Choosing your wedding cake: a timeline

We make wedding cakes most weekends from May to October, and the couples who enjoy the process most are the ones who knew roughly when each decision needed to be made. Here’s the timeline Priya sends everyone who books a tasting.

Six to nine months before: set a date and a rough budget

You don’t need to think about cake yet, but it helps to know two numbers: how many guests, and roughly what you want to spend. Our wedding cakes start at $420 for a three-tier buttercream cake that serves 60 to 70 at party-sized slices, or about 100 cut as finger slices. The custom cakes page has the full size and price table.

If your date is a Saturday in June, September or early October, get in touch now. We take a limited number of wedding cakes each weekend and those dates go first.

Three to six months before: book a tasting

Tastings run on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturdays at 2:00. It’s $35 for two people, taken off the cake if you book with us. You’ll try four sponges and three fillings, and spend about forty-five minutes with Priya talking through:

• How the cake will be served. Cut as dessert, or on a table for people to help themselves? That changes the size.
• Style. Smooth buttercream, semi-naked (the sides scraped back so the sponge shows through), textured, or fresh flowers. Bring pictures, including ones of things you don’t want.
• Flavours for each tier. Tiers can be different. Chocolate stout on the bottom and lemon on top is our most requested pairing.
• Dietary needs. A gluten-free or vegan tier, or a separate small cake, is easy to plan now and hard to add later. Read our note on gluten-free baking before you decide.

Within two working days you get a quote and a sketch. A 50% deposit holds the date.

Two months before: sort out flowers and the stand

If you want fresh flowers on the cake, tell your florist now so they can set some aside, unsprayed, for us. We’ll place them when we set up. We have a few cake stands you can borrow for free; if you want something particular, it needs to be at the venue by the morning of the wedding.

Three weeks before: final numbers and design

This is the last point to change sizes or flavours. We confirm the design, the delivery time and the venue contact, and the remaining balance is due 14 days before the day.

The week of the wedding

We bake the sponges three days ahead, fill and crumb-coat them two days ahead, and finish the cake the day before. On the morning, we deliver and set up within 25 miles for $75. Delivery and setup takes about 45 minutes. We leave a card with serving instructions for whoever is cutting it.

Short on time?

Getting married in less than three months? It’s still worth asking. Weekday and winter weddings often have room, and a simpler two-tier cake (from $210, serving 30 to 35) can be done in three weeks. Email us with your date and headcount from the visit page, or call the shop.