Wedding Cake Etiquette and Tradition



The Wedding cake

            According to “Emily Post’s Etiquette” by Peggy Post “The one essential ingredient of every reception is a wedding cake.” Many years ago it was made of dark fruitcake, but today wedding cakes are frequently a white pound or even chocolate cake. The bride’s cake is or wedding cake is usually in tiers and is covered with white icing. The flowers and curlicues need not to be white, but may be colored to match or blend with the bridesmaid’s dresses. The cake is sometimes topped with the little bride-and-groom dolls, or a little wedding bell.

            The grooms Cake

            A nice custom that has become less  prevalent because of the expense, but still seen at some weddings, is that of having a separate fruitcake called a groom’s cake cut and put into individual white boxes tied with white satin ribbon and ornamented with the combined initials of the bride and groom. Theses boxes are stacked on a table close to the front door, and each departing guest is expected to take one.

            In some parts of the south, the groom’s cake is a chocolate cake that is set up on a table separate from that of the bride’s cake. It is not cut by the couple and served as bride’s cake, but a waiter slices it and guests who prefer chocolate cake are free to help themselves to it at any time. The groom’s cake and the bride’s cake, is provided by the bride’s family.