It can be so confusing when you first start looking at wedding cake designs. Everything you see in Pinterest looks beautiful, but there’s so many options and somehow there’s no actual information anywhere.
Sound familiar?
So here’s a couple of things to think about when you’re trying to decide what you want for your wedding cake:
1. What is important to you
If it’s essential that you get that wow photo while also not wasting a tonne of cake in the process, talk to your cake designer about dummy tiers. These can add height, drama, and presence to your design. They're an eco-conscious option, that gets re-used after most weddings, and can help your cake make memories.
If, instead, your priority is to give your guests a fun, interactive, delicious addition to their evening, a dessert table might be for you. Dessert tables become part of your evening in the same way that a buffet does, where guests can help themselves to several different sweet treats during the course of the evening
If, however, the classic wedding cake moment is for you, think about where you will display your cake, and explore with your venue stylist the best options to make that moment happen. Think about the size of your cake in relation to the space you will display it in, and evaluate props and stands that will complement the other aspects of your day.
You can find a helpful post about what your cake maker needs to know here.
2. You don't have to feed everyone
It's important to remember that just because you have 200 guests doesn't mean you need 200 portions of cake. After all, if your 200 guests are having canapes, a 5 course dinner, and a buffet, they might not want all want cake.
I would focus on feeding around 80% of your guests with a wedding cake. For a post dedicated to dessert tables you can look here.
Therefore, for anything up to 130 guests, I recommend a 3 tier cake. This will usually cut into up to 100 portions, which will satisfy most of your guests. I also always advise cutting the bottom two tiers first, so you can keep the top tier for tomorrow’s breakfast if your guests are full up on joy and dancing.
If you want to feed all of your 100 guests cake because you’re not having dessert, think about adding a tier, or a cutting cake, to make sure everyone is fed.
Remember, different cake shapes will feed different numbers of guests. For information on round cakes you can click here, and for square cakes this might help.
3. When are you serving cake?
What you want your cake to do for you if just as important as what it looks like.
If you cake is going to be cut late in the evening as is often the case, and be brought out with your evening buffet, you'll want to follow my advice on feeding 80% of your guests.
If you're making cake your dessert, you're going to need a bigger cake, so that everyone can have a full dessert portion (maybe served with fruit, or ice cream) and maybe you can still have some to take home. You wouldn't want to run out and not be able to serve all of your Aunties cake!
If cake is coming out with cocktail hour, or being cut up earlier in the day, you might also want more cake than you think, with your guests wanting to sample different flavours with their Happy Hour. Remember, different tiers of cake can be different flavours, and who wouldn't want both a bit of chocolate cake to go with their Espresso Martini and a slice of white chocolate & passionfruit to match their Pornstar Martini?
So there's no simple answer to "how much cake do I need".
It's really a case of talking to your cake maker, and thinking about cake as an integral part of your day. This way, you can trust that your cake designer will come up with the best solution for you, and cover taste, style, size, and even the more practical aspects of cake displays.
And if you want a cake designer who listens to what you want, and offers solutions specific to your wedding, get in touch here.