Wedding Cake Designs

New Zealand Wedding Cake Designs

So, you're getting married? Time to eat celebrate and eat cake! Your wedding cake can be as glam, contemporary or traditional as you like. We offer some of the most popular wedding cake designs and ideas, as well as sources for wedding cake recipes, decorations, toppers and figurines.

• Wedding Cakes
• Baked Goods

Choosing your wedding cake
Your wedding cake can be the centerpiece extraordinaire or a simple, elegant cake. The possibilities are endless and limited only by your budget. Look for inspiration in bridal magazines, cutting pictures of ones which inspire or making sketches of wedding cake designs which appeal to you. Makers of New Zealand wedding cakes usually have a catalogue of designs and ideas. Remember to co-ordinate your wedding cake with the colour and feel or your wedding dress, flowers and decorations. Consider:

• Colour – classic white is always a winner, but cream and pastel colours are also popular.
• Tiers – you'll need to decide on two or three tiers; remember too, there are alternative tier shapes.
• Flavour – fruitcake is traditional for wedding cakes, but there are many other delicious options such as chocolate, banana, carrot or a light lemon Madeira cake. Truffle, white chocolate, hazelnut or almond fillings offer a gourmet touch. Multiple tiers can mean two or three different flavours can be incorporated into one cake.
• Size – this is largely dependent on the number of guests you'll be feeding and the size of portion you want to serve.

Try to make an appointment with a cake maker 3 to 6 months before your wedding day. You will have to pay a deposit in advance and the rest just prior to your wedding day.

Wedding cake designs
The trend in NZ wedding cakes during recent years has been towards extravagance. Multi-tiered cakes have appeared at many New Zealand weddings, but don't feel you'll be playing it too safe if you'd prefer a simple, more traditional cake. For a fancier wedding cake design, try:

• Detail – beading or embroidery on your dress can be mimicked on your cake, so check with your cake maker about this kind of added detail.
• Fresh flowers – a simple arrangement on top of a tiered cake can look amazing. Remember to check with your florist to make sure your choice of flowers is safe. Try roses, peonies, orchids or lilies.
• Bold colour – a stonger colour will give your wedding cake a dramatic look; try bright red or chocolate brown.
• Pacific inspired theme – cake shapes and decorations inspired by Pacific or New Zealand culture offer something a little different for your design. Try a koru or fern decoration.
• Floating decorations – for some wedding cake fun, try butterflies, hearts or flowers wired to hover above the cake.

Cutting costs without cutting yum factor
Weddings are costly, so if you're trying to trim the budget down in the area of your wedding cake, follow these tips for budget (yet delicious) cake:

• Approach friends or family members who are skilled bakers, or find a baker who works from home.
• Make sure you let your cake maker know that you’ll take care of delivery and set up.
• Have a small cake for the cake cutting part of the ceremony, followed by sheets of cake made from the same recipe at the reception.

If you decide to bake your cake with your own fair hands (or those of friends and family), try out a range of recipes from cookbooks, friends and our New Zealand recipes listings.

Wedding cake decorations and toppers
There are a wide variety of wedding cake toppers available to add the finishing touch to your cake:

• Monograms with the initials of you and your partner
• Traditional figurines
• Quirky or personalised figurines
• Whole words, eg. bliss or love
• Sculptural toppers, such as castles or hearts

Presenting your wedding cake
Once you have the perfect wedding cake designed and baked, it's time to present your cake. The cutting of the wedding cake is a traditional part of the ceremony. Usually, the cake is displayed in front of the bridal table, along with an engraved cake knife. The cake should be cut after the main meal, between the speeches and the bridal dance. Traditionally, the top tier of your cake is saved for your first anniversary or your first child's christening.

Looking for more information? Find New Zealand wedding cakes in the NZS.com directory.

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Family images from Flickr: Baby Boots, Kids Classroom and Hands.