Wedding Reception Buffet vs. Sit Down Dinner

Wedding Reception Buffet vs. Sit Down Dinner

a guest at a sit down dinner — Photo Courtesy of JarvieDigital.com

There are all different kinds of LDS wedding receptions, from a catered soiree in a five-star hotel to a casual open house in the cultural hall. But all receptions have one thing in common: food!

Most couples choose either a buffet or a sit down dinner to feed their wedding reception guests. Buffets are self-serve assortments of food at a table in a central location for guests; sit-down dinners are portioned onto plates and served to guests at their tables.

Why choose a wedding reception buffet? Buffets are seen as more casual and less intimidating, in addition to being more affordable than catered per-plate dinners. People like buffets because…read more

10 Best Budget Wedding Cake Tips

/ Fresh Fruit Wedding Cake, LDS Open House for LDS Weddings, LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS Wedding Reception, Wedding Color, Wedding Reception Ideas

10 Best Budget Wedding Cake Tips

10 best budget tips for wedding cakes — Photo Courtesy of Amelia Lyon Photography

Your wedding cake is sure to be the most expensive dessert you’ll ever serve. Many LDS couples cringe at the thought of spending $800 on a single cake – after all, haven’t we been taught to be thrifty? While you may not be able to take the sting completely out of paying for your wedding cake, here are 10 ways to make sure that your cake eats up less of your wedding budget.

1. Have minimal decorations on your cake. Every delicate icing rose and fancy decorating technique costs the cake decorator time, which costs you money. Plainer cakes can be every bit as breath-taking, without the extra expense.

2. Decorate with silk flowers, not fresh. Most wedding cakes are decorated with flowers, and the cake table strewn with flower petals. Instead of paying your florist to deliver fresh flowers, buy your own silk flowers and save money on your wedding cake decorations.

3. Have a small wedding cake. Wedding cakes are paid for by the 2”x4” slice, meaning that larger cakes cost substantially more than smaller ones. Display a small wedding cake at the reception. If it doesn’t cover all your guests, then have…read more

Unique Wedding Cakes for LDS Couples

/ LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS Wedding Reception, Wedding Color, Wedding Reception Ideas

Unique Wedding Cakes for LDS wedding receptions — Photo Courtesy of Ravenberg Photography

Unique Wedding Cakes for LDS Couples

If you don’t want the traditional white wedding cake with three perfectly stacked tiers, you’re not alone. Your wedding cake is the most special cake of your lifetime, so why not make it a cake your guests will remember? Try on some of these suggestions, or invent your own.

Round and square are the usual wedding cake shapes. Try mixing the two, so that your cake has some round and some square tiers. You can alternate – square, round, square, round – or you can have a truly random mix. If neither round nor square particularly appeals to you, pick a more unusual shape like hexagons or paisley drops for your wedding cake tiers.

You can also…read more

How to Choose a Wedding Cake Decorator

/ LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS Wedding Reception, Wedding Color, Wedding Reception Ideas

How to choose a cake decorator — Photo Courtesy of Kimberly Davis Photography

How to Choose a Wedding Cake Decorator

LDS brides and grooms get their wedding cakes from all sorts of designers, from a top-dollar professional wedding cake specialist to their talented Aunt Miranda who will do it for free. Accounting for price, style, and taste, how do you choose a wedding cake decorator?

The fun part is browsing through bridal magazines and online wedding cake photo galleries for pictures of the intricate, unique, and always beautiful wedding cakes. Who knew that food could be so much fun just to look at? Don’t worry about finding “your” wedding cake just yet, but do…read more

Wedding Cake Colors, How to Choose

/ LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS wedding photography, LDS Wedding Reception, LDS wedding reception details, wedding cake toppers, wedding cake toppings, Wedding Cakes, Wedding Color, Wedding Reception Ideas

colors of wedding cakes — Photography Courtesy of Photos by Wendy G.

Choosing Wedding Cake Colors

Although there are many factors that go into a wedding cake’s final appearance – shape, size, texture, arrangement, and presentation – color is probably the most salient factor.

People will notice the colors on your wedding cake first and remember them longer than they remember anything else about it, so make choosing your wedding cake colors a supremely important decision.

The color white has long been a universally understood symbol for purity, so naturally it has become synonymous with weddings. No surprise here that the traditional wedding cake color is white – but traditional doesn’t have to mean boring.

The smooth, white layer of fondant can certainly stand on its own without adornment. But using white frosting to create…read more

Types of Wedding Cake Toppers

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Types of Wedding Cake Toppers

Cake Toppers for Weddings — Photo Courtesy of Justine Miller Photography

The wedding cake receives a place of honor near the head table at the reception, where it is only display until the moment it is cut and served. A wedding cake topper can be the crowning touch on an LDS wedding cake, and even those who think they don’t like wedding cake toppers may be surprised at some of their options.

When most people think of a wedding cake topper, they immediately picture traditional bride and groom figures that are either standing next to each other, holding hands, linking arms, dancing, or kissing. While these traditional style wedding cake toppers are still available and popular, there are also…read more

Wedding Cakes for LDS Receptions

/ LDS Open House for LDS Weddings, LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS Wedding Reception, Wedding Color

wedding cake for LDS wedding receptions — Photo Courtesy of JarvieDigital.com

How to Choose a Wedding Cake Design

How do you describe your dream cake to your decorator when you don’t know the lingo? Read on for an overview of commonly used wedding cake decorating techniques and embellishments. Knowing what’s out there can help you to choose your ideal design when you sit down with your wedding cake decorator.

Do you ever wonder how professionally-done cakes get that flawlessly smooth layer of frosting on top?
Most wedding cakes are coated with fondant or buttercream icing that is rolled out with a rolling pin and draped over the cake to provide a smooth working surface. Rolled fondant or buttercream comes in a variety of colors and can be rolled out to a variety of thicknesses.

Once you have the smooth “base” of your cake – usually fondant or buttercream – it’s ready to be…read more

Choosing Wedding Cake Colors

/ LDS Open House for LDS Weddings, LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS Wedding Flowers, LDS Wedding Reception, Wedding Color, Wedding Reception Ideas

Choosing Wedding Cake Colors

Although there are many factors that go into a wedding cake’s final appearance – shape, size, texture, arrangement, and presentation – color is probably the most salient factor.

People will notice the colors on your wedding cake first and remember them longer than they remember anything else about it, so make choosing your wedding cake colors a supremely important decision.

The color white has long been a universally understood symbol for purity, so naturally it has become synonymous with weddings. No surprise here that the traditional wedding cake color is white – but traditional doesn’t have to mean boring.

The smooth, white layer of fondant can certainly stand on its own without adornment. But using white frosting to create…read more

Who Sits at the Head Table?

/ Catering for LDS weddings, LDS Open House for LDS Weddings, LDS Reception, LDS wedding, LDS Wedding Cake, LDS wedding catering, LDS wedding photography, LDS Wedding Reception, Napkin Folding, Wedding Color, Wedding Reception Ideas

a head table with name plaques — Photo Courtesy of JarvieDigital.com

Who Sits at the Head Table?

At some point in wedding planning, every Latter-day Saint couple has to make the decision about who is going to join them at the head table at their wedding reception. There’s no “right” way to do things, but here are some of the most common head table seating scenarios at LDS wedding receptions:

Traditionally the wedding couple sits in the center of a U-shaped or long rectangular head table, the bride on the right flanked by her bridesmaids and the groom to the left flanked by his groomsmen. Ushers, flower girls, ring bearers, and so on do not sit at the head table.

This formal arrangement looks best when…read more