What the heck is a cake plateau and do I need one??

A cake plateau (fancy name for 'stand') can be a finishing touch to your cake. These are usually silver or gold stands that holds the cake up off of the table a little bit. This cake is using a square silver cake stand.

Not every cake needs to have a cake stand though. As you can see below, this cake doesn't use a cake stand, but rather takes advantage of the table decorations to highlight the cake.

Now, how do you decide if you NEED a cake stand. Well, one thing to consider is whether or not there are going to be a lot of children at the reception. If so, if might not be a bad idea to raise the cake up just a little bit to keep it away from frosting-hungry fingers.

Another thing to think about is how the linens will look on the cake table. Many venues will scrunch up a linen to dress up the cake table (see the pic below)

Additionally, some couples just want to make their cake look bigger.

And finally, some couples just want to complete their theme. This particular cake stand is especially popular during the fall months. Yep, it is a really tree trunk.

The last thing to consider when determining if you need a cake stand, is who you are going to have return the stand after the wedding. Many couples are on their honeymoon immediately following their wedding, and don't have the ability to return the cake stand right away. This duty usually falls to the Maid of Honor, or one of the parents. Just be sure that the stand gets back on time, as many plateaus are quite costly to replace.

As I said in the beginning, cake plateaus can be an elegant way to display your wedding cake, but they aren't a required part of the cake table.