There are few items of culinary confection which are more important than your wedding cake. It symbolizes the sweetness of love, the celebration of the union, and the beauty of the occasion. Today you have more options than ever for having the perfect cake crafted for your wedding, allowing you to choose something which will represent the deeper meaning of your love.
Most wedding cakes have to be ordered at least a couple of months in advance. That is why it is important for you to start shopping for a bakery, or cake designer as early as possible. The fancier you picture it to be, the more lead time that will be required to complete the creation.
When choosing a designer for your cake it’s important to shop around, and get an idea of what is available. Going to bridal fairs will not only allow you to see some cake designers wares, it will also allow you to meet a variety of wedding professionals who can direct you to reputable bakeries that they have worked with in the past.
You should always ask any cake designer that you are considering for photographs of recent creations in order to get a sense of their style and quality. If possible you should also get references from past brides who can recommend their work personally.
One obvious and often overlooked thing to consider when choosing a cake is the climate, weather, and location of the wedding. An outdoor event in the middle of summer is not conducive to any type of food that could melt, or quickly become destroyed by heat. On the other hand a wedding set for the middle of winter probably shouldn’t feature a freezing cold ice cream cake. You want to try and balance your choices against the setting in which it will be enjoyed.
Flavor is a very personal choice. You have to know that you and your future spouse are going to like the way the cake tastes. When choosing a bakery, make certain that you get to enjoy samples of all of the different flavor options, including different types of icing, edible accessories, and cake flavors. It’s important to sample a wide range of flavors to find a combination that will make both of you happy.
If you have trouble deciding, you can always forgo the large fancy wedding cake in favor of a variety of smaller pastries. In this way you won’t have a single centerpiece cake, but instead an entire table of edible yummies for your guests to enjoy. Another compromise is to have a cake with many different tiers, each of them with a different flavor.
The actual size and shape of a wedding cake will be determined to some extent by the number of guests who will be attending. The larger the crowd the greater the number of tiers required to feed everyone.
Traditionally wedding cakes are round, or sometimes square in shape, often tiered in a pyramid design that creates a broad solid base, with concentric rings rising up to the top. However today, you have an almost endless wealth of strange and exotic designs that you can choose for the actual layout of your cake.
Looking through wedding magazines, watching wedding shows, and even flipping through cake designer’s personal portfolios is the best way to get exposure to the wide breath of options available. However even though you can get pretty creative here, its important to remember that a traditional round or square cake will be the easiest to transport, protect, and serve to your guests. Also, elaborate designs that look good are often made using food based parts that aren’t always crafted to be the best tasting.
A wedding cake is an important part of the ceremony, both symbolically, and logistically. You have to plan ahead, taking a look at all of the different options that you have before settling on a design that you love. But don’t take too long; remember most wedding cakes have to be ordered weeks, or even months before the actual date arrives.
This article was written by Joey Pebble on behalf of PebbleZ – a company specializing in the design and sale of home decor products made from a wide variety of natural, mountain born stone materials.
I Now Pronounce You Paid In Full: Who Pays for What During the Wedding
Celebrations
There’s no two ways about it: weddings are expensive. Paying for every detail is enough to drain any family’s financial coffers and – even worse – leave them wrestling with debt. Especially for new couples paying their own way during the wedding, the expenses quickly add up.
The following is a traditional guide to dividing expenses equally and fairly among the four major participants in planning the four main parts of the wedding celebration: rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, and honeymoon. These are guidelines more than rules, and are intended to show tradition more than carved-in-stone etiquette.
The Bride’s Family There’s a popular misconception among the unmarried of the world that the bride’s family foots the entire bill. That’s not entirely true, though unfortunately it may feel that way for the father of the bride! Traditionally, the bride’s family finances the reception dinner with all its facets: the food,drink, venue, service staff (including tips), flower arrangements, wedding favors, and any other miscellany.
The bride’s family also pays for many of the necessities leading up to the ceremony: these usually include the bridal gown, the wedding invitations and save-the-date reminders, as well as the engagement and wedding photographs. Finally (!) the wedding ceremony costs, the photographer and videographer fees, the cost of the ring bearer and flower girl accessories, the transportation costs and bridesmaids bouquets are all picked up by the bride’s family. Honestly… if you’re the parent of a young girl, start saving right now.
The Bride Compared to her family, the bride gets off relatively easy. Brides traditionally pay for the groom’s wedding band, gifts for her bridesmaids, the bridesmaids’ luncheon, her blood test fees, and the wedding day lingerie. In the strictest traditional sense, the bride should also pay for her out-of-town bridesmaids accommodations.
The Groom Okay, guys. Time to pony up. Following the engagement ring (that two-month’s salary guideline is passé, by the way) you’ve still got a few things left to buy. You’ll pay for the honeymoon, the marriage license, and gifts for your groomsmen. The gentleman groom, however, also pays for the bridal bouquet and corsages for your mother and your new mother-in-law.
You’ll also pick up the boutonnieres, ties, and accessories for the groomsmen, and finally the bride’s wedding ring. Gifts for the ushers and for your parents go the extra distance to showing your class. You should also pay the honorarium for the judge, justice of the peace, or clergyman who officiates the ceremony, too.
The Groom’s Family Besides their own attire, the groom’s family is responsible for the rehearsal dinner and all its details.
The Maid of Honor Bachelorette parties and wedding showers are the responsibility of the maid of honor. This includes all the details, top to bottom.
The Best Man The best man is master of ceremonies and godfather of the bachelor party, from the planning to the execution to pouring all the guests into cabs at the end of the night. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.
The Groomsmen and Bridesmaids Most of the attire – for example, the tuxedo rental and costs of the gown – are the responsibility of the individual wedding party member. They also give a gift to the newlyweds. Groomsmen arriving from out-of-town are also expected to pay for their accommodations.
My Wedding Favors has a complete selection of elegant yet inexpensive wedding favors to fit any taste and style. We also carry a complete selection of groomsmen and bridesmaids gifts. Visit us online at www.myweddingfavors.comto browse our complete catalog.
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