First and foremost, you have to set a budget for your cake.  Will you spend less $100 on your cake?  Perhaps you’re planning a wedding with a large budget and plan to spend several hundred dollars.  Whatever your budget might be, you can be certain that it will guide many of your choices.  Be honest with your wedding cake decorator about your budget so that he can help you design a cake that fits your needs.

Another important factor in selecting a wedding cake is the number of people you will be feeding.  Small, intimate weddings may only require a small cake with one or two layers.  On the other hand, if you’re hosting more than one hundred people at your wedding reception, you’ll probably need a cake with three or more layers.  Knowing how many servings you will need to buy will help you estimate the final price of your wedding cake, too.

Deciding what type of icing will be used on your wedding cake will greatly affect both the price and the appearance of your wedding cake.  Most cakes are covered with either butter cream icing or fondant icing.  While either of these styles of icing will result in a beautiful cake, each has its own impacts on the design of the cake.  Fondant usually results in a sleeker style; butter cream, however can be applied in several different textures.  Take care to select the type of icing that works with the cake you want.

The size of a wedding cake can also vary greatly.  Of course, some part of the cake’s size is determined by the number of servings you will require.  A cake that feeds two hundred people will never be a small cake.  However, a cake that feeds fifty people doesn’t have to be a small cake.  If you want a massive wedding cake, but don’t want to purchase more cake than you need, you may opt to include a few “false” layers in your cake.  They can be iced to match the rest of your cake so that no one will ever know the difference.

Finally, you will need to make a decision about the overall style of your wedding cake.  Do you want something sleek and modern looking?  Or have you always dreamed of a traditional cake with icing flowers on top?  Flipping through magazines or browsing the internet can help you get an idea of what your ideal wedding cake looks like.

Once you’ve worked your way through these five decisions, you will be well on your way to selecting the wedding cake you’ve always wanted.  Your cake will be the perfect complement to your wedding and reception.  Now, you’re ready to move onto the rest of your wedding planning.