Wedding Cakes Vancouver

For wedding cakes in Vancouver, look no further than Anna's Cake House. We offer full service from consultation to tasting to delivery and set up. On your wedding day, we want your wedding cake to be the centerpiece of your reception and at the same time, the last of your worries. We want your wedding cake to bring both sophistication and elegance to your wedding reception.

We proudly remain one of Vancouver's few bake-from-scratch bakeries. The forefront of our product is freshness and our commitment to customer service. We can accommodate any last minute changes that you may have and also promise late afternoon delivery in the Lower Mainland of any wedding cake even if it was ordered on the same day.

Our reputation rests on the fact that our cakes are produced only from the finest of natural ingredients, with no added artificial preservatives, stabilizers or emulsifiers.

Real fresh cream and real butter cream cakes are our specialty. Our most requested bride's cakes are listed below but we gladly accept custom orders to suit your needs.

Please feel free to call ahead to schedule a no obligation appointment with one of our wedding cake consultants. Let our 30 years of experience and artistic expertise make your special occasion a cherished one.

To make an Appointment or for more information please Contact Ron at our Wedding Cake Centre in our Vancouver head office at 604.876-ANNA(2662) or by Email

The Six Most Important Questions to Ask Your Baker!

1) Can you provide me with samples? Try before you buy. It is easy to make beautiful cakes that are as hard as rocks.

2) When will you make my cake? Test them by asking when is the last day you can make changes. The day they state will probably be the day they start to make your cake.

3) Do you deliver? Over 80% of the cakes we replace (for other bakeries) are due to damage caused when shipping the wedding cake.

4) How do you ship your wedding cakes? Ask to see the boxes. We have seen many cakes come out of the trunks of cars without any barrier between the cake and the spare tire.

5) What are your back up plans in case something goes wrong? Most will say that they either have no plans or that nothing will go wrong.

6) How much would it be for regular cakes the same size as the wedding cake? This will determine if you are being gouged or not.

Why do we think we are the best choice for

Wedding Cakes in Vancouver?

1) No Obligation, Friendly Consultations with Free Cake Flavour Samples

2) We can deliver and set up your wedding cake

3) Worry Free Emergency Service (Free for Anna's Customers)

4) We do not use artificial flavours, additives, fillers or chemicals

5) 30 Years of Experience (with over 300 weddings per season)

Don't Take our word for it

Look at some of our testimonials!

A little note from Darcy and I to thank you for making us such a fabulous wedding cake. It was so very pretty and it tasted even better! We had nothing but raves from all our guests and both the chocolate and mango layers looked so good to people that they had trouble choosing which to try. Thank you for your kindness Ron, it was a pleasure dealing with Anna’s in every way!

Darcy and Susan

We would like to thank you for the excellent service we received from you and your staff at Anna’s Cake House. Your easy-going manner and experience had us at ease and made our wedding cake planning very enjoyable! The cake was everything we could have asked for and more. Thank you for the beautiful and memorable wedding cake!

Francine and Duncan

We wanted to write and thank you for taking so much time to show us all of your wedding cakes and for helping us choose such a perfect wedding cake. We are still hearing from our guests how much they enjoyed it!

Kris and Anna

Thank you for a great meeting yesterday. Your passion for your business was inspiring . Mike and I both agreed that it was like having our cake and eating it too! Thank you!

Janine and Mike

Thank you for creating such a great cake for our wedding day. It was delicious! We loved the butter cream and coffee cake together! Everything was delivered on time and we didn’t have to worry about a thing. Thanks for the great service and taking the time to explain cake sizes.

Sandy and Mike

Edmund and I truly want to thank you for making our wedding absolutely perfect! When we first walked into the ballroom and saw how beautiful the cake was and how it was decorated, it left us speechless! I cannot wait to show you the wedding photos!

Mona and Edmund

Thank you so much for making our wedding cake so beautiful! We really appreciate the time and effort you gave!

Helen and Raul

Thanks once again for the great service. Your cheerful help with the wedding made it one less thing we had to deal with on the special day. It has been a pleasure dealing with you and I will return in a few months to order my son’s cake for his wedding! Thank you so much for taking my phone order for a birthday cake. I’m very glad that I was able to do this for my daughter and that you made it so easy!

Joni

Wedding Cake Information

Take some time to peruse the following information to get a feel of what to expect when looking for a wedding cake. We would be happy to entertain any questions you may have or set up an appointment to give you personalized service. Please call ahead before coming in so that we can set aside time to help you. With over 300 weddings to do each season it is not uncommon to have waiting periods for consultations. Do not worry about time frames though as we make all of our cakes the same day they are required, including our wedding cakes, so even if you place your order early, the same morning as your wedding, we will be able to help you.

Cake Types

There are two types of wedding cakes. There are the Bride's Cakes, which are the most common ones, as well as the Groom's Cakes.

The Bride's Cake is the multi-tiered cake that everyone associates with weddings. They are traditionally stacked one on top the other with pillars but now a days, only your imagination sets boundaries for your wedding cake. Cakes now come in all different types of configurations like stacked on top of each other with no gaps, with small gaps or both. Many couples choose to use stands with their cake to give it a stair case look. Most of the pictures on this web site are all from this past wedding season and only of the cakes we had time to take pictures of or had past clients send in. There are a lot of other designs we do not have a pictorial record of. If you have something in mind that you do not see, please just let us know.

The Groom's Cake is not as romantic or as decorative as the Bride's. The Groom's Cake is simply the slab cake that occasionally accompanies the Bride's Cake when it cannot produce enough servings for the guests. The Groom's Cake is good way to reduce the costs for cake service since not as much labour and time is required to make it. Generally, wedding parties of 200 or more can benefit from having both Bride's and Groom's Cakes. Groom's Cakes are also great for informal weddings when an elaborate bride's cake is not called for. We have done many groom's cakes with the bride and groom's picture on it or with an inscription that is meaningful to the couple.

Alternatives to Wedding Cakes

Cupcakes are becoming more popular in today's bridal trends. Many use this method to skirt around the serving charge that many reception vendors have or like the presentation in less formal receptions. We have several different stands and cupcake "trees" to display cup cakes on. Cupcakes are a custom order item and can only be ordered at our head office location. Please contact Ron (604-876-6532 Email ) to arrange an appointment.

Mini Cakes are what we like to do as a more elegant alternative to cupcakes. For those who feel that cupcakes are more appropriate for a 5 year old's birthday, Mini Cakes offer something more sophisticated but at the same time, cost about the same as cupcakes!

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Starting in Spring 2002 Anna's Cake House has re-instated its Artificial Bride's Cake Rental Program. This is a great alternative to getting a real cake if a real cake is not a priority to you, you are on a tight budget or if a real cake is a logistical impossibility. Also, if your wedding reception is small you can use a larger fake cake for pictures to give your cake shots more presence. We currently have over 13 cakes available for rent. You can have the whole cake fake or do some layers real and some fake too. Most of our fake cakes are undecorated so that you can place your matching bridal cake flowers on top to complete the look of the cake. The illusion is quite real as we have damaged cakes as testimony as people have tried to cut into them. Click here for more info.

Cakes on each table is another trend that is becoming increasingly popular. Essentially, each table will get a 6 inch to 8 inch round cake that can be set out whole or pre-cut so that the guests can serve themselves. We have received a lot of positive feedback for having the cakes uncut so that the guests can cut what ever size they like.This is something more original that not everyone considers. This format of serving cake usually accompanies a fake cake as if you had a real bride's cake, there would be too much to serve. If you are well organized, you can even put different messages on each cake. Our most unique example of this is that one of our clients put a different wedding picture on every cake using our cake top printing system.

Decorating

There are various ways to decorate a wedding cake. The most popular being with Icing Roses, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Flowers or Rolled Fondant. You can even incorporate a combination of techniques to decorate your cake. You can sugar or caramelize the fruit or combine fruit with flowers.

You can have your florist design arrangements for your cake. We can supply flowers for your cake but it is generally more economical to have your own florist do it. One thing that is very important about putting flowers on a cake is to make sure that the flowers and their garnishings are edible and not poisonous. In addition, make sure that the flowers are pesticide free and if the flowers were introduced to dyes, that the dyes were non-toxic . Please check with your florist before getting them to supply flowers for the cake. As they are the flower experts, they should know which flowers are edible. We have also seen beautiful flowers spoiled and go unused as they have been sprayed the with toxic glitters. Make sure the florist knows that the flowers are for the cake and that they are clean. In addition, the florist should be responsible for putting the flowers onto the cake as they are certifying that the flowers are edible.

Tops

There is a large selection of wedding cake tops available on the market. Keep in mind that some wedding cakes look good without tops or do not require them if you put flowers or fruit on them. We try to keep a minimum of 50 wedding cake tops in stock at any given time. The prices range from $25.00 to over $300.00. The most expensive one we carry in inventory is about $100.00. Of course, if we don't have one here that you like, we can order one in for you from any of international suppliers.

The difference in the cost of a cake top is the material and the workmanship. Most tops under $40 are made entirely of painted plastic. Tops ranging from $40 to $100.00 are usually made of ceramic or glass and are coloured in the manufacturing process or hand painted. Most all Tops over $100 are hand made with exacting details. The amount you spend on a top depends on your budget and priority. Some like to collect ornaments and prefer to get a nicer top while others are very happy to use a more economical, yet just as attractive, plastic top.

Sizing

Once you have decided what style of cake you want. You must figure out how many servings you require. Things you should take into account are:

How many guests are in attendance?

How is the food being served (buffet / sit down)?

Are you serving other desserts?

Are you serving the cake at a luncheon or after a banquet?

Do your guests typically have a sweet tooth?

How large of a slice do you want to serve?

A good way to estimate the size of cake you need is to take the required amount of servings and multiply by the size of slice you want (in square cm - or inches). That will give you the overall total surface area of the cake you require.

Once you know how much cake you need in total, consider how many tiers you would like and find the sizing for each tier that would make a proportional looking cake. For instance have the tiers step up in constant increments (ie: 6 - 9 -12 where each tier widens by 3 inches or 8 - 11 - 14, NOT 6 - 8 -16 unless that is the look you are trying to achieve). As an aid, below are the typical servings produced by each size of round cake.

Approximate Servings Cake Yield Table

Cake Diameter	Total Surface Area	Yield for 2 sq. inch Servings	Yield for 3 sq. inch Servings	Yield for 4 sq. inch Servings
6	28	14	9	7
7	38	19	12	9
8	50	25	18	12
9	64	32	21	16
10	79	39	26	20
11	95	47	31	23
12	113	56	37	28
14	154	77	51	38
16	201	100	67	50
18	254	127	84	63

Typical sizes would be

Two Tier	6 - 10	6 -11	6 - 12	8 - 12
Three Tier	6 - 9 - 12	6 - 10 - 14	8 -11 - 14	8 - 12 -16
Four Tier	6 - 8 - 10 - 12	6 - 9 - 12 - 16	8 - 10 - 12 - 14
Five Tier	6 - 7 - 8 - 10 - 12	6 - 8 - 10 - 12 - 14	8 - 10 - 12 - 14 - 16

As mentioned earlier, you can augment your cake configuration with a Groom's cake. This is highly recommended for receptions of over 200 to 300. The Groom's cake serves 2 purposes. First, it reduces the overall cost of providing cake to all of you guests. Second, It gives the caterers a chance to start cutting cake up in advance to serve your guests. Cutting 300 slices can take up to 25 minutes. By cutting the Groom's cake first, it also gives the Bride's cake more stand time in the reception area for display. Grooms cakes can be made in any size as to complement your needs as required. Some cultures and protocol actually use only a Groom's Cake with no Bride's Cake.

Flavours

We can make any of our wedding cakes with any flavour that we have in our regular cake line but that is not where it stops. With enough imagination and advance notice, we can create or replicate most any flavour you desire.

At Anna's, we only use natural ingredients with no artificial flavouring nor do we add chemical stabilizers or emulsifiers. We use only 100% Canadian Butter in all of our cakes so they are zero trans-fat. We also only use 100% real fresh cream or butter cream icings. We do NOT make rolled fondant wedding cakes as these are too sweet and heavy for our product line. As one of the professional wedding cake planners that regularly orders cakes from us for her clients put it; "some rolled fondant cakes are so hard and dry, you can rub two pieces together to start a fire."

If you are unfamiliar with our product or want to address flavours you haven't had for a while, we are happy to provide samples at our Head Office location only. Please call Ron or Angela at 604-876-6532 (Email ) to arrange for a no-obligation flavour tasting session .at our Broadway Location.

Another thing that should be considered is should you have more than one flavour for your wedding cake? Should all of your cake be the same flavour or should you make each tier a different flavour? Generally, we recommend that if you have more than 80 guests that you should seriously consider just having one flavour to reduce the amount of work required to get each person a different flavoured slice of cake. The only exceptions you should keep in mind is if you have guests that may have allergies or if you have a lot of kids at the reception that may not like any flavour BUT chocolate! Also, if you are having other desserts, you might want to mix up the selection a bit more too.

Pricing

Don't get soaked! If any bakery (including ours) or other wedding product supplier seems to have outrageous pricing for their wedding products, ask to have the price broken down tier by tier, unit by unit. We have seen many couples pay blindly for regular items that seemingly cost two to five times more just because the word "wedding" appears in its name.

Typically, cakes usually cost about around $2.00 to 3.50 per serving (3 square inches) regardless of the type of cake and slab cakes may even cost less. Make sure you are getting your money's worth!

An example of our typical pricing is listed below.

2 Tier 6-10 (36 pieces) $119 - $132

2 Tier 8-14 (68 pieces) $190 - $233

3 Tier 6-9-12 (68 pieces) $195 - $255

3 Tier 8-11-14 (100 pieces) $282 - $356

3 Tier 6-11-16 (108 pieces) $335 - $375

4 Tier 6-9-12-16 (135 pieces) $375 - $479

5 Tier 6-8-10-12-14 (140 pieces) $400 - $525

*prices are effective as of 2002-03 wedding season and do not include delivery- subject to change

To get a ball park idea of how much your cake will cost from Anna's, please fill out our on-line quotation form.

Delivery

Delivery is available for all of our wedding cakes. The cost is $38-$65 for wedding cake delivery in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond and Coquitlam. The cost varies for deliveries depending on the distance as well as if you request, drop off only, delivery and set up or decoration on location. Some venues do not allow outside agents do work inside their premises.

If you need to have to get your cake sent further, like Whistler or the Fraser Valley, contact us for special arrangements and pricing.

Also consider the delivery time. If you would like for us to set up your cake, always keep in mind that fresh cream cakes will melt at room temperature. We also recommend that you do not leave the cake out for more than 2 hours for food safety reasons. In addition, many restaurants do not even set up for weddings until after 4:30PM. There is no point to deliver a cake too early if there is no cake table to set it up on and if there is no room in their fridge to store it. Please check with your venue manager for more information on when it would be best to have a cake delivered or dropped off by us or someone in your wedding party.

Cake Cutting Ceremony

When do we cut the cake? It depends on what your priorities are; how cooperative your caterers are and the logistics of your reception.

Our fresh cream cakes are not stable at room temperature and should not be left out of the cooler for more than 2 hours. Thus we recommend that you display the cake at the beginning of the reception and then cut the cake immediately after you formally begin the reception. Typically, guests do not leave their tables after the dinner has begun to look at the cake unless they are observing the cake cutting ceremony. Announcing a cake cutting after the introductions and a brief speech or toast goes over quite well. Also, if the bride is planning a dress change, this will help in the logistics as the cake should be cut while the bride is wearing her wedding dress.

The alternate solution is to bring the cake out just before cutting it. The disadvantage is that the cake must be physically moved from the cooler to the cake table and their is limited viewing time for the cake.

A general observation is that not a lot of guests will get up from a meal to go look at a wedding cake. Thus, the time it is viewed the most is before the reception begins or at the time of the cutting.

Cake Cutting (to serve)

"How do you cut the cake?" is a FAQ. The quick answer is "with a knife". Realistically, it depends on how much time you have as well as how many servings you need to cut. Most caterers will try to get the cake (regardless of its shape) into a square shape ASAP and then cut straight across for square pieces. There are many things to consider and each person's requirements and solutions may vary. One suggestion we do like to make is try to cut the cake just before you want to serve it so it will not dry out. If you have lot of slices to cut and need more time, cover the pieces when you refrigerate them after you cut them so the refrigerator does not dry the pieces up.

Cake Pick Up and Transportation

If you prefer to pick up your own cake at any of our stores (or have a member of your wedding party do it for you) we provide large, enclosed, insulated boxes for transportation with each layer separated for ease and safety. Assembly is as simple as placing one layer on top of the other and lining up the pillars or setting up the stand. If you have and doubts or concerns, our staff will demonstrate how easily the assembly can be accomplished. Again, check with your reception venue about storage and delivery times.

How do I order a Cake?

Any of our 5 locations would be happy to take your wedding cake order! For the best service, we HIGHLY recommend that you contact one of our wedding specialists below and visit them at our head office and main commissary at 606 East Broadway. Our head office has over 13 demonstration cakes for you to see as well as all the material for you to see and taste exactly what you will be receiving on your wedding day. We also stock over 30 different wedding cake tops.

Ron at 604.761-CAKE (2253) Email or

Angela at 604.876-ANNA (2662)

Ron and Angela are available to give you more information, make special arrangements or to have specific questions answered. Ron alone takes over 300 wedding cake orders per season. Let their experience work for you.

If you are unfamiliar with our product line we also can set up cake testing for you with advance notice (don't worry, we're told free samples don't have any calories!). We are here to make things easier for you and would be happy to enhance your evening with a cake that tastes better than it looks!

Please call ahead for an appointment as we can often be very busy. Ron can be easily be booked 2 weekends in advance during peak season. We want to give you personal, uninterrupted service free of obligation. You can also fill out our email quotation form to get a ballpark estimate of the cost.

Generally, most people confirm their wedding cakes about 1 to 3 months in advance. We recommend that you start as early as you can so that you can make informed decisions without having to feel pressured or rushed. As Anna's does all of its baking from scratch every day, we can fill last minute orders with very short notice (even same day). However, we reserve the right to add up to a 50% surcharge on wedding cakes confirmed within 72 hours of the wedding as last minute orders often incur extra stress, work and overtime. Mind you, if you are ordering or confirming your cake within 3 days of your wedding, you will probably be way more stressed than we are!

PLEASE NOTE, if you have not paid for your cake in full, your order is not confirmed and your delivery time is not held.

Other Wedding Services

We offer Emergency Wedding Services as well. We can provide same day wedding cakes for orders placed before 9 AM guaranteed! We can fill most orders before 12PM although extra cost may be incurred if overtime is required to produce the cake. In fact, all of our cakes are made from scratch each morning unless the order dictates otherwise. Now that's fresh! If all bakeries do fresh baking every day, why do they need 2 weeks notice to make a wedding cake? We have been known to do cake for 500 people (delivered) with only 4 hours notice. Our record is 1 hour - 45 minutes for a 3 tier cake from the moment we hang up to delivering it to a Richmond hotel.

If a tragedy occurs and there is not time to supply real cake. We also have about 15 fake wedding cakes on display. If worse comes to worse, we can rush an artificial cake down to your location to use for pictures and supply slabs or regular cakes to serve if available. Of course we offer free, artificial cake, emergency service to all of our own wedding cake customers regardless of whose fault it was. Extra charges to our own customers apply only if real cake is required or the emergency call is after 6PM. On average, we bail out 3-6 couples every season for damaged cakes (which none are our own cakes). What do you think other bakeries have or caterers have for back up plans (besides calling us)?

Having been in the wedding industry for over 30 years, we have made a lot of contacts. If you find that you cannot locate something you need for your wedding, give us a call or check out our Wedding Link Page. In addition, we know many wedding professionals who work on short notice. We have helped many of our customers out when they have been in a bind. Also look at our Hints and Tips Section for some valuable advice drawn from other peoples' experiences.