The Cake

The Topiary Cake Design. Photo courtesy Bud Johnson Photography

The Details

You’re engaged! You’re thrilled. You’re in love. You’re ... overwhelmed. Whether you’ve dreamed of the big day your whole life or never thought about it until the moment you said yes, the actual process of planning your wedding is uncharted territory. Let this guide be your road map — and leave the details to us.
Ask any couple what their favorite part of wedding planning was, and they’ll likely answer: tasting the wedding cake. Sampling different flavors of wedding cakes, frostings and fillings is hard work but someone has to do it. What are you waiting for?

CAKE DESIGNS AND FLAVORS

As the centerpiece of a wedding reception, the look of your wedding cake is something you’ll always remember — mostly because it will be in many of your wedding photos, so you want it to stand out (without upstaging the bride, of course). Cathy Huber, of Cathy Huber Cakes on St. Simons Island, understands that the wedding cake is a showpiece at the event, but it has to taste good, too.

“We want people to say, ‘Wow, that’s the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen!’ And when they taste it, to say, ‘That’s the best cake I’ve ever tasted!’” says Huber.

Huber works with her clients to understand their personal tastes and encourages them to push the boundaries of what a traditional wedding cake is supposed to look and taste like. Because wedding cakes are typically many layers, each layer can be a unique flavor. Some of her favorite cakes have been the ones with the wildest combinations: Mexican hot chocolate with Nutella filling, pink champagne cake with strawberries and cheesecake filling and her latest creation, a cake with edible cookie dough, brownie and fudge icing and a salted caramel filling. “The bride and groom told me they are still getting compliments about that cake,” she says.

As for design, Abby Longwater of Wicked Cakes of Savannah receives many requests for custom wedding cake toppers that look like the bride and groom. She makes these tiny toppers based on the bride’s wedding dress and the groom’s tux or suit and makes them look identi- cal to the couple.

Longwater says that no matter what flavors or details you choose for your wedding cake, you should always put you and your fiancé’s tastes first. “This is your wedding, and it should reflect you and your partner,” Longwater advises. “Don’t focus on what you think your guests want.”

Cathy Huber Cakes. Photo by Studio Essie

ASSORTED SWEETS

A growing trend in weddings is serving an assortment of desserts in addition to the cake at the reception. Huber obliges many requests for cupcakes for kids or cake pops as an extra sweet. To that end, she recommends that wedding cake be cut into smaller slices to accommodate anyone who wants just a taste instead of an entire piece.