Supplier Spotlight - Top Tips and Cake advice from Lisa at The Elegant Rose Studio
In the first of our supplier spotlight series, we spoke to Lisa to pick her brain for those top tips couples should consider when choosing their cake.
Top Tip 1 - Have an idea of guest numbers
Generally I advise you cater for around 80% of your guests. Guests with you all day usually have a three course meal (or equivalent) and evening food with evening guests typically having a smaller meal and drinks, there are also those guests (rare but few) that don’t like cake ( I can hear the gasps now!!)
There is no point in having a tall 5 tier cake if you are only having 50 guests, although if it’s more height you’d prefer, rather than to serve guests, and you do want a tall show stopper I’d suggest considering dummy tiers.
Top Tip 2 - Consider a realistic budget.
Each cake maker is totally different with a different style and pricing. Knowing who you can and can’t work with will save you a lot of time in the early stages. The majority of cake makers will have a ‘starting from’ price on their website for you to view.
Top Tip 3 - Think about the design
Think about your colour scheme, any floral elements you may want to include, your dress and any design elements from your day i.e. invitations, styling and florals. These elements can all be incorporated in with your cake, for example a lace element that is similar to your dress or a blush pink that works with your flowers. It is great to have some examples of design you like when you have your consultation. Your baker will then be able to pull these elements together from the start to design your cake.
Top Tip 4 - Think about where your cake will be on display and what it will sit on.
This is a big area of focus and one which I think often gets forgotten about. There is nothing worse than setting up your beautiful wedding cake (that you’ve likely spent quite a bit of money on) and it’s in the corner with a fire exit sign in the background.
Chat with your venue to see what their suggestions are, have a look at photos from previous weddings at the venue for ideas. Could it go by a sweeping staircase or framed in a window (be weary of this in the summer). Also think about what the cake will sit on, lots of venues do provide a stand but in my experience this is usually an inexpensive looking round plastic stand used multiple times and so is scuffed and scratched. Speak to your baker to see if they have any stands to hire that will compliment and enhance your cake.
Top Tip 5 - Consider when to cut your cake and how to best serve.
There is no right or wrong answer here. A lot of couples tend to be led by their venue and this usually happens just before the first dance. You could if you prefer, do a pre-cutting photo session with your photographer with just the two of you, this takes away the pressure of everyone watching. Or you could choose to do a cutting right after your wedding breakfast.
When it comes to serving the cake, your venue generally deals with this, but I can’t stress enough about speaking with your venue and asking them NOT to cut it all up and serve at once. Ask them to cut up half at a time and wrap the rest up. If they need to go back to serve more then great, if not as long as your cake is wrapped up you it will last for a few more days to enjoy. It can even be cut up and frozen to be enjoyed in the months after the wedding, a lovely little treat to bring back the memories.
A note from Lisa:
I hope my top tips have helped give you some starting points when thinking about your wedding cake. My style is a ‘less is more’ approach focusing on elements such as sugar flowers and enhancing the elegance of your wedding cake.
More of my work can be viewed on my website www.theelegantrosecakestudio.co.uk and if you’d like any further advice or have any questions please let me know!
All images are of Lisa’s stunning work.
