How to Think Cake

There is no doubt about it: Planning a wedding takes a lot of time and may require a lot of help. The cake itself is almost always a showcase piece, and there are as many different cake designs and flavors as there are newlyweds. Where to start? How can you find the perfect cake to represent two personalities among all of the shapes, sizes, and flavors to choose from? Stephanie Kissner from Sweet Retreat offers up some advice for the lucky couple.

What tips do you have for couples as they begin planning their cake?

We recommend couples start thinking about flavors, theme, style and budget first. With so many seasonal and specialized flavors available you don’t have to serve the traditional white cake anymore.

Is there a general timeline you suggest couples use when planning their cake options?

For medium to large size weddings during the busier wedding months (May through October) we recommend coming in nine months to a year before your event to do the initial consult and to reserve a space on our calendar. For smaller events, or any of the off-season months, two to four months should be plenty of time to take care of your needs.

How involved are you in the cake planning process?

Our decorators and wedding consultant work hand in hand with the couple to create something perfect for their special day. We can create an entire concept for you or work with the couple’s existing ideas to create the perfect cake. It helps us during the design process if couples bring in photographs or printouts they like; it helps us to narrow down ideas. Pinterest and Google Images are a great resource for idea starting and helping the creative process move along.

Have you ever been asked to do anything special by same-sex couples?

We strive to make all our cakes unique and customized to fit our clients personalities and style no matter what the occasion. All of the same sex couples we have worked with follow the same elegant, simplistic trends found in the traditional wedding styles today.

How would you suggest same-sex couples make their cake unique?

Regardless of who the couple is we always strive create a cake the best fits their unique personality and event whether gay or straight. We are very open to any ideas a couple would bring, however outlandish they may seem. We have created a display cake designed for a male couple that uses the tuxedo as a theme playing off the satin lapels and black and white color scheme.