Weddingbee Blog

I recently revealed that we decided to have cakes for centerpieces. Because we didn’t have a traditional wedding cake, we didn’t have a traditional cake cutting. Instead, what we did was walk around to every single table and cut everyone’s cake. It was 1) a great way to visit every one of our guests, and 2) eat lots of cake (at least in theory).

I say it was a good idea in theory because I hardly ate anything our entire wedding day, including cake. We cut the cake on our table first, and took a bite. I only got a bite of the frosting on my fork, and the sweetness made me want to hurl. At the next table, we took a bite, and my stomach had the same reaction, so I told Mr. T that we’d just cut everyone’s cake and not eat any from then on. So, yes, I only ate two bites of cake at our wedding. Oh, well.

I made the cake stands for each table from dollar store glass candle sticks and plates. Unfortunately, the glass glue that I used to glue the pieces together was faulty, and almost every cake stand fell apart while the catering crew was setting up. Our cakes literally hung in the balance during the first half of our reception. A member of the catering team followed us around the room, and after we cut the cake, he sliced the cake for everyone and removed the faulty stand from the table. Every single table was fine…except for one. After we took this picture…

…this happened.

Yep. That’s an upside-down cake. Fortunately, one of our friends grabbed it, flipped it back over, sliced it, and served it up. No cake left behind!

Personal photo

We had 12 tables and 12 different flavors of cake. Every table had a frame with the cake’s flavor. Our guests scoped out what flavors other people had and started a cake-based economy. There were a few filled cakes (pumpkin spice, mixed berry, peanut butter, salted caramel…). Those were popular, as were the two chocolate cakes.

One cake was specially decorated for my cousin’s 18th birthday, which was on our wedding day. My brother got up and led the crowd in singing happy birthday to her and to my uncle, whose birthday had been the day before.

The cake centerpieces were one of the best decisions we made for our reception. They were a huge hit, and I would definitely recommend it if you want to step outside the box.

All photos by Andrew Collings Photography unless otherwise marked

Miss a Treasure recap? Catch up!

Practice Makes Perfect – Our rehearsal

Hitting Rock Bottom – Our rehearsal dinner and too many butterflies

Hair, Makeup, and Broken Mirrors – I get ready with my girl friends

All Dressed Up – I become a bride

The Somethings – Old, new, borrowed, blue

The Guys Get Ready – Mr. T and the rest of the guys get dressed and head to the church

Goin’ to the Chapel – We head to the chapel and fix a wardrobe malfunction on the way

Moments Before – My nerves resurface just before the ceremony

The Processional – The bridal party makes their way down the aisle

Here Comes the Bride – My parents walk me down the aisle as I see Mr. T for the first time

I Do – Our Catholic wedding ceremony

We Are Family – We take formal photos with our family

Trolley Time – We cruise around Chicago on our trolley

Life’s a Beach – We take photos at North Avenue Beach

The Nitty Gritty – We take gritty, urban photos near the Kinzie Street Bridge

Stopping Traffic – We take photos in the middle of LaSalle Street

Magnificent – We take photos on the Magnificent Mile

The Da Vinci Code – We finish up our group photos in Renaissance style

Cocktail Hour – We mix and mingle with our guests

The Little Things – The details of our day, including our non-traditional centerpieces

Make an Entrance – The wedding party enters the reception to the sounds of Passion Pit

Raise Your Glass – Our family members toast our new marriage