Boston Wedding Cake Bakers Guide, Boston Wedding Guide Advice from OurWeddingDay.com

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Boston Bakers Guide

Boston may be known for cream pie, and the city can also smother your sweet tooth with pretty much anything else you desire. Classic confections rule the streets here, as perfect as the cobblestone streets on Beacon Hill. Finding the right Boston wedding cake baker is a matter of knowing what you want and where to look. Read on for tips to satisfy any palette.

Start your Boston wedding cake baker search about 6 months’ prior to your wedding date. Most caterers offer cake as part of the package, and couples go this route for simplicity and efficiency, and to keep costs down. If you’re looking for something more complicated or stylized, hire a baker.

When searching, ask friends and relatives, vendors, and anyone who’s served you a fabulous dessert. If your favorite restaurant makes a red velvet cake that’s to die for, find out who their baker is. Your cake can cost anywhere from $400 to $1,000 (for 100 guests), depending on the baker, your type of cake, and how many you need (some couples opt for more than one). Before talking to bakers, write down flavors you love, check out wedding cake sites, and bring in photos of cakes that caught your eye.

A reliable baker will guide you through the cake process, even if you have a good idea of the confection you’d like. Generally, he’ll show you three kinds; something trendy, something traditional, and something he’s famous for. Even if you have your heart set on cheese cake, it won’t hurt to get a taste of his ideas.

Wedding cupcakes are very popular, tiered and served as the main cake, or as a second “cake,” in the same or different flavor. They also make great favors. Carrot cake’s a huge favorite, and savvy bakers do it without nuts (for those of you with food allergies). Always go over diet restrictions with your baker before narrowing down your choices.

Groom cakes, which originated in the South, are popular all over the country these days. They are no longer flavor- or gender-specific, and are often prepared in a complementary flavor as the main cake, and served at the same time. Guys still whip them up in the shape of race cars and footballs, but it’s no longer considered a requirement.

When you’re ready to get serious about fluff, check out the OurWeddingDay.com Boston Area Local Vendor Section for a great list of first-tier wedding cake bakers in Boston.

If your budget is a concern, order one cake. Another cost-cutter is to make tiers small and have a sheet cake in the back, which the caterers slice and serve. Cakes can also take the place of the dessert course.

The baker you hire will deliver the cake to your site on the day of your wedding, and make sure proper storage will keep your cake fresh until serving time. In the contract, make sure there are no surprise fees, and that anything “offered” as a gift does not cost extra. If you ask for special requests, discuss the cost ahead of time and have it stated in writing.

-David Toussaint