I am getting married in a few months with a rather small ceremony. I've already decided I was going to make my own cake because frankly, I can't see paying someone else to do something I'm completely capable of doing myself. However, I've hit a snag. I have no idea what I want to do! I talked to my mom about it and she said it was easy when she picked out her cake 20-something years ago because all of the cakes in the portfolio looked the same- white on white tiers. Now, there are so many more options!

Have any of you had to pick out a design for yourself that either you or someone else was doing for you? I just get overwhelmed while trying to pick something out and don't know where to start! Some guidance would be helpful!
Becky

I feel your pain! In the same situation myself. I'm sure someone is going to say don't do your own but I completely understand your reasonings, so just do what YOU want!

Anyways, I have lots of folders of wedding cakes from saving what I liked and after a while I started noticing a trend. I figured out what I definitely didn't want (which really helps! ), what I sort of liked, and what I loved. After that, more trends followed like: traditional or whimsical, solid colors or varied, fondant or BC, swags or no swags, flowers verse none. Until finally I have it narrowed down to enough that when the time comes, I can sit down and finally decide which one, deep down, is truly me and not just a faze. Does that make sense?

Good luck and congrats!

Things have changed alot since I got married (at least in regards to cakes). I was going to try to do my own, but chickened out. When I picked out my cake, I just sat down and looked through a bunch of the Wilton books with my chosen baker/cake decorator. Now, there seems to be more of a design your own cake trend out there. It also seems like elegant simplicity is favored over all the intricate stringwork, scrolls, etc. I would probably start with the basics and work from there. What shape cake do you prefer? What kind of icing or fondant do you like? What colors are you going to have? What flowers will be in your bouquets? Do you prefer stacked or pillar construction? Alot of the websites that post wedding cake pictures will allow you to filter by shape, color, etc... Also, as you're browsing through cake pictures, you'll probably eventually be able to find similarities among all the cakes you like. They may all be the same shape or the same color or contain the same flowers. If you take notice of the similarities, you'll have a good indication of what you like.

Good luck to you!

Thanks for your replies ladies! Your ideas definitely helped me get started- I started with taking out anything I DIDN'T like, and that narrowed down a lot! I'll keep working on it because the time is going to come a lot sooner than later!

Thanks again!