Wedding planning question

[lynnerself]

My DD is getting married next July. Currently we are looking for someone to do the wedding cake.
Is is common to have a tasting at the first consultation? Or does that happen at a later date after you discuss needs and costs?

[giramomma]

We tasted at the first consultation. We also discussed needs and costs at that point, too.

But, that was also 15 years ago and we didn't do a whole lot of investigating...I think we talked to two bakers and picked the one we liked the best.

Trying cakes with dh was one of the best wedding planning memories I have...

[Sharon]

Nov 30, 2015 22:23:05 GMT -5 giramomma said:

We tasted at the first consultation. We also discussed needs and costs at that point, too.

But, that was also 15 years ago and we didn't do a whole lot of investigating...I think we talked to two bakers and picked the one we liked the best.

Trying cakes with dh was one of the best wedding planning memories I have...

  and DD got married 2 years ago.

We went to a bridal show and several cake vendors were there.  We had samples at the bridal show and talked generally with the vendors about needs etc.  This enabled us to narrow it down to two vendors.  Actually the top vendor we really, really wanted and a secondary vendor.  We later met with the top vendor and had a more formal tasting.  I think we could taste 4 different flavors.  When DD and I did the tasting we also included the groom and his mother.  It was also the 4 of us when we met with the caterer. 

At that time we decided to go ahead with the favored vendor and bride and groom decided what flavor they wanted for what layers and how they wanted them decorated.  We discussed side cakes and how much they would cost and we paid the all important deposit.  We also discussed the grooms cake.  They had very definite ideas on what they wanted for the grooms cake.

[NancysSummerSip]

I also recommend a bridal show, if you have any in your area. Cake vendors will be there with samples. Then you can at least narrow down your picks to a couple of good ones, and have your secondary sit-down with those folks and discuss prices, customization and design specifics.

[zibazinski]

I totally concur with this. Back in the Stone Age you just went to the bakery and picked out what you wanted it to look like. Never tasted it until I got married.

[lynnerself]

Dec 1, 2015 10:26:28 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

I also recommend a bridal show, if you have any in your area. Cake vendors will be there with samples. Then you can at least narrow down your picks to a couple of good ones, and have your secondary sit-down with those folks and discuss prices, customization and design specifics.

I was out of town for the fall show. Not sure I want to wait until the spring one.  Also, DD is in PT school full time. We are trying to get a lot of stuff done on her Christmas break.

ETA Looks like there is one here the end of January. But I still have the issue of DDs availability.

[NancysSummerSip]

Dec 1, 2015 11:59:52 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Dec 1, 2015 10:26:28 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

I also recommend a bridal show, if you have any in your area. Cake vendors will be there with samples. Then you can at least narrow down your picks to a couple of good ones, and have your secondary sit-down with those folks and discuss prices, customization and design specifics.

I was out of town for the fall show. Not sure I want to wait until the spring one.  Also, DD is in PT school full time. We are trying to get a lot of stuff done on her Christmas break.

ETA Looks like there is one here the end of January. But I still have the issue of DDs availability.

Hmmmm...if you can go in January, and she cannot, does she trust you to winnow down the bakers to a few candidates, or do you want her there for the first round of tastings as well? It would save time for the second round, when she (presumably) comes home on spring break, and then you can do round two of the tastings.

[alabamagal]

Does the taste of the wedding cake really matter. Just feed them a lot and have plenty of booze and no one will care.

[NancysSummerSip]

Dec 1, 2015 14:33:55 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Does the taste of the wedding cake really matter. Just feed them a lot and have plenty of booze and no one will care.

You may have a point there. I've been to a few weddings where the cake looked fabulous, but tasted like cardboard sprayed with glue and covered in packing peanuts. Then again, I was one of the few sober guests. The others seemed to love it.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

We called to book a consult and then went thru the web site to pick out our flavors. I forgot how many we could choose I think we ended up picking 6 (hey it's free cake!).   Then they made us tiny sample cakes of each flavor.   We tried them as we flipped thru the photo book to pick our design.

Once we found our design and flavor we told them how many people it was for, put down the deposit and we were on our way.

I wanted the Italian Wedding Cake but DH was afraid of nut allergies.  He also did not like the pink champange cake.   We ended up with boring old white and red velvet.


Personally I hated the bridal shows I attended.  I felt like I had the word *poor* stamped on my forehead b/c only the expensive high end vendors who could afford booths were there.  I wasn't paying what those people wanted for stuff. I had better luck going thru the phone book and looking up reviews on the internet.  

[NancysSummerSip]

I got lucky at the bridal show I went to...the wedding dress vendors brought samples and end-of-season dresses, in addition to the latest creations. I snagged one for $300. I did not care in the least that it was a season old. It needed some alterations, but for that price, how could I not buy it?

The way I look at it, bridal shows are designed to present ideas and possibilities. You might get lucky and score a deal, but mostly you are there to collect images and get the creativity going.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

My MOH and I got accosted by Mary Kay and Pampered Chef at the bridal show we attended.

I threw my MOH under the bus with MK by saying she was my representative.   She didn't appreciate it.

Pampered Chef told me that I could become a representative for them and then host a "bridal shower" for myself to make it easier for people to buy me gifts.  

[Lizard Queen]

I just went to the local bakery that has done birthday cakes for us for decades.  The cake was awesome and beautiful and reasonably priced (which was dependent on the difficulty of the style of decorating--no icky fondant for us!).  Most of the vendors at the bridal shows cost more.

[Sam_2.0]

Our pretty cake was fake. There was a small section in the back where they put real cake in, and we cut that for our pics. For the rest we had Costco sheet cakes that were all cut up in the kitchen and plated before being set on the tables.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dec 1, 2015 14:33:55 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Does the taste of the wedding cake really matter. Just feed them a lot and have plenty of booze and no one will care.

Only if you have other bakers at the wedding. They will know what good cake should taste like. Most people will eat anything covered in icing.    

[NancysSummerSip]

Dec 1, 2015 17:00:40 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Dec 1, 2015 14:33:55 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Does the taste of the wedding cake really matter. Just feed them a lot and have plenty of booze and no one will care.

Only if you have other bakers at the wedding. They will know what good cake should taste like. Most people will eat anything covered in icing.    

Hey now, don't be picking on the good bakers here. While we know good cake when we eat it, we appreciate cake, period. And totally understand the real reason for the wedding - to celebrate the beginning of a new life for the happy couple (and to give them a lot of gifts, of course - especially money, so that they make back the cost of the whole shebang. )

[zibazinski]

It sure does matter. We went to a wedding where the cake was beautiful but tasted like cardboard. After a very crappy but very expensive meal, I could have used some cake.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dec 1, 2015 17:05:06 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Dec 1, 2015 17:00:40 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Only if you have other bakers at the wedding. They will know what good cake should taste like. Most people will eat anything covered in icing.    

Hey now, don't be picking on the good bakers here. While we know good cake when we eat it, we appreciate cake, period. And totally understand the real reason for the wedding - to celebrate the beginning of a new life for the happy couple (and to give them a lot of gifts, of course - especially money, so that they make back the cost of the whole shebang. )

Just saying, I've heard so many people rave about something that is awesomely bad, that I know most people have broken taste buds.  

[lynnerself]

So how far ahead of the wedding did you order your cake?

[Sharon]

For a summer wedding at least 6 months.  Some vendors will only do one wedding a weekend if it is a larger wedding.  You will want to make sure they aren't already booked.

[alabamagal]

Dec 1, 2015 16:52:57 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Our pretty cake was fake. There was a small section in the back where they put real cake in, and we cut that for our pics. For the rest we had Costco sheet cakes that were all cut up in the kitchen and plated before being set on the tables.

I've never heard of that but it sounds like a really good idea!

[lynnerself]

6  months is what I thought. That's why we're not waiting until the Bridal show in Jan or for her Spring break.
She will be sending save the date cards, talking to caterer and cake people, and reserving rentals all during her Christmas break (for a 4th of July wedding).

We already have a venue, photographer, DJ and dress.

[lisamomof4]

in regards to bridal shows, when DD2 got married 2yrs ago there were different 'levels' of bridal shows you could attend...ie: 'budget' 'high end'....

of the 3 bakeries we went to one charged a small fee for tasting that would go to cost of cake if went with them. they all had 5-6 flavors of cake along a similar number of icings/fillings. we did the design consult at the same time as tasting...as it was important to DD how it looked so no matter how good if they couldn't pull off the design she wanted it was a no go. doing it that way made it easier to choose as it was an apples to apples thing and we knew what the final costs would be with each baker.

FB can be a decent resource in looking