Blue Mason Jar Studio: {Bright Idea Thursday} Groom's Cake

Where do you have the grooms cake? What's the history of the grooms cake?

GOOD QUESTIONS! Here are some resources for you to read and help make your decision. My husband and I had such a small wedding we did not even have a rehearsal dinner and decided to just have 1 small cake that we each got to choose the flavors for "our" layer, but since I love chocolate we actually went with a little non-traditional look and had chocolate frosting. We also probably won the messiest cake cutting award!

Photos by Nicki Bursae Photography

Traditionally, groom's cakes were served at the wedding. Years ago, you could only get a wedding cake in one flavor. To give guests options, brides (initially in the US South) introduced a second cake. The bride choose the wedding cake flavor, and the groom chose a different flavor for the second cake (hence "groom's cake"). Now, in most wedding cakes you can get each layer as a separate flavor, basically making the grooms cake more of a tradition than a functional component of a wedding. Here in the south, most people have the grooms cake at the reception, not the rehearsal dinner. http://answers.yahoo.com

A long-standing tradition in the southern United States, a groom's cake is a gift from the bride to the groom. Think back to a scene in "Steel Magnolias" where all the women are having a discussion about a red and gray cake in the shape of an armadillo. That armadillo was the groom's cake Shelby was planning to give her husband-to-be. (Probably one of my favorite movies, and I STILL cry at the end!) A groom's cake is typically smaller than the couple's wedding cake, one layer only, and is decorated to reflect a particular hobby or interest of the groom. or example, a hockey fan's groom's cake may be made in the shape and color of a hockey puck. The groom who enjoys shooting hoops could have a groom's cake resembling a basketball. If the groom likes to strum a few tunes from time to time, then a guitar groom's cake is perfect.

The history of a groom's cake goes like this. The groom's cake was not to be served to the guests while at the wedding reception, but rather it was to be sliced up, placed into packages and given to them as favors when they departed. Single women at the wedding would take their pieces of cake home and sleep with it under their pillows in hopes of dreaming of their future husbands. www.online-weddings.com

"Where we are having our rehearsal dinner they don't allow outside food, and I was told that you have the grooms cake at the rehearsal dinner. So does that mean you have the grooms cake at the reception along with the actual wedding cake"?

Even if the rehearsal dinner location doesn't allow food, they may allow a cake, so ask (they often charge a "cake cutting fee"). You can honor him with something humorous like a beer keg, teddy bear, sports car, cowboy boots, cigar, football or a computer. Go online to view samples, ask his friends for suggestions, and check with your baker for photos of previous work.

The groom's cake can be served at the rehearsal dinner or at the wedding reception. Because the rehearsal dinner is hosted by the groom's family, and involves a smaller number of guests, this would be a good time to serve the groom's cake. www.weddingvendors.com

Even though the groom’s cake is usually displayed alongside the wedding cake at the reception, I see no reason why you shouldn’t have it at the rehearsal dinner. It can be a wonderful surprise for your fiancé, especially if it reflects an interest or a hobby www.bridalguide.com

Here are some more ideas for your designs. Carrie of Two Cakes does an amazing job!!