Upon arrival at the wedding reception, a lot of guests go towards the cake table so they can appreciate the cake. Some time later, the bride and groom come along for a picture opportunity and the grand cutting of the cake. Then everybody enjoys cake and it's gone. Believe it or not, there are several more activities that can make the wedding cake more about enjoyable and less about tradition.
Of course, watching the bride and groom push cake into eachothers mouths is a long-enjoyed ritual, but there are many more fun - and less messy - activities to think about as well.
One new option that's gaining status is to have cupcakes instead of a cake. This is a way that is usually more reasonable than having a cake and it can be a lot of fun. Cupcakes are decorated in arrangement with the wedding theme, just as a cake is, but the cupcakes are in its place arranged on tiered cake plates and shown on a cake table until it's time to eat them. The cupcakes can be basically handed out on plates to each wedding guest.
Now, what's fun about using cupcakes rather than a whole wedding cake is you can save money, certainly, as many reception halls and caterers charge a per slice fee to cut and serve the wedding cake, but you can also build activities into the cupcake presentation. For instance, the cupcakes that are for the bride and groom can have a different decoration than the ones for the guests.
As an extra touch, you can have the baker take account of a special prize in one or several cupcakes. A small charm or tiny toy can be baked into the cupcake. Whoever gets the charm wins a special prize. These prizes can range from a gift basket or gift certificate to a restaurant to a dance with the bride or groom.
Some brides like to use a Southern tradition and have charms baked into the wedding cake. Like the idea above for cupcakes, this involves baking tiny charms or little toys (but more often than not charms) into the cake. Those who get one of the charms are said to have good luck. You might even think about having charm bracelet charms baked into the cake, which are then made into a charm bracelet for the bride.
Not all and sundry enjoys cake. How about an activity for those who won't be eating cake? They can be expected to do the "Macarena" or the chicken dance during the time when everybody else is eating cake. If they deal with doing the dance incessantly while the other guests enjoy cake, they win a prize. Or they just get to sit down, as now they are tired!
In keeping with the dance during cake theme, how about a requirement that in order to get cake, a guest must perform an unrehearsed dance first? Or there could be trivia questions about the bride and groom or about popular culture. Guests must correctly answer the questions before getting their cake. There could be competitions among tables or individuals for most questions answered correctly.
Many individuals believe that once the cake is cut, they are free to leave if they wish. Since cake cutting typically comes after the meal and after dancing and other traditional celebration activities, numerous individuals take the opportunity to leave the party after the cake is cut and enjoyed.
If the bride and groom want their guests to stay after the cake is eaten, it is worth some extra effort to build some activities into the cake-cutting event so people will stick around longer. This can be as easy as telling people not to leave, or can be more delicate and fun.
For instance, each person could receive a slip of paper with his or her cake. These slips of paper could be prepared ahead and provided to the catering company with instructions that one folded strip of paper be placed on each plate with the cake. The paper might give an agenda for the rest of the evening or might ask its recipient to perform a little dance, to head over to give the groom or bride a kiss, or might ask them to take the flower girl out on the dance floor for a spin. The unknown will keep all the guests guessing and provide some entertainment as the instructions are carried out.
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