Wedding Etiquette Forum

Cake & Dessert buffet wording

We're having a cake & dessert buffet that I want to set up before guests arrive at the venue. My mom is concerned that unless we post a sign asking people to wait until the cake cutting, that guests may start helping themselves once they see it.What's a nice way to word a little sign asking guests to wait until after the cake cutting to eat dessert?

Re: Cake & Dessert buffet wording

  • Will there be no staff that could stand there?  I guess if I walked in and saw a dessert buffet I'd treat it as any other buffet at a reception and wait until someone told me to go get food.

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  • Oh! I was at a wedding recently where they had this and they had like a little red velvet rope in front of it. It actually looked fine (it wasn't out of place at all...). It stayed there until after the cake cutting.
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  • That's a legitimate concern.  My friend did a cupcake wedding cake, and people took them when they got their food, prior to the cake cutting.Will there be any service staff that can set it up for you?
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  • I also like Peanut's suggestion.
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  • "These desserts are set to blow up in your face and all over your clothes if you dare try to eat one before the cake cutting. For your protection, please wait until after the cake cutting to eat them. Thank us later."
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  • OMG Tide, we had a cupcake tier too and my mom told me that SEVERAL guests tried to come up and take one during the cocktail hour! Unreal.
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  • I like Fishy's suggestion. If I ever went to a wedding and saw a sign like that, I would die laughing. Of course, I have a weird sense of humor.
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  • Well... ok. What difference does it make if someone eats a cupcake? Or lots of someones, really. Is the order in which people eat the food that important? Or is a picture thing?
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  • ha ha, fische. FI suggested "Please wait to grub on the goodies after the cake cutting." Hey, i like the velvet rope idea. The venue won't have anything like that, so I'm trying to figure out how to DIY that. I could go get some red cording, but not sure how I would make the stanchions. There is staff that could set it up for us later. I just thought it would be easier to have it all set up at once in the beginning. Also, my aunt is DIYing the flowers and wanted to be able to make the table look purdy before guests arrive.
  • Its not really a big deal, but I thought it was disrespectful.  It was obvious that it was the wedding cake, and I wouldn't expect people to take a knife and start hacking away at a wedding cake prior to the cake cutting.
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  • "Desserts will be available after the bride and groom have cut the cake.  Thank you for waiting."I also like the velvet rope idea.
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  • For us, it would have been weird to come back from our pictures and when we went to cut our cupcake that half the tower was gone... although it would have been kind of funny. I could see though how it would mess up with numbers. Because you KNOW that many people would take another one after the meal (we had them served). I love Fishy's suggestion! I too would bust a gut if I ever saw that at a wedding!
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  • You all are scaring me. I hadn't even thought of this.
  • Well, that's a good point, Tide.But sometimes, a girl just wants a cupcake.
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  • See Cew, reason #247 why knotting is good for you.
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  • Well then ignore me, because obviously I have no idea what I'm talking about.

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  • yeah, that's one of the down falls of cupcakes.  Or any bite size food choices.  If they see them, they assume they are up for grabs.   And to be honest in most cases they are. For example on the boat we have a whole fruit basket.  Everyone always ask if they can eat them. Which they can.  But if there is a bowl of cut up fruit sitting there not one person askes.  It's just assumed if it's up for grabs or why else would it be there.  Same thing with a cake vs cupcakes.  Cupcakes are ready to be eatten with anyone doing anything special.I think the robes is the best option.  You can rent them at a rental store.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • Just looked into renting the stanchions & velvet rope. $30 for 2 stanchions and some red rope.Fi is liking the fische idea. Told him about it and he decided to gross it up a notch and replied, "How about we say it will give them the runs instead." yup - That's the guy I'm gonna maaarry.
  • I think I'm going to get an armed guard for mine. I'm kind of against guns, so I'll give him some pepper spray. Or maybe an invisible fence. I could convince all of the guest to put on a "celebration" collar. They take a cupcake and ZAP.
  • I'm missing something....why can't they eat it before the cake cutting? Is the cake on the same table and your mom thinks they will take a stab at that? I would find it odd to dangle a table of desserts in front of the guests and ask them to wait to eat it.
  • OK no wait I think I get it....you're having a sit down dinner. People may be retarded enough to grab an eclair because, well, they're delicious and no one has to cut it and serve it to them so why not? I feel that unless you're having a cupcake wedding cake, then you can probably just let it be. People should know not to touch it and you shouldn't assume they don't know how to behave. Of course...people actually DON'T know how to behave. To get around that maybe just a note that says " The Bride and Groom will cut the cake after dinner is served" or something like that which simply informs guests of the procedure rather than assuming they will grab something off the table if you don't tell them not to. I know that you probably have a good reason for setting it up beforehand but the best thing to do would be to just display the cake and have the servers set up the dessert bar post-cutting.
  • How can the cake slices already be on plates and temping people to take plates with cake... if the cake has not been cut yet?
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