Personalized Wedding Cake: A Sweet Symbol For The Couple

A personal wedding cake for the bride and groom, also known as a cutting cake, is a small cake that the couple cuts into for photos and the cake-cutting ceremony. This cake is usually separate from the dessert served to the guests, which is often a larger sheet cake or alternative desserts like cupcakes, cookies, or pies. Personal wedding cakes are chosen when the couple wants a budget-friendly option or a specific design without sacrificing flavour or aesthetic.

Wedding cake toppers

Classic Toppers

If you want to keep things traditional, you could opt for a classic cake topper. These usually feature the bride and groom, often in a romantic pose or embrace. Classic toppers can be simple or detailed, depending on your preference. They are typically made from materials such as plastic, acrylic, or wood and can be customised with your choice of colour, text, or design.

Monogram Toppers

For a stylish and elegant touch, consider a monogram cake topper. These toppers typically feature the couple's initials or names, often in a decorative font or design. They can be made from a variety of materials, including acrylic, wood, or metal, and can be customised with your choice of colour or finish, such as gold, silver, or rose gold.

Floral or Greenery Toppers

Adding fresh flowers or greenery to your cake is a beautiful way to enhance its appearance. You can choose flowers that match your wedding colours or theme, or opt for local, seasonal blooms. If you want to incorporate nature without using fresh flowers, you could consider pressing flowers or leaves into the sides of your cake or using dried plants and herbs as decorations.

Themed Toppers

If you have a specific wedding theme, you can carry it through to your cake topper. For example, if you're having a rustic-themed wedding, you could choose a topper featuring wooden elements or rustic materials such as burlap or twine. Alternatively, if you're having a beach-themed wedding, you might choose a topper with mussel shells or other nautical details.

Funny or Quirky Toppers

Want to add a touch of humour to your wedding cake? Go for a funny or quirky cake topper! This could be something that reflects your personalities or interests as a couple. For example, if you're both fans of a particular TV show or movie, you could have a cake topper featuring characters or quotes from that show. Or, if you have a pet that you want to include in your celebration, you could have a custom cake topper made in their likeness.

Remember, your wedding cake topper should reflect your style and personality. Don't be afraid to get creative and think outside the box!

Cake cutting ceremony

The wedding cake has long been a symbolic detail—the tradition of breaking the cake (or, historically, bread) over the bride's head dates back to the ancient Romans. Today, the cake-cutting ceremony is a popular and meaningful wedding reception activity.

The cake-cutting ceremony is often the first activity done as a couple, and it symbolises their first joint task as newlyweds and their commitment to providing for one another. During the ceremony, one partner places their hand over the other's while cutting the first slice of cake as a symbol of their promise to support each other. The newlyweds then usually feed each other the first slice.

The cake-cutting ceremony is a great photo opportunity, and it also lets guests know that the reception is almost over and that they can start heading home. It is usually done after dinner, between the dinner and the parent dances.

If you want to cut costs, you can have a small cake for the ceremony and photos, and then serve a sheet cake or other desserts to your guests.

Sheet cakes

Some couples choose to have a small cutting cake for the bride and groom, which is often a one- or two-tier cake, and then serve sheet cakes to their guests. This option can be more cost-effective than a large, multi-tiered cake, as the majority of the cost of a cake goes into the decoration. By having a small decorated cake and sheet cakes, couples can save money on the overall cost of the cake while still providing enough slices for their guests.

DIY wedding cakes

A personal wedding cake for the bride and groom is a small cake that the couple can cut into and share, while guests are served a different dessert, such as cupcakes or sheet cake.

Practice

Even if you are an avid baker, it is important to practice making a wedding cake, as it is denser than a traditional layer cake and needs to be sturdy enough to be stacked and moved around. Practising will also help you decide on flavours and decorations.

Budgeting

Making your own wedding cake may or may not save you money. While you may save on the cake itself, you will need to budget for equipment and ingredients.

Know your strengths and weaknesses

Be realistic about your baking and decorating skills, and focus on what you do well. For example, you may be an excellent baker but lack decorating skills. In this case, you could focus on making a tasty cake and enlist a friend with an artistic eye to help with the decorations.

Timeline

Making a wedding cake takes time, so be sure to plan ahead. You will need time to practice, bake, and decorate the cake, as well as time to transport it to the venue.

Ask for help

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Friends and family members may be willing to assist with the baking, decorating, or transportation of the cake.

Who pays for the cake?

Traditionally, the bride's family pays for the wedding cake, as they would have been expected to cover most of the wedding-related costs when the tradition emerged in Victorian England. However, this is no longer set in stone. The burden of paying for weddings has shifted in recent years, and now the costs are often shared between the bride's and the groom's families, or even the couple themselves.

There are a few scenarios in which the groom's family might pay for the wedding cake. If the groom's family wants to bring their own cake, they will usually pay for it. The groom's family will also pay for the cake if it is served at the rehearsal dinner, along with the other costs of the event.

There is also the option of a third party paying for the wedding cake. Sometimes, families or friends from either side choose to pay for the wedding cake as a gift to the couple.

Frequently asked questions