Twosome Tuesday: Two Thoughts on Wedding Cakes, Part 1

Thought 1:  The necessity of the cake.                                                                                                                                                     

 Specialty Ding Dongs by
Sweet Life Cakery

I'm pretty much a traditionalist, and I've thought it seems frivolous and disrespectful to replace a wedding cake with cupcakes or other cutesie confections... A bakery in our area makes "Wedding Ding Dongs."  Seemingly popular and cute.  But is 'cute' wedding-appropriate?


Both princesses discussed the idea of having a dessert buffet or cheesecake buffet in lieu of, or in addition to, a tiered wedding cake.  "In addition" seemed unnecessary and like way too much sweets.  "In lieu" just didn't seem "right."  Add in the fact that Princess Bossy has decided only she can make cheesecake the consistency she likes, and it got too complicated!


So we just went for the wedding cake.  Princess Bossy needs just the one cake for her smaller crowd, but with the Sassy-Steadfast reception, with not only 3 times the people, but no other food than cake, we made a slightly different plan.  We didn't want a towering and very expensive tiered cake, so opted for a more modest cake and additional sheet cakes from which to serve most of the guests.  As it turned out, we got too many, but the idea was sound, I think.

After that wedding, though, surrounded by extra cake, including a perfectly beautiful wedding cake that would supposedly feed 80 people, but awkwardly in terms of serving, I began to think about this a bit more.  The wedding cake was a lovely prop for the reception.  Other than the traditional cutting and sharing bites of the cake done by the bride and groom, it served no other purpose than decoration.  Was it worth it to have it?  If it was, did it all have to be edible?                                                                                                                                                                           

Cutting diagrams for 12" wedding cake layers

The sheet cakes were definitely easier and more attractive from which to serve. For a similar situation, I would seriously consider replacing part of the cake tower with a frosted foam prop.  I would also now be more open to the idea of having a dessert buffet instead.  I'm betting it would be quite popular, obviously offer more options, and the couple would be just as married.