This, lovely readers, was not our wedding cake. This was a little grooms cake that I asked my friend to make for Mr. Man to have at the wedding — comprised of two of his favorite things: The Washington Redskins and Funfetti cake.
Our real cake was a delicious lemon poppy seed pound cake with lemon glaze. It was naked, unfrosted, and sat on three graduated cake stands on our dessert table.
Halfway through dinner, the friend who made our cakes came up to me and whispered,
“I don’t know if you know, and I don’t want to freak you out, but people have cut into and are eating your cakes… do you want me to go get the Redskins cake and keep it at my seat so you have something to cut into when the time comes?”
I can’t lie to you. I was a little disappointed. I wanted to cut into our actual cakes… not into Mr. Man’s Redskins cake. I wanted to eat our yummy lemon poppy seed cake that we picked out and loved, not funfetti. I was so glad and so relieved that she came up to me, thanked her and said yes please.
Our guests had even cut into our little top layer that we had planned to save for our first anniversary. I was definitely disappointed. My aunt managed to save the rest of the layer (there’s a good two pieces cut out of it, and it’s sitting in our freezer, but still. I mean, if it were me, I’d venture to say that if there’s a cake at a wedding (whether it’s a traditional-looking wedding cake or not), chances are, it’s a wedding cake and you shouldn’t help yourself with your dirty little fingers. Rude.
So, when the time came, we cut into Mr. Man’s groom’s cake. Thanks to my friend Jessica, we had a cake to cut into at all, and that’s all that mattered.
(don’t mind my awkward face)
The moral of this story, and the reason I’m sharing it with you, is that to be perfectly honest with you, there’s going to be at least one something that goes wrong on your wedding day. It’s inevitable. The sooner you accept that and set realistic expectations, the better.
If I had been a bridezilla that HAD to have everything perfect, I’d have had a horrible day: between the rain all week, the officiant backing out two days before the wedding, having to move everything indoors (which still makes me a little sad), and the cake debacle… I’d have been one disappointed bride.
But, I took comfort in the fact that there would be some things that were just plain out of my control… like the weather, my guest’s insatiable appetites and affinity for lemon poppy seed pound cake with lemon glaze, and my original officiant’s poor health. Nothin’ I could do.
When these things go wrong on your big day, roll with the punches. Trust that you’ll have family and friends there to save your ass (or guard your funfetti grooms cake with their life). If you spend your whole day trying to make sure that everything looks perfect for the pictures you’ve always imagined, or runs perfectly so that you have perfect memories, you’re going to miss all the good stuff.
Take it from me, shit happens… but at the end of the day, you’re marrying the love of your life… and that’s all that matters right?
Photos courtesy of Jessica Smith Photography
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Omg! Who would cut a cake at a wedding?! I give you a LOT of credit- if that happened at my wedding, I would have flipped out!
Ha, I kind of love that you guys cut into the Redskins cake! But who in their right mind would cut into someone’s wedding cake? Had they NEVER been to a wedding before? Ridiculous!
Your last few posts have been dynamite – really enjoyed reading them because they bring out facets of the reality of weddings not often considered (until they happen to you). If something similar happens at my wedding – and it will, because as you pointed out it’s ALWAYS something – I hope I handle it as calmly as you did. Cutting the cake? Cretans! I can just see myself jumping up from my table, grabbing the microphone from the DJ and going “Ok people, that’s it, I never want to speak to you or hear from you again. Hope you enjoyed the food and MY CAKE.” Seriously, I think I would lose my shit. I have mad-respect for how you handled yourself and didn’t let it ruin your day. You’re a great example for the rest of us!
Ahh thank you so much for the kind words! It’s tough, but honestly, in the hubub of it all… it’s a lot easier than you think to just let it go. Now, that being said, I was fairly laid back all day; so maybe it’s just me. But I was happy, so the little things didn’t matter as much
I just can’t imagine being so hungry that cutting into cake myself seems like a logical option at a wedding.
Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?!!
Would you cut into someone’s cake at their birthday party? Why would you, therefore, think it’s totally acceptable to do at their wedding?!
Weddings turn normally reasonable people into total idiots. Blows my mind.
And, for the record, I think it is 100% A-OK to expect you will get to cut YOUR OWN CAKE at any event that is, well, YOURS, and involves a cake.
I can’t believe that some people would think it’s ok to do that! But you gave the best advice a bride to be could hear. Roll with the punches. Chances are, no matter what happens, it’s going to be one of the best days of your life. I’m so glad you got to cut into something! Thank goodness for your friend!