LYNN – As the hectic wedding season quickly approaches, Prince William and Kate Middleton aren?t the only couple finalizing wedding arrangements. All across the North Shore brides and grooms-to-be will tie the knot this spring, keeping local bakeries busy.Jen Carter of D?Amici?s Bakery in Lynn and Wakefield pointed out that the Catholic Church generally discourages having weddings during Lent, so May and June – the months following Easter – are typically the busiest.?During our busy season we bake a minimum of six to eight wedding cakes a week and up to 15 or 16,” Carter explained. “From the set up to the decoration and delivery, a cake can take anywhere from four to 10 hours. A fondant wedding cake will take a lot longer than a cake with regular butter cream frosting.”Anyone who has seen TLC?s show “Cake Boss” knows that fondant – a thick type of icing that is applied as a sheet, creating a perfectly smooth surface – is key for decorating complex cakes. Due in part to its frequent use on a number of bakery-related reality shows, fondant has become a popular request for weddings.Ilene Cormier of Ilene?s Creatibe Wedding Cakes in Lynn said fondant has its advantages, but that it?s more for people who favor look over taste.?Fondant makes the cake look really pretty, but it?s rubbery and can be tough to eat,” Cormier explained. “It?s good for fancy weddings, but then you have to eat the cake without any frosting.”Cormier – who said a typical wedding cake ranges from $2.25 to $2.75 per slice, per person – said fondant cakes tend to cost more money as well. According to the Bridal Association of America, in 2006 the average wedding cake cost $543.Carter also said “peacock” wedding cakes – or cakes that stray from the traditional wedding cake – have been a recent trend.?They have a lot of scrolling and deep colors likes blues and greens, and even some blacks,” Carter said. “We have so many cakes in-and-out of here and they?re all so different.”Cormier agreed, noting that a lot of brides and grooms are opting out of the traditional white wedding cake.?I find a lot of people are getting into using a lot of color and real flowers,” Cormier explained. “I recently did a four-layer skulls, bones and black roses cake for a pirate-themed wedding. It came out awesome!”Any baker can vouch that the actual baking of the cake is only half the battle. First, long before the baking begins, the wedding cake needs to be designed and well-thought out. In addition to the color scheme and structure, the couple must decide on the flavors of the cake, frosting and filling.?Usually the bride comes in a couple months in advance for a tasting of our most popular flavors and a variety of different cake schemes, depending on what she?s looking for. Some brides know exactly what they want and will want a custom design, and others will look through a book of designs and pick from that, so it all depends on what she?s looking for.”Once the wedding is just days away, it?s time to start the baking process. Nuris Severino of Nuris? Bakery in Lynn explained that each wedding cake takes a certain amount of time to bake depending on the size and complexity.?Wedding cakes take a really long time especially when they?re big, but a regular size wedding cake for 200 to 300 people takes around five hours to make,” Severino explained. “The biggest cake I ever made was over 20 pounds and it was for 1,000 people. It took a very, very long time because it was very sophisticated. That was years ago, I don?t think they even make cakes like that anymore.”Although it?s a complex process, Carter breaks cake baking down into several steps:?Once the flavor is determined and the pieces are baked, they set it up and add the filling in the center, and ice the separate pieces. Then the pieces are stacked and the cake is iced and decorated.”Then, of course, the cake must be delivered, which is a whole other procedure in itself.As for the Royal couple, they will have two wedding cakes. The