Congratulations on your engagement! How exciting! Now you begin the joyous task of planning the celebration.

Let Bittner’s Bakery help you with the critical first step – choosing the perfect wedding cake. Whether you want a traditional tiered cake, an individual cake, or a sweet table, Bittner’s Bakery can create the perfect dessert to impress your family and friends.

A Bittner’s Bakery Cake is more than just a cake; it’s a tradition that you, your children, and your grandchildren will want to continue for generations to come.

Ordering your wedding dessert

There are a number of things to plan for and factor in, when it comes to ordering your wedding cake. We at Bittner’s bakery have made a list of some items to keep in mind.

1. Contact Bittner’s Bakery at info@bittnersbakery.com or call 262-248-2330 or 262-248-1740 you can contact us about a tasting or consultation. Note that we are open Wednesday – Saturday. Typically we do tastings 4-7 months prior to the date. We typically do not need more than 7 months before the wedding and can often accommodate less than 4 months to your event.

2. Deposit – Be prepared to leave deposit to reserve your date. (The remainder of the balance is due in full, two weeks or more prior to your wedding. No desserts will be delivered if payment is not received and cleared.)

3. Choose Your Ideal Cake – The taste, flavor and texture of the cake itself is the most important decision you will make when you order your cake. The outside beauty of your wedding cake will be important for your pictures and your personal statement. But, the inside of that cake is what you will be serving to your guests. You want a cake that is flavorful, moist and yummy to eat. A Bittner’s Bakery consultant can help you select the perfect wedding cake and choose the ideal frosting for your special day.

4. Cost – The more labor intensive and complicated the cake design, the more you should be prepared to pay. If you know ahead of time what amount of money you can spend on your cake let us know and we can try and match something in your budget. That will help you choose wisely from design options. Desserts and cakes for a wedding typically cost $3.75-$5.50 so for a wedding of 100 the cost may range $375-$550 it may be more if being transported from a far distance and if there is a highly elaborate decoration required or if there are several rentals required.

5. Outdoor Weddings – If you are planning an outdoor wedding, plan as best you can for the potential pitfalls. Some examples: insects love sweets, hot weather can melt most icing, high humidity can turn gum-paste flowers limp and, chocolate curls into puddles, fresh flowers will wilt in prolonged exposure to heat. Rain and wind can collapse tents and blow tablecloths right off of the tables. We don’t want to paint an ugly picture of an outdoor wedding because most often they can be quite beautiful. However it’s always advisable to have a backup site just in case of unforeseen extreme weather conditions.

6. Fresh Flowers – Your florist can help you select the appropriate flowers. We usually put them on the cake, however if the flowers are not at the site when we deliver the florist may have to put them on. It is a good idea that both the florist and bakery have a image of where you would like the flowers placed on the cake or dessert.

7. Color – If you want the cake decorator to come close to the colors you are using in the wedding, you need to provide a swatch of fabric that is at least 3 inches square. If at all possible, try to have a solid color in each swatch. You should also be aware that dark colors can sometimes be difficult to achieve the right shade and color in icing, as well as difficult to arrange attractively on a decorated cake. We do our best to match colors.

8. Artificial items in or on cake ribbon, pearls, jewels and dowel rods etc – If you are using artificial strings of pearls or ribbon on a wedding cake – they must be removed before the cake can be served to your guests. If you have a tiered cake there will be wooden dowel rods in it. The dowel rods build up and stabilize the cake, they are easy to pull out. It is your responsibility to make sure the cake cutting people understand to remove non eatable items from cake being served to your guests.

9. What dessert is placed on. Typically the venue will provide a blank skirted table for the desserts. The cake is made on a thick white or silver board. We can put this directly on the table. If you are wanting anything additional like a stand it will have to be rented. We have several rental options for an additional fee. Returning these items is your responsibility. They have to go back to the bakery the next day they are open or dropped of at the Next Door Pub and Pizzeria (two doors north of the bakery) 411 Interchange N. Lake Geneva, WI 53147. Cupcakes and other desserts are delivered in sheet boxes they do not some with stands or platters, these will also have to be rented. We can rent platters or the venue may provide them.

It is also to think about what else will go on the table. Cake cutter, floral accents or other decoration pieces etc. The cake table always looks better when the wedding decorations are carried unto that table or area.

10. Cake servings – The Cake designer can guide you as to the number of servings of cake you will need.

11. Cake Placement at your Reception – Where will your cake(s) be placed in the reception area? Look at the walls and consider the background for your wedding pictures when planning your cake’s location. Are there fire extinguishers, plugs, restroom signs, and etc. in the background of your cake placement? If you are planning to use a fountain in your cake set up, is there a wall plug nearby? Does the reception site furnish extension cords or will you need to provide those?

Other things you might want to consider at the reception site are how the traffic flow will be handled. All of the food placement in one area might cause a traffic jam. A cake placed near a dance floor can be hazardous for traffic flow. Is there a door that opens in toward the cake? Are the tables sturdy enough to hold the cake(s)? Does the reception site have tables and table coverings?

13. Person to cut the cake – Don’t assume that a caterer or reception site personnel will be cutting your cake. You should ask if this service is included and if so how much the fee will be for the service.

14. Topper -When picking an ornament for your cake, consider the weight. Icing and cake are soft, so very heavy ornaments must have some extra support in the cake. If you do select a heavy ornament and it should fall from the top, there is good likelihood it will do damage to tiers as gravity pulls it downward. If that should happen you should be prepared to pay the decorator extra to make an extra trip back to the reception site to repair the damage. Items that are marketed as cake toppers are typically fine on top of cakes, it is more of a concern when it is a non-cake topper item.

15. Cancellation – If for some reason you must cancel your wedding, you should notify the bakery as soon as possible. Depending on the length of advance notice, a forfeiture of some or all of your deposit may be required.

16. Unexpected Happenings – Finally … expect to have the most wonderful day of your life. But with all the advanced planning and the numerous people required to complete your wedding plans, there’s a decent chance that something will probably go wrong. Only life threatening circumstances should warrant your truly getting upset. Cake decorators, florists and etc. do the best they can for you. If a mistake is made, please don’t let it upset your day. Just chalk it up to a future fun memory. Great memories are not always made up of all the things that go right. Sometimes they include some of the little and big things that go wrong. They may not seem funny as they are occurring, but someday may become one of your favorite wedding day memories.