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
Your wedding ceremony makes a statement about your love and commitment and the reasons you and your fiancé have chosen each other as life partners. It’s the most public and symbolic personal moment you may ever have, and thus it’s very important to get it right.
There’s absolutely no reason to conform to ideas about the way a wedding ceremony should be if that’s just not you. Be as creative and flexible as you wish, and your wedding ceremony will be original and moving. Best of all it will be memorable, because it was as unique as you are.
Some clergy are willing to accept changes to the wedding service. If you wish to write your own vows, include other people or incorporate other cultural practices in the ceremony, discuss it with your minister and check out their reaction.
If you’re interested in writing your own vows then be sure to read through Writing Your Vows in 3 Easy Steps. Over 60 per cent of Australian weddings are now civil ceremonies, and most are performed by celebrants. The reason for this is the huge amount of flexibility a civil ceremony allows. For more on civil ceremonies, read through our guide to Civil Ceremonies.Choosing the right Celebrant can be time consuming. The best-case scenario is to have one recommended by a friend or relative, so ask around before you shop around. If you’re starting from scratch, start by calling or emailing a couple of celebrants who appeal to you. Give them the date, time and venue for your ceremony to check their availability. Meet with the ones who you liked from first impressions. The Celebrant will make it clear if they do not offer an obligation-free chat.