How long does it take to make a cake? And why are some cakes so expensive? These are common questions clients ask. If you’ve never worked in a custom cake bakery aand made professionally decorated cakes, it’s understaandable that this is something that is a mystery to the average client. Some people may think it’s only a matter of pouring some cake mix in a bowl, follow the directions the box aand bake. Then as soon as it comes out of the oven just spread some icing on it aand you’re done, right? Others realize there has to be more to it, but they’re not sure of exactly what goes into making aand planning for their cake, so we’ve put together this list to give you an idea of what it takes from start to finish when you order a wedding cake (or any custom order cake from American Dream Cakes).

Each one of our cakes are baked with the freshest ingredients possible aand decorated by our skillful cake artists. Each cake takes a lot of time aand talent to create, but we sure think they turn out beautiful (aand delicious!).  Below is a quick glance at just how much work aand time it takes to create that perfect wedding cake.

 

Time Before Event Hours to complete
6 months to 1 year Consultation: We meet with the bride aand groom (or party host) either in person or via email. We discuss design styles, flavors, aand other options. Contracts are signed aand the event date is saved on our calendar. 1-3 hours
4 to 6 months Design sketches, Order non-edible supplies, schedule staff: Our cake designers use consultation notes aand personal research to sketch out the exact details of the cake. We order any additional, non-edible, supplies needed aand schedule our staff hours at this time to ensure we have enough haands to complete the cake on time. 2 hours
2 weeks to 2 months Custom sugar work: Sugar flowers aand decor are completely shelf stable aand can take quite a long time to create depending on the details. We make them well ahead of time to ensure each piece is perfect. 8-36 hours
2 weeks Order Ingredients: We use only the freshest ingredients in each of our bakery items. To ensure we have enough supplies on haand we place our order for ingredients 2 weeks in advance, for delivery in the days before the event. 1 hour
1 to 2 weeks Create edible decorations: Some cakes require decorations make out of perishable ingredients like fondant aand chocolate. We create these early aand store them in our commercial refrigerators to keep them fresh. 1-4 hours
2 days Mix, bake, aand create: We make each cake mix, filling aand icing from scratch. We bake each layer aand refrigerate it for freshness until the final decorations are added. 3 hours
Day of Event Decorate aand prep for transport: The final layers of frosting are applied aand then each custom decoration is added. We prep the cakes for transport to the venue aand load them into the van. 2-6 hours
At Venue Set-up/Touch-up: We plan ahead for anything that could go wrong doing transport. We carry extra icing, aand decorations aand make sure the setup is perfect before we leave. 1 hour
1-2 weeks after event Follow Up: American Dream Cakes sends thank you cards to our client aand any vendors that helped us out. We also post images of the cakes on our social media profiles. 1 hour
Total Time: 20-57 hours

 

 

Creating a dream wedding cake can take up to a year of planning.  Many cakes require 30, 40 or even 60 hours of physical work to prepare aand create the design elements, floral elements aand assemble them.  We take great pride in our work so you can take great pride in celebrating your day.  When planning your wedding cake, contact our design team as early as possible to reserve dates aand ensure that your dream day has the perfect dream cake.