So I'm getting married in June 2017, it's a long ways off, but I got this random thought the other day as I was trying to figure out decorations, what about cakes for centerpieces? At first I thought 'what a silly idea I'm crazy' but then the more I thought about it the more I loved it. Cakes are beautiful and they would take care of the cake and the centerpieces so that is great. And I love baking so it would really be very me. The kicker is I would be making all the cakes. I'm determined to make my own wedding cake, I'm a hobby baker but I have made wedding cakes for family and friends over the years and I refuse to pay someone hundreds of dollas to do something that I can do myself. So I really love this idea I just don't want it to turn into a logistical nightmare. I know the week of the wedding will be busy for me, so do I really want to throw making 15 cakes in there? I'm thinking I would bake the weekend before and freeze the cakes (empty cheast freezer is a must here) and then fill and frost Thursday and then finishing touches Friday. I've just never done tht many cakes at one time....
see you could bake and ice a few weeks in advance -- if you don't have one, a sweet little chest freezer -- in the states anyway -- is only around a hundred dollars and it would be easy to resell or keep and fill forever afterwards -- a great investment either way -- or maybe gift it to a charitable organization --
These are great points. I was thinking of doing different height and colored cakes stands for each of the tables. Also I was going to do 8" cakes. We are going to have rectangular tables, so my thought was a cake in the middle and then a bud vase on either side with a couple flowers in each. And I was thinking of tinting the frosting just for some visual interest. Our colors are mint and blush, so a verry light light pink might fit right in. Also I could change up the frosting, have a couple done with rosettes and a couple smooth. The reception is in a barn and we are doing mismatched china for dishes, very vintage & rustic feel.
I did centerpiece cakes for my wedding for some of the same reasons you mentioned. Just buttercream cakes airbrushed in copper/rust (fall wedding) with some gum paste decorations. I did 6" square cakes, which were pretty easy, since I just baked a 12" cake and cut that into 4. I set them on foam that I had decorated ahead of time (gumpaste decorations were obviously done ahead of time as well). I was lucky enough to be able to decorate my venue the night before, so all the "stands" were in place. The venue had a large fridge we could use, so all the cakes were onsite the night before. Just showed up the morning of, placed the cakes on the stands, added my decorations, and then off to get ready. I also did bud vases with purple spider mums. Loved how it turned out! It was a lot, but I love that I made my wedding cakes. I "borrowed" a lot of freezers from family members, so I could do the cakes up ahead of time. One good thing about living so close to family ;)
that's enough cake for over 350 servings over 375 actually -- rustic is a good theme to work with what you are describing -- if it was me i'd have enough cake boxes for guests to take home leftovers -- or contact some charities in advance to see who would be willing to take leftovers --
best to you
Our guest list is around 150 right now. We were going to do 10 people per table. I thought a 6" cake would be a little small for 10 people especially if they are cutting it themselves but I am worried about having to much left over cake if I do the 8". The other thing is my fience had his heart set on having cupcakes at the wedding. I have to aggree that cupcakes are much more apt to be eaten then a slice of cake. I did cupcakes for a wedding in December, I made 170 cupcakes and there were 150 guests, not one cupcakes was left over at the end of the night. I think some people grabbed a couple on their way out but I was still impressed they were all gone. Usually when I do a cake for a wedding much of it gets wasted because people don't want to sit down and eat it. A cupcake you can eat as you dance! I'm not sure how a cake stand with 10 cupcakes on it would look on each table....something else to consider I guess
640cake- what do you mean when you say you put them on foam? I'm sort of new at this and I'm used to regular cake boards, usually Wilton brand.
If you want to do cupcakes and are worried about the visual appeal, you can get single cupcake stands and maybe place in the middle of the cake stand to create a tiered effect.
I know I've seen these cute cupcake stands at joann's.
Or maybe you can do a cupcake bouquet so that way you would have cupcakes that look like flowers !
just some thoughts :)
Basically, I made my own cake stands out of foam. I purchased 10" x 4" foam squares - what you would use for cake dummies. I glued silver cake boards to the top and then decorated the sides with some funky ribbon - in my colors, of course. I did not have much cake left over - my cakes were 6" x 6". What little was left was eaten the next day by my out of state guests that stayed overnight (along with the leftover food!). There were a few messy tables...crumbs from people cutting the cake, but disposable table covers made clean up a breeze. I saved all of the stands. I redecorate them as needed or use them for dummy cakes. They did not go to waste :)
My cousin had cupcakes as their favor for the guests, they were in little boxes at seat. I really like the idea of cakes as centerpieces and considered it for my wedding as well. Good luck, I can't wait to see pics!!
-k8memphis I have never frozen a frosted cake before. Is that alright to do with most frostings? I usually freez the cake wrapped several times in press and seal. Any thoughts on freezing the cakes fully frosted? I'm not sure exactly how they would be defrosted. Luckily we get the venue the day before so I could take all the cake there in boxes and then just have someone take them out and put them on the stands. The thought of having cute cake stands with cakes on each of the tables that I made is so exciting, but I don't want to cause myself uneeded stress, I want to be able to enjoy the day and not have to worrie about anything. And I have almost a year and a half to figure it all out so at least I have that!
I love the mini cupcake wedding type rounded swirl rose cake dresses. Most that do these they are done in white for "white" wedding dress. I think they would look so pretty on all the tables. Just a thought.
you said, "I want to be able to enjoy the day and not have to worry about anything"
then you really need to plop down the money and just buy yourself a cake -- providing cake for 150 friends and relatives is a big deal that it's also your wedding ramps it up exponentially --
otherwise what you need to do is test out your recipes in the freezer and see how they do -- you would thaw gradually overnight in the fridge which means you'll need fridge space at the last minute too --
paying someone can get cheaper and cheaper if you add in all the last minute work and potential stress -- i mean i did my cake and my kids' cakes but i'm a professional wedding caker too --
not that it can't be done but weigh it all out carefully
for example i would not allow the kids' to assign me or my husband any additional duties for their weddings -- we just did the cake -- he was there for me for any emergencies, trip to the store etc. and to help deliver and he knew how to stay out of my way too -- very important heheheheh
but if you have good friends or relatives who you can definitely count on to come through for you and then some to back them up if they get called out of town or something --
ok -- just think of going to the movies for example and before the movie starts you gotta pack up and deliver and set up 15 cakes -- it's a real big deal without adding in a marriage
but i wanna help if you have any more questions and i'd also like to request pictures best to you!
Honesly I want to make them because I know they will be good. I have become somewhat of a cake snob and a lot times when I have cake at a wedding I think it's just okay. I know that doing the cakes will be a lot of stress, I have been IN two different weddings where I also made the cake. I am set on making my cake, and I'm ready for the stress that can come with that. It's one thing to make a bunch of cupcakes and it's another to make 15 8" cakes. So I would not have the fridge space to put the cakes in to let them come to room temperature that I know for sure. So I may not be able to pull this off after all....
a tier cake would be easier as far as logistics...that's good experience to have two under your belt that you served in and made the cake so you have a good understanding...
fwiw i have an empty commercial fridge... i'm in west tennessee :)
there are so many wonderful ways to make 'stands' for cupcakes! As mentioned wine glasses upside down; teacups and saucers; styro (foam) are just a few. You mention using mismatcfhed plates etc. This would fit in so well! Putting 10 or a dozen on each table would be easy. Using 8x4" cakes would give you a lot of leftover plus you would need plates and silverwear for eating sliced.
I'm not a fan of cupcake towers for weddings BUT..........in your case it sounds just perfect :)
I saw this tutorial on making your own stands---can't find it now. From bottom up, plate, wine glass or drinking glass, plate, glass (wine or drinking) plate. The five items were hot glued/ construction glued together and spray painted. They looked good when done. Shape won't matter once all the colors match. It made for a cool three tiered cake tower---cheap. To me, the spray paint was the key---as I never thought of that. Goodwill and garage sale junk would work great!
You could make a tiered display for cupcakes...maybe flowers on the bottom plate and cupcakes on the top two? or just use a single tier (glass below) for a single cake? Or two plates with flowers below and a single large cake on top? Many possibilities.
If you plan early, I don't see why you couldn't do it. Congrats!
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