Cake 101

ginadog

With the dress business out of the way, it's on to other research topics - cakes!  I need some education on this topic.

** I've got some simple pretty pictures I like for reference.  Do I just show the baker what I envision?
** How many people am I ordering for? 
** Do you wait until you have a head count from the RSVP so that you have a number? 
** How many pieces do you assume each person wants?
** Do you rent their stuff (cake stand, base, etc) or get your own stuff?
** Anything else I should know in regards to cakes?

Home town cake vs. cake @ destination
Pretty much any baker in my town is going to be cheaper than a Jackson Hole baker.  Would you purchase your cake in town, then drive up with your own cake?  It's 4 hours to the ceremony site from our house. 

We're headed up the day before the wedding so could pick the cake up that morning, or the night before.I could then at least taste cakes in my own town, but I could not taste cakes in Jackson Hole.  We do not plan to go back up there until the wedding however.

A baker suggested I could put my cake in a cooler with dry ice and travel with it a day or two before the wedding (for fresh cakes).  I'll have a fridge in my condo as well.  So it's doable, but worth the logistics?

EDITED TO ADD: we are inviting 75 guests, we think 55 will make it.  That's like a 2 tier cake right?  My cabin is walking distance to the reception venue (where I have a fridge to store the cake other than the cooler).  Or I can see if the coordinator lady will house the cake in her kitchen. 

We will do without the groom's cake.  The catering menu comes with two dessert options anyway.

littlemoments324

** I've got some simple pretty pictures I like for reference.  Do I just show the baker what I envision?  Yes.  Show them what you are looking for   they always love pictures...most also have some for you to look at.

** How many people am I ordering for?  Normally they want the number of estimated guests and they recommend the size for you.

** Do you wait until you have a head count from the RSVP so that you have a number?   Nope.  You want to book a baker soon.

** How many pieces do you assume each person wants?  Normally everyone gets 1 slice...and once everyone who wants a piece has received one, you can inform people that if anyone would like another piece of cake to help themselves...

** Do you rent their stuff (cake stand, base, etc) or get your own stuff?  This is also a question to ask your baker.  Sometimes they offer their items, sometimes it comes with it...or if you find something you like better than what they have they can use what you have found.  Just make sure that if you purchase a cake stand it can handle the weight of the cake.

** Anything else I should know in regards to cakes?  Most of the time, they'll allow you taste anywhere from 3-7 flavors of cake.  Make sure you have your top 3 flavors you would like to try.  For example: FI & I knew we wanted a chocolate, lemon raspberry & carrot cake & made sure we were able to taste those with every baker we "interviewd".  We also tasted red velvet and a few others I can't remember anymore...I chose a different baker for FI's surprise groom's cake. Her red velvet was THE best, so I decided to book her for that and the wedding cake through someone else.

So it's doable, but worth the logistics?  To me this seems a little tricky...It all depends on the size of your cake.  I would also see if your reception vender will allow you to keep your cake in the fridge at the site?  I would also talk with your baker to see what they suggest.   I would pick up the cake the morning you head to the wedding location that way you know for sure it will should last the trip!

michelle11988

I'm doing cupcakes, so I know my experiences will be a bit different.  I would definitely bring your pictures with you for the cake meetings.  My bakers always asked for them and I never really had any but that was okay.  The bakers I spoke to asked how many I was inviting and about how many I thought would come.  Most of the bakers I spoke to told me the prices of their stands and said I could rent one at $XX or try and find something else/cheaper/different.  Definitely think of a top 3 or so flavors that you want to try at each place so at least if you know you want a chocolate tier you can compare chocolates at all places.  Also I would see if you could coordinate with someone in Jackson Hole, we had found a couple bakerys that didn't do delivery and we didn't want to deal with the hassle of picking up and setting up the cupcakes the day of the wedding.  If you find a good baker in Jackson Hole you could always see if they could meet you half way to do a tasting if you can talk first over the phone or email.  Good luck!

ginadog

Would you ever buy a cake you never tasted? 
(In the event we cannot get to JH nor would a baker meet us halfway.)

FYI - we're using the venue's catering service and we haven't tried any of their catering food, nor do we plan on it. 

But a cake seems different to me.

littlemoments324

hmm..i know I would want to taste, but I would do a lot of research on them and ask for referrals if you decided to go with a local baker.

Erinkathleen84

We will not taste our cake (we are getting married in Costa Rica). But we are using a very reputable caterer where we were able to read a lot of reviews and talk with other customers. If you find a baker that has all raving reviews...you should be happy with the cake they make. Just figure out what kind of cake you want and it should be good

Elinetrouwt

These cake threads always make me hungry. We went to the tea room that has the best cake in town today, but there was no space and we ended up eating bad cake somewhere else.

Ehm, that's not very helpful I guess. Driving around with a cake sounds like a big hassle to me, something where too much can go wrong, but I don't know how big the difference in pricing is...

bells24412

** I've got some simple pretty pictures I like for reference.  Do I just show the baker what I envision? Yes, bakers love pictures to go by, at least mine did anyway. That way they can get a sense of what you want and go from there. I showed by baker a ton of different pic's and she ended up designing a cake with each thing i loved about the pic's i showed her.

** How many people am I ordering for?  I told her the rough estimate of people on my guest list. I have to give a final head count i think 3 months before. I think would be ok if you could go by a rough estimate since you already probably have a guest list going.

** Do you wait until you have a head count from the RSVP so that you have a number?  No, like i said I gave her a rough estimate.

** How many pieces do you assume each person wants? It is cut by slice. Most places you pay by slice, so it is usally 1 slice p/p.

** Do you rent their stuff (cake stand, base, etc) or get your own stuff? The only thing i had to get for my baker was the rhinestones to go around the cake because they would be super expensive if she had to order it. The baker usually takes care of pretty much everything including delivery to your venue.

** Anything else I should know in regards to cakes? I agree with littlemoments, you should have an idea of what kind of cakes you would like to have so that way they have samples for you. When i went for my cake tasting, I told her about 6 different flavors and she made cupcakes with that filling so we know. It was very yummy.Also, my baker wanted a deposite right then when we decided on her i think it was like 20% of the total of the cake. My cake ended up being $600 for like 315 people so we ended up having to put $140 down. 
The cake was probably the best thing for me to look forward to. 
 I hope you enjoy the experience as well!