A wedding cake is for the reception what the wedding dress is for the ceremony. It is the centerpiece that sets the tone for everything else. When choosing your wedding cake there are several factors to decide: price range, flavors, and overall design. This article takes a look at these three elements, with a special focus on Damask wedding designs.
Price
According to the Bridal Association of America, the average price for a wedding cake in 2009 was $543 dollars. While it is certainly not the most expensive part of a wedding ceremony, it is a large investment worth careful consideration. There are several factors that decide the price of a cake: level of decoration, use of fondant, and size.
A good rule of thumb is that the more elaborate the decoration, the more expensive. Some bakeries use printed edible paper for embellishments. While this method tends to be less expensive than hand work, it is up to you to decide if it’s the look your going for.
Fondant is a favorite medium in modern cake design. It creates a smooth surface that can be decorated in a variety of ways. If you want a modern look fondant is the way to go. However, if you want a more traditional looking cake, a smooth layer of butter cream frosting is less expensive. If you are worried about using frosting, remember that ribbons, flowers, and other non-edible decorations can be used to camouflage the surface.
Do you have a large reception planned? Expect to pay more than the average for your cake. One technique many bakeries use to curb costs is to create a smaller decorative cake and a sheet cake in the same flavors. The guests all taste the same great flavors, but you get to save money.
Prepare to pay anywhere from $1.50 a slice to $5.00 a slice based on your final choices.
Flavor
Today’s modern bride has a much wider choice of cake flavors than in the past. Don’t feel that you are stuck with only white cake as an option. According to NY Magazine seven out of the top ten favorite flavors of wedding cake include some type of chocolate and the other three types are fruit based flavors. The top two choices are based around devil’s food cake with chocolate butter cream. Any good bakery will create a beautiful cake in the flavors of your choice. Choose what tastes good to you!
Design
Although many people would assume that all Damask wedding cakes would look exactly the same, there are actually limitless variations. Below I’ve outlined the top five design styles that can be seen with this theme.
- Go All Out: One of the reasons that you’ve chosen a Damask theme is because you love the pattern. So why not use it extensively. These cakes work well for formal weddings because of the stateliness of the pattern. This beautiful cake almost exclusively uses the pattern for decoration, with only ribbon for borders and a few roses at the top.
- Hint of a pattern Don’t feel that you need to use a whole Damask pattern on your cake. Using just part of the motif to highlight the beauty in that one section. That is exactly what the designers of this cake did. The simplified motif is still classic and elegant, but is a bit more restrained than using the whole pattern.
- Modern Take on a Classic When Damask is mentioned, most people envision an elaborate cake that has a traditional, sometimes vintage feel. However, you can blend modern design elements with Damask. This blending works well simply because Damask is so timeless and classic. This cake using just parts of the Damask motif, blended with gray streamlined design elements. The geometric style of the embellishments gives this cake a modern edge that may be what you’re looking for.
- Go for Color: Most Damask cakes you run across are in black and white, but don’t forget: you can also use color. Using color lends your cake a more informal tone, while allowing you a higher level of personalization. This lovely lavender and white cake gives a light feel to what can become a very formal in darker shades.
- Simplicity Itself: You may love Damask pattern, but are more inspired by it than devoted to it. If so, why not just use it as the basis for a design. This lovely very modern cake used just the barest hint of the pattern. However, because of the simplicity of the rest of the cake, the elegance is not lost.
You have a lot of details to outline when choosing your wedding cake. Make some of these decisions before you try to find a baker. Once you need to speak to someone in person, try the Wedding Cake Creations locator. This simple tool gives you the names of quality bakeries in your area.
References:
http://www.bridalassociationofamerica.com/Wedding_Statistics/
http://nymag.com/shopping/guides/weddings/planner/features/topten_cakes.htm
