Catering & Cake

An experienced caterer can deal with all of your catering needs and offer you delicious and artfully displayed selections. They can also give you great ideas on stretching your reception budget and help you with the floor plan so traffic flows are optimized. Interviewing potential caterers should take place 6-12 months in advance of your wedding date. A taste test is recommended.

Your wedding is not complete without the wedding cake! At least 4 months in advance, shop around for a good baker. Ask to see pictures of their cakes and compare the cost and quality. Don't be afraid to make special requests in colors, flavors, shapes, and styles.

The traditional tiered cake is still the favorite of many modern brides, but cake designers can do some pretty amazing things with cakes these days. The number of guests usually determines the size of your cake, but don't let that stop you from getting the cake of your dreams!

Alternatives to the traditional bride and groom cake top include fresh flowers and glass or metallic sculptures. The cake should have its own table at the reception with plenty of room around it for guests, photographers, and both of you.

Catering Questions:

Be sure to ask the following questions when you book your vendors.

Are you available on my wedding date?
Can you supply examples of suggested menus along with prices?
Do you insist on doing all the catering at our wedding?
If we are able to supply the wine, what do you charge for corkage?
Are you familiar with my wedding site?
What do you charge? Are you willing to work within my budget? What suggestions do you have, given my needs and budget? Are taxes and gratuities extra? Does the cost cover setup and cleanup? Is there a minimum charge? If so, how much?
What are the deposit and cancellation policies?
What are your guarantees?
What time do you insist the reception finishes by?
Do you include a cake stand and knife if required? Will you cut the cake and supply plates and forks? Will you serve the punch and coffee?
When is the deadline for notification regarding menu selection?
How do you determine the head count?
Can you provide colored linens?
Will you serve the buffet or is it self-serve?
What are the sizes of the portions?
Do you use disposable china and flatware?
Will you set up the room?
When is the final guest estimate needed?
Will there be a representative available on-site during the meal-time?
Will you provide references or a portfolio?

Baker Questions:

Are you available on my wedding date?
Do you specialize in wedding cakes?
What is your guarantee?
May I have a taste test of the cake and frosting?
Do you specialize in any particular style, flavor, or size? What types of wedding and grooms cakes do you make?
How much do you charge? What are the payment terms?
When do I need to return the support pieces?
Do you supply a cake knife? What is the best way to cut the cake?
How far in advance should I place my order?
When will you deliver and set up the cake?

Cake-N-EatIt 2
Printable Verson

Wedding Budgeting Tool
	Estimated Cost	Actual Cost
Ceremony Site Fees	$	$
Reception Site Fees	$	$
Caterer	$	$
Wedding Cake	$	$
Consultant	$	$
Bridal Attire	$	$
Groom's Attire	$	$
Invitations	$	$
Announcements	$	$
Accessories	$	$
Calligraphy	$	$
Thank You Notes	$	$
Postage Stamps	$	$
Photographer	$	$
Wedding Package	$	$
Videography	$	$
Ceremony Music	$	$
Reception Music	$	$
Ceremony Flowers	$	$
Bouquets	$	$
Corsages / Boutonnieres	$	$
Flowers for Wedding (Cake/Table/Knife)	$	$
Flowers for Reception	$	$
Officiants - Clergy	$	$
Transportation	$	$
Attendants Gifts	$	$
Wedding Favors	$	$
Honeymoon	$	$
Rental Equipment (Tables/Chairs/Tents)	$	$
Extras	$	$
Wedding Parties	$	$
Total:	$	$

Bouquet
Wedding bouquets were originally made of such strong herbs as thyme and garlic, which were meant to frighten away evil spirits, and to cover the stench from people who had not had their yearly bath!

Bouquet Toss
In ancient times, it was believed that a Bride was especially lucky on her wedding day. Guest would sometimes tear at her dress for a souvenir piece of good luck to take home. The Brides tossing of her bouquet grew from her desire to offer a good luck souvenir, and prevent guests from bothering her ( and her dress!) during her reception.

Bridesmaids
Early Brides and Bridesmaids wore similar dresses in order to confuse spirits.

Bridal Veil
When marriages were arranged by family members, the newlyweds very rarely were allowed to see one another. Family members exchanging a dowry were afraid that if the Groom didn't like the appearance of the Bride's face, he might refuse to marry her. Only after lifting her veil prior to the ceremony did the Groom see the Bride's face for the first time.

Garter
Brides originally tossed a garter, rather than a bouquet, at a wedding reception. According to one legend, the garter toss in England evolved from an earlier tradition of "flinging the stocking". On their night, guest would follow the Bride and Groom to their bedroom wait until they undressed, steal their stocking, and then "fling" them at the couple! The first person to hit the Bride or Groom on the head would supposedly be the next to marry.

Penny In Shoe
This is a European tradition to bring the Bride good luck, fortune, and protection against want. After the Wedding Day, the lucky penny can be turned into a piece of jewelry as a pendant, charm for a bracelet , or ring setting.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Something Old: This tradition symbolized the sense of continuity while making the transition from a single person th that of a married couple.
Something New: This tradition symbolized that marriage represented a transition to adulthood. Something Borrowed: This tradition symbolized the popular belief that by borrowing something from a happily married couple good fortune would follow the newlyweds. Something Blue: In ancient Israel blue was the border color of the Brides dress, symbolizing purity, constancy and fidelity.

Tuxedo
Until the 20th century, th Groom simply wore his Sunday best on his wedding day. It is said that Teddy Roosevelt popularized the modern tuxedo.

White Wedding Dress
This was made popular in the 1840's by Queen Victoria, who chose this instead of the traditional royal "silver" wedding dress. Prior to this, Brides simply wore their best dress.

Wedding Cake
During the days of the Roman empire, wedding cakes were baked of wheat or barley. At the reception, they were traditionally broken over the head of the new Bride by the Groom as a symbols of her fertility. It later became a tradition to place many small cakes on top of each other as high as possible. The newlyweds would then try to exchange a kiss over the top of the tower cakes without knocking them down. King Charles II of England, the baker added icing, and the modern style of wedding cake was born.

Catering & Cake

Baker Questions:

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