Cutting the Wedding Cake Early

This week we are discussing ways to keep the guests happy while the bridal couple has their photographs taken. Traditionally the cake cutting ceremony happens near the end of the evening and often signifies that events will be coming to an end. Often though most of the wedding cake goes uneaten because many guests are all danced out, have chosen to eat the other desserts or have just had too much alcohol by this point and considering how much a wedding cake costs this seems like a huge waste. So why not kill two birds with one stone? Your guests are hungry after your ceremony, you don't want to spend extra money on canapes and you want your wedding cake eaten, so serve your cake early! There are many advantages to serving your wedding cake straight after the ceremony as opposed to serving it later in the evening. For starters your guests get to fill their stomachs and your very expensive cake does not go to waste. It is also a great way for the bridal couple to quickly mix with their guests before running off for their photographs. And speaking of photographs, it looks beautiful to have your cake cutting ceremony photographed outside during the afternoon when everyone still looks fresh and done up instead of inside a dark hall after everyone has been dancing most of the evening. The disadvantage does come in though when you have to consider the type of cake you serve at that hour, as I doubt many guests would want to eat chocolate cake before they have dinner. Perhaps the different layers of your cake could be different flavours and if you had your heart set on having a chocolate wedding cake you could ask the venue to keep that layer aside to later serve with the dessert.

Let us know your thoughts on this nontraditional cake cutting ceremony. If cutting your cake early does not suit you look here for more ideas to keep your guests happy.

Wedding Welcome Drinks

Often the bridal couple forget that while they are taking their wedding photographs the guests are left to wait. People also forget that these guests have probably arrived for the wedding ceremony at about 14:00 - 15:00 which means they have also used most of their afternoon getting ready and travelling to the wedding. Due to the time frames many of the guests would not have eaten lunch and depending how long photographs take, dinner will be served later then usual. There are many ways to keep the guests happy during this time and that is what we are going to explore this week.

First up on the menu are the welcome drinks. This is a fun aspect to add to your wedding that can also be affordable. Remember that the drinks should suit the rest of the food you may be serving at the time as well as the wedding theme and the couple's personalities.

Source: Nastassja Harvey Photography

Mini Food

Mini food served at weddings is the latest craze. You can either serve them as canapes before the reception or even during the reception- it's up to you. The most popular mini foods are comfort foods such as fries, cake pops, cupcakes, grilled cheese samis, hotdogs and soup shooters but remember you can make it your own by serving a family favourite or the food you ate on your first date. Mini food looks great and classy in photographs and is affordable if you find the right catering company. It is also creative, fun, easy to eat and adds a lot of colour to your food.

 

 

 

Popcorn Bar

Lately it seems as if popcorn is not only for throwing at weddings. Popcorn is inexpensive and is loved by almost everyone so what is more perfect to serve at your wedding as either a canape or a late night snack. You can either set up an entire popcorn stand or give it out as guest favours and you can include it in your wedding no matter what theme you have.

 

 

 

Lawn Games

It is such a relief to see more brides and grooms starting to pay attention to the pre drinks hour- the time between the ceremony and reception. In the past many have just gone off to do their couple and family photo shoot and have left their guests to keep themselves entertained. Lately though drinks and special canapes are often set up or the latest craze are these lawn games. Easy to set up and affordable- they provide lots of laughs and entertainment for your guests.