There are many traditions that still often take place at even the most unorthodox of weddings but of all of them the one that seems to draw the most puzzled glances from both the guests and the Bride and Groom themselves is undoubtedly the cutting of the cake. So should the cake cutting still be considered one of the key moments of the wedding day or has it become simply unnecessary? Time to find out!
In the Red Corner, fighting for the cutting of the cake (particularly if it happens to be Gluten Free Cake!) It’s Dom “The Cake-Loving Tog Bride”
In the Blue Corner, also a big fan of cake but less keen on standing around watching people cut it so arguing against, it’s Matt “The Gormless Groom”
Cutting the Cake Vs No Cake Cutting
FIGHT!!!
Dom: The cutting of the cake is a tradition that goes back a long long way and whilst it’s great when couples make their day about their own ideas I think it’s nice to keep some of those traditional elements in place, even if you then put your own spin on them!
Matt: The cutting of the cake tends to be something of an anti-climactic event. It’s builded as one of the key moments of the wedding day but when it comes around everyone always seems confused that there’s really nothing more to it than literally watching a cake have a knife shoved into it!
Dom: The cutting of the cake generally signals the end of the formalities and the beginning of the “party” section of the evening, often directly before the first dance. It’s a great way to get everyone grouped together ready for the dance and start to get the excitement built up the party and can be really effective at getting the atmosphere going!
Matt: But if the cutting of the cake and the first dance are in different rooms it can actually hold things up as everyone waits around for the cutting of the cake rather than drifting through naturally towards the dance floor.
Dom: The cutting of the cake can be really fun! We’ve seen all kinds of cool ideas to make the cutting of the cake more of an event! One of our favourites was where the couple turned the cutting of the cake into bake-off competition with each of the guests bringing a different style of cake and the best cake being the one that has the honour of being cut by the bride and groom! Some couples even inject a little humour by using chainsaws and chisels to cut the cake!
Matt: Is it really necessary to have a cake at all? They can be hugely expensive and rarely get eaten unless cut before dinner and served as dessert as by the evening buffet everyone’s more interested in any hot food on offer to go with their drinks than something sweet.
Dom: The cutting of the cake photo is one of those images that each generation of your family will have their own version of and it’s lovely to see that family lineage preserved when looking through all the albums!
Matt: But there are other similar photo opportunities like the group shots for that purpose whereas a shot of the couple on their own cutting the cake is rarely an exciting or particularly flattering one as all the guests will be taking flash photos at the same time as the photographer, often destroying the lighting conditions for the shot.
So those are our thoughts but where do you stand? Will you be having a cutting of the cake at your wedding? Leave a comment to join the debate!