Why to choose carefully where to put your wedding cake

So, are you here because good photos of your cake are important to you, or are you simply wondering why a photographer should care about the location for your wedding cake will be set up?

I can’t deny it, I care about cake. A lot!

More than my doctor would like me to, to be honest. But this is not why I write this post!

I also care about your wedding photos. And that’s why I have written this post to help you get the most fantastic photos of your wedding cake.

Venues where the cake is a side show

When viewing a venue, you will often get a very brief mention and gesture of: “…and this is where we will put your cake” before being hurried along.

If you would like nice photos of your cake, don’t let them hurry you along!

While the location might be perfectly save from running children and cream-melting sunlight, it might be less than ideal for your photos.

I have lost count of dark corners or horrible backdrops I had to photograph beautiful cakes in front of.

No matter how much I blur the background, a fire extinguisher or a non-smoking sign will still be very recognizable. As will be the brightly coloured wallpaper overpowering your cake design.

And I should not need to use flash to photograph your wedding cake during daylight hours, unless you are having a goth wedding in a crypt.
(BTW, if you do have a goth wedding, or any type of alternative wedding in a crypt, please get in touch!)

The venues that maybe celebrate the cake too much

And then there are venues who display cakes with great effect, however, not much thought on how to possibly get a photo of it or of the couple cutting it.

Your wedding cake might be in a beautiful bay window… or on a balcony above the dance floor where you will cut it, too,…or carefully placed at the end of the corridor so your guests will see it walking in.

Any of those, if well done, will look stunning to the naked eye. But they can be a nightmare to photograph!

But why are these bad locations for your wedding cake?

Stating the obvious: wedding cakes have fronts and backs. We obviously want the front in your photos.

I might have to use flash to avoid the front of the cake being in the shade and looking dark and dull if it sits in front of a window.
It will look nice enough, but it won’t look natural.
Your cake decorations will throw harsher shadows than in daylight.
I will also have to blast the flash in your faces while you are cutting your cake if you would like to not be a silhouette or have a halo.

And a melange of assorted cars right outside of the window will be as ugly a backdrop as the above mentioned fire extinguishers.

If your cake is placed on a higher level than where your guests (and I) are, like a balcony, and displayed towards your guests, the only way I can photograph it (and you cutting it!) is, well, by hovering in mid air. (I am sorry to say, I do not currently possess the gift of levitation). Or I would be on the balcony with you and photograph your cake from the back or, at best, the side.

Putting your cake in the corridor can lead to lack of lighting and not enough room for you and me to move around in order to get a nice photo of you cutting the cake without being obscured by it.

So no matter how beautiful the spot  that the venue suggests as location for your wedding cake is, spare a thought for how this might work in photos.
If you are not sure, and great cake and cake cutting photos are important to you, just talk to me. I am happy to advise if I can see any possible drawback.

But what if the cake gets moved for cutting anyway?

Well, here is the deal: Taking a great cake photo takes more than just a few seconds.

Your cake is usually set up before your wedding celebration starts, which gives me plenty of time to get photos of it. And these photos will take longer than you might expect.

This means, if I photograph your cake until just before you are ready to cut it, I might miss some great candid moments of you and your guests celebrating.

And this is, why it is totally worth taking time to discuss the placement of your wedding cake with the venue and me.

The venues who get the location for your wedding cake spot on

In an ideal scenario, the venue has a perfect location for your wedding cake, where it can stay all day and doesn’t need to get moved for cutting.But what would this perfect location for your wedding cake look like?

Well, here it is:

• Plain background or something like a fairy light curtain
• Natural lighting to the front of the cake
• In a location where I can walk up to the front of it and take photos and detail shots that show of the designs you have chosen for your cake.
• Space around it so we can take a photo of the cake from the front and of you cutting it without you being obscured by your cake.
• And, of course, space for all your guests to stand and watch you cut your wedding cake.

If now, you are like me, hungry for cake, go and get some biscuits out of the kitchen cupboard. Make a cup of tea while you are there… and maybe read one of my other helpful blogs. One that won’t make you hungry, but help with wedding planning, like: 3 Steps to Avoid Wedding Planning Stress

And please do tell me about your cake when you enquire. I love cake! Speak soon…click to get in touch!

Bright blessings,

 Alternative Wedding And Handfasting Photographer UK and EU