A Wedding Cake is often the centre piece for evening celebrations, whether or not you choose to stick to traditions and cut into it with your partner.
With the help of Caroline Hoyles from Creative Cakes, Lancaster, we'll help you pick the cake to please your taste-buds, wow guests and be on trend. We've outlined our top considerations before you order a cake and offer advice on the next big wedding cake trends.
Flavours
When you're choosing flavours it's important to compromise, you may adore carrot cake and your partner loves coffee cake but your guests may not like either. Many couples have two or three tiers, this allows them to select a flavour each as well as a popular flavour which is likely to be enjoyed by every guest. We recommend considering a simple sponge cake or chocolate cake as your 'safe option' before selecting additional flavours that you and your partner love.
Caroline Hoyles, Creative Cakes, highlights "I make the ever popular sponge with jam and cream, chocolate cake with a nutella filling as an option and lemon sponge cake. A traditional fruit cake is still an option although not very popular among guests any longer."
Hayley, our bride-to-be, have chosen to "have a 3 tier cake, we've gone for chocolate, lemon and victoria sponge."
Size
Three tiered wedding cakes are the most common choice for couples, it gives you the option to choose a flavour each with the addition of a 'safe flavour'. However it's important to consider exactly how much cake you need; you may be thinking 'the bigger the better' but if you're having a small and intimate wedding then having four or five tiers may mean you're eating cake for weeks or throwing a lot of it away. As well as tier numbers you should be deciding how wide you would like the cake, do you want a tall but thin cake or a wide and short cake?
Wedding cakes are a considerable expense so it's worth deciding what you can afford and how many people it needs to feed before going overboard on your requests. It's a good idea to have a guest list before agreeing on the size of your wedding cake.
Decoration and Styling
Choosing a design for your cake can be a challenge, it should always fit with your theme but it can have additional special touches. In the design stage you should be thinking what shape you'd like as well as how you want it finished.
Things to think about: Do you want traditional icing, butter icing or no icing? Do you want it plain and simple or do you want to add flowers or fruit? Would you like it to be traditional white, have hints of colour or bold colour? These are all questions you need to consider before ordering a cake.
A great way to gain inspiration is by searching 'wedding cakes' on Instagram and Pintrest, you can save the styles you like to show your cake creator later. Caroline Hoyles, Creative Cakes, advises "naked and semi-naked cakes have been popular for several years. The next big trend will bring edible flowers, textured finishes and show stopping colour blocking designs."
Hayley, our bride-to-be, has opted for "something simple with blush pink flowers. I've shown Caroline some sample pictures and asked her to come up with some ideas of her own."
Booking your Wedding
Lisa, our wedding coordinator, enjoys helping couples plan their wedding. At Lancaster House Hotel, we build bespoke wedding packages around your individual needs to deliver the wedding you've dreamt of. Hosting weddings over many years has allowed us to create wonderful relationships with the best wedding suppliers in Lancashire and the surrounds. Meet suppliers at our next wedding showcase, come and ask questions, see the venue dressed and meet the lovely team. If you can't make it or would prefer a personal complimentary show round we'd love to hear from you, call us on 01524 585 175.