EXPERT TIP BY DECADENTLY YOURS (www.decadentlyyours.ca) Guelph, ON | Photo above: Amy Taylor Photography

You might not know much about wedding cakes (besides the obvious fact that they're delicious), but the more informed you are, the better your decisions will be. Decadently Yours offers you a few tips to help pick your perfect confection.

1. It's best to have these three things confirmed before you even start thinking of a wedding cake; your wedding date, your venue, and your estimated number of guests. "The wedding date is important to ensure the bakery has that date available and has the capacity to accept your order — wedding seasons get hectic, FAST!" "Your venue is important too if the bakery will be delivering the cake. We will need to build a schedule around you and whomever else they're making deliveries for on that day. The number of guests will determine the size of the cake you will need and gives the bakery a starting point. However, don't get too hung up on that number as it may fluctuate — most bakeries are fine with your calling to add or subtract a reasonable number of guests two weeks out."

2. Most wedding cakes are priced by the number of guests you want it to feed and design, not by the number of tiers. "The cost of your cake depends on the number of guests you'd like to serve as well as the design of your cake. It's important to have an idea of what type of cake designs you like as well as a budget. We're always happy to work with you to help create the perfect cake for your style and budget."

3. Most bakeries will give you price estimates on designs prior to a consult. "If you have an idea of what you want, EXCELLENT! You can save both yourself and your prospective wedding cake vendor some time with a casual email attaching the picture or general idea of what you're looking for, and they will be able to give you an estimated price. That way when or if you book a consult appointment it allows you to go over smaller, more personal preferences instead of starting at square one. It'll also give you a sense of which kinds of designs are feasible for your budget.

4. When it comes to wedding cake design, Pinterest and Instagram are your two new BFFs "In today’s world half of what we fall in love with is on Pinterest or Instagram. Save some of the photos you love and send them to your baker. That gives them a sense of what you're looking for and gives both of you a starting point, and also helps the baker to provide you with a few ideas, along with their price points, so you can mull things over before signing any contracts."

5. There's a difference between "layers" and "tiers", “buttercream icing” and “fondant” "When referring to a layer, it is a single cake with a filling in between each layer. It can be a 3 or 4 layered cake. I.e.: a layer of cake, a layer of fill, a layer of cake, a layer of fill, a layer of cake. Normally would be 1 flavor of cake and filling. Although it may be possible to have a couple of different fillings. Whereas a tiered cake is a cake on top of a cake and can be two tiers or more. Each cake can be a different flavor and different filling, it does not all have to be the same. Tiered cakes tend to be for larger groups of people or for a showpiece cake where a single-layered cake is for smaller groups. Buttercream icing is whipped butter and icing sugar. It has a very light creamy taste with a soft sweetness to finish off the cake. Fondant is firm icing which gives a cake a crisp clean look and is rolled over the cake. Fondant accents are added to the cake to complete a design. Fondant cakes have a higher price point than a buttercream cake."

Featured in the January 2021: Covid Edition issue of The Wedding Ring Magazine

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