Wednesday, December 2, 2009

To Cake or Not To Cake?

What's Your Question Wednesday...

Got a question...drop me a line!

Question 
I know a wedding cake is a tradition,
but I really do not want or see the need for one.
Am I breaking some serious law of etiquette
or stepping all over tradition if I skip the wedding cake?



Answer 
There is no law in wedding world that says
you must have a wedding cake.
Yes, wedding cakes are a tradition
(and when the associated tradition of smashing it
in one's face disappears, it will be none too soon...
yes, couples still do this!).
However....this is your wedding and you should do
what suits your style and the style of your wedding.


I have had a few couples skip the wedding cake...
and trust me...grandma did not understand...
in fact mom and dad had a hard time understanding.
It is simply a tradition that people have come to expect,
but that does not mean you cannot find your own just dessert!


A few alternatives to a wedding cake include...cupcakes
(which arrived on the scene at least 10 years ago are still rocking it),
mini Bundt cakes, ice cream cake, cheesecake,
donuts, or a signature dessert...
pretty much if you can dream it up (and afford it)
...it can be at your wedding.


Think about blending tradition with your savvy style...
One couple, who chose to marry at a favorite local restaurant,
decided to serve the restaurant's famous chocolate souffle
in lieu of wedding cake. Now at this wedding, many of the guests
were of a different generation, so we were a little unsure
of what they were going to think.Guess what...they loved it! 
However, the bride had visions that in 10 or 20 years
she was going to regret her "no cake" decision.
 So, to honor tradition, we ordered a small cake.
They sliced it and fed each other a piece,
just prior to dessert service.


For the record...I just love a FABULOUS wedding cake!
And by FABULOUS, I mean...
one that looks divine and tastes just as decadent. 

Happy Planning!
Holly

13 comments:

Unknown said...

First off, I love your blog. A lot.

Secondly, those are some good tips. My fiance and I went through this about 4 months ago. We were going to do cupcakes b/c we wanted something less traditional. BUT - I ended up finding this lady on craigslist here in Portland, OR and she does custom cakes and her prices were really low. So, we ended up deciding to have fun with it and designed our own cake. We met working together on the film set of the animated movie, Coraline, and so we are going kitsch and our cake is going to be stacks of "film cans" that will each have our fav films on the side. It is a bit tacky, but it is the one area where we have decided to just have fun.

Nicolasa said...

Great tips, as always Holly!

Tamara McDonald said...

My favorite traditional wedding cake alternatives are chocolate wedding cakes and I loved the wedding where the bride had a cake on each table as the centerpiece. The gorgeous wedding at the Jonathan Club!

Unknown said...

I love the cupcakes idea!

Unknown said...

I love the cupcakes idea!

CM said...

I think you gave some great advice. I did several little cakes on varying little risers at my wedding six years ago.

Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!

Fallon said...

Happy SITS Sharefest Day! Your post on wedding cakes reminds me of the Cake Wrecks blog (http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/); ever seen it? Though it mainly showcases badly made cakes, here and there they exhibit absolutely amazing wedding cakes. You have a lovely blog!

carolineAlexander said...

I love that black and white cake. It is almost too pretty to eat. I love anything black and whtie. You have a beautiful blog.

Jennifer

Valerie Pilgreen said...

Stopping by from SITS to say hi. I teach cake decorating and do some on the side. Another change in tradition (actually to save money for the MARRIAGE) is dummy cakes. The top 2 layers are real cakes, one to cut into and serve to the bridal party, and the top layer to save for the first anniversary. The rest of the guests are served a sheet cake that is cut and each small piece has some sort of small decoration on top. 90% of the guests don't realize they are not getting the "real" cake because after the bride and groom slice into it, it is wheeled in back. One couple saved $500 doing this, and wisely used it towards a down payment on either the house or car. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed sharing my coffee with you!

Rachel Cotterill said...

I went to a wedding in September where they had layers... of cheese! It was fantastic - and from a local dairy, too.

I made & decorated my own wedding cake, I thought about making a traditional layered design but in the end I decided to make it relevant to our honeymoon so I did a 'sketch' of the Transmongolian railway.

I think, these days, people are getting much more used to the idea that weddings should be however the bride & groom want to celebrate their day - which can only be a good thing.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of cup cakes instead of a cake. I did cupcakes at a bridal shower (bride was 70) and everyone loved it.
Mary

itsybitsyknitsy said...

Stopping by from SITS. I love that pic of the cake. So pretty. We were going to go for cupcakes for our wedding, but ended up with a super simple cake.

Rhiannon Bosse said...

I LOVE cakes!!! More than cupcakes. Is that a bad thing? haha

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