Shapes and Sizes
There are standard cake designs ranging from simple large square cakes without tiers, to two-, three-, and even four-tiered cakes. There are round, square, heart-shaped or horseshoe-shapes to choose from. Whatever the shape, the cake may be scaled to an appropriate size to suit the number of guests. A professional caterer will tell you the size you'll require.

Custom-Made Cakes Or you could even have your cake custom-designed. Wedding cakes have been made in shapes of cars, houses , pianos, trees, and anything you care to imagine! These designs usually relate to some aspect of the career or life of the bride or groom. In all events, you might have special requests of your confectioner - to incorporate flowers or ribbons, to include a crest or initials, etc.

Whitest is nicest!
The traditional cake is a virginal white. Some brides like to have the icing colour tie in with their wedding theme. This must be handled with care, however, as it is easy to go overboard with colour themes. A few delicate icing decorations in the lightest of pastel pinks, blues, yellows or greens will suffice to make the point.

Finding A Confectioner.
Some will say that the baking (or tasting) of the cake by the bride herself is sure to bring bad luck, so you are perhaps better off not tempting fate! An established confectioner knows all the pitfalls and will look after everything for you from start to finish. If you opt to have your cake made by a friend or relative, make sure its someone who has done this type of baking successfully before. Some private individuals specialise in making wedding cakes provided that you supply all the ingredients. Ask to see(and taste!) a sample of their work first. Some confectioners will ice and decorate a cake you have provided yourself.

Timing and Taste
If you decide to have your cake made by a professional confectioner, you should order it at least six to eight weeks before the wedding. If you do not allow enough time for a traditional rich fruit wedding cake to mature, it will not support the weight of the tiers above. This is because the layer of marzipan on the lowest cake will not have a chance to dry out and seal properly before the cake is iced. Also there is a danger of staining appearing on the outer icing.

Decorations & Accessories
The most expensive part of the wedding cake is its decoration and icing. You can bake your own cake and have it professionally decorated by a confectioner, but you won't save a fortune by letting the confectioner supply the lot.
Most confectioners have set prices which include the cake, the base-board, columns, decorations, ornaments, and delivery. Some charge a refundable deposit on accessories, as you will have little use for these afterwards. Check with your Hotel or Reception Venue, as they may supply the cake stand as part of the package. Printed cake boxes may also be ordered from a stationer when ordering invitation cards.
If you need to store the cake before the wedding, be sure to keep it in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. The confectioner will deliver your cake directly to the reception if the distance is reasonable, or to a pre-arranged destination. Remember, cakes do not travel well as a rule - there is a danger of the icing cracking or the cake being damaged-so direct delivery to the reception is not a bad idea.

A Fair Slice
The size of cake you will need will depend upon the size of wedding you are planning, and the size of individual pieces you wish to hand out to your guests. For a large wedding, you may need to have an extra iced cake made and cut beforehand. Many couples like to save the top tier of their cake for the Christening of their first child, or for their first wedding anniversary.

Placing the Cake
Traditionally the cake is the centrepiece on the chief table at a reception which features either a formal sit-down meal, or a buffet meal. However, this may block the view of the bride and groom in the case of a multi-tiered cake, or generally get in the way during the toasts and speeches. It may instead be set aside on a table in plain view, but out of harm's way. One tradition is for the bridesmaids to place their bouquets around the cake during the reception for all to admire.

Cutting the Cake
The Best Man announces the cutting of the cake, towards the end of the reception, or before the dancing begins. In some cases, for convenience, the cake is cut immediately after the maincourse, so that the cake can be removed and cutup, and served with coffee at the end of the meal.
The bride and groom stand side by side behind the cake, with the bride holding the knife in her right hand. The groom then places his right hand over hers, and she may then place her left hand gently over his right hand. They then cut the cake together. One token cut is all that's required. The bride and groom should first exchange and eat a morsel of cake before any of the guests begin. Tradition holds that the bride who does not cut her own cake in this way will remain childless!
If the icing is very hard, a cut can be made before hand at the back of the cake where it is not noticeable. Or this previously made cut may be smoothed over with a thin layer of icing to conceal it. After the photographs have been taken, the catering staff will remove the cake to the kitchen to be cut up.

The wedding cake is said to spread good fortune and fertility among the couple and their guests, so make sure that there is enough to go around! Tradition has it that a bridesmaid who carries a piece in her pocket until the honeymoon is over will soon marry. And a piece of the cake threaded through the bride's wedding ring and then placed under the pillow will reveal, through dreams, the sleeper's future partner in marriage.