Hiring a wedding cake vendor is a BIG DEAL. Your wedding cake will be a focal point at your wedding and will definitely be on display for all your guests to see. If you’re anything like me, you won’t only want it to look good but you’ll want something that tastes good since it will likely be getting smashed in your face (or romantically fed to you) at some point on your wedding night. In order to check all the boxes, you’ll want a baker who is up to the task. Here’s what to expect when hiring a wedding cake vendor:

Before you make any decision on the cake, you should have your venue nailed down and an overall vision of what your wedding day will look like. The first step after those decisions are made is to know your budget. Before you even start looking you’ll need to know how much you have allocated to the wedding cake.

After you have that squared away it’s time to roll up your sleeves and dive into some research. You’re not to the fun part yet but research is essential to finding the perfect wedding cake baker.

A couple of steps to take:

Check out their reviews on Google.
Talk to your wedding planner (if you have one) for recommendations.
Talk to your friends (especially the ones who got married in the same area to see what their experiences were.)
Stalk the social media for any bakers you think you’re interested in.

It’s really important to get a sense of what the baker’s style is. If they specialize in rustic wedding cakes or five-tiered wedding cakes and those are the ONLY cakes shown on their social media but that’s NOT the vibe you’re looking for, they might not be the baker for you.

Once you’ve created a list of potential bakers it’s time to pick up the phone (or shoot them an email!) Here are a few essential questions that you’ll want to ask:

Do you have my date available
How do you price your wedding cakes? (By the slice, by style, etc.)
How do you deliver/store the cake? Are there delivery fees?
Do you offer tastings? Is there a fee?
Are you able to accommodate food allergies (gluten-free etc.)

Pro Tip: Pay attention to their response time. If a baker has an average response time of more than 48 hours throughout your communication, you may want to consider looking elsewhere. As you get closer to your wedding date you’ll be communicating with a ton of vendors and you don’t want this one to go MIA before your big day!

Once you have the basics, you’ll want to schedule a consultation to determine whether or not they can make your vision come to life (and if it will fit in the budget). You’ll want to schedule consults with 2-3 bakers so that you can compare and decide which one is the best fit for your needs! When you go to your consultation, take sample pictures of what you’re looking for, and have an idea of what size you will need.

Now we’re to the fun part! YAY! A wedding cake tasting is hands down the best part about planning a wedding. Your wedding day is the one day you get to have your cake and eat it too because you’re the bride.

You did it! You made it to the final decision-making step in choosing your wedding cake baker. Now all you have to do is read (yes, actually read) through their contract, sign on the dotted line, and pay their deposits! If any verbal agreements were made, make sure those are in writing and included in the contract so that there’s no question about what was agreed upon down the road.

Happy wedding cake baker hunting (ooh that’s a mouthful… try saying that one ten times fast!)