Cake plus dessert

Knottie13257900

If you are doing a sit-down dinner, what are your thoughts on having both a regular dessert (a few options available from the restaurant) as well as wedding cake? If I decide to have both, which do you recommend serving first? Wedding cake soon after dinner, and then another dessert later? That way people won't fill up before it's time for wedding cake? Or regular dessert first, then give people some time to dance/mingle, and then wedding cake later?

chibiyui

Knottie13257900 said:

If you are doing a sit-down dinner, what are your thoughts on having both a regular dessert (a few options available from the restaurant) as well as wedding cake? If I decide to have both, which do you recommend serving first? Wedding cake soon after dinner, and then another dessert later? That way people won't fill up before it's time for wedding cake? Or regular dessert first, then give people some time to dance/mingle, and then wedding cake later?

More dessert is always welcome.

Honestly, it depends on how you want your time line to flow. If you cut the cake right after dinner, it leaves more uninterrupted dancing time.

I wouldn't worry about people being too full for dessert. They usually find room.

atlastmrsg

I like having mini dessert options after cake.  I'm allergic to cocoa, and it seems like all the wedding cakes lately have been red velvet.  I'd definitely dig a mini cupcake or petit fours later.  

Or something else if the cake sucks.  Pretty fondant covered cake = yuck to eat.  Only good for instagram.

thisismynickname2

Wedding cake was served as dessert as part of our venue's catering package. 

We added a dessert bar that people could visit throughout the night. It was well-received!

No such thing as too much sweets.  However, something to consider--- the only reason we added the dessert bar was that we had to spend x amount of dollars in catering. As the RSVP's came in, we were going to come up short.  I feel like extra dessert is a total splurge and totally unnecessary in the budget otherwise. It's just one of those "nice to have" things. 

Jen4948

I think it's nice to have a dessert besides cake for any guests who are diabetic or have gluten or other intolerances, allergies, or other conditions that would prevent them from eating cake. If nobody has such a condition then cake by itself is fine.

vulpiepop

My venue's catering package provides us with both a dessert and a cake so we're having both. The way we're doing it is the regular dessert coming as the last course of the meal and the cake cutting later on with the bouquet toss and everything. We're having a small wedding and there aren't very many people who like to dance at all in our group so that's what works for the flow of our reception. The timing really depends on how you want the party to flow and what kind of party you're throwing for your guests.

BlueBirdMB

If you can afford it, go for it.  We had a cake- layers of chocolate cake and banana cake- plus cherries jubilee served with ice cream.  My only disappointment of my wedding was I didn't get a chance to try to the cherries jubilee, but people said it was great

downtondiva

It's nice to give people dessert options if it's in your budget. At my venue, in addition to the cake, they are including a big cookie/pastry display as well as an ice cream sundae bar. My FI and I are both really into dessert, so it seems very fitting. 

weddingcactus

A wedding I attended last summer had tiny creme brûlée immediately following entrees and cake later. The extra dessert surprised me but in a very welcome way. I don't think an extra dessert is necessary, but it's also not too much.

Knottie13257900

Thanks everyone. Glad to know people won't be too full for wedding cake. It will be sitting there so hopefully people will realize that they should save room for it!

dcbride86

Usually the desert is served before the wedding cake.  I think we're just having a trio of sorbet, or something else that's light and won't make people feel too full.

wrigleyville

I'm a fan of having an additional dessert. Some people prefer something lighter, like sorbet, and some people might want dessert + wedding cake. 

Depending on when you're getting married, you could do something fun and seasonal - lemon sorbet in the summer, apple tarts in the fall, etc.

[Deleted User]

We opted for a dessert table which included small servings of mousse, fresh fruit & some bite size pastries. Those were available immediately after dinner. About an hour or so after dinner we did the cake cutting. That was received well as a basically a snack for later.

csuave

We had multiple desserts and people really liked them.  We also provided take home boxes near the end of the reception so people could take a slice home with them; that worked really well for people that were too full to eat cake during the reception.