Do I need a wedding cake?
If you’re planning a wedding, congratulations!! Hopefully it’s fun and not too stressful. Sooner or later you’ll talk about the customary elements of the day that you’d love to keep and make your own, and those you don’t feel that excited about. Sometimes this conversation is based around the budget, but often it’s a question of taste, or the perception that a tradition is old-fashioned, tacky or irrelevant: when did you last see a bride flash a blue garter?
Obviously I’m biased but I genuinely feel sad when a couple decide not to have a wedding cake, and this is why:
Cutting the cake kick starts the party!!
The cake is a centrepiece that pulls together all the visual elements of the day; most importantly the flowers, but can reference the stationery design and even iconic details from the venue’s architecture. It acts as a focal point in the space, which is an important role where most of the visual elements are repetitive - table shapes and settings, floral arrangements etc.
You can have fun with it. Most couples will let go a little with the design of their wedding cake, even if every other aspect of the day is seriously conventional.
Cutting the wedding cake is a cherished tradition that signals the end of the ceremonial proceedings and kicks off the evening revelry. It punctuates the day and changes the vibe completely.
You can eat it. If you take into account what your caterer would charge for a dessert, this is an excellent reason for having a wedding cake!!
A wedding cake acts as a focal point in a space dominated by repetitive details
London luxury wedding planner Andri Benson always urges her couples to opt for a showstopping wedding cake.
"As a design led wedding planner I love it when couples have a wedding cake. It's a fantastic opportunity for couples to showcase their personalities through the design and flavour choices - be that unexpected colours, textures or decor like buttercream flowers to their favourite flavours on the inside. It can also be a great focal point for the wedding day when given pride of place in the venue. I always consider how the cake is presented to be an integral part of the overall design so will hire in a great table or plinth for it it to be placed on and get creative with the cake stand too as it's all part of the overall look.
“It can serve as a unique and memorable piece of art, both to look at and taste, that tells a personal story about the couple."