Gristmill Wedding Cakes
Designing the perfect Wedding Cake
A wedding cake is the center piece that really makes the reception. With Gristmill knowledge and expertise, we can help you make the necessary choices that are needed to choose a cake that is delicious and beautiful, feeds all your guests, fits within your budget and provides a dessert on your first wedding anniversary. We can mix and match cake sizes, tiers and sheets to design the perfect cake for your wedding.
To design the cake that is right for you, we need to know several things before we can give you an accurate quote:
- How many guests do you expect to feed?
- Are you saving the top tier?
- What shape of cake you want?
- Are you going with single or double layers?
- What flavour of cake do you want?
- What type of filling do you prefer?
- What is your preference for icing?
- What plate or pillar system is appropriate for the design?
- Are you planning on fresh flowers?
- Who is decorating the cake table?
- Do you need the cake delivered and if so, the approximate distance to your venue?
We can help you with these questions, but ultimately the decisions are yours and your choices affect the over all price of the cake.
Getting the servings right
| TIERED CAKES | SHEET CAKES | |||
| SIZE | ROUND SERVES | SQUARE SERVES | SIZE | SERVES |
| 6" | 16 | 18 | 8" x 12" | 24 |
| 7" | 20 | 24 | 12" x 16" | 48 |
| 8" | 28 | 32 | 16" x 24" | 96 |
| 9" | 36 | 40 | ||
| 10" | 48 | 50 | ||
| 12" | 68 | 72 | ||
| 14" | 92 | 98 | ||
| 16" | 118 | 128 | ||
| 18" | 148 | N/A | ||
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Size, shape and the number of layers all affect the number of people a cake can serve.
If you plan to save the top tier for another occasion you have to keep that in mind when counting servings that will actually be served on your wedding day.
Your main cake does not have to feed everyone. Side sheet cakes, lightly decorated and scored to facilitate serving can be added on the side to make sure you have enough cake for everyone. In some cases, ordering a smaller show-piece cake and supplementing with a side sheet cake can help manage the over all cost of your wedding cake.
Tiered cakes are generally double layers, but can be made single. Sheet cakes are always single layers. The height affects the cutting size. Double layered cakes generally measure about 4 inches in height. A sheet cake, on the other hand, measures about 2 inches in height. When cut into servings, the over all weight of the serving remains constant, but one cuts tiered (double layered) cake servings smaller than a sheet cake servings. See the table for approximate number of servings. Also, on our links page we have a link to diagrams on how to cut a weding cake.
Cake Shapes
Wedding cakes come in many shapes and as you can see from the chart above, the shape affects the number of servings. The shape also affects the price. Round cakes are the standard shape. All other shapes are non-standard and will result in a higer price per serving.
Squares, hexagons and octagons are all possibilities, but choosing a non-standard shape will increase the price of the cake. If you are concerned about your bottom line, it might be prudent to stick with the standard round shape.
Cake Flavors & Fillings
Our tried and true cake flavors include:
- Moist White
- Rich Devil's Food
- Spicy Carrot
- Smooth Champagne
- Marvelous Marble
- Red Velvet
We make our own cakes and icings, so we are able to customize recipes to make your special occasion just a little more special. Remember customization will increase the price per servng.
Cake fillings range from our standard cream and fruit fillings, to fresh fruits and custom mousses. We recommend mixing it up so everyone at the wedding can enjoy their piece of cake!. Please note that fresh fruit is very expensive and not always possible depending on the construction of your cake. Custom and fresh fruit fillings are extra.
Plates, Pillars & Fountains
Wedding cakes can be stacked in tiers or assembled using different pillar and plate systems. Each system has its own dramatic affect.
A refundable security deposit is charged for these systems and your cake will come with a list of parts that must be returned. All parts to these systems must be returned in order to get your deposit back. It's imperative to share this information with the servers so all parts are saved and returned.
We require that all pieces of the system be returned undamaged. We will provide a box in which the servers can conveniently place the system components. Systems are not modular and cannot be replaced piece-meal, so one damaged component will result in the loss of your entire deposit. These systems are expensive investments, so please respect them. They are also needed for other wedding cake orders, so please designate a responsible person to return them immediately after your wedding.
A fountain also requires a refundable security deposit and a small non-refundable rental fee. The fountain needs electricity to work. Be sure that the table is placed near a power outlet. We provide 16 feeet of slack, but anything further than that is your responsibility.
Decorating with fresh flowers?
If you are working with a florist to provide fresh flowers for the cake, it needs to be clear who is responsible for putting the flowers on the cake. There is a minimum flower placement fee of $25.00 if we are required to work with the flowers and decorate the cake at delivery time. However, laying a finished arrangement or a wedding cake top on the cake is part of our standard delivery process.
Need the cake delivered?
All delivered cakes have a minimum delivery fee of $25.00 which covers venues within a 10-mile radius. For deliveries further than 10 miles a per mile rate will be tacked on to the minumum fee. The per mile rate is unstated as fuel prices and road quality vary a great deal. We need to estimate the amount of time and fuel it will take to make the delivery when the delivery is outside our 10-mile radius.
We expect deliveries to be quick affairs. The table should be ready when we arrive. Decorating the cake table is not part of the delivery process and it is up to you to make sure the table is ready at the pre-arranged delivery time. We may have more deliveries to make, so we will not set-up tables on the fly. If you want your cake table to look good, book the time in advance with us or otherwise make sure it is ready for us when we deliver the cake.
Tasting for two!
Tastings are not drop-in affairs and are designed to provide two people a taste of our standard cakes, icings and fillings. Tastings of custom cakes and fillings require notice in advance and may result in a higher fee for the tasting. Standard tastings cost $25.00. Additional people will result in a further $10.00 per person.
We do tastings outside of business hours because we want to spend quality time with you. You can book tastings to begin at 4:00 PM on weekdays and at 2:00 PM on Saturdays.
The tasting is the perfect time to bring in your design ideas and magazine clippings and talk to us about how best to customize your wedding cake. You need to be prepared for a productive discussion to get the most out of your tasting. Please do not bring your kids and keep in mind, the fewer the people at the tasting, the more constructive it will be. We like to limit the tastings to 45 minutes.
Please be ready to pay for your tasting when you arrive for your scheduled appointment.
Reserve your date now
It is never too early to reserve your date and to order your cake, but it can be too late. On average wedding planners and couples book the cake six months in advance of the actaul wedding day. You can book closer to the wedding day, but the longer you wait the more you risk your date being unavailable. If you know when you are getting married than you know when you will be eating the cake, so reserve your date today.
To reserve your wedding cake, we require a wedding day reservation deposit of $25.00. This deposit will be subtracted from the final price of your cake when you pay the final balance absolutely no later than 30 days prior to your wedding day.
Prices
Prices will vary depending the factors that we have discussed above and on how elaborate the design. You should expect to spend no less than $3.00 per serving for a very basic of wedding cake. Elaborate designs, non-standard shapes, custom fillings and icing will increase the per serving price. Fountain rentals, fresh flowers and delivery charges may also result in extra charges.
We need to understand and know all the variables before quoting a final price. Changes to your order will require a new quote and could result in a change in price.
Payment
The total amount of your cake must be paid for in full absolutely no later than 30 days prior to your wedding day, or we are under no obligation to make it.
We accept cash, check and credit card payments.
Once the cake is paid for, any changes to the contract will result in a review of the price and may result in further charges.
For a summary of what you have read on this page, you can view or print the Gristmill Wedding Cake Information Flyer in .pdf format.
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