How to create your dream wedding cake with Bettys
If your wedding is the best day of your life, then choosing the cake that will sit proudly at its centre is a daunting task, to say the least. So why not start the process with a sit down and a cup of tea? That’s the welcome you’ll receive when you book a wedding cake consultation with Bettys – not to mention the chance to admire the exquisite handiwork of our cake decorating team, and, naturally, to sample a slice or two.
Visit the cake consultation area at Bettys Ilkley and you’ll find yourself in the capable hands of Retail Manager Deborah Howe. She not only knows our Wedding and Celebration cakes down to the last dot of icing, but appreciates that it can take time to decide upon the one that’s perfect for you.
“Some people come in and know exactly what they’d like for a wedding cake – the sizes, the recipe and all the details, “ she says. “Other people have no idea and just want to find out a little bit more. Some people book a consultation and make their decision a little bit, but then come back at a later date to finalise the cake.”
Or you might ring up and speak to Terri Bates from the Bettys mail order team, an expert in all that Bettys offers. For her, helping customers to plan their wedding cakes is a highlight of her day.
“When we’re taking the orders, we often think, ‘That sounds absolutely gorgeous,’” she enthuses. “Our customers send us photographs of their weddings and letters of thanks. We love doing them; you feel like you’re going to the wedding.”
From the classically elegant Satin Tier Cake to the spectacular Chocolate Ruffle Cake – truly a head-turning dandy in edible form – Deborah, Terri and the rest of the Bettys team will help you choose a cake to remember. Maybe it’ll be the Fondant Fancy Party Cake, whose individual fancies can each be personalised with hand-piped flowers or monograms. The Rose, Lily and Sweet Pea Cascade cakes all feature breathtakingly realistic hand-shaped sugar flowers that can be coloured to suit your wedding theme. Or there’s Deborah’s own favourite, the Vintage Cascade cake.
“The cake incorporates a lot of Bettys history, with designs taken from our archives dating back over 95 years. It features an incredible amount of elaborate piping, with dots and beads, scrolls and swags.”
Of course, you may be like the pair who decided that Swiss chocolate was the way to go instead…
“We had a couple in who asked if we would do them an Easter Egg for their wedding,” smiles Deborah. “They had our Imperial Egg decorated with sweet peas instead of a wedding cake.”
It goes without saying that we take the utmost care to ensure that your wedding cake will arrive exactly how you pictured it. One option is to collect the cake in person; otherwise, customers living within 50-70 miles of a Bettys can have their cake delivered by the same vans that convey our delicate handmade fancies to the Café Tea Rooms every morning.
“One of the main concerns people have is whether the cake will arrive safely when it’s delivered,” says Deborah. “‘Absolutely’ is our answer to that. Our bakery van drivers are our most experienced and careful ones, with specially made vans that are fully equipped.”
The Satin Tier and Brush Embroidery wedding cakes are also suitable for courier delivery, and Bettys by Post have sent cakes to Europe, or on occasion to the USA. “We’ve even sent a celebration cake to Japan”, recalls Terri.
Whatever the destination, all Bettys wedding cakes are meticulously packaged in recyclable materials and come with full instructions for assembling the layers. And for the final touch of Bettys magic – and to ensure that no embarrassment on the day because someone forgot them – the price of each wedding cake includes free hire of a silver wedding knife and one of our cake stands. Those are vintage, by the way, meaning that they’ve played a small but vital supporting role at many a happy occasion. And here’s to many more: “We’ve had people order a wedding cake, and then they come back and order a christening cake, followed by fondant fancy party cakes for their children,” Terri remembers fondly. “It carries on through the generations.”