{"id":5025,"date":"2013-07-08T07:45:15","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T07:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/studiowednashville.com\/nashvilleblog\/?p=5025"},"modified":"2014-01-09T01:08:37","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T01:08:37","slug":"studiowed-nashville-wedding-cake-tips-from-the-knot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/studiowed-nashville-wedding-cake-tips-from-the-knot\/","title":{"rendered":"StudioWed Nashville Wedding Cake Tips from The Knot"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to picking out a wedding cake, every bride is different. Some would prefer to splurge on a beautifully designed cake that will act as the focal point of their reception, while others prioritize taste above intricate designs. Below are some helpful tips to read before budgeting and shopping for your wedding cake from\u00a0TheKnot.com<\/a>,\u00a0along with some\u00a0beautiful Nashville wedding cake<\/a> photos from Royal Icing to inspire your search!<\/p>\n

1. Taste the\u00a0Cake\u00a0– As you start setting up appointments, find out when each baker’s next tasting is scheduled. At tastings, clients are invited into the bakery to sample exemplary\u00a0cakes, ask questions, and review portfolios. This is an excellent opportunity to meet bakers and fully understand the range of their abilities.<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

2. Select a Style – Deal with the\u00a0cake\u00a0after all decisions about dress style and reception decor have been made. These elements can serve as a blueprint for the design and structure of your\u00a0wedding\u00a0cake. Choose a\u00a0cake that’s compatible with the style of the venue, the season, your gown, the flower arrangements, or the menu. If you want colorful accents (such as sugar flowers or icing ribbons), give your baker fabric swatches. The\u00a0cake should be part of the\u00a0wedding, not a glaring sideshow.<\/p>\n

3. Size it Up – Generally, three tiers will serve 50 to 100 guests; you’ll likely need five layers for 200 guests or more. If the reception is in a grand room with high ceilings, consider increasing the\u00a0cake’s stature with columns between the tiers. (A “stacked”\u00a0cake\u00a0is one with its layers stacked directly atop each other, with no separators.)<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

4. Price it Out –\u00a0Wedding\u00a0cake is often priced by the slice — the cost varies, but generally ranges from $1.50 to $15 per slice (though this is a very general and loose estimate). The more complicated the\u00a0cake\u00a0(based on intricate decorations or hard-to-find fillings), the higher the price tag. Fondant icing is more expensive than buttercream, and if you want elaborate molded shapes, vibrant colors, or handmade sugar-flower detailing, you’ll pay for the\u00a0cake\u00a0designer’s labor.<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

5. Find Ways to Save – Order a small\u00a0cake\u00a0that’s decorated to perfection but can only feed a handful plus several sheet\u00a0cakes\u00a0of the same flavor to actually feed the guests. Stay away from tiers, handmade sugar flowers, and specially molded shapes. Garnish with seasonal flowers and fruit for an elegant (but less expensive) effect. If you’ll have a dessert table (or another sweet) in addition to the\u00a0cake, consider a\u00a0cake sized for half your guests. Servings will be smaller, but the fee will shrink too.<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

6. Get the Facts on Frosting – Buttercream or fondant? That’s the main question. Buttercream is often much more delicious. But if you love the smooth, almost surreal-like look of fondant as much as we do, consider frosting the\u00a0cake\u00a0in buttercream first and then adding a layer of fondant over the entire confection.<\/p>\n

7. Consider the Weather – If you’re having an outdoor wedding\u00a0in a hot climate, stay away from whipped cream, meringue, and buttercream: They melt. Ask your baker about summer icing options; You might want to go for a fondant-covered\u00a0cake\u00a0— it doesn’t even need to be refrigerated.<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

8. Mind your Magazines – Keep in mind, magazines have food stylists, editors, and assistants working nonstop to keep the\u00a0cakes\u00a0looking perfect. These people spend hours fixing the sweating, dripping, leaning, or sagging that can happen to a\u00a0cake\u00a0after it’s been sitting for a while. And if what they do doesn’t work, they can fix it with Photoshop. They also have the luxury of creating cakes\u00a0from stuff that isn’t edible — most\u00a0cakes\u00a0in magazines are iced pieces of Styrofoam, which certainly doesn’t taste very good. So don’t expect your\u00a0cake designer to be able to replicate exactly what you see in print.<\/p>\n

9. Take Note: It\u2019s All in the Details – When it comes to decoration, adornment costs run the gamut. The most inexpensive option is fresh fruits or flowers that, in some instances, can be applied by your florist for a minimal fee. On the high end are delicate gum paste or sugar paste flowers, which are constructed by hand, one petal at a time. But here’s the bottom line: All add-ons — including marzipan fruits, chocolate-molded flowers, and lace points — will raise the rate. (For the record, we think it’s worth the cost!)<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

10. Encourage\u00a0Cake\u00a0Collaboration – If you want to garnish your\u00a0cake\u00a0with fresh flowers, find out if the\u00a0cake designer will work with your florist, or if you are responsible for the blooms. If the florist is running the show, will she have time to adorn the\u00a0cake? Be wary of elaborate floral accents if your reception space decor is labor-intensive.<\/p>\n

11. Get Him Involved – The popularity of the groom\u2019s cake, traditionally a Southern custom, is on the rise. The bride’s\u00a0cake\u00a0— the one cut by the couple at the reception — is traditionally eaten as dessert. The groom’s\u00a0cake\u00a0is usually darker and richer (often chocolate) and nowadays crafted to show off the groom’s passions and obsessions. Give slices to guests as a take-home memento or cut and serve both for dessert.<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Suitcase Groom\u2019s Cake<\/p><\/div>\n

12. Go Mini? – Many bakers agree that the idea of a mini cake\u00a0(where each guest gets his or her own) is a great idea — in theory, but not always in practice. Not only does each\u00a0cake\u00a0require its own decoration (often as intricate, if not more, than one that’s four times its size), each will require its own box. Unfortunately, boxes don’t come in mini-cake\u00a0sizes. Often the bakery must construct individual boxes in which to transport these\u00a0cakes. Multiply by however many guests you’ll be having, and you’ll see what a costly, time-consuming feat this actually is. That said, if you can swing it, they look amazing being passed around by waiters on sleek silver trays (and of course, they taste just as great too).<\/p>\n

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13. Get it on Display – Your\u00a0cake\u00a0will likely be on display before it’s cut and consumed. Make sure there is a designated\u00a0cake\u00a0table that allows the most elegant presentation possible. A round table is perfect for round cakes, but a linear\u00a0cake\u00a0design may call for a rectangular table. Figure out your options. Once you have a\u00a0caketable, have fun dressing it up: Drape it with sumptuous fabrics and decorate it with motifs, colors, and flowers to match the\u00a0cake\u00a0(your florist can help<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Suspended Cake Design by Brocade Nashville <\/p><\/div>\n

14. Top it Off – There are many beautiful and unique ways to top off your\u00a0cake, so you can avoid plastic figurines (unless you’re going for cool-kitsch). If you have an heirloom piece — especially a fine porcelain antique — work with your baker to integrate it into an appropriate design. A pair of sugar or gingerbread cookies can look charming atop a country\u00a0wedding\u00a0cake. Finely sculpted maple sugar or marzipan figurines are quaint. Other alternatives: a bouquet of sugar flowers, a cascade of icing ribbons, or even a sugar block carved out to reveal your new monogram.<\/p>\n

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Royal Icing Custom Cakes<\/p><\/div>\n

15. Lock Down Delivery Details –\u00a0Cake\u00a0delivery takes coordination. Complex\u00a0cakes\u00a0may not necessarily be delivered in final form. Allow time and space for assembly, if needed. Refrigeration may also be required.<\/p>\n

16. After the\u00a0Wedding\u00a0– Avoid freezer burn! Even if you take the most painstaking packaging measures, eating the top tier of your\u00a0cake\u00a0on your first anniversary sounds far better than it tastes. Think about indulging on your two-week or one-month anniversary, and treat yourself to a fresh\u00a0cake\u00a0in the same flavor when you’ve survived the first year. If you must adhere to tradition, wrap the\u00a0cake\u00a0in plastic wrap, then bag it in an airtight baggie. Stay away from aluminum foil — it might not protect against freezer burn as well as plastic wrap because it’s not an airtight material.<\/p>\n

StudioWed Nashville | Nashville Wedding | Nashville Wedding Cake<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to picking out a wedding cake, every bride is different. Some would prefer to splurge on a beautifully designed cake that will act as the focal point of their reception, while others prioritize taste above intricate designs. Below are some helpful tips to read before budgeting and shopping for your wedding cake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,12],"tags":[49,53,55,136,210,223,224,273,356,377],"class_list":["post-5025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-planning-tips-advice","category-wedding-resources","tag-brocade-nashville","tag-cake","tag-cake-tips","tag-grooms-cake","tag-nashville-grooms-cake","tag-nashville-wedding","tag-nashville-wedding-cake","tag-royal-icing-cakes","tag-wedding-cake","tag-wedding-inspiration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiowed.net\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}