Wedding Cakes & Food Forum — The Knot Community

Gluten Free Vegan Bride- HELP!!

YvonneDreptate — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:05:07 +0000

HI all!
I was hoping to pick brains here because I am getting very frustrated.
I have a crazy disorder that makes me allergic to alot of protiens, thats whay I am Vegan Gluten free. I have been planing out wedding in Playa Del Carmen in Mexico next year.
I am having a very hard time wwith the resort"chefs" takeing me serious. I bake Gluten free vegan all the time.
Im terrified that they wont take me seriously and put something in it. I don't wan
t to have to worry about my food. The options that I can see are- Bring my own food- wich kind of sucks on my wedding. Or trust they dont poison me...
What do you all think?

Yvonne

Grocery Catering

FairTitania — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 03:11:31 +0000

So it looks like we may be blowing our budget on booking our venue (church included!) As such, we are trying to cut down on costs on food and I had a few questions. First, as long as we make it clear on the invitations our intentions, will there be major problems with serving only hor d'ouerves and cake at a reception starting at 8:30 or 9pm? Keep in mind that 75% of our guest list will be from out of town.

The big question I actually have is about caterers. Our most likely site has 5 preferred caterers and all of them are out of our price range. The site itself is a vineyard so there is plenty of ambience. We are seriously considering using a specialty grocery store like Central Market or Whole Foods to cater the reception. We have done a rough estimate on price and it looks like even with the fee for not using a preferred vendor they may come out cheaper. In case they don't, has anyone had experience with convincing a reception site to remove the non-preferred vendor fee? Has anyone used grocery catering for their wedding? What was your experience? Thanks!

Vegetarian Option: Fish vs. Pasta

kellyh87 — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:52:38 +0000

Help - which would you prefer for a vegetarian option:

Teriyaki glazed salmon with fresh veggies and mashed potatoes
OR
Three cheese pasta with spicy tomato sauce, sliced olives and basil with salad

Please note revisions can be made to the dishes...this is just how the venue presented them to us.

Thanks!

Vegan Hor d'oeuvres Question

Miracle520 — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:46:18 +0000

We will have several vegatarians and one vegan at our wedding. We are already making plans with the chef to design a vegan dinner for them.

I am worried about cocktail hour now though. We get 4 options. I know I need to make sure at least one of them is vegan. Do you think it would be understandable to only offer one choice since they will be the minority or should I pick 2 options, knowing all the guests will eat veggie style apps?

Wedding food on a budget

tlavaque — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:53:46 +0000

My fiance and I are paying for our wedding 100% by ourselves and on a shoe string budget. He wants the whole formal affair but doesn' get the cost associated with it. Right now we are trying to figure out food. I have found a couple caterers, but he wants to do the food ourselves seeing as it might be less expensive. Does anyone know of an easy dinner idea that will work with a semi formal buffet style wedding?

Poll- Which wedding reception would you rather attend?

RNLurker — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:31:01 +0000

We are anticipating 120-150 guests. We will be getting married and holding the reception in the same venue. We will have approx 20-30 out of town guests; the rest will be local. Would you rather attend reception #1 or #2?

Reception #1- guests must be at venue by 10:15 am. Full breakfast at 11:00 am with scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, french toast, rosemary hash browns, breads, juice, coffee/tea, water, wedding cake. NO ALCOHOL at all.

Reception #2- guests can be at venues between 2-3 pm. Veggie display with dip, meat/cheese/cracker display, finger sandwhichs wedding cake, full open bar for 1 hour (whole reception would be limited to 1.5-2hrs..we want it short and sweet either way!)

cupcake tree

maryallen — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 10:12:32 +0000

wondering if anyone has had success with decorating the cardboard cupcake tree?
did you spray paint, paint, or cover in paper?

What's your favorite?

colourz — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:46:51 +0000

I am trying to decide on what flavor cupcakes to choose. What would you like to see at a wedding?

Cake flavor---anyone heard of this?

abysmom25 — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:30:12 +0000

I am having the hardest time trying to pick a cake flavor because my brother is making the cake for us, so I'm not using a bakery, so no cake tastings. I'm not a huge cake eater, but I love cherry cheese danish (cherry pie filling and cream cheese baked into a danish). My fiance loves them, too. Do you think that would work for a cake? Have, say, just a white cake or vanilla cake and cream cheese and cherry pie filling for the filling?

AHHHH wanna scream!

MrsCoopDawg3467 — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:50:43 +0000

soooooo i've been talking to "my baker" the past few weeks about the wedding cake on facebook. sent her a picture and was talkin about what i needed to bring her like the fish bowls etc. And today I get a message that says

"Hey Jennifer quit and left me w/ this picture, we don't have an order placed for you, call me xxx-xxx-xxxx"

OMG I sent these people a deposit check like 2 months ago and even talked to the main baker on the phone myself. Where the heck is my order. I'm down to 5 months and this is the only baker in town that REALLY fits our budget.

I called them but they are only open Wed-Sat... hopefully things get figured out in the next couple of days

Sorry I really needed to vent! And I knew my boss totally wouldn't understand (he's a man)

How much cake?

AeroStyle — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:21:06 +0000

Hi Ladies,

For you married Knotties. How much cake did you order? I've seen it recommended that you need not order enough so each person has a slice since a lot of people don't eat it. But what is a safe amount? I don't want anyone to go without if they wanted cake, but I don't want tons leftover either.

Food Help!!!

Aholton88 — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:19:03 +0000

So FI and I are on two different minds when it comes to catering. I want to have it catered while he wants to do it our selves(He thinks we can save more money doing it our selves)... we are having 150 people at our wedding. Can you ladies give any advice please!!

Oh wedding and recption will be at Woldumar Nature Center and they have a small kitchen which is why FI thinks we can do it.

TIA

First post and need help!!

Megs629 — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:52:06 +0000

First off, I can't tell you how excited I am to be on The Knot and actually for real planning my wedding!! Although, I must say, I am already feeling overwhelmed and considering elopment, ha ha. I am marrying my best friend and could not be more happier.

Last night we hit our first major snafoo and we don't even have a venue yet! Ha! Last night we were at dinner with two of our guy friends and all they did was talk about the wedding the whole time. Well the topic of the cake came up and Blake announced that he wanted his 12 year old sister to design and pick the cake. I already have his sister as a bridesmaid and love and adore her but.... I just can relinquish that element of the wedding. He then got upset in the car saying that I was trying to say that she has bad taste, which is not true at all, but she still has a 12 year old's taste! She did design her oldest sister's cake and it was a very sweet gesture but it was also at a resort where they designed and picked the flavors the day before. He wouldn't even talk to me the rest of the night and I suggested that maybe we narrow the options down and have her help us from there.

I think I am still at the point where everything still feels overwhelming. While I am so excited, this is the last thing I want. I already feel like I'm being torn in 90 different directions. I know I just need to breath but I hate to see him this upset but I'm not willing to have her design the cake. Helllllpppppp!!!!! Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Cake Education from a Baker :)

SugarBrideOct10 — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:09:34 +0000

Hi There! I am a pastry chef, who specializes in Wedding Cakes ... I have read on a lot of boards some cake misconceptions and they really irk me! So I am clearing some things up, and hopefully this helps all of you with your cake selections.

Serving Cheap slab cakes from the grocery store: Really? Have you ever eaten one of those cakes? If you like it, then great, but please don't pretend that your guests are eating the gorgeous (and probably delicious) wedding cake, when in fact they are eating hydrogenated oil, artificial flavors and colors, and sugar. You won't be fooling anyone, in fact, some might be offended that they weren't importanat enough to get a slic of the 'real' wedding cake. Some cake bakers actually won't allow outside cakes to be served if their cake is on display .... it gives them a bad name, because people will think their cake tastes like gross grocery store cake.

Also, most grocery stores get their cake shipped in, frozen, and ice them with stuff that comes out of a bucket. Yum!

Slab cakes from the baker: You honestly won't save a ton of money this way. If your tiered cake is really elaborate and you are also getting plain slabs, you will save a buck or two per serving, but if your actual cake is pretty simple (plain ribbon for example) then your slabs will cost pretty much the same per serving as your cake.

Saving by getting cupcakes: Cupcakes aren't that much cheaper per serving that a slice of wedding cake (maybe 0.50 to a dollar cheaper). And if you want them each decorated, then your price goes up! Making each little cupcake a work of art takes time. Also, you will have to rent a stand.

Getting a fake cake: You will never find a baker who will make you a fake cake at a fraction of the cost. The longest part of making a wedding cake is the decorating! At best you would get 20% off. So, if you are being charged $5 a slice, you save $1. You are still getting all the ribbon, flowers, polka dots, topper etc that you would get on a real cake. There are deals to be had when you rent a previously made fake cake, but they are kind of gross ... do you want to showcase a cake that has been sitting on a shelf for god knows how long? And then you STILL have to get a cake (those gross one's from the grocery store :). Not saving too much money.

Saving by picking the cake up yourself: Seriously, how much will you save here? $40? I would gladly pay $40 for someone else to worry about that, especially on my wedding day!

There is a reason that baker is sooo cheap: If it seems to good to be true, then it probably is :). If a baker is way underpricing, it is probably because she doesn't know what she is doing. Make sure you see pictures of the baker's work, and make sure they haven't just gone to google images and stolen a bunch -- things like that are rampant in the cake community. Also, cheaper bakers are often 'illegal', working out of their home. Many venues will not allow this type of food to be served - if someone gets sick they will be on the hook.

That is not to say that all home bakers are bad, in fact there are many, many talented, legal, bakers working out of their home and producing gorgeous and tasty cakes.

That is all I can think of right now .... sorry this isn't more positive. I just can't bear to read another "I am going to save money by getting cheap slab cakes".

I read somewhere that you can think of it this way .... can you think of a single fancy restaurant where you can get a delicious, beautiful piece of cake for dessert for less than $5? You can't.

Alcohol Article

nurse.misty — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:09:13 +0000

I was just surfing the net and came across this article. I don't know if it's been posted here before or not, but it had some good suggestions so I wanted to share it. :)

http://ezinearticles.com/?Stocking-The-Bar-At-Your-Wedding-Reception&id=415335

Show me your...

meganmarie122 — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:03:24 +0000

Wedding cake! What you want it to look like, or what it looked like if you're already a married knottie

I have so many ideas running through my head, but I guess at least they all have a common theme...

Dessert Buffet Reception...how much food do I need??

sparrow1102 — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:55:26 +0000

i'm planning on doing a dessert buffet for my May 1st Sunday afternoon wedding. Guest list is 140 people...trying to figure how much food I need. I'm wanting to do apple pies, pecan pies, muffins, cookies, peach cobbler(outdoor, rustic, vintage theme), but I don't want to over-bake and be left with tons of extra food. HELP!

cake boxes?!?!?!

markayla728 — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:24:19 +0000

I have ordered a cake (other than the wedding cake, which will feed all the guests at the wedding) to go on my sweets station. It is meant for the guests to take home. Where can I find AFFORDABLE take home boxes for the cake. I don't want to appear cheap, but I ordered two cakes! I need some ideas please!! (And thank you;)

Help me choose my pies! Please!

SheenaNash1 — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:53:07 +0000

We are having a pie buffet instead of wedding cake at our reception and I am having trouble figuring out how many of what flavors to order. The choices are: cherry, lemon, blueberry, apple and banana cream. We are planning on having ten pies, each pie serves 8 slices. I was thinking apple and cherry would be most popular, but I just don't know. So if you had these choices what 10 pies would you get?? :)

Kaesha

SD3194 — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:41:56 +0000

I just wanted to say that I love your blog! I'm a chef and sometimes I struggle coming up with different vegetarian/vegan options but I've gotten some great ideas from your recipes. Thanks!

Bar

abernard43 — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:51:02 +0000

We are having a destination wedding for 200 people. We are supportng the local businesses by using all Michigan product, vendors, etc. Since Michigan has local beer, wine and vodka that is what we willl be serving at the reception. The reception will be 6.5 hours. The caterer is telling us that we only need 3 cases of wine and two pony kegs. I had an extensive conversation with with her about why and her experience. I gut feeling is not buying her reasoning- mostly because all the drink calculators I can find tell me we need quite a bit more. (Around 11 cases of wine and 6 pony kegs) What is everyone else's experience? I suppose the added speciality drink with vodka might bring these numbers down a bit but the difference is still quite staggering. Please advise.

Evening Reception - Supper? Appetizers? Help!!

mgjbtx — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:15:11 +0000

My mother and I have been arguing over catering options all week, and I figured it was time to call in the Knottie advice!!

The details:

- Friday evening event. The ceremony begins around 7:30. Reception dinner begins around 9:00.

- Takes place in the middle of (very cold) winter.

- Needs to be as cost-effective as possible while still being "unique".

The problem:

I'm debating between doing a full supper (ex. roast beef, bun, salad, choice of potato) or appetizers (mini quiche, sausage rolls, etc.).

I am concerned that the guests won't be in the mood for a large 'supper' style meal if they have already eaten supper. But on the flip side - will they have had enough time to eat a proper supper before coming to the ceremony if they had to work, since the wedding is on a Friday?

Another option is to have sandwiches with deli meat, cheeses, etc. Or there's other things entirely, like tomato soup shots and small wedges of grilled cheese! My FI is from Texas, and is half Mexican, so I was thinking of incorporating Southern or Mexican food choices in the menu as well.

There's so many options.. help!!

The cake I designed (mom hates it)

allisonkbye — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:25:37 +0000

What do you guys think? My theme is black/ivory with pumpkins and roses. This cake here inspired my design...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_37EnjGOirBw/TMYwKUTcyyI/AAAAAAAACsA/5vZGQOLUe-o/s1600/pumpkin+cake.jpg

The estimate from our cake decorator was $300 for a 4-tiered cake that serves 188, until we had a consultation and I showed her my design. I obviously knew it was going to go up, and now the estimate is $500-$650

The problem? My mom originally offered to pay for the cake, but she HATES my design! "Why do you want the tiers crooked? Why don't you just want a normal cake?" I dont know? I hate normal. It's just not me. So before I tell my mom the new quote, I'm asking all of you guys if you think it's neat. My moms old fashioned when it comes to anything and has never seen a topsy turvy cake before or anything like this, so I understand her reaction. and am totally prepared to just pay for it myself now if i decide to get it

I love it though, and might just be stubborn because i designed it so i think it looks cool when in reality it looks like the dumbest cake ever.

opinions please??

those r rose petals on the bottom of it btw haha.

cakes

thaisandchris — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:48:32 +0000

omg my cake is 10ft tall and is coverd with svorski crystals!!!!
jk
i love the stuff on this website it helps me soooooooo much! and it is free<3

Caterer

sduffy724 — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:14:29 +0000

Can anybody recomend a good caterer in northern NJ. I want somebody who is reasonably priced.

Cateerer Suggestions

stbmrssquier — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:26:25 +0000

I am helping my daughter's friend with her wedding. Any good cateerers in Rochester that are resonable? Thanks for the help:)
Tina

HELP! Cake Jewlery?!

JShu11 — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:37:42 +0000

I want to have a brooch on my wedding cake, and thought that would be very easy to find. However my cake lady has told me that I can't use any regular brooch (with a clasp pin back), that it has to be a specific cake brooch. It needs to have a straight pin on the back that can be pushed straight into the cake. Otherwise the weight of the brooch will be too heavy for the ribbon it's on and pull the ribbon down.

I have seen very few specific cake brooches and they are WAY too expensive!! Does anyone have any ideas for me?!?! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Not your traditional cake presentation...

jmartinsgal — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:40:55 +0000

I've always said I wanted cupcakes, yet my fiancee (who doesn't care for sweets at all!) wants a cake for photos. We are planning on getting a smaller cake with cupcake tiers/platters/trees on both sides of the cake.

Anyone have any photos of this same idea? Recommendations?

Our colors are teal and charcoal. Thanks for your help!

New giveaway inside!

Knot Annie — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:50:36 +0000

We have a cool giveaway today. And it’s pretty rare that we get to do a giveaway on the Food and Cakes board too (this would be fun for a party or even your bachelorette party)!

This giveaway is from Stirrings all-natural cocktail mixers. To make this giveaway fun, you’ll send someone one of the Stirrings Naked Bartender cocktail-grams (don’t forget to upload a funny photo)! Tell us what cocktail you selected in the post below and you will automatically be entered to win the Stirrings products that you used to create your cocktail along with a Stirrings Rimmer and Stirrings Soda.

Make your cocktail-grams here at mixnaked.com or at facebook.com/stirrings : (Mix Naked tab) and then post your mix of choice below to be automatically entered. We’ll randomly select THREE winners on Thurs, March 3rd!

Good luck,

Knot Annie

Do I need cake at an hors d'oeuvre reception?

dtronol — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:49:59 +0000

Cake isn't really a big deal to us, so we were wondering if it was a necessity. We are having an afternoon reception (1-4, or 2-4), and will be serving medium-heavy hors d'oeuvres. Thanks!