Getting Started...my First Wedding Cake
Decorating By Alison01 Updated 26 Oct 2006 , 1:41pm by Alison01
I have plenty of time to practice....but I want to get started now. A friend of mine is getting married in March...she will be having about 150 guests and has asked me to do the wedding cake. First of all, I'm not sure exactly how large I am going to need to do this cake, and second, I am going to go buy any supplies I might need. Actually I have a ton of supplies, but they look yellowy because they are getting old. My Grandmother was a cake decorator & has left me all of her supplies. I've been baking on the side for about a year now. Anyway...back to my question....Any suggestions on what I need to go out and buy and how big I need to do this cake?
Hi 
Im a newbie too, but no one has said anything yet... here is a place to start, this is Wiltons guides to servings, it will give an idea of how many servings a specific sized cake will give you:
http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/cakedata.cfm
Also Earlenes cake servings guide, some say her's is better:
http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm
Looks like if your doing rounds a 16 inch, 12 inch and 8 inch would be about 135 servings. Does she want exactly 150 servings or will there be 150 guests, cause not everyone will eat cake, and it depends on what else is been served, alcohol... other desserts etc...
Now do you have an idea of what she wants? How many tiers? what shape? What decorations? Stacked, not stacked? Give us an idea of what is been made and we can help with ideas for what you will need...
I have only been decorating for about 6 months and I have my first wedding cake on Thanksgiving weedend. I would say that one thing you should really invest in is a book by Dede Wilson called, "Wedding Cakes You Can Make: Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake". It has beautiful pictures, easy instructions and DELICIOUS recipes! She even tells you where you can order the supplies she used.
I highly recommend it. Good Luck! Be sure to post your final results.
Thanks a lot! Those charts are very helpful!! I know this cake will be 3 tier...and she has actually moved her guest list down to 100 guests. This is all I know at this point...I need to meet with her and discuss details.
I am definitely going to check out that book you recommended...sounds like it's just what I need!!
I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once I find out exactly what she is wanting!!
I to have my first wedding cake not due untill May but I'm still very "wet behind the ears" shall we say. Are you making dummy cakes or are you going to practice with the real thing? Just wondering where I should start. Thanks
If you've never stacked a cake this size before, I would really recommend making one the exact size that you're going to make, and have a trial run. There are differences between working with dummies and real cake, so maybe you can do something for the holidays and get your practice in. Also, depending on where the reception is, she may not have an option to feed less then her guest list. Where I work, everyone gets cake, whether or not the eat it is a different story. So that being said, it's better to have more servings then not enough. This also is better because depending on who is cutting the cake, they might not know what proper wedding cake size is, and may cut larger pieces, and the last thing you want is to run out of cake.
If she's saying 100, you could do a 14x10x6 and be fine. Because this cake will serve about 120, and since she's inviting 100, only about 85 will show, and you'll be fine. Remember that the top tier doesn't count in servings.
As far as your tools, it shouldn't matter if they're yellow. As long as they are clean and usable. That book is great, but I think that practicing is key. If you can get at least one trial run in, you'll learn what you need to work on, be able to ask questions before it's last minute, and figure out what you're doing. Good luck!
There was a post on the subject of yellowed plates & pillars and such recently...here's a link (hope it works)
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-160483.html?osCsid=286a8029e9167e9a6cefffbccebec2bf
HTH
Tim
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