A big thank you to Keli Fayard, Co-Chef and Co-Owner at Vanille Patisserie in Chicago. I photographed one of Kelli’s cakes last year that she used in an ad shortly after the wedding. I asked her for a blog posts and she went above and beyond. I know you will find her tips useful!

5 Wedding Cake Planning Tips:

1. Consider your budget On average, wedding cakes for 80 to 100 guests cost between $800 – $1200 (plus tax & delivery).  Pricing is based upon number of guests and upgrades you may consider, such as sugar flowers, intricate piping, figurines, multiple shapes or carved tiers, multi- flavored tiers, etc.  Does your budget fall below this dollar amount or above it?  This is important to decide before making your cake tasting appointment.   Also, the type of place that sells cakes will fall within different price ranges.  Are they a high-end boutique or a corner bakery?  Are they allowing their clients to customize or choose from a catalogue?

HOW TO SAVE: A trick on cutting costs for wedding cakes is the number of servings.  If you have the cake served to each guest at their seat then you need a slice for each guest.  If you have the cake cut and served on a sweet table then you can cut-down the amount of servings.  Perhaps supplement cake servings with other sweets that are cheaper than the wedding cake price point.  Example:  A wedding cake is generally $7 – $9 per slice.  Sweets are generally priced between $1.00 – $3.00 each.   And, sheet cakes are generally priced at half the cost of the wedding cake price point.

2. Know your designer Each designer has a different style and expertise. I suggest limiting your tasting appointments to 3 designers who best suit your design liking. Some venues have a list of suggested vendors – make sure your cake designer is approved at your location before making tasting appointments.  Narrow your choices down after the tastings by choosing the designer who fits within your budget and whose cake tasting you prefer.

3. Color swatches are very important for a cake designer. There are lots of shades of red or burgundy. Green for example has many different shades. Even descriptions like sage, celadon, sea foam green, are not as good as a swatch.  Sometimes if my brides cannot get a swatch of their accent colors I suggest matching it to the paint swatches they can find at Home Depot.  There’s a rainbow of color variations and tones to choose from and it costs nothing.  Bring a few home, match it to the invites or fabric overlays, just be able to show the cake designer the correct color.

PRO TIP: Another consideration when choosing colors is to know that purple, in any shade/tone, is the most difficult color to match when making purple fondant.  For some unknown reason, purple food color has a chemical reaction to fondant and may turn it baby blue or gray.  Make sure the cake designer you have chosen knows how to mix the color you need.  It takes practice mixing reds and blues to create the perfect shade of eggplant or lavendar.

4. Be prepared for your cake tasting.  Some designers get inspired by the first impression of meeting you, which will in-turn be reflected in your cake design.  For instance, if you come in wearing sweats, pony tail, tennis shoes then you make the impression that you are easy-going, relaxed and simple. Your cake design might be clean lines, softer edges and tone-on-tone colors.  Sounds ridiculous, but these little details can play a part in the design aspect of your cake.Have questions ready. Here are some basic questions you might want to add to your list:

1. How accurate can you match my colors?
2. What size will my cake be for my anticipated guest count?
3. What if my guest count decreases significantly after I’ve signed the contract?  Am I locked into the original numbers of servings or can I decrease it to suit the final guest count?  Am I penalized for this?
4. If you bring in a photo of a cake from a magazine, ask if there is a way to personalize it.
5. Do they offer sheet cakes to supplement servings.
6. Who does the cake delivery and how is it delivered?
7. When is the cake made?
8. If you are having a smaller wedding, around 50 guests, ask if pick-up is available to avoid delivery fees.
9. When does the design and flavor need to be confirmed?  Are you allowed to change your mind about the design & flavor after the contract is signed?

5. Know your cake style.  Clean lines and intricate piping sort of contradict each other. Being able to explain your style in detail will result in an accurate sketch.   Some descriptive words you might consider using:

• sharp edges or soft-rounded edges.
• modern and minimal design with plenty of negative space.
• Elegant.   – this is a broad term used quite a bit.  Make sure you know what you mean when you say elegant.  I often visualize fondant swags or elements pulled from the wedding dress.  Every person has a different definition for the term elegant.
• Ornate and intricate details.  Piping and string-work. Fondant decals.
• State what base color you want your cake.  Be able to provide a swatch.  There are several variations of the color Ivory.
• Shape of cake.  Round. Square. Oval. Custom carved shape.
• Sugar flowers are actually called gumpaste flowers.  (sugar flowers can also mean pulled-sugar flowers.  Completely different thing are much more expensive.)
• Chocolate fondant:  specify chocolate flavor or chocolate color.  Chocolate flavored fondant may be an upgrade.
• Stacked tiers.  Separated tiers.  A mix of stacked and separated tiers.

A special thank you to Keli Fayard from Vanille Patisserie for taking the time to share this fabulous information with us. Please click the following link to see more of her work.More cakes

Vanille Patisserie

2229 N Clybourn Ave

Chicago, IL

email: vanillecakes@gmail.com

phone: 773-868-4574