You’ve probably not really given this question much thought, but what you put your cake on, or in front of, can have a huge impact. If you've spent money on a beautiful wedding cake then you need to have the right cake stand to show it off with.
So many venues have absolutely terrible cake stands. You know the ones – the plastic ones that are silver in colour (sometimes black if you’re really unlucky) they have chips out of them and they just look hideous. Sometimes they are covered with a cloth which looks bulky and also makes the cake un-level and they do absolutely no favours when it comes to displaying a beautiful wedding cake. Others have antique silver stands which sometimes have dents in them and to be perfectly honest haven't seen the brasso or a duster in years!
The best cake stand you can get is called a Mosser Milk Glass Stand and I like to photograph all of my cakes on mine. They aren't cheap to buy but they do look amazing and some cake designers will hire them out to you for a small fee. I always recommend getting a plain white pedestal cake stand and you can buy these relatively cheaply from Dunelm, Marks and Spencer, Tesco etc. You can also buy loads of different cake stands to suit your wedding theme from Bramble Sky and Prop Options. Don't forget to ask your venue decorator if they have something you can hire too.
Some of the more rustic venues will have a whisky barrel but you need to make sure that the top of it is completely flat – you don’t want your cake wobbling around on it or sitting on an angle.
Where is your cake going to be positioned?
If you don’t know, then make sure you ask the wedding coordinator at the venue. The amount of cakes I have set up that have a fire extinguisher, socket, radiator or speakers behind it is unbelievable. If you want a showstopper of a wedding cake and it’s sitting in front of any of these things you should ask to move it so that it has a plain background.
Another thing to think of is sunlight – some venues love to place their cake in a window because it looks pretty. Well, yes it does but in the height of summer it’s going to melt! There is one particular venue I deliver to and it’s like walking into a green house. It’s your wedding day so you can choose where to have your cake. You want your photographer to get the best cutting the cake shot so make sure it’s on display in the best possible position.
Don’t forget to let your guests know what flavours the cake is.
It’s really easy to forget this part. A lovely idea is to have a framed A5 menu card with the flavours listed and Etsy have loads of these to choose from at really reasonable prices.
And if you want to go all out and have your cake displayed on a swing then please get in touch with me as I would absolutely love to do this for you!