3 Tips to Avoid the Above Wedding Cake Mistake:
a. Wrong Icing Type: By all means stay away from the wrong type of cake icing for Nigerian weather, such as buttercream, whipped cream, and the likes – because they melt under our hot weather.
b. Cake Baker Knowledgeable About Nigerian Weather: Ensure to only hire a wedding cake baker that not only knows how to bake a sweet and pretty cake but also has knows the types of cakes appropriate for our weather here.
If the bride (in the story I shared above) did not hire a foreign baker who was new in Nigeria, or if that cake vendor advised her against buttercream cake icing, she would not have made that mistake.
c. Find a Cake Baker that Has Repeatedly Delivered Okay on Your Cake Type: If you’re bent on having buttercream icing or other types of cake icing that do not hold well in hot climates like Nigeria. Ensure to get it from a pastry company that knows how to fortify buttercream with special starch agents that are able to prevent melting.
That’s a risk only you can decide if it’s worth betting your wedding cake money on. How much you trust the word of a Nigerian cake baker that their buttercream wedding cake will not melt is up to you.
Aside from that, if a baker has never done something before, you should not allow them to use your wedding cake to practice what they have never done before – such as, baking a buttercream cake that will not melt in Nigerian weather, in this case.
- SEE: Nigerian Party Jollof Rice Recipe (PLUS secrets to getting that tasty, burnt aroma)
MISTAKE #3: Zero Effort on the Wedding Cake Presentation at Reception Venue
Two things that nearly every guest looks forward to having a good sight of are the wedding gown and the wedding cake. While many Nigerian brides do well with showing off their dress from all corners of the reception room, not so with their cakes. A few brides in Nigeria get this right, though.
However, we often see wedding cakes randomly displayed in a not-so-bright corner of the reception venue where not many of the guests cannot see it clearly – as if they are hiding the cake.
Why bother displaying your cake at all if no one can properly see it or if it will look dark in photo snaps because it was positioned in a dimly lit part of the reception?
It baffles me how some brides put so much attention to details of what their wedding cakes should look and taste like, yet they overlook planning where how it should be displayed in the reception venue.
Even before choosing a wedding vendor for your cake, some brides even spend days browsing Instagram and Pinterest for pictures of wedding cakes, before they finally choose “the one”. All that work is a waste if your wedding cake is not properly displayed at your reception venue.
A wedding cake is not just a cake or food item; it is also part of the wedding venue decoration and a thing of beauty to be showcased to your guests, to admire. Similarly, the wedding cake table stand and table cloth are also a part of the reception hall decor.
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- Wedding Reception Coordination Checklist: How to Plan and Coordinate a Kickass Wedding Reception in Nigeria
7 Tips for Avoiding the Above Wedding Cake Mistake:
If you want to display your cake in a way that draws the most attention, here are things to do:
a. Location Planning for the Wedding Cake Display Stand: The cake display table brings a wedding cake into focus. If you have a wedding planner, brainstorm this with him/ her. Also, your cake vendor may also be a good resource to plan this with.
Here’s how to go about it: A good place to display your wedding cake is a central position, from where it will be properly viewed by all your guests, and not at a dark corner. When doing your reception site tour, plan also for where your wedding cake should be displayed.
Consider the floor plan, lighting positions and seating position of your guests – when thinking of the best place to place your wedding cake. It’s also a good idea to look at wedding magazines and blogs featuring pictures from celebrity and society weddings.
b. Cake Table Size and Height Matters: The proportion (size and height) of the table you use to display your cake should be proportional to the size of your wedding cake. I mean: a small cake on a huge table stand or a big cake on a tiny table is a big no-no.
If your wedding cake is small, do not use a big table to display it. Instead, place it on a tall cocktail table which would make the cake look taller and stand out. A huge cake table makes a small wedding cake look tiny and swallowed up.
A big table with a small cake puts the focus on the table rather than on the wedding cake. The best table size to display your wedding cake is one that is not much wider than your cake and is not too low.
The right table size would make your wedding cake appear bigger. By the way, cocktail tables make the perfect wedding cake tables – but one whose size should project the cake as taller and bigger and not otherwise.
c. Get a Nice Cake Table Cloth Linen Fabric: A good table cloth can make a wedding cake look more special, and also frame the cake. In Nigeria, wedding cake tables, the linens and decoration are usually done by the bride’s cake baker.
If you want your cake display to stand out, do not be one of those brides that have no idea the colour and fabric type of the table cloth that would be used to display their wedding cake.
Before your wedding day, envision your cake table linen, at the time you are choosing your reception venue decoration colour scheme.
d. A Cake Table Linen of Contrasting Colour to Your Cake Will Make the Cake Stand Out: Do not choose a cake table cloth in the same colour as your wedding cake. That would make your cake blend in with the linen.
A good idea is to have dark coloured table linen for a light coloured wedding cake, and vice-versa. You should go for a contrasting colour to the cake colour, as that would make your wedding cake stand out.
To explain what I’m talking about, a white coloured wedding cake on a white table cloth linen combination will not help the cake stand out.
e. The Wedding Cake Table Cloth Should Be Prim and Proper: I can’t count how many Nigerian weddings where the cake table cloth was visibly wrinkled and stained, as if they forgot it would be needed and quickly had to grab any fabric around the venue.
Please, do not trust that your vendor or venue will provide a clean and unwrinkled. A few days before your wedding, ask to see the cleaned and pressed (ironed) table linen.
Sidenote: Some Nigerian venue decorators also deliver this sort of unprofessionalism by using wrinkled drapes and satins to decorate the venue. So, please don’t be in a hurry to hire vendors – start early and ask for people you know to recommend.
f. Display Cake in Good Lighting to Make It Look Special: Avoid placing your wedding cake display at a poorly lit part of the reception venue. Place your cake display table in a well-lit part of the reception, which helps your photographer capture perfect pictures of the cake.
g. Keep Your Cake Table Uncluttered: Your cake table should be for only the wedding cake and nothing else so that the cake is kept in focus and can stand out.
At some Nigerian weddings, you see other things such as forks, paper plates and cups, and bottles of wine for ‘the toasting’. That gives a messy appearance, distracting and takes the focus off the beautiful wedding cake.
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