"The unexpected cake drama at the wedding reception..."
I was a guest at a wedding last night for a second cousin of my boyfriend’s. To preface this, I only knew my boyfriend’s immediate family, most of the guests at this wedding are strangers to me (and I will probably never see them again).
The ceremony at the church was very nice, but the drama stemmed from the dessert table at the reception. The reception began around 4:00, and appetizers were served in the center of the venue (cheese cubes, kettle chips, veggies and dip).
A dessert table was set up near the main course buffet tables, and a cursory glance at it from a distance showed cookies, cupcakes and mini cheesecakes. The bar line was continuously busy for about an hour and half until the wedding party arrived around 5:30.
The DJ let the tables go up to the buffet line one by one, and when it was my table’s turn, I noticed that there was also a 9x9 square cake on the dessert table, with the same frosting and toasted almond topping as the cupcakes.
As it was on a wooden board, and surrounded by the other desserts, I assumed this was the wedding cake. The one that would be cut by the bride and groom. I also noticed that behind it were 2 forks and a serving knife. The MOH and Best Man did their speeches during dinner after everyone had been served. The first dances occurred, and then the dance floor was opened up to all of the guests.
About 15 minutes later, the wife of one of the cousins came up to me and said that someone had taken a slice out of the cake. I went to the dessert table a little while after that to get a cupcake, and noticed that TWO THIRDS of the cake was now gone.
The cake cutting didn’t happen until maybe an hour after this, the staff and a bridesmaid did their best to make the remaining cake look decent, and luckily the bride and groom handled it well.
So what did we learn from this? If there is a solitary cake in the middle of the dessert table with some fancy forks next to it, regardless of how plain or non-traditional the cake may be, DO NOT CUT INTO IT.
But also, if you happen to be planning a wedding, work with your DJ in establishing a manageable timeline of when the big moments will be occurring so they can maybe tell the guests when the cake will be cut.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
Snarky75 said:
Who puts the cake on the same table as the other desserts guests are eating??????? That was the mistake. Bring the cake out later or have a cake table like everyone else!!
Ok_Organization_7350 said:
The food staff should not have put the cake onto the dessert table open to the public. That was stupid.
Queen-Pierogi-V said:
That was not the guests fault. This was totally the fault of very bad planning. A cake that looks just like cupcakes on a table with other desserts is fair game for people who prefer to eat a dessert with a fork, rather than awkwardly biting into a cupcake.
caf61 said:
Honestly, just don’t do a cake cutting in this situation. It was a dessert table set up - not a wedding cake situation. I don’t blame the guests at all.
MsKardashian said:
Everyone’s making good points about the cake being on the desert table, but oh, to have the audacity of the FIRST person to cut into that cake.