It’s unfortunate that most guests — and brides — assume that while a wedding cake may look beautiful it will not taste good. Over the past few years amazingly talented bakers have been creating wedding cake masterpieces, that not only look gorgeous, but taste delicious too.

So here’s some wedding wisdom that will help ensure that you and your guests are pleasantly surprised at your wedding:

1. Attend wedding shows in your area, so you can taste a variety of cake flavors and fillings from different bakers, helping you narrow down the choice of bakers you want to schedule formal appointments with.
2. Realize that you can’t please everyone’s taste buds. As long as you, your groom and your parents — siblings, grandparents and best friends can have a say too (but you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen) — think the cake is delicious don’t worry about every single guest. There is no way you will be able to please the palette of over 100 people — that goes for the wedding menu too.
3. Find out what the baker is known for. He or she may be famous for their chocolate or carrot cake recipe. It’s important to work with his or her strengths.
4. Once you’ve settled on a cake flavor, try the different fillings they offer to find the perfect combination.

The Seven-Tier Coconut Cake featured above is one of the 100+ cakes featured in Martha Stewart’s new book, Wedding Cakes. The recipe for this cake is on page 59, so if you are a fan of coconut, bring both the picture of this cake and the recipe to your baker.


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Photo Credit: Gentl & Hyers

Last night we had a debate at the dinner table. Should we, or shouldn’t we, order red velvet cake for dessert?

The four of us – me, Dave, Torey (my sister) and Scott (her husband) discussed several factors:

• Are we still hungry after eating all those fried appetizers and greasy second course? Not really.


• Scott said he would only eat the frosting and wanted to make sure someone would eat the cake part


• Torey really wanted chocolate cake and wasn’t sure if red velvet was a good substitute


• And I wondered if red velvet would stain our teeth – Dave the Dentist wasn’t sure

I remember hearing years ago that a bride shouldn’t order red velvet cake for her wedding cake because it would turn her teeth red (or pink) and that would definitely not be good for pictures.

So if you love red velvet cake and are thinking about having a red velvet wedding cake or red velvet cupcakes, make sure you check your smile and teeth after the tasting and before finalizing your order. A baker friend told me red velvet cake won’t stain your teeth, but I would double check just to be safe.

Have you had any experiences with cake staining your teeth?

And if you’re wondering what we ended up doing for dessert, the answer is…nothing. We decided that a chocolate craving would not be fulfilled with red velvet so we went our separate ways and I had a cup of tea when I got home.

Speaking of wedding movies, remember the scene in Father of the Bride (the remake, not the original) where Annie, George and Nina Banks go to meet the wedding planner? They squeeze onto a loveseat and flip through an album of wedding cakes. The “fabulous” one has a sticker that reads “1200” and George asks if that’s 1200 dollars - his first car didn't cost $1200.

This scene was played out when I took my parents to meet Ron Ben-Israel, my wedding cake baker. I was having a kosher wedding so it was either the cake the schul caterer baked (no way), Ron or Sylvia Weinstock. I went with Ron because I felt that he could design the cake I was envisioning, and I loved his chocolate cake.

The style and price of my wedding cake was a bone of contention between me and my dad throughout my engagement. I still don't think a 7-tiered tower is too outrageous, do you? Finally at the wedding he saw how amazing it looked, and when we cut the cake my dad, mom and sister all came up to taste it, and dad gave it 2 thumbs up. I have video and a photo to remind him how much he enjoyed it.

Anyway, as Frank the wedding planner explained to the Banks family, the cake can dictate the style of the wedding. And that’s possible if you fall in love with a wedding cake and choose your theme and colors based on the cake you want.

I received a copy of the new book, Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes, a compilation of over 100 beautiful wedding cakes that have been featured in the magazine. My wedding cake didn’t make the cut, but there are some amazing cakes included. If you're not sure what you want your cake to look like, or still mulling over your colors and theme, these cakes will inspire you. They range from classic white tiers to modern cupcake towers and cakes with fruit or flowers to cakes in almost every color of the rainbow.

I pulled a few images of some of my favorites and will feature them over the next few weeks with tips on how to shop for a baker and choose your wedding cake. So stay tuned...

You know that I’m all about having an amazing wedding cake. I’ve seen all sorts of themes and flavors, but I’ve never seen, or heard of, anything like what this Dallas bride did.

The bride had always dreamed of a doll that looked like her, so for her September 2007 wedding she commissioned a baker to create a wedding cake that looked just like her in her wedding dress.

What do you think of this cake? I think it’s hysterical. I don’t think I would recommend this idea or say that cakes that resemble the bride is a new trend for ’08, but I definitely love it. It’s outrageous.

Not sure you can commission a wedding cake that looks like you? No worries. You can custom order a cake topper that looks like you and your groom from Thumbprint Kids.

Photo Credit: CNN.com's I-Report

I picked up the Winter 2008 issue of InStyle Weddings this morning, and it’s gorgeous. In addition to the beautiful flower story by celebrity wedding florist, Mark Held, and unbelievable cakes by one of my favorite bakers, Jim Smeal of Charleston, there is a great story on how to register for wedding gifts.

The writer interviewed several “wedding pros”, including yours truly, on how to create the ultimate wedding registry. Check it out on page 362!

In addition to these stories there are some beautiful star studded weddings to inspire you. And definitely check out the beauty countdown on page 201, the bridesmaid dress story on page 174 and if you’re looking for a unique save-the-date card turn to page 304. My favorite cards are the faux tickets (I used one like this for a travel themed shower), a paper airplane card and the “tell your story card.”