If you are about to get married, myriad things go through your mind. You want everything to be just perfect; from the venue, the menu and entertainment to the decorations and wedding attire. Of these, one of your prime concerns is the wedding cake.
With so many designs and flavours on offer, choosing the right type of cake can be difficult. However, once you have finalized a particular design and flavour, it is time to finalize the size.
The Number of Guests
This is obviously the prime consideration. If you are going for the traditional tiered cake, you can choose from 4”, 6”, 8” or even 10” tiers. If you want a unique square cake or a simple single tiered one, use a high cake pan to highlight it.
It all depends on how grand you want the cake to be and how many guests you are expecting. After all, you want to ensure that the number of servings is adequate for everybody.
One important factor to consider is that not everybody may want their cake slices. There are some who avoid sugar for medical reasons while others may want to avoid a heavy slice so that they can enjoy the dinner and drinks.
The Type of Portions You Serve
Once the cake cutting ceremony is over, let your caterer know the type of portion you want to serve. The serving size can either be finger portion (1”x1”) or a dessert portion (2”x1”). If you are serving finger portions, a cake with a thicker tier allows your guests to enjoy more of the delicacy even if the size is small.
Desert portions are not usually common as most guests would be too full to have a thick slice of cake after all that food and drinks they have just enjoyed.
Moreover, finger portions are preferred at high-end weddings with a large number of guests while deserts portions are more suitable for intimate weddings with just close friends and immediate family. In such a wedding, thick dessert portion cakes create a homely feeling, just like you serve guests at home.
Second Helpings
Another factor to consider is whether you want to offer second helpings. It is not compulsory but you can be generous if it fits into your budget. Moreover, if the cake serve is presented at the counter (and not to individual guests) people may go for second helpings.
Adding Dummy Tiers
This is not a necessity but depends totally on your fancy. If you have a small guest list yet you want a large, imposing cake that takes the centre stage, you can opt for dummy tiers. So if you actually need a two-tiered cake, you can turn it into a four-tiered impressive one by adding two dummy tiers.
Dummy tiers are of course inedible but crafted to exactly match the actual tiers so that your guests won’t be able to differentiate between the actual ones and the dummy tiers.
Your Wedding Venue
You might be surprised but the wedding venue does play a crucial role in choosing the size of your cake.
Large multi-tiered wedding cakes look great at expansive venues with high ceilings and chandeliers. They blend in perfectly with the ambience, adding further to the look of grandeur.
On the other hand, standard venues with smaller spaces aren’t really suitable for a grand cake that is sure to look too ostentatious. Two-tiered cakes are most suitable for smaller spaces. You can always make the tiers thicker so that all the guests are covered.
As one of the leading cake designers in Melbourne, our master bakers can help you choose the right cake size. Contact Splendid Servings today on 0412 594 474 or fill out the form below and we will get back to you shortly.