I know it's a general question, and having worked with hundreds of brides myself, I have more than a few thoughts on this but... as a wedding cake artist what do you think is important for brides to know about wedding cakes?

I have recently been selected to be an expert at WeddingAces.com (a WeddingWire.com project) and every week I will be blogging about weddings, mostly about wedding cakes. It's a wonderful opportunity to help brides get exactly what they want in a wedding cake and helping the cake world by dispelling some of the crazy "bridal magazine myths" that we are all so tired of hearing. I have made a decent list of potential topics (I'll be blogging twice a week, so I'll need it) but I thought Id throw it out to you guys in case there is something specific that you would like brides to know that I hadn't planned on covering. (perhaps something regional that I wouldn't know about being in AZ.)

I have a few already entries posted and a few more in the works (Im writing one right now on those crazy cake toppers that have a small base and a poor weight distribution leading to toppers that fall off of cakes). I am not tackling the bridal magazine myths just yet, I thought I would ease into that one and make sure they like me before I make anyone mad.

Here are a few topics already in the works ( I know theses are broad but I have very specific ideas for each)

toppers
team logo (copyright)
cake supports
choosing a baker
grooms cake
how early to book
scratch vs mix
fake cakes
flavor selection
outdoor wedding cakes
cake design
delivery
fondant
sizing
cake pricing
tasting charge
mini cakes
wedding magazine myths (this could be 10 blogs entries)
cupcakes

I already have a couple of entries up and a couple more waiting in the blogger queue. You can see them here: http://www.weddingaces.com/

I'm heading out for a bridal show in a few minutes, so I'll send you some ideas later tonight.

I've given speeches/presentations on stuff like this, so I should have a good arsenal of info to share with you. I'm actually speaking today at the bridal show on a similar topic.

Congrats on being selected for this project!!

Can you talk about cake slice sizes? There are a few issue associated with this, such as:

Each baker may have a different "slice size" in mind when quoting a price
Do you need a birthday cake size piece after a huge meal and in fitting formal clothes?
If a family member cuts the cake, how many pieces will be lost to poor technique (or dropping for that matter)
Make sure they know WHO will be cutting the cake--and when in the evening

Mention licensed and insured bakers please.

This might fall under "how early to book" but today I had a LOT of Sept and Oct brides, so I told them, "You have to be a decision maker. You are competing with all of those other brides who want YOUR reception facility, YOUR photographer, etc. The one who decides first, will get her first choice." So it's not so much a matter of "be sure to book your cake 6 months in advance" but more a matter of "how popular IS the date you've selected?"

Remember 6-7-08? My nephew booked it over a year in advance and I turned down something like 25-28 brides for that date.

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I HATE the Ten Questions to Ask Your Caker/Caterer lists!! So .... to address a couple of those .....

Will you book other weddings on my date? It's the wrong question. The RIGHT question is "what is your capacity for weddings on a given date? Do you still have room in your schedule for my wedding?" I get so ticked when a bride thinks I can pay my rent and overhead on JUST her $300 cake!

How far ahead do you bake the cake? Be sure they understand that baking the cake a few days ahead of time is not just NORMAL, but it's pretty much a "have-to" case. This AIN'T your mama's kitchen where we can churn out a cake in just 30 minutes.

My big peeve .... cutting the cake as the very last thing in the evening will guarantee you'll overspend on cake and have lots left over ... because a lot of guests will leave long before the festivities are over. Wedding cake should be cut and served soon after dinner ... when dessert is SUPPOSE to be eaten. Not last thing at night when people are walking out the door.

Congrats on being selected as a wedding cake expert...FINALLY they are getting someone who knows what they are talking about.

I don't have any suggestions for you other than what you already have listed...I just wanted to say I think you are a brilliant writer and have always learned a lot from your posts....you'll be helping a lot of peeps with your advice.

With everyone having cable tv and how popular the cake shows are, could you enlighted the brides on the cost of these cakes. The brides have NO idea of the cost of the cakes they see on ace of cakes, food network challenge, etc. I was at a wedding show yesterday and I had a couple who said they knew exactly what they wanted, her mother had even looked up Duff's number & were going to call to see what delivery to New Hampsire would be for a carved cake, but since they were at the show they figured they would get a price from me. The cake was for 100 guests, I quoted them $800 plus $40 delivery. They said that was WAY TOO MUCH for a cake for 100 guests and they would be calling Charm City for a price quote. Wait until they find out the minimum order is $1500 and certainly not delivered to NH.

CCC's website still lists $1k as their minimum.

Along with cake slice sizes, add into that how to cut a wedding cake. This suggestion came to me after reading this thread, http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=6263821#6263821 , where the CC'er shares a story about a caterer who butchered a cake.

Just because they work in the food industry, doesn't mean they have any idea on how to cut a cake!

Hi Leahs,

Even at $1000 minimum, they are going to get quite a surprise for what those cakes on the show go for. Their mouths were wide open in awe when I said $800. I didn't tell them any price quote they could expect from CCC, I figured it would better for them to get it directly from them, oh, and delivery to NH wil be...

I also agree about those cakes in wedding magazines, it would be nice to see some prices listed next to them also. They have the cake designer sometimes, but very few brides go to that person's web site to see pricing for that type of cake.

I got a few "i LUV the Ace of Cakes!" comments yesterday at the bridal show. I immediately tell them "So do I .... did you know he has a $1000 minimum for his cakes?" Their mouths drop open ... they have no idea. And then when I tell them "none of the cakes you see on TV are even close to $1000. I've seen a cake he does for the minimum. No where even close." Then I pointed to all of my cakes on display and said, "Every single one of these cakes would be WAY over $1000 if they had been made by Duff Goldman."

Closing with my "comforting" line of , 'But the good news is that I'm not QUITE that expensive!"

Fresh flower Dos and Don'ts (or why your cake artist might have certain rules about where your flowers are sourced and what varieties are used)

Kevin, your blog entries look great!

*edited for typo

I was engaged at one time (before I started cake decorating etc) and when I was shopping for reception facilities my question was "who does the cake", maybe you can do a topic on facilities that allow off premise baking and the cake cutting fee associated with this or in some cases the $ credit the reception site will give you if you chose an outside baker. I just thought it was unfair when I went to a catering facility and the $ per guest was huge and I had to use their boring cakes when I knew the bakery I had wanted to use, in some cases it was a deal breaker.

Portion sizes: There's nothing wrong with a REAL sized slice for wedding cake!!! (o.k. after being on the rubber chicken circuit, half the time you can't eat half of the plated meal anyways, so a full dessert is a MUST... Besides that, no one EVER complains that their wedding slice of cake was "too big")... But also, big box stores use a 1x1x3-4 slice versus even a Wilton 1x2x4 slice... That's a BIG difference when someone is quoting you $3/slice in what is getting gotten for the money...

Sheet cakes vs. Kitchen Cakes: Definitions... Sheet=unfilled portion cake max 2" tall Kitchen cake: Same layers/filling as the main wedding cake only no decoration and rough-iced... The ALL Guests being treated EQUAL!!! factor... There's nothing that sucks more after a dehydrated rice plated meal and get a piece of half-portioned kiddie cake when other people at my table get a filled slice of cake.

Cupcakes: size matters.... and if you don't like traditional cake, cupcakes are STILL CAKE... The fact that people eat more of them, OTOH, people also hate the fact that they have to get their fingers into the food when they're all dressed up..

Like a PP pointed out... The time of the cake service during the event. Suggest brides walk in directly to the cake table for their cutting photos before sitting down to dinner so the catering staff can do the cutting so when the first table finished with dinner is ready for cake, there it is. Half the guests leave the second they think dinner is over, cake or not. If the cake is late, there will be leftovers (and for brides/grooms to line up take-home boxes for leftovers and the caterers put them in boxes to go right away so guests can take them)

Ordering enough cake: FOR ALL of the guests!!! Some caterers tell brides to only order enough for 75% of the guest list. I've been the guest at at least FOUR weddings that hasn't gotten cake because of that idiocy... Let me tell you, I wasn't happy to be cheaped out on!!

The things guests remember most: Did they get enough to eat and did they have a good time. None of them care if the napkins matched the bridesmaid dresses. They care that their tummy was filled regardless of the restrictions they've got (Diabetic, Celiac's, allergy, etc.), and if they had a good time (aka the DJ didn't blast the music so loud they couldn't hear for the next week)...

Thanks to you all! I will do my best to work in all of the issues you posted sometime this year! It should be no problem with the 2 a week dealio.