When you think of dream wedding cakes, you probably think of tiered wedding cakes that you see everywhere in bakeries. These tiered cakes are present at almost all weddings, though some choose to go with a cupcake tree or perhaps a smaller cake with no stacking required. If you are having more than just a few guests at your wedding, and you want to make your cake something to remember, you definitely want to go for something tiered but very much your own style.
Tiered wedding cakes are great if you want to have more than one type of cake for your wedding. Sheet cakes can be made with different flavors, but it is much easier to do this with tiers. This also allows the bride and groom to have cake they are going to like even when they can not agree on one flavor. You can, of course, have the entire thing in one flavor if you agree. Most bakeries have samples of different cakes that you can taste to decide which it is that you want to have for your tiered wedding cake.
If you want to have a cake with tiers, but you want to save some money, you do have an option of which most people do not know about until they use it or are offered it by their bakery or baker of choice. You can get smaller tiered wedding cakes and then have a sheet cake of the same cake flavor and icing in the kitchen. The cake can be cut by the bride and groom, and then the sheet cake can be cut and served to the guests. Doing your cake this way usually saves money and often makes serving much easier as well.
Most bakeries will deliver tiered wedding cakes on the day of your wedding, but there are some other things that you need to know to avoid disaster. Always assume that cake is less sturdy than it appears if you have to move it. Always have two, three or even four people helping if it must be moved. If you have a layer of hardened chocolate between the cake and the icing on the cake, never freeze or even refrigerate it. If you do that, the icing will slide right off the cake when it sits in room temperature for your reception. Usually, there is no need to refrigerate any wedding cake before you cut into it.
Do not forget one tradition that goes with the tiered wedding cakes of today and yesterday. The bride and groom should not serve or touch the top tier of the cake during the wedding. Instead, the top tier should be frozen whole and then thawed and eaten on the first wedding anniversary. There are many theories about the origin of this, but many say it is either good luck for the longevity of the marriage and gives good luck in area of fertility. Whatever the superstition may be, keep your own top tier and have it mean anything you like.