Your wedding cake isn’t just the ultimate dessert for you, your new husband or wife, and guests to enjoy. Traditionally, the style and contents of a wedding cake carry significant meaning. Throughout history, the cake itself has been a symbol of fertility, purity, and loyalty.
The act of cutting the cake remains just as important as the first dance and bouquet toss. The bride and groom feeding each other the very first slice is equally as romantic, sweet, and symbolic.
Customs and traditions have changed in the modern day. Yet the wedding cake remains a vital part of the entire big day vision, with its appearance needing to tie in perfectly with the wider theme and the fillings within a poignant nod to the bride and groom’s personal tastes.
Whilst DIY touches have the power to turn an average wedding into something completely personal and unique, there are some wedding day musts that you should leave to the professionals. Making the wedding cake is one of them, here’s why.
1. You’ll have enough to worry about
No matter how well organised you are, planning the wedding day of your dreams is stressful. The key to keeping wedding stress under control is to share the burden of planning.
Your partner and loved ones will of course be there to support you, and there’s an army of wedding suppliers who you can call upon for assistance too.
Leaving the making of your wedding cake to a professional means you can concentrate on planning other parts of your special day. You can still get involved in the making of your cake, there will be plenty of cake tastings to enjoy!
2. You need to be Mary Berry to pull it off
Creating a huge, tiered wedding cake from scratch isn’t a task for an amateur baker. There are just so many things you need to consider.
Your chosen wedding cake maker bakes cakes day in, day out, and will have the experience and creativity to execute your desired design to perfection. They know exactly how long your cake will take to bake and decorate, and will be well-versed in creating cakes for large numbers of people. They also have the skills needed to make sure your cake not only looks good and tastes great but remains standing all day long.
Making a wedding cake is particularly time consuming. The night before your wedding day should certainly not be spent icing and decorating a cake. You need to concentrate on getting a good night’s sleep.
3. Transporting your cake requires expert knowledge
The look and taste of your cake will need to be on-point. But ensuring it stays in one piece as it makes its way from the kitchen to your wedding venue is another challenge. Transporting a wedding cake is a logistical nightmare as Malarkey Cakes details:
“Wedding cakes don’t deliver themselves (although they should in my opinion!) If you’ve never delivered a wedding cake before, it can be nerve-racking.
And as you probably aren’t going to deliver it yourself, you’ll have to rely on a poor friend or uncle to save the day with delivering it and making sure it’s all set up in the venue.
It will of course be fine, but I think it’s best left to a professional and then you don’t even need to think about it and can be sipping prosecco whilst being pampered, as you should be!”
4. Storing a wedding cake isn’t easy either!
You don’t have to just contend with baking, decorating and transporting your wedding cake. Storing your creation is a minefield too.
Climate controlled storage is required to keep a wedding cake in tip top condition, especially if it contains buttercream as most modern day designs do. Heat and buttercream certainly don’t mix!
Kick-start the wedding planning process in style (and with some help from friends, family, and professionals) with our top tips for newly engaged couples.
