What you decide your wedding cake to be all depends on your traditions, theme, and possibly guest count. Here are some things you may want to consider when thinking about cakes.

1. Traditions

A traditional wedding activity is for the bride and groom to cut the cake. It’s meant to represent the first task newlyweds do together. If you are interested in this tradition this may also change what you are looking for. Also, many couples choose cakes with several tiers. This is so the top can be saved for the first anniversary. Keep this in mind when choosing your cake or an alternative to a cake.

2. Cake Alernitives

What you choose to serve your guests may be more about your aesthetic or budget. If your wedding is more casual or has a specific theme (Parisian for example), having smaller treats lets you have the freedom to be creative with colors and presentation. You can select multiple treats or maybe just one or two. I’ve seen macaroons, chocolate-covered strawberries, gourmet pudding cups, and lots of other cute ideas.

3. Petite Cakes

Having a petite cake in addition to the individual treats allows you to have the traditional cake cutting but gives you the freedom to be creative in other ways. You also may choose to do a petite cake to cut and save for your first anniversary and then do sheet cake for your guest. A sheet cake is a large flat rectangular cake, typically covered with icing. Sheet cakes are typically an inexpensive way to have cake without the cost of a tiered decorated cake. You can bake these yourself, get one from Publix or Kroger, or have your Cake Designer bake it.

4. Theme Or Color Pallete

If you are wanting a cake, think about your wedding style and colors. This will help everything stay cohesive and help you narrow down ideas. If you are having a garden party theme with bold colors maybe you’d like candy flowers painted in your bold color palette on your cake. Pinterest is your friend so use keywords to find inspo! This will come in handy when you talk with your cake designer.

5. Guest Count

Guest count can be a big factor in your cake decisions. If you are wanting a cake but have a larger guest count then that will require you to have more cake tiers. This will make your cake more expensive plus the designs you decide on will also add to the cost. If you are wanting a 3-4 tiered cake but it’s not in your price point I have a suggestion for you! You can get a faux cake. A faux cake is traditionally decorated over styrofoam and there’s a piece in the back of real cake for the cake cutting. Then (as mentioned before) there is a sheet cake in the back that is cut and served to the guest. Talk with your baker about this as some bakers don’t offer this service or they don’t actually charge less. It varies across the industry! If you are waiting to save the top of the cake for your anniversary you can also have the top tier be real cake as well.

6. Allergies

Lastly, think about the allergies of your family and guests. This will help you decide on what flavor your cake will be or what desserts you will offer. Make sure to talk with your baker or bakery about where they create the baked good and what ingredients are in them.