For the Bride & Groom
Essential tips to planning the perfect wedding

THE WEDDING CAKE

This is one of the focal points of your wedding.  Modern wedding cakes come in all sizes, shapes, colours and flavours.  

Popular in the Castle are various designs of castle cake complete with turrets, in the colours of the Bride & Groom's table settings.

You can even have a photograph scanned and the image transferred onto the cake.

Be careful about decorating the cake with fresh flowers as some flowers are poisonous.  Use silk flowers for the cake if you wish to decorate it with flowers.

 Position the cake where it can be seen by your guests but not knocked over.  Avoid standing it by a window, in the glare of sunlight, or in front of a mirror ( a photographer's nightmare since the flash will show up in the mirror in any pictures).  Having it set up against a wall or in a corner is impractical as it does not offer room for the Bride and Groom to stand and pose for pictures while cutting the cake.  Never put the cake on the dance floor or near the entrance/ exits to the room.

Take care when transporting the cake.  More than one groom has placed the cake loose in a boot of their car and arrived at the venue with their cake in pieces.  In one instance two weddings had similar 'castle' cakes and we had to reassemble the damaged cake using a turret donated from the previous wedding cake.

The normal slice size for rich cakes is 2 inches square.  Some cakes have differently flavoured or filled tiers, in which case it is worth serving two smaller slices, one from each layer tier to give guests a sample of both flavours.

The top tier of the cake is traditionally the 'anniversary' layer.  Rich fruit cake may well last a year but not all fillings will last to your anniversary.  So if you are intending to save your 'anniversary tier' till your first anniversary, select a filling that will last.  Alternatively you can try freezing it and bringing it out a year later but this might not be so tasty on thawing out.

Some couples save the top tier and take it with them for their honeymoon.

You may be tempted to top the cake with an heirloom such as, perhaps, a china statuette that decorated your mother's or grandmother's cake.  Best advise is not to, in case it gets broken or falls off, or even, thrown into the bin by the caterers when the cake is being cut for the guests!

 

Cake Cutting Ceremony

The photographer will want to get some good close-up pictures.  placing his hand over the Bride's, the groom guides the Bride's hand as the Bride cuts into the first slice.  The groom feeds the bride the first bite, and then she feeds him the second bite.  Then the cake is handed to the caterers to complete the cake cutting and plate each serving for the guests.

 When should you have the cake cutting ceremony? 

At Craig Y Nos we recommend the Cake Cutting Ceremony be after the main course, but before the pudding course, as the staff can then cut the cake while your guests are having their pudding course.  The cake can then be served after the pudding course.

Wedding Toasts

Anyone presenting a toast should be asked to prepare in advance.  The Best man presents the first toast, which can be immediately after the cake cutting ceremony but this is not necessarily so. (Note; when you are the person being toasted, you do not drink out of your glass.)

Other good times for toasts are before or after the first course is served or after the main course had been eaten.  If toasts are offered after the first course, then the cake cutting ceremony should be delayed until after the guests have completed their main course.

After the Best man has presented his toast, then the father of the bride may offer a toast to the bride and groom and to the groom's parents, welcoming the union of the two families.  The Groom may then toast his new wife and both sets of parents.

These first three toasts may then be followed by toasts from other special guests.