Photo: Corbin Gurkin
It's true—not everyone loves cake. So if you think some of your guests might pass on a slice, can you save money by ordering a smaller wedding cake? That would potentially cut down on wasted food, too. Our etiquette experts are here to answer your wedding-cake questions in our daily post.
I'm pretty sure that not everyone at our wedding will want a slice of wedding cake. We don't want to waste money, so is it OK if I order a smaller cake?
If the wedding cake is meant to be the main dessert for the night, then we recommend ordering a cake large enough to feed all of your guests. Even though you're guessing there may be a handful of guests who may not want a slice, it's not worth the risk of running out. The last thing you'd want is for some guests to get to enjoy your wedding confection, while others are left wanting. If you're on a tight budget, then consider ordering a smaller, fancier cake for your cake-cutting ceremony, then have your baker provide frosted but undecorated sheet cakes of the same flavor and filling. They can slice them up behind closed doors before serving them to your guests—they'll never know the difference. However, if you are serving wedding cake in addition to a variety of other sweets, talk to your baker—he or she might advise ordering about 25 fewer slices for a 150-guest head count since there's a bigger chance that some guests will be full from the other sweets.