When it comes to weddings, everyone has questions! How big of a cake do I actually need? Do I need to serve everyone with my wedding cake? Can I just get a cutting cake? 

Jenna has taken the time to answer your biggest wedding questions to help you plan for your upcoming wedding!

Q - For a wedding of 150 people, would it be more affordable to order a wedding cake large enough for everyone, or just a small cutting cake for the wedding party and a sheet cake for the rest of the guests?

A - Most of the cost of a wedding cake comes from the decorating aspect of the cake so it would definitely be more affordable to do a smaller cutting cake for the wedding party and a sheet cake for the rest of the guests. It takes more time to decorate a bigger cake than a smaller cake!

Q - What's the most popular wedding cake flavour? How do I know which flavour to pick?

A - People get really caught up in choosing 'the right' wedding cake flavour. I say, pick whatever YOU like! For my wedding, we did Lemon Raspberry and Cotton Candy cakes! Those are our favourite flavours and people enjoyed trying what we love. While Lemon Raspberry is always a popular one for many, pick the flavour you like-- it's your day, after all!

Q - Are wedding cake tastings for real or just something I see in movies?

A - They're for real! We offer a "to-go" wedding cake tasting that you can order and take home to try. You can pick any three of our cake flavours that to try. It's $50 for a tasting (yes, most places DO charge! That's a little different than what the movies show!) and the $50 will go towards any cake you order of $500 or more. Click HERE to order your Wedding Tasting Box. If you’re getting a more elaborate wedding cake (typically $1000 and more) and want to discuss the details with me, we offer in-person tastings as well. 

Q - I've read before that you can cut the cost of your cake, and still get the look of a grand cake, by using styrofoam tiers instead of real cake! Is this an option for my wedding cake?

A - I don't know what magazine wrote about this in their wedding cake section but let's address this! Everyone doesn't want to waste cake, but the price is going to be the same since a majority of the cake cost comes from decorating. Unless you're getting a 5 or 6 tier cake and don't want that much cake, which is actually quite rare and I totally understand. Getting a two-tier cake with one-tier styrofoam isn't going to be any cheaper than just getting a fully cake two-tier cake... and it actually ends up being MORE wasteful because you're throwing out the decorated styrofoam tiers, instead of getting cake which you can cut up, freeze, and enjoy later!

Q - The venue is serving dessert so do I need a cake?

A - 99% of people don't serve the cake as their actual dessert. Their cake is more of just a fun, after dinner treat. If you do want a cake, don't let the fact that the venue is serving dessert deter you from getting the cake you've always wanted!

Q - How do I know how many servings of cake I need?

A - My best advice is don't get hung up too much on the serving size! Focus more on what you want the cake to look in pictures and how you want it to be part of your decor instead of how many servings you need to hit. I would cut the amount of servings down to get the design you want because not everyone will eat cake, and if you have another dessert available (even a sheet cake!), it allows you to get the cake of your dreams without sacrificing for size that you can easily accommodate in other ways.

Q - Tell us your thoughts on fondant! It seems people either love it or hate it.

A - I am such a fondant fan! Immediately dismissing a cake because it has fondant on it hurts my heart because I think it’s so misunderstood! I think people who say they don't like fondant have had really thick, bad tasting fondant from back in the day and they don't realize how great it actually is. The kind of fondant we use at Jenna Rae Cakes is really yummy, and I think it's important to note, you get the same amount of buttercream on the inside and outside of the cake whether you get a fondant or buttercream decorated cake! You don't lose any buttercream but you open the door to so many more creative design possibilities when you open yourself up to fondant! And for most of the servings, they only have a tiny square of fondant on the top of the slice anyways. Buttercream only goes so far and if there's a certain style you want, buttercream could work but sometimes you need fondant for a specific design.

Q - What did you do for your wedding? Wedding cake only? Cake and dessert bar?

A - I did it all! I made my cake purely decorative so I didn't have to pull all-nighters before my wedding. Then we had a dessert table with a mix of our favourite treats in our wedding colour palette and it was perfect! We also had 10-inch signature cakes in Lemon Raspberry and Cotton Candy to cut up and serve, too! It was everything we wanted for our wedding and nothing stressful for me beforehand, which made it extra great!

Q - I'd love to do treats for wedding favours but people talk about favours that people can take home with them that will last. What did you do for your weding and what do you suggest?

A - For wedding favours, we did custom designed 6-macaron boxes! The boxes themselves were custom made for our wedding (designed by Ash, of course!) and filled with macarons in our colour palette. We love treats for a wedding favour-- guests can eat them there or take them home to enjoy! Our 2-macaron boxes are super popular for wedding favours since they're gorgeous, can be matched to your wedding colours, and can even be printed with a photo! Such a fun favour!

Q - Dessert tables seem really fun, but also really overwhelming. How do I know what to pick? How much do I need? What if there's not enough for everyone? Help!

A - I LOVE dessert tables! It gives people a chance to try different things, or get to enjoy something they love! We usually recommend 2-3 pieces per guest. Some guests will try one of everything (in each flavour) and others might skip it all together. Picking a variety of treats for your dessert table gives visual interest, too, which is always fun for people when they step up and look at everything you have to offer.

Q - What's your overall best wedding advice!

A - It's YOUR wedding. There are no rules. If you want a 4-tier cake, but only have 50 guests, go for it! If you want to just do a plain, small cutting cake and no other cake for anyone, do it! If you don't want to serve dessert at all, you don't have to! I think a lot of people have pre-conceived notions on what they think they 'need' to do for their wedding, when in reality, you can do anything you want! Everyone attending your wedding loves you so much and the cake and desserts are just there to sweeten the deal! No matter what you choose, people are going to love it because YOU love it!

When it come right down to it, it's YOUR wedding and making your wedding dreams come true should be your main focus. Your guests are there to celebrate the people you and your partner are and they'll be happy to take part in a celebration that showcases your style and preferences.

If you want to learn more about all of our wedding options, from cakes to wedding favours, you can click HERE to see more of our available options. Any other questions? Send an email to hello@jennaraecakes.com