Do Your Wedding Your Way - I Did!

The wonderful thing about weddings is that there is no clear template that HAS to be done.

There's no map that you HAVE to follow and no boxes that MUST be ticked (other

than the legal bit I suppose!).

And the wedding cake is no exception. Although the happy couple posing for photos,

while cutting a multi-tiered fruit cake in front of their friends and family, is the tradition, it very

rarely is now the norm.

Personally, I always find the cake-cutting moment a little uncomfortable. You are

often full of dinner, a few drinks in, and ready for a bit of a boogie. To then be called back in

to watch your loved ones slice up a work of art, only for it to be carted off by catering staff

and reappearing, slightly butchered, a few hours later, at a point when you realise you can

no longer Cossack dance and a portion of greasy chips would be far more appreciated.

My uncomfortable cake cutting moment was eased by watching the excitement of everyone cutting their own cakes.

For this reason, at our wedding, I decided to make the cake work for its keep. Instead of one

large centrepiece, precariously balanced on the rickety marquee floor, we opted for 7

smaller cakes. 1 for each table. The top table consisted of a 2-tier ‘wedding’ cake (as we

were fancy), while each of the guest tables was decorated with a uniquely flavoured, single

tiered cake, on a cake stand, alongside a cutting knife. Each cake was donned with flowers

and topped with a table number.

Our top table cake was a bit more 'fancy' and three tiers

Each of our guest table cakes was topped with fresh flowers

Our guest table cakes served another function - as our table numbers!

Each guest table cake was a different flavour and guests had fun cutting and trying different ones!

Speeches happened after our mains, and those ended in my husband telling the world how

wonderful I was (I’m sure he questions that now!), before we both cut our cake together. Our

guests then proceeded to portion out their own desserts, and unexpectedly for us, toddled

off to other tables to try the various flavours. As a result, our cake not only acted as cake, but

also as table décor, table numbers, dessert, and that unexpected ice breaker between

guests.

So, I am sure you are asking, why I am telling you this?

Well, partly because I am still very proud of getting myself out of an awkward knife-wielding

situation, while everyone stood around staring at me, but also, because sometimes doing

your wedding your way, can offer up some solutions elsewhere.

Recently one of my brides was telling me how they didn’t plan on having a cake, as that

knife-wielding moment caused all levels of anxiety. However, the mother of the bride was

insistent that a wedding was not a wedding without a cake (who am I to argue?). To prevent

an all-out war, a solution had to be found! In the end, they opted to rent a three-tier faux wedding

cake as the centrepiece of a spectacular dessert table. This also meant that we could create

a unique English/Indian/Australian fusion of desserts that the guests could graze on over the

course of the evening.

The result? the cake was present for photos, but did not need to be cut, and everyone still got that much-needed sugar high to carry them through the night.

Would you be able to tell? An example of a Faux wedding cake

Artificial or faux cakes are not just a solution to anxiety. One foodie couple were desperate to have

that cake-cutting moment, with a huge cake as the focal point of the venue. You know the

one, where you walk in and say ‘Wow, look at that cake!’. However, they also wanted to

serve the cake as dessert straight after dinner, and it seemed a shame to remove such a

work of art (and investment) the moment the guests arrived. The solution? They opted for a

bespoke artificial cake, with a cutting section in the back for that all-important photograph.

They then had pre-portioned cake slices ready to be served for dessert. This meant that

those slices could be made up of more unique elements and flavours, which would ultimately have to be kept in the fridge until service (not possible for a multitiered fondant cake). The

kitchen staff were delighted as they didn’t have to rush a cake cutting while also prepping for

service, and the cake got to have its moment in the spotlight all evening long.

A "cheese cake" is another great alternative to the traditional wedding cake.

And so yes, an artificial cake may not be for everyone, a dessert table may not be for

everyone, and having your guests scurrying from table to table stealing cake scraps, may not be

for everyone, but it may work for you. And at the end of the day, that is what is important.