Expert Advice from wedding guru, Sharon Naylor

Answer:

Since your cake will be one of the last great tastes at your wedding, it can make or break your entire day! So you need to be sure you're working with a great cake baker who not only creates gorgeous works of art, but that they taste amazing as well.

First, get referrals from recently married family and friends. Would they recommend the baker who did their wedding cake? And don't forget that it's not just wedding cakes you should ask about! Maybe it was an amazing cake for a bat mitzvah or an anniversary party. Who's the most amazing cake baker in town?

Questions to ask:

1. How long have you been in business? And how many cakes have you made? Experience is key here.
2. Which types of cakes, fillings and frostings do you offer? Take a look at the baker's menu of 'standards,' and ask about flavors they can use if you pay a little bit more. Some cake bakers count cannoli cream filling as an exotic flavor and thus charge more for it. The same might apply to a rum cake. Find out what's standard and what's in the nice price tier up.
3. Can we schedule a tasting? Don't even consider a baker who doesn't allow cake tastings! You'll sit down with the baker and a platter of tiny bites of each flavor of cake, fillings and frostings you have in mind to get a feel for what you're ordering.
4. Can I see a copy of your inspection certificate and your insurance certificate? Don't be shy with this one. It's *very* important that your cake baker has all of his or her papers in order, since you want your cake created in a clean atmosphere that check out okay with inspectors. One of the top cake designers in the world suggested this one to me, so take her word for it, too: it's ultra-important.
5. Who delivers the cake? Hopefully, it will be the cake designer, in case any touchups have to be made to the transported cake. Many top pros care so much about their masterpiece that they will oversee the painstaking delivery and setup of the cake, particularly if fresh flowers need to be arranged on the cake. It's best to have the designer say he or she goes to the site, and doesn't just send it over via a couple of workers.