All About Wedding Cake Etiquette

There is a certain kind of protocol involved with most aspects of a wedding, which also holds true for the wedding cake. Cutting the wedding cake is usually one of the last formalities in a wedding and the first that a couple will share as new husband and wife; which means that everything needs to be done as should be.

Here's looking at how to do everything right regarding your wedding cake.

• Wedding cake etiquette starts with the correct setting of the wedding cake. The wedding cake should be displayed on a beautifully decorated table, which goes in front of the main table (or brides table). It should be set in such a manner so as not to block the guests' view of the head table. An engraved and decorated knife is usually placed at the table (although this is not mandatory, it is advisable).
• Etiquette demands that the cake be cut at the right time during the reception. This will depend on the kind of reception that you have. If it is an informal kind of gathering, such as a tea party or cocktail reception, then you should cut the wedding cake after the guests have been received and the speeches made. For more formal affairs, the cake should be cut after the main reception lunch or dinner has been served.
• The wedding cake cutting should be announced prior to the cutting. This can be done by making an announcement to the effect, or by playing the very song that the wedded couple danced their first dance to.
• The right hand of the groom goes over the right hand of the bride, and they cut the wedding cake together. The first slice is fed by the groom to his bride, after which the bride serves her new husband.
• The wedding cake is then taken away by a family member/ friend/ or the catering staff to be cut. The cutting is not done in front of the guests.
• The cake is then either served along with the coffee, or is used as a party favour and put in boxes for the guests to take along with them.