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Baking your own Wedding Cake?

KiriDKiriD member
First Comment
in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
Is any other Nut (like me) out there baking her own wedding cake?  We are having multiple cakes from different family members and no one makes a Coconut cake, except for me.
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Re: Baking your own Wedding Cake?

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    MesmrEweMesmrEwe member
    First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    1) Check with your reception site AND caterer to make sure this is O.k. to do...  We had a situation with a knottie here who didn't check only for her caterer to charge her the contracted cutting fee AND refuse to serve the cake because it was made by the bride's aunt who isn't a licensed baker...  Nothing like having 250 servings of cake leftover and a serving bill to boot the day after your wedding...  The reason to check is because it is state law in most states that food be from a licensed source or be sourced from farm to delivery by a certified kitchen manager (depending on the state).  It's a "cover thy buns" thing...2) The time involved...  The week of your wedding you're going to be working triple overtime hours.  If you get to sleep that week you're doing extremely well not because of the excitement but because of the three-trillion details that you also didn't delegate out to a professional.  For the cost of the value of your time and the cost of ingredients, you can hire a pretty decent baker in your area if you do some checking around to take care of this for you since the cake can't be set up at the site until literally the last second (usually when you're walking down the aisle - if you watch Ace of Cakes Duff even says "Sometimes this job sucks because whenever your friends get married you never get to actually SEE them get married because you're always delivering the cake - - which takes LONGER than you think it will..")...3) Unless your wedding is for 20 people and you're doing only cupcakes, you haven't figured out how much more it's going to cost you in the end to DIY the cake.  DIY wedding cake is not as cheap as you think it is by the time you factor in the cost of all the "trials", cost of extra pans, the stands/boards/doweling, cost of ingredients, value of time, extra dishes, extra laundry, value of the knowledge of how to set up a cake, stress of transport, stress of setting the thing up when you're suppose to be getting your hair/makeup/dressed/married/etc. done, etc. etc. etc.  Bakers didn't go to pastry school for S&G, this stuff is a little more complicated than it looks from Martha.. Who also happens to have a staff of a couple hundred to come up with a perfect cake for the show and photo shoots in a professional kitchen.Really think about what you're wanting to get yourself into here AND... Check with some bakers on the REAL cost of a wedding cake delivered in a design that is within your budget in all of the flavors you're wanting to have.  Chances are you're going to find that it'll end up cheaper than what you think it will run you if you check with some reasonably priced bakers in your area...
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    jbnbridal1jbnbridal1
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am doing my daughter's wedding cake for oct. 10.....I know I'm crazy, but I'm a professional cake artist, so I HAVE to do it even if it kills me!! LOL ...I'll let you know if I survived the craziness... :o) "There is a perfectly good reason why a chef's jacket and a straight jacket look similar." anonymous
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    MaddysMumMaddysMum
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I just did my BIL's wedding cake, and even that was too much. And I did cakes professionally. It's so much last minute work (or, at least, it should be to have a wonderful, fresh cake) and that's no fun when everyone else is hanging out together, spending time with family, participating in wedding events, etc. And I'm in the kitchen, stressing the cake.And that was just a wedding I was attending. I did one wedding cake for our best friend and I was a bridesmaid. I wound up leaving the wedding by 10:00 because I was just SO exhausted having stayed up so late the night before to make the cake special. I don't know - I wouldn't have not done it, because it was my gift to them, but I really wish I could just enjoy friends and families weddings instead of working them. :(
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    Catwoman708Catwoman708 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You're right, you are a nut, for even considering it, lol! If you are having a DIY wedding, and are doing anything else yourself, then just skip the coconut cake if no one else can make it. Even if you have help, you will be far too busy to deal with cooking/baking the day before your wedding. The day before my daughter's wedding she and I were: decorating tables, doing all the flowers, (and we started those things 2 days before), covering up/decorating a large ugly bulletin board, setting up the food/buffet tables, confirming last minute details with the caterer and DJ, running last minute errands, steaming the dress, making sure all the "gear" was ready to go, getting nails done, picking up WP members from the airport, etc... Then there was till things she had to do like pack a bag, gas up and clean out the car, and typical household stuff (laundry, clean up for company...). We literally spent 3-4 nights in a row until late, late, doing all this stuff. Then spent all morning for hair appts, and getting her and BMs ready on the wedding day, while fielding numerous phone calls and questions from other people. Having to bake a cake during all that would have sent me over the edge.
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    kmmssgkmmssg mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    Ditto catwoman. My DD got married in May.  She is my stepdd and I planned the whole thing with her.  I told her that the week of the wedding I would step into the background as a "proper stepmom" and it would be her mom's time to be the MOB. Since we had the plans all on solid footing, I volunteered to make the cheesecakes and sheetcakes for the wedding.  She had ordered a small 2 tier one for the cake cutting. Well.......her mother didn't step up and take the MOB role.  EVERYTHING in that arena was left to me!  If I had known that I would have never agreed to do the cheesecakes and sheetcakes.  OMG, if I would have had ANY clue what I was in for, they would have all come from a bakery and I would have just upped the budget to save my sanity. I seriously ask you to reconsider.  I could have enjoyed those few days prior to the wedding with her much more if I hadn't been baking too.  It is just too busy of a time!
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    laniemarielaniemarie member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am, but its just going to be a simple bundt cake for us to cut. I know I don't have the skills or time to attempt a fancy wedding cake. I'm also making mini bundt cakes for the guests 1 week prior and freezing them.
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    kmmssgkmmssg mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    What kind of bundt cakes are you making and how are you decorating them?
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    melissa<3bryanmelissa<3bryan member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I think that if you were thinking about making a traditional elaborately decorated wedding cake. You would definitely be a nut. However since you and your family are making a bunch of different cakes. Probably smaller and a bit simpler, I don't think it's that crazy. Definitely doable. I'm going to be making ours but we want more simple cake. I also used to work at a bakery so I'm used to it. Here's a wedding where the bride and her family made the cake and the cupcakes. Turned out beautiful I think. [url]http://www.stylemepretty.com/2008/12/16/real-wedding-nicole-grant-v/[/url]
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    laniemarielaniemarie member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    kmmssg I'm using the "Too Much Chocolate Cake" recipe from allrecipies.com, it is awesome! I'm also going to have some kind of spice cake, probably from a box. I haven't worked out the decoration yet but it will probably be very simple poured icing. I tried the pourable fondant recipe from allrecipes.com and it looked nice but didn't taste very good.
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    melissa<3bryanmelissa<3bryan member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yeah, fondant is nasty!
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    jen_ann85jen_ann85
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I know this is a little late, but I did it for my sept. 19th wedding! I did not make a traditional cake, but instead made 17  2 layer 8" cakes. People didn't think I could do it, but with enough preparation ahead of time and a little help with transportation it was worth it. Everyone said how much they LOVED the cake, even before they knew that I had made it. I made cookies'n cream cakes, simply iced and decorated and my florist made simple pieces to put atop each cake. Each cake was the centerpiece of the table, placed on a cake stand with a domed cover. You can e-mail me at jen_ann85@hotmail.com if you want anymore specific details. If this is something you are seriously considering, don't let anybody tell you it's not possible!
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