Cakeworks Inc. | Wedding Cake Questions & FAQ

WEDDING CAKE QUESTIONS

WEDDING CAKE ANSWERS

ORDERING

Are appointments necessary if we would like a consultation?

YES, appointments are required for wedding cake consultations. Give us a call anytime during our business hours to schedule your wedding cake consultation. For the consultation, you'll want to have a rough estimate of how many people you're wanting the cake to serve, your budget and a general idea of design. This appointment will allow you to discuss different size any style options, as well as cost and design. And don't forget the samples of cake, fillings, and buttercream icing.Yum!

As we're working in a smaller, more intimate space, we ask that you keep your consultation party to no more than three people. The appointment can take 30-45 minutes. At this time we can answer any questions you may have regarding your wedding cake or cakes in general. If there are questions that we do not have an immediate answer for we will research it and gladly get back to you with the required information.

Monday - Friday:
Saturday:
Sundays & Holidays:

9:00am-3:00pm
9:00am-3:00pm
Closed

How soon should we book our cake for our wedding day?

If you are interested in a Cakeworks Wedding Cake, give us a call and we can discuss booking an appointment for your consultation. Our process is a little different from other bakeries. Unlike most others Cakeworks only requires 4-6 weeks notice for a Wedding Cake from consultation/time of order to final delivery. Our specialty is buttercream icing, with very little focus on fondant. This allows us to work with a much shorter timeline, but it also changes the look, taste, and style of the Wedding Cakes that we offer. We highly recommend visiting the Wedding Cake section of our website to get a visual of what we do.

How much will my cake cost?

We base all of our pricing on specific detailing for your cake, and the time it will take to complete the design. During our consultation we can discuss various options and their impact on pricing to ernsure you get a beautiful cake, at the budget you desire. Once you've placed your order, we do require pre-payment in full. We're not able to make any changes or take any cancellations to your order once it has been confirmed and paid for, but we'll make sure we have everything 100% before we proceed.

How much cake do we need? What size of cake do we need?

If you are serving your wedding cake as the main dessert, you will want to provide a serving for everyone on your guest list. If you are already having a dessert provided by your venue and want to serve your wedding cake as the midnight snack, count on about half your guests having cake.

You can also supplement your amount of servings by ordering our serving cakes (or as we call them cut up slabs). This will give you extra servings and, at the same time, be gentle on your budget. Serving cakes are iced in white butter cream icing and can be marked with the amount of servings you would like to have the cakes provide (this saves any guess work for the people cutting and serving your cake at your reception).

If you want to serve your wedding cake as the main dessert, the serving cakes are practical for time issues. It allows some cake to be cut slightly before you have finished with your cake cutting ceremony and served to your guests without having to wait for the actual wedding cake to be wheeled away and cut (* we do not recommend the cake to be cut up too far in advance as it will dry out before it reaches your guests. A half hour before serving seems to be a good time frame).

What if we are on a budget?

Let us know what you were thinking of spending and we will suggest some options for you. Choosing a smaller tiered cake and going with some serving cakes is a great way to cut your cost back without cutting back on the amount of cake. Choosing a simple yet classic design will also help to keep control of the cost of your cake.

When do we finalize details?

All final details including size, flavor, filling, accents, servings and final payment must be done before we will begin creating production of your wedding cake (at least 4-6 weeks prior to your wedding date). If you would like to have details worked out sooner than later … that is OK with us! Ideally, we will complete all of this at the time of the consultaiton.

When is final payment due?

Full payment and final details for wedding cakes are due 4-6 weeks prior to your wedding date. We will not proceed with production of yo0ur cake until paymwnt is made in full.

How does cancellation work?

If cancellation is required, it must be done 90 days days before your wedding date, and Cakeworks will retain 25% of the order value to cover associated costs.

If cancellation is requured within 90 days prior to your wedding date, Cakeworks will retain the full amount of 50% of the order value to cover associated costs and any possible bookings lost due to the reservation of your wedding date.

If cancellation is required within 30 days prior to your wedding date, Cakeworks will retain the full 100% value of the entire order.

PICK UP / DELIVERY

Do you deliver?

Delivery is available anywhere within the Calgary city limits for an additional charge. Availability is limited, so be sure to request delivery at the time of your order if you’re needing it.

If I want to pick it up myself, how to transport the wedding cake?

Our wedding cakes are picked up either the day of the wedding or the day before. We will help you out to your car and give you some helpful hints on transporting. This will help ensure that your wedding cake makes it to your venue safe and sound!

Helpful Hints for picking up a wedding cake:

Check the cake before leaving Cakeworks (have a peek inside the box to make sure it is what you have ordered and that it is, in fact, leaving in one piece)
The Cake is placed on a non-skid mat in the bottom of the box (this will prevent slipping and sliding)
Place the cake on a flat surface in the vehicle (*the cake box must be flat or the cake will be riding on a slant and will fall over or slide).
A cool/air conditioned vehicle is recommended (on hot summer days vehicle must be as cool as possible)
Go directly to the location of the reception (the more stops and starts there are … the more chance of something going wrong. * Cakeworks cakes are made with soft cake and icing and will start to jiggle with movement as soon as it reaches room temperature)
To take cake out of the box: cut down each of the sides of the box, get your hands under the cake board, lift off the non skid mat and place on table.
Once cake is sitting out, any accents can be placed on at this time (remember that anything heavy, such as a cake top, should have some sort of support added to the cake so that it does not sink into the cake and fall over

Does the cake need to be refrigerated?

The cake should be kept cold for transportation. If the cake is for the next day, refrigeration is preferable. If the cake is for the same day, it can sit out from morning until late night (in a shaded, room temperature location … no excessive heat).

DESIGN & DECORATION

Do you make cupcakes for weddings?

Our cupcakes range from $2 - $5 and can be ordered to fit any stand that you provide. Designs, colors and accents are unlimited and can be customized to suit your wedding.

Can you copy a design from another source such as a magazine photo?

We can certainly look at your pictures and ideas to see what we can do. Most of the time we are able to reproduce quite closely or, together, we can come up with a modified design that works for you. We will be able to give you a better idea once we have seen the picture and will be able to quote you a cost.

Do you do cartoon wedding cakes?

Anything is possible if your imagination can dream it up. We specialize in cartooning (visit our cake gallery section of the web site ). Several brides and grooms have themselves cartooned on a flat slab cake for something fun or have a shape of your favorite animal or favorite anything. Do something wild and crazy that no one will forget!

We want fresh flowers on our cake. Do you order those?

We leave the fresh flowers for you to order through your florist so they match your wedding flowers. We can provide dimensions for the cake so your florist will know what he/she is working with. We prefer that your florist does the pre-arranging of the flowers so the arrangements can just be placed on the cake.

If we are delivering your cake and you would like us to place the pre-arranged flowers on the cake, flowers must be delivered to our location the day before.

If you are picking up your cake, the pre-arranged flowers will be your responsibility to place on the cake yourselves.

For an additional charge we can certainly do the arranging of the flowers. The flowers would need to be delivered here to our location the day before the cake is to go out.

If the flowers arrive to us not pre-arranged, we will require payment for the arranging fee.

We would like some ribbon and bows on our cake. Do you provide this?

We do have a small selection of ribbon to choose from, but would rather you go and choose something you really like. You can either bring us in pre-made bows or for a charge we can make the bows and wire them for you.

Do you rent wedding cake stands?

We carry one style of stand that you can purchase from us from $65. Though we do not rent the stands ourselves, we can make the cakes fit on a stand you rent. All we need are the dimensions. Any wedding rental shop should carry a selection to choose from. Our suggestion is to visit Pandamonia The Party Centre @ #2 – 1305 – 33 St NE 569-9506.

Do you carry cake tops / toppers?

We do carry a selection of cake toppers that are more than suitable for any type of cake. You are also welcome to bring in your own that you have purchased elsewhere. We will need to know the weight and size so we can prepare a base for the cake top to sit on at the top of the cake (this will prevent the cake top from falling over and sinking into the cake by supporting the weight evenly). We will also need to check the dimensions of your cake top to make sure we are making the right size of cake for you.

ABOUT OUR WEDDING CAKES

How do we cut the wedding cake?

For your cake cutting ceremony you can cut into which ever layer you would like. If your cake is on pillars choose the bottom tier to slice into so it will not topple over. As for cutting the tiers to serve, some like to cut the top tier and serve it right off the board. Once all the cake from the tier has been served pick off the board and start cutting the next tier. Some caterers prefer to separate all the tiers first and then cut the cakes up.

How to save the top tier of our wedding cake for our First Anniversary?

Our cake freezes very well. We will send along a small box appropriate for freezing your cake in. Plastic bags or plastic wrap around the outside of the box keeps it even better.

*Even though we think it is a great idea to freeze and keep your cake, we are unable to guarantee the freshness and quality due to handling and conditions beyond our control.

What choices of flavors do we have to choose from?

All Cakeworks wedding cakes and serving cakes are iced with a soft, butter cream icing. Inside is a soft, moist sponge cake filled with a tasty filling (if you prefer not to have filling, the soft Buttercreme icing can be used for a more simplistic taste). Each tier consists of two layers of cake and a single layer of filling (we actually bake two cakes to create one tier of a wedding cake and use the filling to “glue” it together). You can mix and match flavors and fillings for each tier, or keep each tier the same. The cost remains the same.

Cake Flavors:

Chocolate
Vanilla
Marble (vanilla and chocolate cake swirled together.)
1/2 and 1/2 (one layer of chocolate and one layer of vanilla per tier)
Carrot (filled with a cream cheese icing)

Cake Fillings:

Bavarian Cream (custard, vanilla pudding)
Chocolate Mousse (fluffy light chocolate whip)
Chocolate Mousse with a smear of Creamy Toffee)
Lemon Supreme (similar to lemon meringue pie filling)
Raspberry Jelly ( no seeds)
Strawberry Delight (similar to jam with chunks of strawberries)
Black forest Cherry (similar to cherry pie filling)
Mixed Berry (a subtle blend of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries)

Is Cakeworks peanut and/or nut free?

We do not use any peanut or nut products in our bakery. We have had several people, who are severely allergic, eat our cakes and never have any reaction. Cakeworks, however, can not be held responsible for any allergic reactions caused by ingesting our cake, fillings or icing. “Eat Cake” at your own risk.

What ingredients do you use?

For our ingredients list, click here.

Do you use fondant?

We do not use fondant to cover our cakes. All our cakes are iced in a soft Buttercreme icing. Fondant may be used for accent decorations if desired.