Groom's Cakes

This is such an open subject. What really is a groom's cake? To some people, it is a cake that a bride gives to the groom as a gift at the rehearsal dinner or at the wedding reception. To other people, though, it is merely a second cake served at the wedding in the event of there not being enough of the "wedding cake."

I always grew up believing that a groom's cake was the latter of the two above mentioned things. Now that I have learned about the cake being a gift to the groom from the bride, I kinda think that it basically being the "spare cake" is tacky and lame.

I love the idea of a groom's cake. The bride gets to present something [tasty] to her husband-to-be in the form of something that reflects upon his interests. A woman can use this as a way of saying, "I know who you are and what you like; I can't wait to marry you." One thing that I love about the whole thing is that you can make it anything you want. Or anything he would want, rather. My fiancé works in a home improvement store and LOVES to work with his hands, so I am going to order a cake in the shape of a tool box with tools scattered across the top. This is a chance for a bride to get super creative.

As stated before, a groom's cake can be presented at either the rehearsal dinner OR at the wedding reception. What I plan on doing is having it at the rehearsal dinner because the rehearsal dinner is so much more personal. I mean, sure, at the wedding reception you two will be newlyweds, but it's not as intimate. At the [traditional] rehearsal dinner, only immediate family and the wedding party will be there. It is so much more personal. A wedding reception is almost as much for the guests as it is for the bride and groom, so why give such an intimate gift there? I think that the groom's cake is for the groom, not for everyone else, which is why I think giving it to him with just a few family and friends there would be best.

One thing that is slightly aggravating about the whole thing though, is my wondering, "why IS there even a groom's cake?" It's not like there is a bride's cake. The "wedding cake" is for both of the happy couple, so why is there one just for the groom? Not that I think there is anything wrong with it, of course, but I wonder how the whole idea got started.

Since many weddings don't have big enough wedding cakes to feel all of their guests, for whatever reasons (too many guests, small cake, too expensive, etc.), it is good to have a spare cake. Why not just get a big fancy sheet cake? If you get a big enough one, it alone could feed all of the guests. Just please, don't let a cheap $25 Wal*Mart cake be your cake that you give to your new husband. That is just beyond tacky.

So there you have it, folks; groom's cakes are a perfect way out of giving your husband a real wedding gift!
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Just kidding.