Keeping the cake indoors until cutting

Re: Keeping the cake indoors until cutting

• allispain member

  

  September 2014

  Are you having your cake made at a local bakery or are you/someone you know making it? I ask because your baker, if he/she is a professional, should be able to answer your questions about temperature and set up better than us amateurs :-) 

  
  

  As for your timing question, what we did at our wedding was:

  - 6:30 reception starts (guests can now go inside reception room)

  - 6:40 DH and I appear (no bridal party intro or anything time consuming)

  - 6:45 dinner begins (buffet - 85 guests)

  - 7:30 dancing

  - 8:15 two toasts followed by cake cutting and eating

  - 8:30 more dancing

  
  

  So we did a break for dancing between food and cake, so everyone could move around and socialize and then we brought people back together for the cake. Since our reception was on the smaller side, it was easy to do that way. At weddings where there have been a ton of guests, I've usually seen the cake get cut as people are finishing their final course for dinner.

  
  

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• dreamyraynbo member

  

  September 2014

  Thanks, allispain. We're just getting ours from Publix, so I will talk to them about actually delivering it chilled so it can safely sit out through the ceremony. It's funny, but the cake has been my biggest stress point so far. It's hard enough for me to justify spending so much money on dessert, but the idea of it collapsing after that makes me very nervous! Thanks for your response and your schedule; it helps a lot! Out of curiosity, did you have your schedule laid out that specifically beforehand? If so, did you have difficulty sticking to it?

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• allispain member

  

  September 2014

  Okay, then yes, I would definitely ask them to deliver it chilled - which I hope they would do anyways but it's always good to double check. Then ask them how long it can stay outdoors in 70 degree temperatures safely, and plan on that. You want need to keep it inside right up until the reception if it's a hot day, or just to minimize your stress since you said this is what's really stressing you out :-)

  
  

  As for the schedule, we had a specific schedule laid out ahead of time. We didn't stick to it exactly (what I gave you is what really happened, as opposed to what was supposed to happen), but we were pretty close on most things. 

  
  

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• atlastmrsg member

  

  October 2014

  To add...you want it delivered unless you have a gigantic refrigerator or it's a tiny cake.  I'd have to take all stuff and the racks out of my fridge to put a cake in there, and even then, it would be tight with door shelves, etc.  I doubt your parents have a walk in refrigerator at their house.  

  
  

  On the other hand, if it has to be delivered early, somewhere inside will be fine.  As long as it's cool and not in direct sunlight, it could sit on a dining room table out of the way.

  
  

  Next issues...you said your ceremony is at 3, but the reception is at 5.  Either you have a really long ceremony planned, or hopefully a cocktail hour?  Even so, this could be long time frames.  My outdoor ceremony was about 15 minutes.  Guests went directly into a cocktail hour that lasted actually more like 55 minutes.  Then they were seated for a plated dinner.  There were less than two hours between ceremony start time and dinner start time.  A time gap between the ceremony and reception that is not filled with a cocktail hour is poor etiquette.

  
  

  When you cut the cake depends on what kind of food you're having at the reception.  Is this cake and punch?  Early dinner?  

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