The wedding planner’s latest stress of the event:
“Oh NO, the cake is melting!  Quick, cut it now for photos, even if the guests won’t get to see it!!”

  • Are you planning a summer wedding or outdoor event?
  • Would you make your Grandma sit in the heat for 2 hours without protection?
  • Have you thought about how to protect your guests, your food, your flowers, your makeup?
  • Follow us on our Tips to Remember as you plan your special day.

This week’s Tip #2 – Cakes are People Too!

MELTED cake…what a mess!  Whether you’re serving mini desserts or a tiered (wedding or other) cake, unless you order an all-fake cake, these items are PERISHABLE and need protection.

Discuss cake with your wedding professionals:

  1. Here’s how to know how long a Real Butter Cream cake (or WORSE, cupcakes frosted in cream cheese) will last in direct sun:  put a stick of butter outside on a plate in approximately the same location that you plan to display your cake….Check back with it in 2 hours and see how it looks.
  2. “But we aren’t cutting the cake until 9pm…”  (the average sunset time in peak wedding season is 7:25pm; the average time guests arrive to receptions is between 5:30-6:00pm; the cake company may need some setup time prior to guest arrival). Do you want your cake being setup during dinner?
  3. We won’t need a tent; it never rains in San Diego in the summer…(famous last words).
It's ok for the molten chocolate gang to melt...

It’s ok for the molten chocolate gang to melt…

Air conditioning is cake’s best friend in the summer months. Most venues are not comfortable with storing a cake in their walk-in refrigerator and taking it out to display themselves – too much at risk if they drop it! We find that the fast-paced staff in some restaurant locations will grab a 2-3 tier cake and whisk it away for refrigeration without incident. (in San Diego, we applaud The Bluewater Boathouse for their agility & comfort with this!) .  On the contrary, most caterers or venues will not offer this option. Our most helpful hotel property who is willing to keep a 3-tier cake in the fridge on a hot day is the elite ocean view hotel L’Auberge Del Mar…thanks Catering team!  This helps us and the clients on a sweltering evening when needed.

No cake designer wants to see an unknown caller on their cell phone at 8pm…worried that the dreaded disaster may have struck: a cake has melted or fallen over due to the heat!

photo borrowed from Events North blog...thankfully NOT one of our cakes.

photo borrowed from Events North blog…thankfully NOT one of our cakes or even theirs.

This is THE WORST news to hear, especially when the venue is too far away for us to make any reparations.

At Sweet Cheeks Baking Co. we require clients to provide indoor shelter, shade, or solid roof tent (YES, that clear tent is WAY COOL…and totally acts as a steam room on a hot day), or we require a signed waiver to offset the potential hazards.  With up to 15 cakes on a Saturday, we just couldn’t logistically run around town scooping up melted butter rivers from the cake table floor and fixing cakes during receptions.

Think about it: would you ever consider leaving out your tuna fish salad for 5 hours at a picnic?

Outdoor weddings are stunningly beautiful, but BE SMART when planning, and listen to the pros you’ve hired.

Future Summer Wedding Tips:

  • Sunburned skin
  • Wilted flowers
  • Blown out photo exposures
  • Smeared eyeliner
  • Sweat stains! Yikes!

Thanks to Cake Wrecks for the featured image! (again, thankfully not ours)