Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Must-Ask Wedding Cake Questions

Words by Courtney Kellar

Planning a wedding is full of first-time experiences and it can be tough to navigate the process and to know what questions to ask which vendors. We asked two amazing resorts’ pastry chefs to dish on the most important questions every couple should ask to ensure they get the wedding cake of their dreams!

Anastasia Simpson, pastry chef, Pebble Beach Resorts

Can you make the cake that I want?

Pastry chefs are artists, each with a different skill set and style, and replicating another’s work is no easy task. So, before you set your heart on that dream cake you found on Pinterest or Instagram, show it to your pastry chef and ask if they can, in fact, re-create it. I, for one, gladly accept the challenge!

How much will this cake cost?

Keep in mind that many of the dream cakes posted on social media have prices to match their extravagant design. It’s important to set a budget from the ge-go, so that you and your pastry chef are on the same page.

How large should my cake be?

Everyone needs to eat cake! Leave the number of tiers and thickness of layers to your pastry chef. Just give us a head count and we'll be able to recommend the right-sized cake to accommodate everyone on your guest list.

Can you create custom flavors?

We might start by presenting couples with five or six cake flavors to choose from, but pastry chefs often are happy to mix, match and customize, too. It’s important to ask, so that we can make your cake vision a reality.

Kursten Restivo, pastry chef, Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa

Fondant or buttercream?

There are certain designs that can only work in fondant and other that only work in buttercream. In addition, in most cases fondant is an upcharge. So, when you're looking through photos for your dream cake, it's important to know the difference. You want to arrive at your tasting comfortable in the knowledge that the cake you want can, in fact, be achieved and that it's within your budget.

Do you provide the decorations?

This is a must-ask question! If you have your heart set on a cake with ribbon around each tier, seashell decorations or cute flip-flop toppers, for example, ask if the pastry chef provides these. If they do, it could be at a significant upcharge. Always ask first – you might find that even if the pastry chef can provide them, it’s more cost-effective to source and purchase them yourself.

Do you provide the flowers?

Couples often assume that their pastry chef provides fresh flowers for the cake or that the pastry chef communicates directly with the florist. This is not always the case. Always let your florist know the kind of flowers you want on the cake and ideally show them a photo of the design you want – particularly if you’re not sure how many flowers are needed to achieve your vision. By communicating with both your pastry chef and florist about your fresh-flower design, you can be confident that we'll have what we need to execute it as you imagined it.

Do you have any photos I can see?

We always have photos of cakes we have done in the past. This is a perfect opportunity for couples to see examples of our work and what our capabilities are. You might just find we’ve already created the cake that matches your wedding vision.

Photos courtesy of (in order of appearance): Pebble Beach Resorts (1st-4th) and Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa (5th-8th)