Symbolising  happiness,  prosperity  and  fertility,  the cutting  of  the  wedding  cake  has  become  one  of  the highlights of the wedding. In the words of Julia Child ‘A party without cake is just a meeting.’A  good  way  to  begin  wedding  cake  hunting  is  to  look through  cake  books  such  as  Modern  Wedding  Cakes magazine.  You  may  be  lucky  enough  to  find  your complete  dream  wedding  cake  or  at  least  different ideas  that  take  your  fancy  -  an  icing  texture  or  colour from here, a particular decoration from there. You  can visit  wedding  cake  decorators’  showrooms  for  endless inspiration too!

It’s  important  that  your  wedding  cake  ties  in  with  the over  all  tone  of  your  wedding.  The  flowers  in  your bouquet  could  be  the  inspiration  for  the  exquisite sugar-dough  flowers  on  your  wedding  cake.  The  motif on  your invitations could be painted onto  your cake or the cake itself could be shaped a certain way. The icing colour  could  be  inspired  by  the  bridesmaids’  dresses. The lace or beading on your bridal gown could be reinterpreted in intricate royal icing patterns. The sky’s the limit!

It’s also a good idea to think about yourselves and your personalities. Are you extroverts? Do you enjoy a good laugh? Are you sport or music mad? Why  not choose a cake that reflects this aspect of you. There are so many novelty cakes available, from Cinderella’s pumpkin-come-coach to guitars to footballs to pigs in  bathtubs!  Or  simply  choose  a  more  traditional  wedding  cake  design  but  top  it  with  tongue -in-cheek caricatures of yourselves.

If  you  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  see  your  dream  wedding  cake  in  a  magazine  or  at  a  cake designer’s  showroom,  choosing  a  cake  designer  may  be  as  simple  as  ringing  that  person  up  and arranging to meet with him or her to make the arrangements. If you have yet to decide on a cake design, call up three or four cake designers whose work you like and arrange to meet with them to discuss your needs.  Wedding Cake designers suggest you order your cake at least 12 to 16 weeks before the wedding.

The size of your cake will depend upon the number of guests at your reception and whether you will be serving dessert or coffee slices. If you are keeping the top tier, your decorator will need to take this into consideration, too. See our list of Questions to Ask Your Wedding Cake Designer.

If cake in general just isn’t to your liking then there are plenty of wedding cake alternatives from cheese towers and gelato to croquembouche or a pie.

Source : Modern Wedding Magazine