Wedding cakes are having a major moment again, so what trends will couples love in 2026?

In this episode of Now That I’m Engaged, How Do I Get Married?, Kevin and August sit down with Armana Christianson, cake artist and owner of A. Cakes Bakery, to talk all things wedding cakes—from bold new trends to the personal details that make a cake truly unforgettable.

Armana shares her unexpected journey from professional golfer to luxury cake artist, a pivot that began during COVID and turned into a thriving business rooted in creativity and storytelling. Together, they explore why statement cakes are back in a big way, how flavor has reclaimed its rightful spotlight, and why couples are moving away from cookie-cutter designs in favor of deeply personal touches.

The conversation dives into what’s trending for 2026, including massive multi-tier cakes, wide statement designs, edible fabrics, and incorporating elements like wedding dress details, linens, and monograms into cake design. Armana also explains how social media has shaped creativity, and why collaboration between couples and cake artists leads to the most meaningful results.

Highlights

1. Armana’s journey from professional golf to cake artistry
2. Why statement wedding cakes are trending again for 2026
3. The balance between visual design and unforgettable flavor
4. Creative ways couples are personalizing their wedding cakes
5. How social media shapes (and sometimes limits) cake design
6. Timeless cake elements that stand the test of trends
7. Common cake-ordering mistakes and how couples can avoid them
8. Why cake-cutting timing impacts guest experience and waste

Connect with Armana:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

TikTok

LinkedIn

Connect with Kevin & August:

Website

Instagram

Youtube

TikTok

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Alright folks, welcome to another episode of Now That I'm Engaged, How Do I Get Married? And we have Aramana Christianson with us and she's the owner and cake artist at A Cakes Bakery. How you doing?

Yes, sir. Good. How are you?

Great. All right, Armana tell us a little bit about yourself and how we got you here today.

Good.

Yeah, I am a cake artist in Phoenix, Arizona. ⁓ I work on unique custom cakes for my clients and picked it up over COVID. And now this is my business. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep. I was a professional golfer in a past life. So very different life. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. But now I'm...

really?

Nice!

Were you really? Well, that's awesome.

What?

fully immersed in the wedding world and ⁓ yeah, and starting my fifth year of business in 2026.

Love it. All right.

Wow, how'd you go

from golf to baking? Was like baking always like a side hobby that you like to do?

No. ⁓

Mmm.

Ha

and then

that's how my business got started.

That's an awesome

story. That's really cool.

Well, and something positive came out of COVID. So I mean, it's always fun to hear these positive because it was such a struggle, all of us in the wedding industry getting through that. So all right. So we're here with Armani to talk about wedding cake trends couples will love in 2026 and how to personalize yours. So what is driving cake trends right now?

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Yes.

Yeah, I mean, we've got a handful of different ones that are great for different types of styles, different types of budgets, what your priority is really with your wedding cake, because everyone has a different idea of what's going to work for them in their wedding.

will say one of the big ones that I've seen are the massive cakes. The ones that are six, seven, eight feet tall. Clients are requesting those. ⁓ It's a wow moment. It's that one where like you don't want your cake sitting in the corner. You want it in the entryway when your guests are arriving. Yeah, you want to step on a ladder to cut the top tier of your cake. It's like a whole moment.

Hmm.

Hmm.

You

Yeah.

Yeah

⁓ So I am seeing clients. Yeah, yeah. And you know, I think that it's just one of those tradition things that is always around. And this is a way to make that tradition just feel something that's, it just feels different because you're like, we're taking that tradition and just like blowing it up. ⁓

I'm starting to see bigger cakes more. Yeah, I'm starting to see bigger ones now.

And that's exactly what one of my clients did a couple months ago. We ended up doing a cake. I measured it because I was like, how tall is this thing? was eight feet, three inches. it was, Yeah.

Yeah.

⁓ my gosh

⁓ girl,

that's crazy. my gosh.

So you obviously

It was,

needed a ladder to put it together.

I did, yeah, I needed a ladder to put it together. I had a couple people with me to help. ⁓ Yeah, and it was great because, I mean, just having that size cake is gonna be unique on its own. ⁓

but you can also do any type of style. So you can make it very you and also have it be huge. So yeah, so that's one. Yeah, there's one, there's a few, a handful on my Instagram account actually of this cake. I've done two of them just at the end of this last year. So yeah, there's a few that are, they're big.

⁓ wow. And how many late, how many...

Yeah. Do you have a photo?

Yeah. Yeah, and that's... Yeah, how many layers?

And how many layers? Yeah. Like, tiers, I guess, is

the right way.

yeah, that the one that I did at Caesar's, it was eight tiers. Eight tiers. Yeah. And then I made them about 10 to 12 inches tall each. So each tier was very tall. Yeah. Yeah. It did. Yeah.

Wow.

Wow, that's crazy. That thing had to weigh a ton.

Yeah, the logistics

alone, like, wow, that's crazy. And such a 180 of what I feel. I mean, we're from the Bay Area, but what we've been seeing the last like year or two has been smaller cakes. But I really love that. Yeah, the statement cakes. Yeah.

Yeah, but all of a sudden I'm starting to see the uptick of bigger ones though. am. Yes,

Yes,

I love it.

I know. I you know, a couple years ago was that I probably did like 50 heart cakes in one year, like everyone wanted this little little heart cake. So I am just like loving that clients are like, we want to focus on the cake again. And I'm just like, yes, please. So I'm loving this trend.

Hmm.

Yeah, I did feel sorry for you guys, ⁓ our baker friends for a while, because it was small. no, we don't even really want a cake. They don't even want to even cut the cake half the time. They just do it. They call it a silent cake cutting. And it's not even a thing. the last several weddings I've done, we're back to cutting the cake. And everyone watches again. And yeah, we're getting back to normalcy there.

Yeah.

Yep.

Yup.

Well, and you know, when I describe a cutting and like why it's important, it's a moment during your reception to just like stop again and have it just be you two standing by the cake for your photos again. And then it also is one of the few things that creates a sense memory for your wedding. You are...

Hmm.

Mmm.

Huh?

Tasting your wedding cake and that wedding cake flavor that you have that night is something that will just live with you and That's the only time yeah, it's like I did a shoot one time where the couple like I created a lemon blueberry cake for them to eat during the styled shoot and They were like, my gosh, this was our wedding cake flavor and I'm like see you only get that if you have wedding cake

I love that.

Like an association, yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lemon blueberry sounds delicious. love lemon and blueberries.

Yeah. Well, that kind of segues our next question. Can you walk us through what trends you think are going to be popular in 2026? Whether that is flavor, are we going to see more lemon blueberry or sizes, colors, shapes? What do you think is going to be popular?

it's so good. Yeah, it's a favorite.

Yeah!

Yeah, I mean besides the super tall cakes, I'm seeing the super wide cakes too. Those are really gaining popularity as well. So even if you don't want to go tall, you can go long. There's the really big round cakes that take up almost a whole table. A lot of people have seen them with the like fresh berries on top. ⁓ Yeah, those are really popular. I definitely have.

Mmm.

⁓

Yeah.

a few of those this year already on the calendar. And then there's the ones that take up maybe the whole length of the guest table. I've done, yeah, there.

Yeah, I saw that on TikTok,

like as a centerpiece almost.

Yeah, and that one feels really interactive with guests because you don't have to have your catering go and cut every piece. The cake is in front of the guests, so either they're digging in with a fork or cutting the piece themselves. So that kind of feels special and unique and different flavors on different tables. ⁓ So clients are really loving that option. ⁓

Yeah.

Mm.

And then as far as something like flavors, flavors tend to be more seasonal. So I definitely see like in the spring an uptick in the lemon blueberry. I pair it with a lemon curd and clients kind of love that. I know. It's so good. In the fall, you you kind of see the return of more like a chocolate caramel. Red velvet is really popular.

Mmm.

Mm.

⁓ God, sounds delicious.

Mmm.

Mm.

So as far as like yearly flavors, I feel like that may not exist, but something that I love to do that I'm hoping more clients opt for in 2026 is creating custom combinations for their wedding that flow well with their menu or pay, you know.

⁓

do some sort of tradition with maybe what their family members have done in the past. I think that's a great way to incorporate something unique into your wedding cake that, you know, you can be like, oh, my grandmother, you know, her wedding cake flavor was, you know, chocolate with raspberry. And so being able to kind of mimic that and carry that through is just like a little extra thing that you know.

Mmm.

Yeah, that makes your wedding just a little bit more you. So, yeah.

I love that. I love that. All

right, so are you seeing more couples prioritize taste over appearance, or is it truly like they want both?

Yeah, I really think it's both. I think there are a lot of clients who are done with the days of like, well, it's gonna look pretty, but it's not gonna taste great.

Okay.

Yeah.

⁓ Yeah, like we've all run into stuff where it's like, you know, I've had, know people that do cookies and like people who've tried my cakes where they're like, I just didn't think it was going to taste as good as the photos looked. And I'm like, well then what would be the point in paying for it? You have to.

Yeah.

The fondant.

⁓

Hmm.

Yeah, exactly.

So valid,

Yeah, like you have to eat it. Your guests have to eat it. Your cake shouldn't be dry. You shouldn't have to have dry fondant on the top. ⁓ You shouldn't want to like have to peel stuff off. ⁓ I use fondant, but I use a very high quality fondant. Clients can taste it beforehand if they'd like. You're not peeling off this like inch thick layer where it's so gross that you can't. Yeah.

Yeah!

So I am definitely.

It looks so...

It looks disgusting when you see them peel it off. It's like they're shedding skin and whatever. It's just always like... Yeah.

I know. It feels

gross. But yeah, I'm definitely seeing clients who are wanting to make sure that their cake is going to taste wonderful and then they have someone who can make it custom and unique for them.

Yeah.

When my son was, my son's 22 now, but when he was little, he loved the show ASA Cakes, and so they would make all those crazy cakes and design. But it's like, yeah, they look cool, and they look like an art project, but do they even taste good? know, like, it's just like, so it's, I'm glad that people are looking for appearance and taste now. I think that's a good trend.

Yeah.

Well, I think it's probably... ⁓ sorry, go ahead.

Yeah, and...

⁓ I was just gonna say and you know I it's something that's always great when clients come to me and they're looking for that because I make everything from scratch and I'm like look You are going to taste it before we design it because you need to make sure that the flavors are what you want if we need to tweak things and That's what you get when you go to someone who's more custom ⁓ And maybe not like a huge box bakery ⁓ You know I can tweak and change things for my clients so because everyone tastes

Hmm.

differently. So I want to make sure that they're gonna love their cake. They're gonna have their first photos cutting their cake together and they're not gonna grimace because they don't like their cake. So can't have that.

Mmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I was going to say, feel like it's also coming back to a theme we keep hearing a lot is guest experience as far as the taste goes. They want something that looks good and tastes good, so something that the entire party is going to enjoy.

Love it.

All right, so what? go ahead. You go, August.

Um, oh,

I really love that brides are sharing their wedding dress with me as a way to incorporate that into their cake. I am getting that more and more and more.

⁓

Yeah.

and dresses are a very big part of the experience for a bride ⁓ when they're getting married and no one sees it before their wedding day. So when we create their cake, it feels kind of like an extension of that. ⁓

And I love getting the photos back where you can see the cake next to the bride in her dress. And you can see that it flows well with what she's wearing or has mimicked certain design aspects of it. ⁓

It's very cool. And I just had, I literally sent out a design questionnaire this morning and I got it back and she included her dress photos as a way to incorporate the lace pattern into it. So I've had several lace patterns. There was one that had a sequin bodice on the front and we created that, like recreated that sequin bodice in sequins on her cake. So when she was standing next to it, it micked it. Yeah. So I'm seeing more and more brides who are wanting

Yes!

⁓

Wow, that's amazing.

to incorporate their actual attire into their wedding cake design. So that's one of my favorites. It's very personal. So I love that.

I

love that. Is that really hard to do for you and your designers? Yeah. My head, I'm thinking, I'm like, that seems really difficult.

It can be. Yeah. Yeah, it definitely

Yeah

Identifying pieces and

Yes.

mimicking it on the cake, I'm sure, definitely takes a creative mind, for sure.

Yeah, yeah. And you have elements where like, okay, am I creating like, an edible lace?

that is in a pattern that looks similar to their design, or do I need to hand pipe their design because I can't find like a mold that matches or that I can get made. ⁓ So there's lots of like ways that we can do it, or am I like tracing on the cake until I can like put the sequins on to match their design. So there's lots of different ways to do it. It's just finding the best way that's going to showcase that kind of pattern.

Mmm.

Hmm.

in a design or texture for their cake.

Mm-hmm.

seems

very very extremely difficult to do so

But it's great because

then you know when the client is getting it that they're like this was made very much for me and my wedding. So I love that part. Yeah.

Yeah, I agree.

personalized,

All right, Armando, is there a trend that you wish would get more love with couples that isn't maybe as popular right now?

Yeah, one of my favorite trends is using edible fabrics. ⁓ I think it's cool. It's very avant-garde. ⁓ I would really have to push a client out of their comfort zone to want something like this. But in the world of cakes, ⁓ a lot of cake artists love this look.

⁓

Yeah!

Mmm.

And it's very

cool and you can do a lot with it. ⁓ But it is very different. So you would have to have a client that's like down for the art of it to want to do it.

Wow,

but that sounds really, I'm sure you can just push the creativity further than you can with something like that. It sounds really amazing.

I don't know if I've ever seen that. I mean, do you ever have couples that come in and are like, I give you full creative freedom, like just follow XYZ and go wild? Because I mean, that sounds really cool.

Yeah. Yes.

Yeah, I've had it a couple times where a client is like, we're going to leave it up to you. Just like make whatever you want. ⁓ They have asked if I could sketch it for them first before I do it though. So they're not surprised when they get to their day and they're like, not sure what their cake is going to look like. Honestly, I feel like that would scare me a little bit. There would be a little terror on my part.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

I would scare me too, the way you're saying it. I was like, wow,

that's pretty, wow. So I agree with you on that one.

Yeah, having

I mean, I feel like some

people could be that way, but yeah, not everyone.

No, and just like as a vendor like you just want to make sure your clients happy So I'm like I can't imagine like having to wait until after their wedding to be like, did you like how it looked? ⁓ No, no, so my clients get a sketch of their cake beforehand I would say most clients want some sort of hand in their design I have

Mm-hmm.

Yeah!

Hmm.

now tried to kind of like shift my process a little bit because I feel like clients don't realize that I can fully design their cake and they don't have to be a designer.

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

We get a lot of, and this happens with, think, every vendor category, you get a lot of Pinterest photos, you get a lot of inspiration, and people who are creative were like, let us design it for you, and it will be new and different and something you probably haven't seen on Pinterest. ⁓ And I think that's a cool way to go. And you can create something that is timeless without it being trendy.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And so that's something that is like, while like trends for 2026 are great, there are like things like big cakes or long cakes or, you know, having lace from their dress, having the cake artists help you to design it will make sure that it isn't too trendy. And it could be placed in any wedding then.

Yeah.

And then, but it's still going to be something that feels timeless. You're not going to like pinpoint it on a, well, that was a 2026 trend. Everyone did that that year. So that's what I'm hoping to do with my clients this year is like, yeah, we can take some of those ideas for trends and then just kind of like shift them a little bit and help them make it more them at the same time. So.

I love that. I love that. I feel like a big trend last year was bows. Like we saw... Or was that 24? So many bows I saw. But in that case, with trends, because, you know, we can't escape them, how do you think social media has changed expectations around wedding cakes?

Yeah.

Yes!

Yeah, think that it kind of like with the Pinterest thing and like people sending me exactly what they want.

Yeah.

It just doesn't leave, one, a lot of room for creativity for me, especially as someone who is like, I'm a custom cake artist. ⁓ I would prefer if clients came to me and wanted to do more of a collaboration. So I get feel, I kind of feel a little stuck ⁓ sometimes if a client just like shows me a photo and they're like, this is what I want. And I'm like, I will absolutely do what you want. But then I don't get to kind of do my thing ⁓ with it.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And honestly, for my client, I'm like, we could create something that uses maybe some of those elements that you love, but is also unique to you. So when you look at your photos, it feels more special. It doesn't feel like you're looking at just anyone's wedding details. You're looking at yours. So.

Mm.

Do know what that like sounds like to me? Like, I feel like I hear that a lot from tattoo artists. They'll say the same thing. Like, you'll show them a picture and they're like, like, yeah, that's great, but I don't want to like, you know, copy someone else's work, but we can take pieces of it and add your own flair to it. like my, you know, artistry and we'll just make it its own thing.

Yeah, funny enough, I have a design clause in my contract ⁓ where I state like, hey, you can give me inspiration photos, but every cake is created from a different cake artist. So trying to copy exact, trying to mimic colors, like that stuff is probably not gonna be doable.

Mmm.

but we can take elements and create something that's your own. So I really try to push my clients that direction just because I don't want them to post on social media and have their cake be interchangeable with anyone else's. I'd rather have it be truly theirs.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

All right, well, kind of speaking of personalization, so when it comes to trends, we know it can get a little cookie cutter at times when everyone sees the same thing once they do it over and over again. So how can couples ensure their cake feels more personalized?

Yeah, absolutely. ⁓ One of my favorite ways, if they're open to it, is adding a little bit of color. ⁓

Mm-hmm.

if they

have wedding colors being able to utilize that. And you can do it in a tasteful way. You don't have to like the old days of like, you have a bright purple cake or whatever with like, you don't have to. There are ways to like subtly incorporate the colors that are elegant and timeless and beautiful. That's a wonderful way. I love a monogram. I love a monogram that

Yeah.

Mm.

Hmm.

feels

very special, especially if you have one that you're using throughout your wedding. Being able to have your cake artist use that exact monogram on your wedding just adds that little touch. I've had people who give me their little dog figurines. Those are really cute. People love using those. Those are fun. And they're keepsakes afterwards.

Yeah.

⁓

yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Things like including their wedding dress where we can pull some of those textures and details, that's one option. But I've also seen it done with things like linens, their table linens from their reception tables. ⁓ And I've also seen it done with invitations. So if you have certain embossing details on your invitation, ⁓ we can mimic that on your cake. ⁓

Mmm.

And then I usually that's also seen on like menu items as well. So it can like flow through your whole wedding very nicely. And then the table linens, I had one client who they were like,

Mm-hmm.

was a dinner plate pattern. They sent me a dinner plate that they were renting for their wedding. And they were like, we love this pattern. Can we use this on the cake? And I was like, yes. So we ended up, I ended up having to like recreate the design. ⁓

You

Yeah.

And then I used sugar, like sugar paper basically, and I printed their design onto it and we had it wrapped around their entire five tier cake. ⁓

Wow.

with gold details and everything. But it was very cool because they literally had their plate sitting next to the cake for their cake piece. And it was the same pattern. So I got their photo back, and I was like, yes, nailed it. So it's just one of the things where you're like, ⁓ that's such a special detail. And no one will have that exact cake again. But it still felt timeless.

Yeah.

You

Yeah, that's...

Love that.

Yeah, so I think all those are great ways. Yeah.

That's amazing. It's such a special detail. Yeah. Well, and then

to get more specific, when you're talking to a couple and you're talking about the cake design, what kind of specific questions do you ask them to kind of pull their story out and get into the design of the cake?

Yeah.

Yeah. When I go through their design questionnaire with them, I ask like, what are your

Keywords that you feel like you're using for your wedding because people don't generally have like themes Nowadays, they usually have like keywords that they use for mood boards and stuff So I asked for those keywords I asked if they have any special details that are incorporating from them and their fiance throughout the wedding Like maybe they are including their puppies on the like napkins and they want to do that You know something little like that on the case

Mmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Or ⁓ I had a client very recently that they're like, wanted to incorporate the places that we've lived together. So Florida, New York, and Arizona. Yeah, so was really cute. And so we figured out the little emblems. And I did a lace pattern like her dress. And I took the emblems of all those little locations and I put them in the lace. So it was like little Easter eggs. ⁓

Mm.

that's cute. Yeah.

WAAA-

But that's why I ask those questions. So if there's anything they want to incorporate that shows them, and then if they have colors they'd like to use or patterns, I ask them how they met, because I think that's an important part of their story. And if there's anything that I can use from that, I had a client who gave me a song when she was asked that question.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

And so we kind of, was able to like listen to that song while I'm sketching their cake to kind of get the feeling of it. So it was very cute. ⁓ Yeah. And then I do ask if there's more specific things like if they want to use flowers on their cake and if they would be open to sugar paste flowers. Not all clients want flowers, which I kind of love. I mean,

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah,

because it's kind of done a lot, you know, so...

I think that.

Yeah, I'm like, it's very common place to see a cake with like two bouquets of flowers on like two different tiers. It's like very, it's expected. ⁓ And so I love, yeah. I think of a cake that was usually like made by a hotel. That's like a very common like hotel cake. ⁓

I like that. Expected.

So I love when a client kind of gives me a direction of like, no, we don't want flowers. We want all other edible mediums. I'm like, great, that's a good challenge for me. I love that. yeah, so I kind of ask those questions. It does, yeah, because we have to rely on other aspects of their wedding.

you

And makes it more unique, I think.

Yeah.

Love it. All right. Are you seeing anything fading out when it comes to cakes? Like, no one's asking for it anymore? Like, the flowers on the cake?

Yeah,

the flowers on the cake is fading out. I'm really not seeing a lot of people who are like, I have fresh flowers for you to place and that's all we want on it. That's really not happening that much anymore. I know people are still asking for vintage cakes, but it is much less than it used to be. Last year it was like on its high out there, but I am seeing a lot less people who are interested in having a vintage cake.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

So it had, I think it had its place and now it's starting to kind of dwindle out. We'll still get some people, but that is the big one. Cause that really had kind of a choke hold for a while.

Hmm.

Yeah.

No, I definitely did. ⁓ What would you say, like you've seen over, you know, the years, like, what would you consider like a timeless element for couples to incorporate? I know you touched on that a little bit earlier.

Ooh, that's an interesting question. I'm not sure that there's like a consistent timeless element.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, mean, yeah, because I think like, well, I guess you could say well, just like a three tier cake that is just like plain ice, like very smooth and sharp edges to me is the first thing that comes up when I think timeless. But then you kind of rely on everything else around the wedding.

And that makes sense.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

to make the cake unique. So when I have someone who does something like that, usually they're like, well, we have a huge flower garden around the, like a meadow around the cake. And so they're relying on the flowers to be the main focus. So I think a lot of people would put the vintage lambeth piping into a timeless category because it's been being done since, you know, the fifties. ⁓

True. Yeah.

Yeah.

Mmm.

The

beginning of time.

Yeah,

Mm-hmm.

so I think a lot of people would put vintage cakes in that category. It might be the only one that's consistently come back. ⁓ Besides using fresh flowers on a cake. ⁓ I think a lot of people now are just kind of like, at least custom cake artists are trying to push the bar a little bit on what design means. So.

Hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, love it.

Yeah, thousand percent.

All right, so we know couples make a lot of mistakes when they're planning their wedding. So what kind of mistakes do they make when ordering a cake, and how can they avoid it?

Yeah, I think one of the biggest mistakes is timeline. ⁓ I think when they cut the cake and serve the cake is done, in my opinion, wrong a lot of the time. ⁓

Hmm.

One of the biggest concerns everyone always says, I don't want to have leftover cake. I don't want to order all this cake and have it be leftover at the end of the night. And to that I say, when was the cake cut and serve that you saw that happen? Because usually,

Okay.

Yeah.

You have a bunch of cake left over at the end of the night when the couple has cut their cake at 8 30 pm And everyone's on the dance floor And the people who are on the dance floor have already left after dinner Because maybe they have babysitters or maybe they're older and they want to leave so No one is sitting back down at the tables usually to eat all that Yeah, so to that I say

Mm-hmm.

Well, and it went in.

I usually, yeah, so usually I say if the cake is important to you, if you are going to spend the money on the cake, make sure you put your cake cutting in a good spot in your timeline to ensure that your catering has time to cut and serve your cake right after dinner.

Go ahead. I have something that I just thought of something.

Mm-hmm.

where people

are still gonna be sitting or you haven't moved on to the dancing party portion of your evening. So making sure you tell your planner, making sure you talk to your catering, that this is something that you wanna make sure happens is very important. It probably means that you have to cut your cake either, it sometimes means you have to cut your cake before you eat dinner. Just so.

Hmm.

Yeah, I've seen that.

Which, yeah, I've done before.

Just so, yeah.

But that means that catering can take down your cake and cut your sheet cakes while dinner's being served. So, because that's all prep. So that's something that I see a lot happening where I'm like, that was a mistake. That was an error if you felt like you had a lot of cake left over. So, and it's good cake.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, well, and I never thought about

it that way. But I've also heard that the international symbol, you're allowed to leave the wedding is once they cut the cake. So if they're cut the cake and people leave, then no one's eating the cake. and the fact that you like, yeah, it's just like, and so now, like when you said that, I was like, that's an aha moment that I just had in my head, because I'm like, yeah, you should be cutting it earlier in the evening. So therefore, it's being served as dessert in the natural flow with dinner. Therefore, everyone's going to enjoy the cake.

There you go.

Yes.

Yep, 100%.

Well, and when I

used to work at a venue, I felt like that was like a misconception that happened a lot was a lot of times for some reason, couples wanted to like go through the motions of dinner, know, toast, specialty dances. They get on the dance floor, they want to cut cake later. And we would always have to say like, that's great and all. But if you don't have sheet cakes and you just have a five tier cake, when is the staff going to have time to cut it and serve it to guests?

Yeah, a lot of older folk tend to leave once the dancing starts and once you kind of put it in perspective, then they're like, yeah, they just they don't realize. And you know, it's not their fault. But I do think that's something that definitely needs to be reevaluated.

Yeah, and that's just such a big waste of money. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

It is.

It is and like I don't want

clients to feel like they wasted money with me. So yeah, that's one of the things that I always am like, hey, make sure you talk about your plan, like your timeline with your planner with your venue, make sure that this is forefront. So you fit the cake cutting in the right portion. And I've even worked with like a planner who knows this up front. And she's like, we do faux cakes every time with a spot cut out for them to cut the cake. And then she cakes because she wants catering to be able to cut

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

and serve those sheet cakes right after dinner. And then they can go and cut their cake later in the evening for photos. And it's not messed up. So if that's the route you want to take where you do want to cut it later, but you still want to serve, have sheet cakes. So there's ways around it. You just have to verbalize that those things are important. Talk to your cake artist. What's the best option here? And then make sure everyone's on the same page.

Hmm.

Yeah.

That's really good advice. it's just like, I learned that's my aha moment for the day. I'm going to remember that and encourage all the couples to go the other way with it. So all right. As we wrap up here, Armando, if a couple remembers one thing about their cake years later, what do you hope it is?

Yeah.

Yes. Yeah.

I hope they remember their flavor. Even though the design is beautiful, the flavor is the thing that will stick with them the most ⁓ and the longest. I've been married 13 years and I still remember my cake flavor. So I think that's the thing that I hope the most, that they remember their cake flavor and that they loved it.

Hmm.

Mmm.

And what was your cake flavor?

Well, I had three flavors, the one that I cut, I know, the one I cut into was chocolate. Yes.

⁓ good for you. Yummy. I love chocolate.

Have you, like,

you've been a cake artist recreated your own wedding cake?

No, I haven't. I haven't. That would be interesting. I mean, I have obviously have pictures of it. I know, right?

Every fun project. Yeah.

Little anniversary. Yeah.

Little anniversary surprise for the husband. There you go.

Yeah.

Yes, yes, I

absolutely could.

There you go. All right. So Aramada, how can folks get in touch with you and learn more about you?

Yeah, absolutely. Well, my website is akakesbakery.com. ⁓ And then I have my Instagram and Facebook that are a.cakesbakery.az. And then if you want to get more personal, I am on TikTok. So, a.cakesbakery.az as well.

I love it.

Yay!

⁓

I love it. All right. Well, Armada, thank you for being here. Thank you for all the edu- I mean, I literally learned so much on this episode that I've never even- things I never even thought about when it comes to cake. So I really appreciate your time being here. And folks, thank you for listening to another episode of Now That I'm Engaged. How do I get married? We'll see you next time. Bye.

Hahaha!

Thank you.

Bye!