emrldsky - you nailed it! The most disappointing thing for me was the presentation of the cake. It had pretty green layers of filling that were all mashed together when they were piled onto large plastic plates. It just seemed very unprofessional regardless of whether the service was paid for or not.

I cando one better.....i did a 6/8 /10/12 inch wedding cake and two full stacked sheetcakes. the sheets were kitchen cakes one chocolate with whipped cream filling and the other pumpkin pie spice with pumpkin spice bettercream filling, both were buttercream....the wedding cake was all white. I told the couple exactly how much cake they were getting and that it would be a lot, they said that is the amount they wanted. I found out after the wedding that the wedding cake didn't even have one piece (except the piece the bride and groom cut) eaten....the caterers just cut the kitchen caked and just like someone else said, they cut the 1 by 3 by 4in slices and then they cut that in half....unbelieveable.....it was like they thought the wedding cake was not real. the mother of the groom told them to cut the white cake also,guess they didn't listen.....and to beat all the when the brides mom wrapped up all that leftover wedding cake, she didn't even offer the grooms mom a piece. I work with the groom and his mom, that is how i got the cake job.

not my problem, i still got paid.

I just did a cake last weekend - 5 tiers - alternating round and petal - all red velvet with vanilla cream filling. Unfortunately, it never got cut as the couples' 1 year old went into convulsions during the reception. The couple sent me a quickl email thanking me for the gorgeous cake, but my customer who referrred me for the job told me that nobody got to taste it. I normally offer a discount on an anniversary tier, but I think I will tell them I'll do it for free. I feel a little bad that they paid all that money and the cake was basically wasted.

We had italian "cookie" cakes as well as wedding cake at our wedding - 14 years ago - and left wax lined bags out for guests to take cookies home ... and to spare my great aunts from having to wrap the cookies in napkins and stuff them in their purses!

LOL This is on my "checklist" - I'm starting to plan my Oct 2010 wedding, and I want the wedding cake plated and served to the tables as dessert at the appropriate time. We're also having a dessert buffet with all sorts of mini desserts, but that will be set up after dinner so that people can pick on it throughout the evening.

HerBoudoir, that's how we did it and it worked great! Also, my mom insisted on having coffee available, she can't eat sweets without a cup of joe!

I was also at a wedding once where they waited until the end of the night to cut the cake, and do a champagne toast. So most of the champagne was not used, since everyone had already been drinking.

Thanks for the info indydebi. Your blog is very descriptive.

I've seen too many couples wait until the reception is almost over before they cut the cake. Sometimes so many people have already left that there aren't many people left to even eat the cake, and the family is stuck with lots of leftovers. I think some of this is the fault of the photographer, who takes all the other pictures of the reception first and does the cake picture toward the end of the reception. I've started advising brides to tell the photographer that they want the cake picture made when the couple first arrives at the reception site after the wedding ceremony. That way, everyone gets to see them cut and share the first piece of cake and then they can dance, visit with guests, eat the meal, etc., and no one has to wait for the cake to be cut. Guests can get their piece of cake after they've finished their meal. I tell the brides this when they come for the cake consultation appointment, and so many have told me that it's a great idea and one that they've never thought of.

annalew, I've told my brides that for years and now that I've made quite a network of wedding vendors, all of them are starting to suggest it to their bride, too, especially the event planners. One tactic they use is "You dont' want your cake photo taken after dinner, when you might have some spilled food on your dress!"

I didn't read all the responses yet, but are you sure "real caterers" cut the cake? The 14" should have been the first one cut, shouldn't it? That way any leftovers would actually fit in a box to take home.