Few couples give it much thought until the moment of, but the traditional cutting of the wedding cake isn’t as easy as it looks. If you cut the cake with too much (or too little) force, you risk toppling it, and if you don’t plan ahead you can lose the sentimental souvenirs you had hoped to bring away from the ceremony. Here are just a few tips to make the cake cutting ceremony at your reception flow smoothly.
* Practice. If you’ve cut cakes for birthday parties and gatherings your whole life, you’re off to a good start, but your groom to be might still use a little practice helping cut a cake with his hand wrapped around yours. If you’re worried about the moment, buy a cheap sheetcake at your local grocery store, and have your fiancé help you cut it and serve it.
*Consult your cake maker. If some of the icing on your cake is actually masking a plastic structure holder, you don’t want to learn this as you try to saw through it. Also, some delicate structures will collapse or topple if sliced into, and are meant to be pulled down by the caterer before served.
*Watch first time cake makers. If a friend is making their first wedding cake for you, make sure you delicately mention the cutting to them. Amateurs can overcome the horror stories and make wonderful tasting gorgeous cakes, but are the most likely to make the mistake of letting the cake support itself. After all, four pillars will support the third tier of a cake, but only until someone cuts a slice out of it.
*Remember your cake toppers. You might need to remove your decorative cake toppers before slicing the cake, but you’re going to want those toppers in any photographs you take. Get one posed shot of the bride and groom holding a knife against the cake, then remove your topper and make the actual slice.
*Pocket your cake toppers. While the cake is being served, don’t forget to wipe off your cake topper decorations and place them in a secure spot (like the maid of honors purse or in a box beneath a table). This cute reminder of your wedding day is wonderful in scrapbooks, memory boxes, or even hanging from the rear view mirror of your car, but it’s a souvenir that likes to disappear before the night is through. Between nosy guests, your sentimental mother in law, dishonest catering staff, and careless cleaning jobs by busboys, you might never see your wedding cake topper again if you don’t put it away early.
*Plan for a decorative cake server and knife. Even if your budget forces you to pick it up at a local thrift store, this simple touch will still make for better photos and a more elegant setting. Make sure you know how to cut with the knife, and properly serve with the server.
*Bond with your photographer. Make sure your photographer knows what time you plan to cut the cake (and stick to that time), and that the cake is placed in an area with lighting he likes. Mention any special shots you want to the photographer (like close ups of eating lips, or a shot of just your hands twined around the cake knife).
*Plan for traditions. If you plan to freeze the top tier of your wedding cake, make sure the caterer knows. If you don’t want your husband to smash the cake into your face (dribbling it on your dress), make sure you discuss the importance of the moment with him before hand, and make sure you’re in agreement on how you want to do this. If you want to send cake home with your guests or to those who couldn’t make it, again, make sure your caterer knows (and bring appropriate wrapping materials).
*Hide the sheet cake. It’s common in the modern large wedding to sport a gorgeous (but small) 4 tier wedding cake that just can’t feed every guest. In this situation, the baker will provide sheetcake, appropriately decorated and made from the same recipe. Unless necessity dictates that the caterer serve from the reception hall, send your cake back to the kitchen after the cutting, and allow your wait staff to carry cake back into the room on plates, ready to be served. This keeps your guests from realizing their slice didn’t come from the elaborate structure they watched you cut.
