You might have seen my recent blog post all about wedding cakes, where I spoke to some excellent local cake makers and got their advice on how to choose your wedding cake, and what to consider when booking.
But what if you don’t really have that much of a sweet tooth? One alternative that has become more popular in recent years is a cheese wedding cake!
I actually had one at my own wedding back in 2014 and it went down so well with all my guests, so I am a great advocate of the cheese wedding cake!
Cheese wedding cake from my wedding! Photo by Laura Calderwood Photography
I spoke to the fabulous team at The Cheese Plate, based in Buntingford, Hertfordshire. They gave me their top tips for choosing a Cheese Wedding Cake, and why cheese wedding cakes are a great idea for any wedding. They had masses of advice on cheese wedding cakes and make sure you pick perfectly!
Cheese stack by The Cheese Plate. Image by Lola Rose Photography
Why Choose a Cheese wedding cake?
An Extra course
One great reason to opt for a cheese wedding cake, is if pudding is already included in your wedding breakfast. Often at weddings I see stacks of delicious wedding cake sitting around waiting to be eaten. Also relatives frantically wrapping and handing out slices of cake at the end of the evening as guests are leaving. If you’ve treated your guests to a decadent pudding with their wedding breakfast, cake might not be all that tempting. But a bit of a nibble at a cheese course after dinner goes down really well!
The Rustic look
Cheese wedding cakes definitely provide a rustic feel to your wedding! If you’re getting married in a barn, tipi or if you’re having a festival style wedding, they are an absolutely perfect fit!
Out all night!
Cheese in a stack or in a buffet can stand out all night and not get stale. A caterers dream! If a regular wedding cake is left out for too long, the cake can go slightly stale, and not be at its best when your guests come to eat it.
No wastage
Any cheese that is left over and isn’t gobbled up by you and your guests on the wedding day can easily be kept for another day. Cheeses can be frozen or kept in the fridge for weeks, so you can enjoy the leftovers well after the wedding day!
Travel
Cheese travels a lot better than wedding cake traditional cake – it’s less delicate and can be assembled on site. This takes away a lot of the stress on the day. You can even collect cakes yourself in advance of the wedding and leave it to be set up by your caterer or venue.
Top Tips for Choosing a Cheese Wedding Cake
Here are some top tips provided by The Cheese Plate. They’ll help ensure that you consider everything in advance of choosing your cheese wedding cake, to get the best result possible!
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Always go for what you want as a couple.
What are your favourite cheeses? You can never suit everyone’s tastes and a cheese stack is an indulgence, so go for what you both want! At the Cheese Plate, we like to ensure that you have a good mixture of different cheeses. Our ultimate goal is that the couple are happy with their stack.
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Think about what the weather might be like at your wedding.
What time of year are you getting married? Where will your wedding cake be placed in your venue? This might affect the cheeses you opt to include because cheese is different to a normal cake. Some cheeses are fine in hot weathers, and others may sweat and melt in the heat.
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Consider the smell!
You might love the smell, but some cheeses will add a strong scent to your venue. This is not too bad if your guests are cheese lovers too, but it’s worth considering. We take this into account when delivering and setting up your stack.
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Cutting up the cake.
Cheese needs to be cut up in a different way to a regular sweet wedding cake. We either offer this service, or send directions to your caterers. Considering how the cheese will portion up is worth bearing in mind when choosing your cheese wedding cake stack.
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Take into account weight of the cheeses you want.
At the Cheese Plate, we build your stack due to the weights and diameters of the cheeses that you choose. However, if you’re set on having soft cheese in the middle of your stack, this is unlikely to support the weight of the above tiers. Especially if the weather is hot! We create supports to ensure your stack doesn’t collapse, and the whole cake holds it’s structural integrity!
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Biscuits on the side!
Becasue a good cracker complements your cheese stack perfectly, we always recommend getting water biscuits for your stack at a good quality supermarket. Your guests won’t know the difference from expensive fancy crackers, and it saves you money!
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Always have fun!
When choosing a cheese wedding cake, come to your cheese consultation with an idea of what you want. At The Cheese Plate we use this and info on the style of your wedding to help you pick the cheese stack of your dreams.
Hopefully you’ve found this hints and tips article on choosing a cheese wedding cake! Take a look at my other articles to help with planning your wedding – there’s lots of useful info on my blog!
If you’re getting married – I’d love to hear all the awesome touches you have planned! Drop me a line for more info on my photography.
