Many theories exist as to why the bride and groom feed each other a piece of cake.

The meaning of this gesture has its roots in the “good old days”…when men worked and women stayed at home. When the man feeds his wife cake, the cake itself represents sustenance and through this gesture he pledges to provide food, shelter and money for his wife and family. The bride responds at the same time by feeding her husband and pledging to care for the home, cook and bear children. By not touching each other during the feeding, each person pledges to perform their tasks unaided.

The cutting itself involves the bride holding the knife and the groom gently assisting as the first piece is removed. Both the bride and groom take a small piece of cake, and as they face each other feed their partner. Neither partner touches the other during the feeding. It is best to concentrate on where you are putting the cake, not where the piece is coming from…that’s where trust comes in. This is often attributed to be the start of “smooshing”, as you run the risk of missing your partner’s mouth if you are concentrating on their hands.

Now that you have a better understanding of the symbolic importance or the cake cutting ceremony, perhaps you’ll think twice before you “smoosh”!

Cake feeding ceremony, Gently does it

Complex design on Rolled Fondant

How Much Does a Wedding cake cost?

 The first and main question that every bride and groom always asks us is “how much does a wedding cake cost”?  Due to the vast array of options that you may choose from, it is very difficult to provide a price without determining which cake best suits your needs. Further, costs vary depending upon whether you live here in Richmond, Virginia or whether you live in New York City!  

 Generalized pricing can be misleading … for example, if a cake is needed for 100 guests and a baker quotes $3 per slice, the simple math would be $300.00. In reality the cake would cost closer to $400.00. That is because you need to take into consideration saving the top tier (traditionally kept to celebrate the first anniversary), Virginia State Sales tax at 5%, delivery and set up. These are all routine added costs that are beyond the “per slice” cost.

 In order for you to be completely informed and to serve you most effectively we recommend making a one hour visit to meet with Graham in person. During that visit we will discuss your needs, ideas and thoughts and then a suitable budget can be prepared. The budget can be adjusted at any time up to15 days prior to the wedding according to your changing needs.

 When you are considering Cakes by Graham for your wedding cake, we encourage you to compare, as we do, to other products and service providers in the local area. We believe that this process will enhance your purchasing experience.

Simple design on butter cream

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What does that have to do with weddings?

All wedding professionals should have insurance. It’s not that expensive and it can cover various things such as the cake table collapsing and the wedding cake ending up on the floor, the DJ or band blowing the venue’s electrical fuses or a guest tripping on the videographer’s camera case and hitting their head.

While on the subject of vendor insurance, it would also behoove brides to ask what would happen if the person providing their service got sick, injured themselves the week of the wedding or had to leave town for a family emergency, such as illness or a funeral. It is important to know how prepared they are, even though the likelihood of things happening is remote. It can and does happen to all of us from time to time. A reputable business person will have an emergency plan and wedding insurance.

Don’t be afraid to ask a wedding professional what their emergency plans are. Also ask them if they have insurance, how much they have and what it covers. They will be happy to discuss this matter with you.  Not only are they protecting themselves, they are protecting you.

safely delivered

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 Graham Haddock is a former British Military Master Chef and multiple international award winner. He has over thirty years cake decorating experience and owns Richmond Virginia’s only custom cakery. Cakes by Graham is Richmond’s only award winning custom cakery that specializes in the unique. He is a teacher, demonstrator, and a judge, and he mentors both high school and college culinary students. He loves chocolate, salt water fish and is very ticklish.

When should the Wedding Cake Be Served?

Many brides ask me when should their wedding cake should be served? It really doesn’t vary whether you are here in Richmond, Virginia or any other location in the country. Most people like to eat dessert soon after their dinner. Considering that the wedding cake is the sweet finish to the food, let us consider it the same as dessert.

Now we all know that many brides do a lot of research while planning their wedding. Some of that research involves reading an etiquette book, which states that guest may leave after the cake cutting. Most brides and grooms want the guests to stay and enjoy the reception until the time the they leave. Accordingly they hold back the cutting of the cake until later in the evening hoping that it will encourage people to stay longer.

While this sounds very logical it may not give you your intended outcome. Here’s why…

Some guests do not read the etiquette book, others may leave anyway for various reasons like travel, baby sitting or their age. Secondly, the DJ or band works hard to start the dancing, then has to stop it for the cake cutting, then start it up again and the reception can lose momentum if stopped again by the cake cutting. So if you hold the cake cutting to encourage guests to stay, you will likely have leftover cake as some of the guests may have already left.

 Realizing that most events have a time line, if you want to hold the cake cutting until later in the reception, be flexible with it. If guests are leaving, then adjust the schedule a little and serve the cake earlier than planned so everyone can enjoy it. Remember that a good wedding planner or caterer will advise you if they see guests starting to leave. Then you can adjust your plans to best serve your needs and ensure that your reception is managed as needed.  

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 Graham Haddock is a former British Military Master Chef and multiple international award winner. He has over thirty years cake decorating experience and owns Richmond Virginia’s only custom cakery. Cakes by Graham is Richmond’s only award winning custom cakery that specializes in the unique. He is a teacher, demonstrator, and a judge, and he mentors both high school and college culinary students. He loves chocolate, salt water fish and is very ticklish.

You have all seen the scene in a movie where there is a crowd standing outside a popular nightclub …. lots of young attractive people standing in line eager to get in. At the front of the line there is the doorman and a velvet rope across the walkway. Every few minutes, the doorman pulls back the rope and allows a few people to enter the club. People in line grow excited as they gradually move closer to the front of the line, anticipating their turn to get into the club. Periodically, the doorman opens the velvet rope again to allow a few more people into the club. Inevitably, not everyone gets in and some go home disappointed.

What has this got to do with weddings? Well, everything and it is very similar to what actually happens … if you’re wedding is in April, May or June… or even in September or October! These are the busiest months for weddings in Richmond, Virginia, so the demand for booking wedding dates is great, just like the line outside the night club. I like for my brides to be aware of this actuality so that they can get ahead of the crowd and book their date as soon as possible.

You would not want to be standing in the line and get really close to the front, only to find out that the velvet rope will not be opened any more. That is what can happen if you wait too long to make your decision or if you fail to book in a timely manner! Please understand that to ensure the highest quality of workmanship, we have to limit how many cakes we can commit to….. and thus, the velvet rope must close.

Now, what happens if your wedding is not in the spring or fall? Well, the velvet rope still exists… however, the line of people is just shorter. Always book early to ensure that you have the cake that you want …. the cake of your dreams!!!

Real ribbon can be cut to length and wrapped around the tiers (layers). This is extremely easy for the decorator to do. However, if the ribbon comes in contact with butter cream frosting, the oil in the butter can stain the ribbon and make it unsightly. Also, when cutting the cake, you will have to peel the real ribbon off the cake, detracting from its appearance and throw it away.

Compare that with choosing to use sugar ribbon to decorate your cake. This attractive and edible addition to your cake requires a high degree of skill to make and apply. There is no problem with the sugar ribbon getting stained from your frosting and nothing goes to waste!

Considering the difference, don’t you want to serve your guests the best?

Here are two unique cakes we created using delicious edible sugar ribbon