Wedding Planners: Cake Conundrum Solved?

Wedding planners can help with choosing a wedding cake, but they don't always offer this service. Some planners focus more on the logistical and coordination side of weddings, but they can easily connect you with a wedding designer or decorator.

If a wedding planner does help with choosing a cake, they can help you find the right baker for your needs and budget. They can also help you with cake tastings, and ensure the cake is delivered and displayed correctly on the day.

However, it's important to be wary of wedding planners who try to upcharge or add commission on top of the baker's price. This is considered unethical, and it's always best to be transparent about pricing.

Wedding planners can help with cake tastings

• Budget management: Wedding planners can help couples set a realistic budget for their wedding cake and ensure they don't exceed it. They can also provide valuable insights on pricing, such as the fact that wedding cakes are typically priced per serving and that there may be additional fees for design, delivery, setup, and cake stands.
• Design and flavour selection: Planners can guide couples in choosing a cake design that aligns with their wedding theme and colour palette. They can also offer suggestions for flavour combinations and fillings, ensuring the couple selects a cake that not only looks stunning but also tastes delicious.
• Vendor recommendations: Wedding planners often have connections with reputable bakers and cake designers. They can recommend professionals who can bring the couple's vision to life and ensure a seamless cake tasting experience.
• Scheduling and coordination: A wedding planner can schedule cake tastings and help coordinate the event, ensuring that the couple and the baker are prepared for the appointment. This includes providing the baker with inspiration images, design ideas, and budget information beforehand.
• Contract and payment assistance: Planners can assist in reviewing contracts and payment terms with the baker to protect the couple's interests. They can also help manage payments and ensure that budget and deadline requirements are met.
• Problem-solving: In the event of any issues or misunderstandings during the cake tasting process, a wedding planner can act as a mediator and facilitate clear communication between the couple and the baker.

By enlisting the help of a wedding planner for cake tastings, couples can benefit from their industry knowledge, organisational skills, and ability to navigate potential challenges. This ensures a smoother process and allows the couple to focus on enjoying the experience of selecting their dream wedding cake.

They can advise on cake design

Wedding planners can advise on cake design by helping couples create a cohesive aesthetic for their wedding. This includes helping couples select a colour palette, décor, rentals, and lighting. Wedding planners can also advise on the design of the cake table, ensuring that the table size, linen choice, and table adornments complement the cake.

When it comes to the cake itself, wedding planners can help couples find a baker that suits their style and budget. Planners are well-versed in wedding cake terminology and standard industry practices, so they can guide couples through the cake design process. They can also help couples understand the difference between frosting and fondant, icing, and filling.

Additionally, wedding planners can facilitate communication between the couple and the baker to ensure that the cake design aligns with the couple's vision. They can also provide valuable input on cake flavours, fillings, and design elements such as sugar flowers, fresh flowers, or edible gold leaf.

By offering their expertise and connections in the industry, wedding planners can help couples create a stunning cake that becomes the epicentre of the reception and the backdrop for countless selfies.

They can help with the cake budget

Wedding cakes are a big deal. They are expected to be mouthwatering, beautiful, structurally sound, portable, easy to assemble, and climate-resistant. They are the centrepiece of the wedding reception and often the only reason guests stick around past the entrée course.

With so much significance placed on the wedding cake, it is often a huge source of confusion for brides and grooms. Many couples are not equipped to handle the many questions and decisions resulting from a visit to their local baker. This is where a wedding planner can help.

A wedding planner's job is to take all of your event specifics and design ideas into account and come up with a plan for ordering your cake. This plan will result in you ordering the perfect cake that is within your budget, with a wedding baker/bakery that you love, and in the flavours and design that you'll adore.

Here's how they can help with the cake budget:

They Know the Ins and Outs

Second only to wedding bakers themselves, wedding planners know the ins and outs of wedding cake terminology and standard industry practices. Without a wedding planner, you are more likely to exceed your budget, have a negative customer service experience, and/or inadvertently request products and services that you didn't intend to.

They Can Help You Find the Right Baker

Wedding planners will know the right people in the industry that can provide you with the proper service. They will be able to tell you exactly who is right for you to work with on your big day. Any potential hires can be vetted by your wedding coordinator to ensure that they are reputable in the industry.

They Can Help You Understand Pricing

Most bakers charge at a "per slice" or an "estimated number of servings" rate. For example, if you have a guest count of 150, but your desired cake design will produce 180 servings, you will be charged for 180 servings. The servings or slices are not based on your guest count, they are based on the number of tiers and pan sizes required to recreate the cake design that you want.

In general, this means that the larger the cake (or the more people you can feed with the cake), the more expensive the cake will be. However, once you begin adding on custom design features such as metallics/foils, fondant, stencilling, airbrushing, beading, sculpting, and other specialty techniques, the pricing will increase from the original per-slice rate.

They Can Help You Prepare for a Cake Tasting

Preparation is key to ensuring a successful cake tasting. If you are thinking about scheduling a cake tasting and do not at least know your budget, tentative guest count, tentative wedding date(s), venue, and/or general design ideas, you should reschedule your cake tasting for a later date.

You should never walk into a cake tasting unprepared, especially when it comes to pricing. Pricing tends to be the biggest area of contention between couples and wedding bakers. Think of it this way: a baker can always create any design that you like, but they can't (and shouldn't) be asked to lower the price that they charge for your design.

They Can Help You Understand the Difference Between Frosting, Icing, and Filling

Frosting is typically thick and fluffy and has a matte finish, while icing is typically thinner, can be "drizzled" and has a glossy, liquid finish. Frosting requires more ingredients than icing and is richer in taste. Filling is any thick mixture that is used in between the layers of a cake. Fillings come in a multitude of textures and can be a mousse, curd, or jam. Even frosting can be used as a filling.

They Can Help You Understand Cake Shapes

There are a wide variety of sizes of basic cake pans in round, square, and hexagonal shapes. However, bakers can also create sculpted cakes or cakes that are carved into irregular shapes to recreate a 2D or 3D design.

They Can Help You Understand Cake Flavours and Fillings

Bakers offer a wide variety of cake flavours and fillings to suit all of their clients' palates. Here are some examples:

• Vanilla
• Butter
• Chocolate Latte
• Marble
• Red Velvet
• Lemon Zest Creme
• Orange Creamsicle
• Strawberry Champagne
• Texas Melon
• Nutty
• Spiced
• Seasonal Flavours
• Liqueur-Infused Flavours

They can coordinate with the baker

Wedding planners can coordinate with the baker to ensure the couple's vision is executed flawlessly. This includes the cake's design, flavour, and budget.

Wedding planners can help couples select a baker who understands their vision and can execute it flawlessly. They can also help couples find a baker who makes delicious cakes, as it is an important aspect of the wedding. Planners can also help couples with cake tastings by scheduling appointments with bakers and providing them with the necessary information. This includes the couple's budget, design ideas, flavour preferences, and dietary restrictions.

Additionally, wedding planners can help couples with the logistics of the cake, such as delivery and setup. They can ensure that the baker handles the logistics seamlessly and confirm details such as cake stands and cutting utensils.

Furthermore, wedding planners can assist with the overall design of the cake table. This includes selecting the appropriate table size, linen choice, and table adornments to complement the cake and create a cohesive look.

By coordinating with the baker, wedding planners can help ensure that the couple's cake vision is brought to life and that the cake is delivered and presented flawlessly on the wedding day.

They can help with the cake cutting ceremony

Wedding planners can help with the cake-cutting ceremony in several ways. Firstly, they can ensure that all the necessary equipment is set up and functioning correctly, such as microphones, speakers and lights. They can also coordinate with the photographer and videographer to ensure they are present for the cake-cutting and are aware of the couple's vision for this special moment.

In addition, wedding planners can help with the timing and logistics of the cake-cutting. They can work with the couple to decide when the cake-cutting will take place during the reception and ensure that all guests are present for this event. If there are any special effects or surprises planned, the wedding planner can help to coordinate these, too.

Furthermore, wedding planners can assist with the actual cutting of the cake. They can provide guidance on how to cut the cake, including where to stand and how to pose for the best photos. They can also offer suggestions for feeding each other a piece of cake or sticking to a traditional slice. Practising the cake-cutting beforehand can help to ensure that the couple feels confident and knows what to expect.

Finally, wedding planners can help to troubleshoot any issues that may arise during the cake-cutting ceremony. For example, if there are problems with the cake itself, such as it being too soft or dry, the wedding planner can work with the baker to find a solution. If there are issues with the cake-cutting knife, such as it being dull or difficult to use, the wedding planner can provide a backup option.

Frequently asked questions