Working with your Baker/Designer Team

A wedding cake can be anything you want it to be: grand or petite, richly decorated or complex only in its flavor. Because there are so many ways to construct and design a cake and so many possible flavors and textures, working closely with a baker is crucial to getting something that reflects your desires.

Couples should start thinking about the cake as soon as they choose the time, date, and place for their reception, because those elements affect the style and shape of it. Certain ingredients can be disastrous on a summer day, for instance, and a heavy dessert may be unappealing in midafternoon.

To get a sense of what you like visually, start by collecting photographs of cakes from magazines and the Internet. Many bakers have websites with pictures and descriptions of their work. If you don't see anything that exactly suits you, consider how the style of your wedding, your family history, or your personal passions might influence the choice. The embroidery on your wedding dress or the motif of your invitations, for instance, can be mimicked in your cake's shape and details. Or a family member's wedding cake could be the source of inspiration. Jessica Norkin-Beardsley, a baker in San Francisco, was asked to re-create a cake from a 50-year-old picture. To the couple's delight, she was able to duplicate the three-layer carrot cake surrounded with gardenias and white roses. If you are an artist, you might want a cake that plays off one or more of the themes that you use in your work. Your pet could even inspire the design. Lindsay Michel, the owner of Once Upon a Cake in Falls Church, Virginia, was once asked to create a cake based on a couple's two cherished parrots. She wound up designing a cake with a jungle theme, complete with monkeys, tigers, lions -- and, of course, parrots.

Once you have some ideas for a cake, it's time to look for a baker. Good bakers may be booked a year in advance, but the most typical booking time is three to six months before the wedding. For names, ask your caterer, friends, and relatives. If you are getting married in a faraway city, ask someone local for a resource. "It's good to ask a florist or banquet-hall manager for their recommendation for a baker," says Philippe Erramuzpe, the owner of Philippe's Catering in Augusta, Georgia. "Also, it's not bad to ask a photographer or a videographer about it. They usually have tasted a lot of cakes." If you are getting married in a small town or a remote location where there are few specialized bakers, it's best to go with a simple confection, perhaps a stacked white cake filled with chocolate- or lemon-flavored whipped cream and topped with a smooth buttercream. You can have the baker make elaborate decorations, you can even surround the cake with flowers.

I read this article and really thought that it might be able to show some insight to everyone. From the designers point of view this article really got it right. For more info you can go to Martha Stewart working with your baker.

Tell us 5 things you love about weddings?
1. Working with such amazing vendors in the wedding industry
2. Seeing a wedding come to life when I delivery on their wedding day
3. I love that there is always something new…it never stays the same for too long
4. Getting a card from the bride & groom telling us how much they loved their desserts & cake
5. I love that this day will be a lasting memory for them for the rest of their lives.

Favorite wedding trend of the moment? Wedding trend you’d love to see disappear forever?
I absolutely love bold pops of color right now. I love the clean, modern looks that have some intricate details to them. I’m never really over a certain trend as long as they do the trend right…it still looks good.