Let Them Eat Cake!

I have a massive sweet tooth, which is why I love the cake tasting portion of the planning process. While I normally tell couples to limit themselves to meeting with three different vendors in each "category" ... I put no such restrictions on cake makers. Every baker you meet brings something different to the kitchen, whether its design, or process or secret ingredients. You want to be very sure that you've exhausted all your potential cake makers before you pick the most perfect balance of frosting to filling.

Go into every tasting with an empty stomach. Be open minded to trying all sorts of flavors ... I personally don't like anything coconut, but have recently been swayed in the other direction. Make sure that you mix and match your cakes with the different frosting. Ask questions about what works better together, how many fillings you can have, what designs they've done. Bring images and ideas. Tell them your theme of the day, or if you love x,y, and z or hate something. Bakers are like fashion designers, they are creative, intuitive and most times will dream up a cake that encompasses all your wildest dreams.

When it comes down to getting pricing based off your taste selections, keep in mind that even if you have 800 people to the wedding, you don't need a 10 tier cake. You can always do something smaller and elegant and then have a sheet cake in the back (which is always less expensive by the slice). Trust me, no guest will know that their slice came from the non displayed cake. Just be sure you order enough cake for all. (To me, running out of cake is akin to running out of alcohol ... not allowed!)

Happy Tasting!


(I don't remember where I found this, but I LOVE IT)