enhances the most formal and elegant weddings as well as simple lighthearted wedding affairs. The Sandalwood Fan Wedding Favors are easy to turn into your special and personalized wedding favors.

Whether your style is formal or stylish and informal, a summer wedding can accommodate an abundance of ideas and themes. Wedding favor and accessories markets make it easy to find ideas and embellishments for your special occasion. Designers and wedding planners like Event Trendsetter can help put it all together for you. The summer is a great time to plan a wedding. Let your imagination run wild with the summer breeze!

Tips for Beautiful but Cheap Wedding Cakes

A multi-tiered wedding cake beautifully decorated is an important part of any bride’s dream wedding, but the price tag can give you nightmares. Use these tips to take a bite out of the bill. Your cheap wedding cake will still look and taste fabulous.

If your heart is set on a three tiered cake that feeds 100, order it with plain white frosting, no decorations, and then decorate at the reception with fresh flowers. Or you can wrap a length of lace around each layer, like you would a ribbon. Of course remove the lace before cutting. Your wedding cake will be cheap but gorgeous.

Stick with basic flavors and fillings, exotic flavorings add to the cost of the cake.

Rather than one huge multi-tiered cake, use a modest tiered cake and then several (as many as you need for your guests) sheet cakes. Serving will go faster this way as well. No one will know your wedding cake was cheap.

Order from a grocery store rather than a bakery. Many grocers have onsite bakeries, just like they have onsite florist departments.

Don’t order a wedding cake at all. Order a sheet cake with white frosting to serve guests and a smaller two tiered cake to cut for photos.

Depending on how many servings you need, order a full sheet cake (100 servings), a half sheet cake (50 servings) and a quarter sheet cake (25 servings), all iced in white. Place the half sheet on the full sheet cake and then the quarter sheet on top. Use ready-to-use frosting that comes in a can with a nozzle to touch up any mistakes and fill in the gap between the layers. You don’t have to remove the cardboard between the layers, it will help steady the cake when it’s time to cut. Don’t go any higher than three layers, if you do you run the risk of the bottom layer being squashed by the weight of the upper layers.

Use cupcakes. Order as many as you need in white paper wrapping, and white frosting. Use a tiered serving dish to arrange the cupcakes. Or you can buy two or three inexpensive white plastic serving platters. Line the platters with white paper lace doilies. Place the first platter on the table. Place three inverted wine glasses at noon, 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock on the platter. Fill in around the glasses with cupcakes. Place the second platter on the overturned wine glasses. In the center of the second platter, place three more inverted wine glasses. Fill the second platter with cupcakes. Place the final platter on the overturned wine glasses and fill with cupcakes.

Use a two tiered cake for the bride and groom to cut at the reception. Order a sheet cake for however many guests will be attending. On a separate table offer guests various toppings for their slice of cake. You can offer fresh strawberries, chocolate syrup, raspberries, sprinkles and whipped cream. Consider offering several flavors of ice cream. It’s fun and festive.

Have a friend, or several friends bake the cake using various sizes of heart shaped pans. Each can be iced in shades of pale pink, pale lilac, cream, and white. The cakes are placed on a table covered with a lace cloth. Rose petals in pinks, cream, and lilac – or whatever colors suit your color scheme are scattered between the cakes.

None of your guests will realize how cheap your wedding cake is, they'll just be impressed by how beautiful it was.

Your Wedding Ceremony With Your Perfect Wedding Cake

Cutting your cake has always been understood as something that you do during the wedding reception. Over time, the meaning has disappeared, and cake cutting has become simply one more wedding activity on the "must accomplish" check-off list.

These days most brides and grooms are being circumspect and trading small bite size pieces of cake with one another. Hallelujah! The horrendous smear cake all over your beloved's face is a throw back to a time when women were chattel and this was seen as the last act she could take as a free woman. (women whose dowers had been paid, but the deal not yet consummated, so to speak, were considered women responsible for themselves.) So consider that before you consider wiping cake all over your partner's face. You might also consider how carefully your beloved dressed to look wonderful for you on this momentous occasion and decide whether you want to be that disrespectful to the person with whom you're embarking on a lifetime of relationship. What kind of start do you want to your marriage?

The notion behind the wedding cake is that the first food you feed one another at your wedding should be sweet. The food should be sweet so that the promises which come out of your mouths may be sweet. This ceremony should be reflected in your vows: Why not promise to share life's sweetness with one another?

• Do the ceremony before your vows and then promise to nurture one another with sweetness.
• You may not want to cut your wedding cake at the ceremony (particularly if the reception is at a different venue) but ask your baker to make a small cake (as small as a cupcake) for you to share at your wedding.
• Acknowledge that marriage and the individuals who are in the marriage need sustenance.
• Consider preceding the cake ceremony with bread and wine (or whatever the grain and drink of your culture is). Before we eat cake we must eat that which nourishes us.
• Nurture one another with just a little sweetness.
• Promise to do that throughout your life together.

Then do it throughout your life together. Take time to do small, sweet things for one another. Sweet kisses, sweet foods, sweet time together. Do this and your marriage will flourish. And you will thrive!

Wedding Cake Unique With Monogram Cake Toppers

Weddings are all about the couple. It's not just the bride's but the groom's special day as well. Months of preparation and seemingly frivolous shopping for fabrics, venues, accessories and decorations to use in a ceremony that lasts only a few hours at the most is intended to serve a greater purpose - to build a remarkable and wonderful set of memories for this happy occasion.

That's what makes monogram cake toppers such a hit in wedding receptions. A delicate piece of monogram signifying something significant to the couple adds a stylishly unique touch to the wedding banquet; it's also becoming a favorite collectible of couples from their wedding day. And no, it's not only for sentimental reasons. A monogram cake topper is a fantastic item to keep, along with your wedding gown.

Style Choices

There are three elements to a monogram cake topper a couple must decide on to ensure a fantastic, personalized and very unique cake.

1. Font Style. There are generally two styles of fonts favored by most couples for their monograms. Formal styles lean toward the calligraphic scripts that are generally used in wedding invitations. Often, these are the font style choices for couples who prefer traditional weddings and ceremonies. For the funkier, hip couples, contemporary styles lean toward more creative fonts. These can be straightforward arial or similar font sitting on a cursive base. The traditional style tends to be more formal and more feminine; Contemporary styles are more adventurous and are flexible enough to include a bit of masculinity in its overall look and feel.

2. Material and Finish. The basic elegant choice for the lettering is a metallic or silver look. However, there are more decorative choices. Many couples fancy Swarovski crystals on their cake's monograms. Swarovski crystals adds a very elegant touch to an otherwise simple cake. It sparkles like diamonds catching lights, each angle showing a prism of colors. Some use basic crystals of different colors and adorn the monogram further with edible flowers and other decorative.

3. Letter Combinations. This is often the challenging, yet the fun part of picking out the perfect monogram cake topper. The couple has to decide which letters should sit atop their wedding cake. There's no hard and fast rule as to this; couples are free to choose this intricate detail. Do you need some ideas for your wedding cake?

Creative Ideas for Letters on a Monogram Cake Topper

Initials. This is a common choice for most. Some do with the first letters of their first names; others may use the first letters of their last names as a symbol of the union. Others prefer the romanticism of putting together their initials with their new common last name. Everyone at the wedding party should be able to figure this out.

Significant Dates. Often, this would come out as an alphanumeric code of sorts. This is any date significant to the couple - the date they first met, their first date, first night together or their first holiday trip together. This is often fun as a monogram like N208 raises everyone's curiosity and would be an excellent opener to a conversation

Looking For Great Wedding Cake Toppers Initials

If you are looking for great wedding cake topper initials then this article can help you find what you are looking for. There are a few different options and ways to buy intial wedding cake toppers and some different choices you will have to make. The prices can vary greatly also depending on the options you choose. This article will walk you through the world or wedding cake topper initials.

What are they?

Wedding cakes have a long history and are a part of every wedding. This is one tradition that is present in almost every culture in one form or another. In the United States and Western countries the wedding cake is traditionally frosted with elegant white frosting and has lots of floral decorations. Then classically at the top of the wedding cake are a husband and wife. The couple is called the wedding cake topper. Of course people like to be different and unique and tie their wedding cake topper into their wedding theme. This has lead to the market of custom made wedding cake toppers. These can range greatly in price, detail and materials. You can purchase everything from polymer likeness of the bride and groom to a monogrammed intial wedding cake topper.

This article focuses on the monogrammed or initials wedding cake topper. These toppers are typically silver plated letter that stand between 4 to 5 inches high and are composed of the bride and grooms initials. These give a very elegant and classy look to a cake and are a definite addition that is worth consider.

Where can you buy them?

There are many places to purchase these such as a wedding cake decorator or even a cake decorating store. However, if you are looking to safe money there are many retailers that sell only online. You can simply use Google or Yahoo and search for terms like monogrammed wedding cake toppers or initials. This will bring up a host of retailers that can easily be contacted and the topper purchased online. You will also find that there is greater variety among the online versions because these are often semi custom. This means that the basic shapes of the letters have already been cut but you can pick color schemes and other options.

What are the options?

There are a lot of different options and it really depends on which retailer you are working with. However many will offer a variety of fonts, sizes, and arrangements of the letters. You can also change the thickness of the letter. Many retailers decorate the wedding cake topper initial letters with Swarovski.

What do they cost?

There is a wide range of prices online depending on how many special requests and custom options you want. They can range anywhere between $50 up to $225. The price range is largely due to two things. First whatever the base materials of the letters are made from can change the overall cost significantly. For example metal letters will often be more expensive then acrylic ones. Also the amount and type of crystals use to decorate the initials can change the overall cost.

Other random facts before you buy.

Traditionally these monogrammed wedding cake topper initials are made up of three letters. The letter on the left side is for the bride, the middle letter which is classically bigger then the other and stands in the front of the others is the last name of the married couple and then the letter on the right is for the groom.

Why would I do this?

There are a few out there that might ask why would I bother to do this? If you want your wedding day to be really memorable and have everything coordinated and well planned down to even the last detail then you will want to look at wedding cake topper initials. These really stand out and take the whole wedding cake to the next level. This is a decoration that is often seen in the wedding pictures. Just think of the classic wedding picture of the new couple cutting the cake together. Don’t you want an outstanding topper to really show off your wedding?

Wedding Cake Glossary of Terms

If you will be getting married, you may want to be familiar with wedding cake terms before you visit the baker or confectioner who is making your cake. Here are some of the more common wedding cake terms and their meanings:

Wedding Cake Parts and Shapes:

Tier: This is one level of the cake-(i.e. a 3 tier cake.)

Layer: A horizontal piece of the cake. Often the wedding cake layers are baked in separate pans and then one or more are combined to make a tier.

Round: A cylinder shaped cake. This is the most traditional shape for a wedding cake.

Square: A more modern shape for a cake-very geometrical-tiers can be placed at odd angles for an even more modern touch.

Hexagon: A six-sided wedding cake can be very trendy and fashionable.

Scalloped: The edges of the tiers are shaped much like flower petals for a very casual look.

Molded: The cake is shaped like a football or some other object-this is often used for the groom’s cake.

Frosting and Filling Terms:

Fondant: A sheet like sugar “dough” that hardens over time and is good for an outdoor wedding cake because it will not melt. It is very smooth in texture and can be made in one of three forms: rolled into sheets, poured over the top, or sculpted into shapes.

Buttercream: The traditional wedding cake favorite made of butter, cream, and eggs. It is very soft and easy to flavor with chocolate, fruit or liquor, but should only be used at indoor events.

Ganache: A chocolate, butter and cream sauce or filling that will melt in the heat.

Chocopan: This is basically a chocolate version of fondant-but better tasting.

Marzipan: This almond based substance can be used as a filling or to make colored shapes to put on the cake.

Royal Icing: A very hard icing that is used for decorations that need to be solid-such as lace.

Decorations:

Basket weave: This looks like a wicker basket.

Swiss dotted: Random dots are placed all over the cake.

Piping: Lines are made on the cake with a pastry bag and tip.

Pulled or Spun Sugar: Sugar is cooked until it is liquid and then shaped into bows, ribbons or thin strands. This must be done on site because it will not transport.

Do-it-yourself Indian Wedding Cake

The Indian tradition of intricate painting and design is also one f things that is very prominent in Indian wedding cakes. This is probably where the concept of using Henna cake has originated.

Indian wedding cakes are not different from other cakes that are used in other weddings. The only thing that makes them distinct is the design that is used in making the cake. Indian wedding cakes are known for their unique and traditional designs. To be fitted for the occasion, intricate designs are put into these cakes. You can tell the culture which the cake originated from by the way it is designed.

In the case of Indian wedding cakes today, blending the modern world with the past culture is always a challenge. Even if the ingredients that they have are already adapted from western cultures, there is always that traditional sense present in the patterns and designs.

Nowadays, the prices of wedding cakes are the primary reason why a lot of people prefer doing it themselves. This is the same thing with Indian wedding cakes. All you need to do is to have the ingredients and the necessary equipments for baking the cake.

How do you go about making your Indian wedding cake?

1. The cake selection.

The first thing that you need to do is choose the type of Indian cake you like. You can look over the bridal magazines or sites online that are offering a variety of Indian wedding cake ingredients and designs.

Since Indian wedding cakes are known for their intricate designs, you can adapt the most common designs that some Indian couples have made in their wedding cakes. But if you are creative enough, you can come up with one of your own.

The ingredients that you choose should not be hard to find. You can choose from a wide selection of flavors that are available in all other wedding cakes.

2. Making the cake.

Once all the ingredients and the necessary cooking equipments are prepared, you can now bake the Indian cake that you want.

You can start by making plans on how your cake will look like. How many layers do you want it? How big does it have to be? These are some of the questions that you need to answer first before you bake your Indian wedding cake.

One way of doing it is to make a trial cake. This will ensure that the taste will turn out exactly the way you want it. Also, this will be the basis on how the final wedding cake will look like. Having a trial created will help you decide if you want to make some necessary changes that you do not want to have in the final Indian wedding cake.

You can try and enlist the help of the expert in baking wedding cakes. They can give you tips on how to prepare the icing or the pillars if you do not have any basic idea about them.

Making your own Indian wedding cake cannot only save you some money, you can also come up with the design and style that you wanted. The good thing about making your own Indian cake is that you can make certain that it is baked to perfection. Moreover, your Indian wedding cake will surely be one of a kind.

How To Pick The Perfect Wedding Cake

Your wedding is your special day. Of course, you want everything to be absolute perfection. You have to get yourself the best dress money can buy. You have to have your ceremony and reception in the most gorgeous setting. And, of course, you want to have the best cake ever - by far the most fun part of your wedding planning efforts.

The Look

Common advice dictates that you should not judge a book by its cover. You can ignore such advice in this case. When choosing your wedding cake, the look does matter, more than any other.

When you're picking a wedding cake, take the time to browse through several cake shops and browse through color catalogs to find one that fits your wedding theme and motif perfectly. Better yet, if your budget permits, you can get a cake customized especially for your wedding. This way your cake will seamlessly blend in with the decor, complimenting the overall look and feel of your wedding.

Why is this important? Simply put, your wedding cake is the centerpiece of the reception. It is by far the most unique and the most admired of all your wedding trappings. It's meant to stand out, yes, not as a wallflower, but as the ultimate topper of your wedding decor.

The Taste

Beauty is more than skin deep. This is especially true in wedding cakes. Your cake is gorgeous and it will capture the admiration of your guests, so it's only fitting that it's tastes good as well. Suffice to say, your cake should literally be good enough to eat.

Most cake shops offer samples for tasting purposes. You should definitely take advantage of this opportunity. Take the time to sample different combinations of icing, flavors, and fillings.

So what should you look for in a good wedding cake? First of all, consider the icing. You can go for fondant or royal icing. Your icing should be sweet, but not overly so. You don't want to your icing to dominate the whole cake. If your cake has flowerettes and other decorations on it made of marzipan, fondant, or any other confection, sample those as well.

Next, consider the cake itself. You can have your choice of chiffon, sponge, and many more. These often come in different flavors that you can choose from. A good cake is soft enough to melt in your mouth, but not crumble when cut by a knife or fork. Also, the flavor has to be noticeable, but not overwhelmingly so.

Lastly, consider the cake's filling. Most cake shops also offer different options for this, and you can choose one perfect for your palate. The filling should be creamy and should blend perfectly with the icing and the cake itself. Of course, if you've chosen a tiered cake and are having a hard time figuring out which combination to go for, you can always request a different one for each tier.

Indeed, as hectic as planning a wedding could be, picking a wedding cake takes the strain out of everything else. This is a good opportunity to put the fun back in your wedding planning. Of course, with all the tasting, don't get carried away or else you won't fit in your dress!

Military Wedding Complete With Military Wedding Cake Toppers

For many couples one of the great things about getting married today is the fact that they are no longer bound by the customs and traditions that ruled the arrangements for their parents' wedding, but are able to plan a wedding that very much suits their own personalities and lifestyles. But what about those couples who are planning a military wedding?

The basis of a military wedding is of course no different to any traditional white wedding in terms of the format of the wedding and the following reception, with a addition of some traditions that are peculiar to military weddings in general and to weddings from within individual corps or units in particular. This can make it somewhat more difficult to stamp your own personality on your wedding, but there are areas of the wedding, such as your wedding cake, where you can still be more than a little creative.

Whether it's a military wedding or not, there's nothing to say that you have to have a traditional circular white wedding cake. Nowadays cakes come in all flavors, shapes, sizes and colors and there's no reason at all why you shouldn't have your own military cake.

If the kids can have birthday cakes shaped like dinosaurs, then why shouldn't you have a wedding cake in the shape of an aircraft carrier or a Hercules? The problem of course is that your wedding cake needs to be very much a focal point of your reception and this means that it needs to have height – hence the tradition of building cakes into tiers. Your aircraft carrier may well be big enough to feed your assembled guests (and of course to put the bridge away in the freezer for the christening of your first child) but it will not have the dramatic effect that can only really be found by giving a cake height.

In most cases the answer is to choose a cake that you like in terms of flavor and color, but to stick with a fairly conventional shape (round, square, octagonal etc.) and to tier the cake in several layers to give you the required height. Then you can add the final personalization by finishing the cake off with one of the many military wedding cake toppers available today.

Here you could of course have your aircraft carrier or Hercules, but perhaps a safer, but no less personal, choice would be to have representations of yourselves complete with your chosen wedding dress and dress uniform.

The days of the cheap plastic replicas of the bride and groom are long gone and you can now have extremely realistic figures crafted which will match the bride's dress and bouquet, and even her hair, as well as dressing you in the correct uniform complete with badges of rank and medal ribbons. Military wedding cake toppers today have become quite an art.

Wedding Cake Decorations

You are planning your wedding and you have your hall, caterer, Church, flowers, dresses, and tuxes. Invitations have been ordered, and now you are looking for the perfect wedding cake to showcase at your reception. This will sit on a table of its own and be included in pictures, so you want it to be beautiful and special.

The decorations and types are so vast and beautiful that you are having a hard time trying to choose what you want. Start by looking at your wedding; is there a theme? Is it casual, traditional, or very formal and elegant wedding? Keep this in mind as you look at cake styles and you are sure to choose the right one.

You can go online and find any style of cake with the perfect decorations to meet your wants and needs. There are the traditional wedding cakes that are beautiful, and still the most popular. There are also many new styles just as elegant and beautiful. The art of wedding cake making is so advanced, with new pans for all of the different ideas being made all of the time.

Cake toppers have changed over the years and you do not have to have the traditional bride and groom toppers. You might want a heart, bells, dove, or an untraditional bride and groom. You can have cakes in many shapes and themes like stacked wedding gifts, a heart, and even shaped like the bride and groom. One really pretty on I saw was a bride and groom descending a staircase that is made going spiral around the cake, which is very inventive and unique.

Real flowers are a great decoration and are becoming more popular with brides. They are simple yet elegant. There are cakes with minimal décor like a single bow on the top tier made with frosting and the Ribbons streaming down sides of the cake made of fondant or frosting. It is a beautiful and simple way to decorate a wedding cake.

Flavors can be any kind, and mixed as well to match the tastes of all your guests. The colors of frosting no longer have to be white. The frosting can be done in the colors of the wedding or even match a theme such as a Christmas wedding.

There are wedding decorations to fit any budget and any taste. Have in mind a type of cake, flavors, the number of people you need to feed, and bring your cake topper when you order the cake. Your cake designer will work with you on getting it right.

You can change it up and use a more modern design, or even go with your own. A unique cake is often the talk of the wedding, after the wedding gown of course. The cake is usually one of the lesser expenses for the work that is involved in creating it.

I have looked in awe of some of the creations of wedding cakes that have been made. The decorations are so advanced and it is a true art. The patience that goes into making the tiny details and the perfect florals, and realistic decoration aspects are tremendous. Make the best choice for you and enjoy your wedding day.

Disaster Alert - Wrecked Wedding Cakes

Sorry Wedding Cakes

Wedding disasters do happen. After ensuring that every piece of the wedding collage is in its proper place disaster strikes and of all things, it happens to wedding cakes! When this happens, you can do nothing but watch the cake in horror as it slowly slides to the table and onto the floor. Blame the bakers, the cats and dogs, and yourself.

First, the bakers advertise themselves as the best when it comes to wedding cakes; or Aunt Thelma was being kind and suggested you can save more money if she does the cake with her outdated baking technology, or that you were not informed by that top baker that fondant can taste like paper and there were too much half-eaten cakes. Whatever the disaster, you still have a little contribution to the tragedy.

Sometimes the cakes bombed in-transit. The carefully constructed and painfully art crafted wedding cake is smashed beyond recognition. Only an experienced and deft cake artist can do an on-site SOS and save the day. The three-tiered cake is now a single layer cake topped with fresh blooms and emergency ribbons - for photo ops. Guests can only wonder why they couldn't eat cake.

How to Avoid Wedding Cake Disasters

During baking, en route to the reception, or sitting magnificently on a table just for it, wedding cakes invite disaster. Outdoors, wedding cakes invite ants and other insects lured by its delicious scent and birds might take a swipe at it! Indoors, ants can march to the cake, your dogs and cats might try it, and little children might be tempted to find out what's inside all that beautiful flowers and ribbons.

Those who had the misfortune with wrecked cakes during their weddings can tell you these:

• Ask friends where they ordered their beautiful cakes
• Ask the baker to show his portfolio
• Ask the baker to give you a cake taste test
• Order from a baker who lives near the area
• Inquire if they freeze their cakes
• At the reception, make sure no pets are on the grounds
• Outdoors, place the cake in a tent or under a patio umbrella
• Get a professional not a DIY to do your wedding cake

One more important thing, don't make the mistake of thinking that your wedding cake won't get into any trouble. Stay alert to the safeguards you have read or heard from friends. Better yet, assign your sister to take care of the cake until the countdown to the ceremonial cake slicing.

Yes It Can Happen to You

A cake is just a cake you say. It's different with this cake. Your wedding cake, next to your wedding dress is the focal point of interest in your wedding. In the planning for your wedding cake, have safeguards for possible destruction. Think like a general when it comes to wedding cakes.

If disaster strikes, you can only grit your teeth. But when it's over, the whole thing becomes funny. Wedded couples have a fun slapping cake icing around and making the most of their first day together despite wedding cakes disasters.

Introduction To Wedding Cake Designs

The wedding cake design should not only reflect personal style, but also ideally be in sync with the menu and the décor of the wedding reception. The wedding cake should fit in the theme of the wedding reception.

Wedding cake designs can come in many forms, from the usual cream or white icings in conventional designs, to wholly non-traditional designs laced with vibrant artistry.

With the passing of time, wedding cake designs have evolved. Couples are now choosing cupcake trees with greater frequency, which was one of the foremost wedding cake ideas. Yet, some still have a preference for the conventional cakes for their wedding cakes.

The size and design of the wedding cake may depend on a number of things, like the size of the wedding budget or the availability of other desserts in the reception.

Today, one can find pastry chefs who offer infinite wedding cake ideas on icings, decorations, construction, and flavors.

A wedding cake’s design can be a reflection of personal taste. A couple with a passion for cars or motorcycles can have wedding cakes reflecting the same; a small motorcycle accompanying the miniature figures of the couple atop the cake, for example.

The flavor of the wedding cake is another important aspect. No flavor is off-limits for the modern wedding. One can have cheesecakes, mousse-filled cakes, pound cakes, vanilla, chocolate or sponge cake.

Today, one can find competent bakers with the ability to create the lacy look of the bride’s dress with frosting or the use of pearls. With frosting, these bakers can duplicate the look of any part of the reception’s décor. Also, couples can have their initials entwined in the cake with frosting.

In Bermuda, wedding cakes have a little green tree as a cake topping. Following the wedding, the newlyweds can plant the same tree in their garden, and symbolically watch it grow with time.

Then there are other options like adding edible fruits, chocolates or nuts around the cake. This will augment the designs on the guests’ plates. For that matter, one can also use edible roses, lavender or oregano as designs, or non-edible flowers as cake toppings.

The Importance of a Wedding Cake

There are a lot of staple marks to a wedding like the pure white dress, the flower girl, the ring bearer, and of course, an ornately decorated cake that will impress all of your guests. The cake is the central aspect of the night and everyone really waits for the moment when the bride and groom will first cut the cake and perhaps follow the messy tradition of feeding each other a piece. This tradition represents the joy and playfulness that is apparent in the bond between husband and wife and is a reminder that marriage is just another step to enhance your friendship and your romantic love. Feeding your spouse is also just a great spectacle for all your guests to watch and enjoy because it is rather funny even though it has so much meaning and is so deeply rooted in tradition.

Another important aspect of the cake is that it is so highly decorated and really can be the central part of your theme that brings all of your decorations together and makes them stand out to your guests as something unique, amazing, and unforgettable. The cake should be a representation of all your dreams for a wedding and should show the guests what your theme is. The best way to do this is with the colors you choose and also the accessories that you want to be put onto the cake like decorations and cake toppers. Cake tops can be so many different things that it might be hard for you to decide what kind you would like to have but there are so many different things that you can do that you will never run out of ways to express yourself through these amazing decorations.

The great part about Wedding Cake Toppers is that you can definitely use them as keepsakes either for yourself and your new spouse or for someone that is really important to you. These are a great way to remember your wedding, especially if you make the cake the central part of the reception and the central aspect of decoration by choosing a cake that is really elaborate and richly colored. Here are a couple examples of amazing wedding toppers that will represent the idea of love.

Stylized Heart Cake Topper:

This heart is done kind of in the style of a Celtic knot on the bottom and a twisting heart that looks really elegant and pristine on top of your cake. This heart represents the idea of love that is definitely present to everyone in the room that is partaking in your wedding celebration and sharing the love that you and your spouse have.

Family Heart Cake Topper:

This cake topper is amazing because it has a few hearts intertwined and one of them is a small one that represents a baby. The beautiful protective family meaning of this cake topper will be a great omen for your future lives together and the family you will have very soon. All your guests will definitely appreciate the meaning of this decoration.

Lovely Design Options For Wedding Cake Toppers

The use of Wedding Cake Toppers originated in the latter years of the nineteenth century. It became popular in late 1920's. The earliest types of wedding cake toppers have a choice of newly wed poses. These toppers were usually taken out after the ceremonies and kept as cherished keepsake of the wedding day by the groom and bride for the rest of their lives. It tote up a special personal feel to your wedding and can be passed on to your siblings or your kids for their own wedding days.

Options for toppers got bigger all the more as they grow to be trendy. Designs like cupids, doves, love birds, and wedding bells are among the favorites. As most cake toppers are homemade in earlier years, common materials utilized were gum pastes. Glass, wood and paper types were also popular. As decades passed, making toppers grew to be commercial, and the materials used more varied. Toppers now can be made of paper mache, cellophane paper, wax, and even Swarovski crystals.

Here are some options for your wedding cake toppers:
Monogram Cake Toppers-These are typically a figurine of number, letters, or initials. Most are made from elegant Swarovski crystals in various artistic fonts. Others come in metallic surfaces or in gold or silver mirror acrylic.

Edible Cake Toppers- An already lip smacking cake can be more delightful and fun with edible cake toppers. These are generally made to order and available in all sizes, colors, designs, and shapes. Couples who surf for example may want to have an edible miniature surfing board.

Custom Wedding Cake Toppers- The array of customized or personalized cake toppers is wide and varied. Custom wedding cake toppers are handy in every design, theme, color, and shape you can imagine. Your imagination is the limit.

Unique Wedding Cake Toppers- If you and your partner desire to make your wedding cake topper one of a kind, think about getting some unique cake toppers that dramatically symbolizes your love for one another.

What are your plans as a new husband and wife? Do you plan to have many kids to fill your home with everyday laughter and delight? Then cake toppers of babies or children can very well embody this great plan. Or do you aspire of traveling all over the world? If so, a small globe or air plane toppers would stand for this ambition flawlessly. Do you both dream of establishing a restaurant? Then wedding cake toppers that feature a bride and groom dressed in a chef's costume or carrying an "Open for Business" poster is a charming way to let your guests know your dreams and aspiration.

The possibilities of design are endless. Think about it carefully to have that perfect wedding cake topper that will be a lifetime souvenir of your very special wedding day.

The Many Wedding Cake Options

These days you have many different choices when it comes to wedding cakes. Gone are the days when a white on white cake was just about mandatory. Today brides are doing many different things to make their wedding cake special. Learn about some of your options when it comes to wedding cake flavors and icing.

When you are deciding on a wedding cake the first thing you will have to decide on is the flavor of the cake. You could go with the basic white cake. It is a wedding classic but these days you have many more options. You can choose from such flavors as chocolate, mocha, lemon, raspberry or even carrot or spice cake. Don't be afraid to be different. Choose what you like.

Next you will have to choose a filling if you want one. This is another opportunity for you to get creative. Choose from flavors like amaretto, mocha, rum, orange, custard, cream cheese and more. The list is almost endless so you should be able to find a filling that you like.

Last we come to icing. There are many different styles of icing with different characteristics. Butter cream is a thicker icing that has a smooth finish. Whipped cream icing is lighter and fluffy but is also more delicate. Another popular icing is fondant. Fondant is another popular choice. It is a smooth thick icing that is rolled onto a cake. It is not as tasty as other icings but makes for a very attractive cake. Lastly there is royal icing. It is an icing that will harden after it is applied and it is used to create intricate decorations.

The type of wedding cake choice can be a difficult decision to make. Just remember that it is your day and you should ultimately choose what you like.

Incorporate Your Swedish Heritage in Your Perfect Wedding

Many people are now having a breakfast/brunch party the day after their wedding. This allows you to open presents and to catch up with those people you might not have had a chance to talk to. It's often a good opportunity to catch up with your parents' friends and your relatives.

Sweden has a tradition that must come from the old days when the daughters would leave their families to become members of their husband's families. As a last part of the goodbye at the bride's parents' house, the bride's family would make a cake so that the last bit of food the bride had at her childhood home was sweet.

The times that I've encountered the cake it's been a Princess Torte, a beautiful green confection full of yellow cake, marzipan, whipped cream and either vanilla cream or raspberry jelly. The Swedes are great about their pastries because as rich as they are, they're not horribly sweet. (Yum!)

(Of course, this could also be a great way to finish up the wedding cake from the day before, especially if everyone's traveling. Since single women no longer seem to take cake home from the wedding to place under their pillow so that they can dream of the man they will marry, there's often a lot of cake left over! And you don't want to waste cake! Just wondering, what did they wrap the cake in before Tupperware? Who wants to get marzipan and whipped cream in your pillow?) You might not HAVE to make a new cake, but it's a nice tradition to start!

Even though today's couples are becoming part of one another's families, it's still a lovely thought that you leave on your honeymoon with sweetness in your mouth, remembering your past and anticipating the marriage ahead. Your relationship deserves sweetness and tenderness. Start your life off with cake. You can get serious about your vegetables when you get back from your honeymoon!

Wedding Cake Prices

The wedding cake is a big part of the reception, let alone the wedding itself. That said, it's always a good idea to know where you stand by finding out the average wedding cake prices and what you'll be expected to pay.

First and foremost, you should realize that most bakeries charge per "slice" rather than per "cake. This system will allow you to easily determine how much the whole cake is going to cost, not to mention how much money you can spare for custom designs and cake icing.

Here is a Rundown of Wedding Cake Prices:

Simple Cake: A simply made cake with just a few decorations, cheap icing, and a basic design will cost about 1 to 2 dollars per slice. If it's a small wedding with only about 100 or so people, you can spend about $250 to $300 and get a elegant cake that'll please everyone.

Not-So-Simple Cake: A wedding cake that has multiple tiers, better icing, a nice design, and beautiful decorations will run about $4-7 per slice. If the guest list is long, the total cost will climb quite quickly: $5 per slice multiplied by 500 equals a massive $2500.

Complicated Cake: A 3 or 4 tier cake with the works -- tasty icing which won't bleed, elegant designs, fabulous decorations, etc. -- can cost anywhere from $8-12 PER slice. If you're on a budget, then this is pretty much out of the question. Then again, if it's a wedding of only about 50 people, you can spend $10 per slice ($500 total) and really dazzle your guests.

3 Easy Ways to Get Lower Wedding Cake Prices

1. Sacrifice some of the fancy-schmancy designs & decorations to get a lower cost per slice.

2. Choose a cheap, easy-to-manage icing like butter cream rather than fondant.

3. Use an online step-by-step guide to bake & design the cake yourself. Rather than paying dollars per slice with a private bakery, you'll pay just PENNIES!

Now you know exactly what to expect, as well as how to save, when it comes to wedding cakes & wedding cake prices.

Jazz Up Your Wedding Cake Presentation

Is there a centerpiece to a wedding celebration? Some say it is the centerpiece to a table where your guests sit and play games to try to win. Others say it is the wedding party table all decorated with bells and whistles that create the backdrop to a beautiful setting within the banquet hall for your wedding celebration. But what about the wedding cake? A wedding cake acts as a portrait-like creation that is one of many symbols of a wedding reception. A wedding cake as is a wedding invitation, banquet hall, etc... represents what it is that you want to set as a tone for your wedding party. So there is the freedom to let loose and have fun with.

We have given careful consideration to what would be an ideal wedding cake presentation and have come up with some ideas that may grab your attention and say "What" or simply get you to nod your head, either way, it is best that you know what you feel like presenting as your wedding cake. The key is to think about style and design as much to do about flavour and variety. What about wedding rings, or garter belts? Matching portraits of the bride and groom or a pair of stilettos! If you are a traditionalist, then our ideas might not be for you. Whatever the feeling or desire, you have to be able to be true to yourself and not create something you are not or do not want to have.

If you are planning on having your wedding celebration in Toronto, Ontario or within the southern Ontario region, then you are going to find your fair share of bakers capable of creating wedding cake masterpieces for your wedding party. The key however, is to have a determining factor to decide who you want to use when creating your wedding cake masterpiece. Is price a determining factor for you? If not, then is experience playing an important role in the decision of your baker(s) of choice? Whatever the case or whoever, it is best to be able to evaluate how you are going to sieve through the enormous group of bakers or specialty wedding cake makers located throughout the Toronto, Ontario and southern Ontario region.

In any event, a wedding cake is just as much fun for you and your guests to enjoy. It is best enjoyed eaten, however, presentation and look and feel for the cake is huge when deciding on how you want the cake to be at your wedding. Some say tradition merits the individual and it is best that a wedding cake be that, traditional. A three-tier cake, enriched with different flavours for the guests and family to enjoy. Then there are some who say conventional wisdom is best left alone and that you should shed you inner inhibitions and go for that Prada purse-cake look-a-like! You will definitely leave a mark with a cake like that, just make sure that it is yummy and that everyone enjoys it, in the end!

Wedding Cake Toppers

A skilled cake designer can come up with an endless spectrum of wedding cake toppers. They can come in any shape or form, the most common ones being the figurines of the bride and the groom, doves, daisies, roses, interlocking hearts, wedding rings, or flowers in a basket; the list is endless. The materials used for toppers can be anything, ranging from glass and porcelain to crystal or a wide range of other materials. Also, wedding cake toppers can be kept as a wedding day souvenir, and are at most times good enough pass off as a showpiece for your drawing room.

For those planning a theme wedding, wedding cake toppers can augment the atmosphere of the wedding reception. A skilled hand can replicate the wedding dress on top of the cake. For fairytale-themed weddings, a replica of the Cinderella glass slipper or a figurine of “Snow White” would be just about perfect; or, for that matter, a small figure of a dragon or a castle. Beach and marine themed weddings can give the wedding cake designer plenty of room to exercise his creativity. The wedding cake toppers can come in a plethora of forms then, like dolphins, seahorses, mermaids, lighthouses or more. For medieval-themed weddings, you can use a miniature knight and maiden as toppers.

A winter wedding also gives the cake designer plenty to work with. For example, crystal snowflakes or snow people can sit atop the cake. Though other materials can be used, glass seems perfect for this theme, as it can reflect the light like icicles. For those from military backgrounds, wedding toppers can be quite intricate. A naval wedding, for instance, can do with an anchor behind the figures of the groom and the bride. For the military wedding, two sabers crossed and placed behind the miniature figures of the couple would be ideal. For Western-themed weddings, cake toppers can range from horses and cows to the cowboy and cowgirl as the bride and groom.

Invaluable Wedding Cake Advice

While it may seem very unimportant, the wedding cake is arguably one of the most important pieces of the wedding jigsaw. Aside from the bride, the wedding cake is one of the most looked at things at the wedding. If you get it right then everyone will be praising and if you get it wrong people will be talking about how bad it was no matter how good the rest of the wedding is. Therefore, the wedding cake deserves a substantial amount of your time and attention.

As is the case with many of the traditional wedding practises, there are new modern ways to do your cakes. However, the most stylish option is the traditional 3 tier white iced cake. This way, you can easily add decorations and everyone will be in awe. There are a number of pitfalls that you need to avoid if you want to get your wedding cake right.

Firstly, make sure you choose a sensible design. While fancy designs may look good in pictures, in truth, the more complicated the design, the more that can go wrong with the wedding cake.

Secondly, make sure you consult with the person making the cake. While you may have a clear idea in mind, they have made thousands of cakes before that they should be well placed to offer you excellent advice on the cake that is right for you wedding.

Finally, you need to consider the guests. There are two things to consider in terms of the guests, firstly numbers of secondly tastes. You need to try and choose cake ingredients that you think everyone will like and you need to ensure that there is enough wedding cake for everyone. Again, it is important to consult with the chef because he/she will know how large the cake needs to be.

Unique Wedding Cakes

A gifted cake designer can go a long way in determining the quality and the character of the wedding cake.

For one, theme weddings can be a portal to truly creative wedding cake ideas. A medieval theme wedding would warrant a cake to be laced with pearls and a golden crown. An adventure-loving couple could have a cake topped with miniature figurines of the newlyweds in a small plane or a motorcycle. A Victorian theme wedding, for that matter, could have a cake adorned with bows and Victorian roses. For an Oriental-themed wedding, a cake with two tiers topped with a vase filled with edible handmade orchid is perfect.

Also, the theme for a wedding cake could depend on one’s favorite flower, whether it is sunflower, pansy, bird-of-paradise, rose etc. A talented cake designer can replicate bridal bouquets on the cake or a garden akin to one’s yard, complete with picket fences.

Then there are seasonal themed cakes. Seasonal themes give the cake designer license to let his imagination run free. For weddings that are set for the fall season, the cake can be adorned with grapes, grape leaves and chrysanthemums. The summer-themed wedding cakes can be accentuated with bows and white daisies.

Also, there are wedding cakes based on one’s favorite jewelry. The diamond lover can have a stunning diamond themed cake, though that can be an expensive option. For the jade lover, the cake can be made to look like a stack of complex shaped jade boxes. Also, there are wedding cakes based on china patterns.

For a truly unique wedding cake, it is best to talk to the cake designer, preferably weeks before the wedding date. Though there will always be that urge to come up with that particularly outstanding design yourself, there is no harm in picking the brains of a professional who does it for a living.