A-Z of Wedding Planning - Cake

I made my own wedding cake. Don’t.

For their sake, don’t put that pressure on them. Particularly if they are a very close relative or in the wedding party. Cakes have to be made in the days leading up to the wedding (for freshness) and this is a huge undertaking and demand on their time, especially if they’re already involved in the wedding. The night before the wedding, I will be adding the final touches to the cake, checking everything is stable, secure and so on. They want to be able to enjoy the rehearsal dinner, get a good night’s sleep, relax and enjoy the ‘final night’ with you. The morning of, I am delivering the cake and spending usually over an hour checking everything – they do not have this time, they need to be getting ready themselves.

For your sake, don’t risk a cake on the floor. Everyone has a ‘baker’ in the family and often they are incredibly proficient and skilled. However, a multi-tiered cake is very different to making a single tier birthday cake. There is much expertise and experience used to ensure that your cake doesn’t slide, fall over and collapse during delivery and during the day. Your wedding cake needs to be able to sit there for hours – you want to know with absolute confidence your cake will still be standing when it’s time to cut it. If your wedding is in the summer months – then you really, really want a professional who knows how to make cakes in the heat.

Finally, a professional cake designer is so much more than just someone who makes cakes. A friend, relative or yourself might be able to mimic a cake you pull off Pinterest. But with a cake designer, you will have a completely bespoke cake designed specifically for you. It will fit in with your décor, theme, personalities, and The Big Day more perfectly than you could have imagined. There will be things we suggest that can be done with cake that you could not anticipate as a possibility. Time and time again I get the comment “I’d never even thought of that” in response to a design.

I recommend 12-18 months in advance of your wedding to ensure your date is available. Particularly for weddings during April to September.

As each product is entirely bespoke and the design is the largest cost this is a ‘how long is a piece of string?’ type question.
As an example: for 100 guests, I would recommend a 3-tier cake. This would start from around £400, with the final design being the main determining factor.
I would say if you are looking for a stand out, jaw-dropping cake anticipate spending £600+

Delivery and setup are an additional cost as it is dependent on where the delivery is. However, I include this in my quotes given so that it is not a surprise later.

Once you’re booked in and your date is secured with me. About 3-6 months before the wedding, I send out a tasting box with some flavours for you to try. We then schedule a design consultation, where we meet online and discuss everything about your wedding. By this time, you usually have a good idea about centrepieces, florals, feature pieces, outfits, how your theme will feature throughout the day and so on. We discuss all this information, what aspects mean the most to you, your personal preferences and what you’re most excited about. Following this I put together a design based on this. You can then ask for edits or tweaks to the design until you’re completely happy with it.

Couples can be as involved as they want. Due to the artistry of my work, I often attract creative people who are as excited as me about the design and often I provide them with a few ideas in the initial phase to choose from and it is more of a back-and-forth process. Other couples are happy to hand the reins over, provide some necessary key details and then let me run with it. My most common response when they receive the design is “Oh wow! It’s better than I ever could have imagined!”.

Past examples of how I’ve drawn on inspiration from couples include, a beautiful bow design based on the bridesmaids’ dresses, hand modelled barn owls (live barn owls were a wedding feature), a cake modelled on the Giant’s Causeway (to homage the bride’s roots), an ‘illustration’ focused design using the bride’s own illustrations, a campervan model with the couple and their dogs riding it (the groom loves VWs), a design using the bride’s dried bouquet from their wedding held abroad (the cake was for a UK based post-wedding celebration).
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There are a few ways this can be incorporated depending on the number of guests requiring it. One couple had their entire cake gluten-free as the bride was gluten free and wanted to be able to eat all the flavours. In other cases, one tier can be made allergen friendly or additional cupcakes can be provided that are allergen friendly.

I must note that my cakes are made in a kitchen where all allergens are present; if the allergy is severe, I recommend that specific guest does not eat the cake or you choose an allergen specialist baker.

A Mooreish Cake is entirely unique to you, something your guests won’t have seen before and dripping in creativity and personalisation. From hand modelled barn owls to match the barn owls you’ll be having at your wedding, to ultra slick modern and edgy designs. No cake will be like yours.

If you are wanting to make a statement with your wedding cake. If you want a feature piece that your guests will still be talking about on your 5th, 10th and 50th wedding anniversary, as well as it tasting delicious – then get in touch.