When planning how to decorate a wedding cake, there are several important decisions to make. You'll want to be sure you have enough cake for all the guests, so the size of the cake is an important decision and one that may affect your decorating choices as well. Then there are the obvious and fun selections of flavors and colors that might be the first thing you'll consider.
Equally important in planning how to decorate a wedding cake are the choices for the type of icing and decorations you'll use. These decisions may be based on which decorating materials you're most comfortable working with or what type of look you want to achieve. In the planning stage, you'll need to make some decisions and get at least a general idea of how the cake will be decorated.
The size of the guest list will determine the minimum size of the cake, although for larger parties the display cake can be supplemented with plain sheet cakes for serving. They're easier to cut into servings, and using them frees up some decorating time and expense so you can spend more of these resources on the display cake.
At this point in planning how to decorate a wedding cake you'll also need to decide which type of icing and decorations will be used. Buttercream icing is simple to make and use and has a great flavor. Fondant, on the other hand, looks terrific, with a sleek, professional finish, but it's a little more challenging to use. Store-bought prepared fondant can be expensive and usually doesn't taste very good. A homemade marshmallow fondant is much tastier and is inexpensive to make.
The decorations you choose may be determined by the wedding theme or formality, or even simply by your comfort level with your decorating skills and the time and budget you have to spend on the cake. For example, if you don't want the stress of assembling and transporting a tiered cake, you can get a similarly impressive look by using individual cakes on matching cake stands in various sizes and heights artfully arranged on a decorated table.
The actual decorations on the cake can be as easy as a purchased wedding cake topper and fresh flowers or simply piped icing borders, or as complicated as dozens of handmade gum paste flowers and fondant lace. If you have the time and patience, gum paste flowers can be made well ahead of time and stored, so you can take your time making lots of them for a beautifully covered floral cake. If that's too intimidating or time-consuming, try a similar design with fresh or silk flowers. Either way, these are things to decide early when planning how to decorate a wedding cake. There will be enough preparation to do as the wedding day approaches without having to worry about trying to find the perfect cake topper at the last minute.
Before any baking can begin, you'll also need to choose the flavors of the cake, icing, and filling, and find or create a recipe for each. Colors will also come into play at this step, as you decide whether to make a very traditional white cake or something more modern. The icing and decoration can have subtle touches to match the wedding color scheme, or the entire cake can be boldly matched to the wedding colors.
Planning how to decorate a wedding cake is not complicated, but it is an important step that should be considered carefully. When the wedding day arrives and your beautifully decorated cake is the focal point of your reception hall, you'll know that the time spent planning how to decorate a wedding cake was well worth it.
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