The Groom's Cake

We all know about the wedding cake but what exactly is a groom's cake? The tradition of the groom's cake has come from the south where southern belles would get a special cake for their grooms, which came to be known as the groom's cake.

While the wedding cake is traditionally a white tiered cake with a bride and groom on top of the cake, a groom's cake is usually in a shape or design that reflects the groom's tastes. So, you could have a groom's cake in the shape of a cricket field if your groom is a cricket fan, or have a Harley as a groom's cake if your husband-to-be is crazy about motorbikes.

The groom's cake was traditionally used at weddings as party favours. The cake would not be served at the reception but would be boxed for guests to take home with them. People believed that if an unmarried girl slept with a piece of the groom's cake under her pillow, she would dream of her future husband that night.

Nowadays, you can use the groom's cake any way you please. The cake could be served at the rehearsal dinner, or even used as an additional dessert at the wedding reception. There are no hard and fast rules as far as the groom's cake is concerned and you can do pretty much what you please regarding the groom's cake.

The groom's cake is typically ordered by the bride as a kind of unexpected surprise for her groom. If you do choose to have it at the reception, the groom's cake should be kept next to the wedding cake. But make sure that it is smaller and less elaborate than the wedding cake so as not to take the focus away from it.

It is not mandatory to have a groom's cake at the wedding. If you think it is unnecessary and just adds to your expenses, then by all means don't have one, although having one can be a good surprise for your new husband.