what to expect at a wedding cake consultation
“Bianca was incredibly helpful from start to finish in helping us to decide on what cake style to go for, and sending through a tasting box to help us decide which flavours to choose.”
Your wedding planning has now brought you to your search for a cake designer. After looking at a host of different ideas and styles, you will want to sit down and discuss what your options are. What an exciting prospect! Together with your cake designer you will create a cake that will look amazing and taste great. This all starts with the cake consultation. So, “What can you expect at a wedding cake consultation?”
What is a cake consultation?
A cake consultation is a meeting between the cake maker, the couple and sometimes one or two other close friends or relatives. During the consultation, you can expect to discuss various cake designs, flavours and size requirements. You will taste some cake samples and have the opportunity to address any questions or concerns you have. It is also the perfect time to get to know your cake designer and decide whether you feel you are a good match.
To schedule a cake consultation, get in touch with a cake designer whose work you love. It would be good to have some details about the wedding such as the date, venue and approximate number of guests to share with them in advance.
How do you prepare for a wedding cake consultation?
You’ve booked the cake consultation, so how can you prepare for and make sure that you get the most out of it? Ensure that you have the following information ready before your consultation.
A date set for the wedding so that your cake designer can confirm they will be available to create your beautiful dessert.
Venue details and who your main point of contact is.
Number of guests you expect to have at the wedding and how many servings you would like the cake to provide. These two figures are not always the same.
Any saved images, colour swatches or inspiration that you might have.
At your cake consultation we will discuss:
The wedding venue details - for example, the location, venue contact name and number on the day. As well as the delivery details, I also use this information to calculate delivery cost and liaise with the venue. You do not need to work out the logistics surrounding delivery times, unloading, parking restrictions etc. This is taken care of when I speak with your venue.
Your preferred cake flavours -, usually by the time we meet, you would have already sampled some cake flavours from my Cake Tasting Box. The Cake Tasting Box consists of my most popular flavours. See Cake Tasting Box contents to find out more. You can choose to have a flavour for each tier or have the cake all in one flavour. The choice is yours! There is no additional charge for this (except if your tiers include traditional fruit cake). This will also be a good time to discuss any dietary requirements such as any allergy sufferers amongst the wedding guests. If by this point you are still undecided on flavours, we can talk about which flavours might be the most appropriate, interesting or seasonal for the wedding. Your final choice can be confirmed when the remaining balance is due.
Wedding colours, style and theme - and anything that will play a part in the design of your cake. Including external decoration such as fresh or sugar flowers, gold leaf, stencilling, ruffles, glitter etc. A simple sketch may be drawn during the consultation as we speak about your ideas, in order to create the digital cake sketch that will be sent to you after the consultation. Your ideas are not set in stone and a digital cake sketch can be edited to make any adjustments to the design.
The total cost of your cake - everything from design to equipment hire will be explained. The intricacy of the cake design, the distance travelled to your venue, the time taken to set up, favours and equipment hire all contribute to the cost of your cake. It is important to take this into consideration at the cake consultation if you need to manage a budget. I would be happy to offer alternatives and suggestions to help make things easier.
A Cake Tasting Box is posted to you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home.
A digital sketch of your cake design will be created and sent to you following your cake consultation
What happens after the cake consultation?
An email will be sent to you that summarises our conversation. All of the cake details will be put into an invoice and you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of £100 to secure your date if you haven’t already. A digital sketch of your cake design will also be sent to you once your order is confirmed.
Top tips for a successful cake consultation:
Be sure to log in on time, to benefit from a full session
Be open to any suggestions
Ask questions! No question is a silly question
In this article we have considered, how you can prepare for a cake consultation, what will be discussed during your cake consultation and what happens afterwards. Ensure that you have the main details confirmed such as the wedding date and venue, and an estimated number of guests that you would like your cake to serve.
If you are not sure of what style of cake to choose, your cake designer will help to give you ideas and draw out what your likes and dislikes are in order to create a personalised cake design.
The intricacy of your cake design, the distance to your venue, favours and equipment hire will affect the total cost of your cake, which is also good to remember if you are managing a budget.
Don’t forget that your cake consultation is an important step in creating a memorable and delicious cake for your special day, so enjoy every moment of it!
If you would like to schedule a cake consultation with me to discuss your ideas and what your options are, please get in touch.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Bianca x