The honest answer is six months for a wedding cake, and a few weeks for most celebration cakes. But that’s the guidance, not the rule — and if you’ve left it later than that, it still costs nothing to ask.

Here’s how it actually works at our end, so you can judge where your own event sits.

Wedding cakes: six months is the guide

We suggest getting in touch around six months before the date. Not because a cake takes six months to make, but because we take on a limited number of commissions and peak dates fill first. Saturdays between May and September go earliest, and so do the December weekends.

Six months also leaves room for the parts that genuinely take time: a design conversation, a tasting, and then the making itself. The more ambitious the piece, the earlier we need to start — a heavily sugar-worked or structurally complex cake can take days of hand finishing before it ever leaves the studio.

If your date is inside six months, tell us anyway. When the calendar is lighter we can often accommodate far shorter notice, and we’d rather have the conversation than have you assume the answer is no.

Celebration cakes: a few weeks is usually enough

Birthdays, christenings, anniversaries and corporate pieces move faster. A few weeks is normally comfortable, longer if the design involves hand-modelled figures or a large number of sugar flowers.

Very short notice is sometimes possible. It usually means late nights at our end, so urgent commissions carry a premium — but it’s a real option rather than a polite no.

What actually takes the time

It’s rarely the baking. The parts that set the timeline are:

  • The design conversation. Working out what the cake needs to be, how it sits in your venue, and what it should cost.
  • The tasting. Our wedding cake tasting box is posted out, so allow time for it to arrive and for you to decide.
  • Sugar work. Hand-made flowers, figures and detailing are made ahead and dried. This can’t be rushed without it showing.
  • Structure. Anything tall or sculptural needs internal engineering designed before a single sponge is baked.
  • Effects. Lighting, colour-changing elements or atomisers need planning and testing in advance.

If you leave it late

Being honest about the trade-offs, because they’re real:

  • We may simply be booked. This is the most common outcome for peak Saturdays.
  • Design options narrow. Complex sugar work needs drying time that a short lead time doesn’t allow.
  • Rush work carries a premium.
  • Tasting may not be possible before you commit.

None of that means a last-minute cake is a bad cake. It means the range of what’s possible is smaller.

Peak season in the UK

Wedding season here runs roughly May to September, with a second surge through December. If your date falls in either, add a couple of months to everything above. Outside those windows there’s usually more room, and more of our attention.

What to have ready when you get in touch

You don’t need all of it, but the more you have, the faster we can give you a real answer:

  • Your date and venue
  • How many guests you need to serve — our cake portion guide explains how we count
  • A budget range, even a rough one
  • Flavour preferences and any dietary needs
  • Some design inspiration, however loose
  • Whether you’re open to dummy tiers

In short

Six months for weddings, a few weeks for celebration cakes, earlier for peak dates and elaborate designs. And if you’re outside those windows, ask anyway — the worst we can say is that we’re full.

You’ll find more detail in our frequently asked questions, or you can check availability for your date.