'Let them eat cake.................'

.........Or not!  Whilst Marie Antoinette might not approve, a wedding cake is no longer a must.  Many brides these days are moving away from serving a huge wedding cake.  Never mind the grooms cake - we have not seen one of those in quite a long time.  For those not in the know, the grooms cake is a very Southern tradition.  The theme and flavour of the grooms cake is usually kept secret from the groom - often it depicts a sport or interest of the groom, for example a Georgia Bulldog cake, or a football shaped cake etc.

So what does one serve in place of the wedding cake?  Last year we saw a lot of cupcakes - often a variety of flavours.  However since the end of last year the trend has been towards dessert tables - we call them Viennese Dessert Stations.  Even if you serve a plated dinner or a buffet dinner, you can still offer a Viennese Dessert station.  They fit in seamlessly with a heavy hors d'oeuvre reception with stations - which is a service style that is so typical of Savannah. (see our previous blog for an explanation of the various types of service).

The first question we ask is - 'What desserts do you like to eat?' and take it from there.  We usually offer bite size desserts, to encourage guests to try a variety.  Some of our popular desserts are Pecan tassies, mini key lime pies, chocolate mousse (to die for!), mini cheesecake, Savannah trifle in shot glasses, tiramisu, a variety of chocolate truffles, and drunken chocolate brownies.

We have also incorporated various action stations - for example, Crepe Suzettes - crepes served with a sauce of caramelized sugar, butter and Grand Marnier, flambeed; our chocolate river - think of chocolate fondue with fruit, marshmallows, salted pretzels for dipping; our S'mores station - yes, we can take you back to your Scouting days with this one, and you do not need a bonfire!

We have also started offering a variety of cookies on our Viennese Dessert stations.  In Northern Ohio and Pennsylvania cookie tables are a huge part of a wedding - family, and sometimes guests, will bring a large variety of cookies which are set out and eaten throughout the wedding reception.  We make smaller cookies, for example - Aztec chocolate, lemon and lavender shortbread, pistachio and white chocolate.

Once can also include milk and cookies - or even serve that as a late night butler passed hors d'.  Shot glasses with your favourite cookie (I vote for chocolate chocolate chip!).

Let us not forget about ice cream!  A sundae station is not just for kids!  You can do grown up sundaes - toppings can be some of the old favourites, but why not add a little liqueur - Cassis, Kahlua, Amaretto and the like.

If you still want the traditional photo of you and your groom cutting the wedding cake (please no smooshing of cake in one another's faces!), then incorporate a small wedding cake into the dessert table.  We cut back on the quantity of desserts we are providing as we will then cut and serve the cake to your guests as an option.  In this scenario we usually put the desserts out a little later in the evening, so that the dessert table is untouched for your photos of the cake cutting.

So really, wedding cake or not, it is all about what you and your groom want to serve at your reception.  This wonderful celebration is all about you, so let your 'dessert' reflect what you like to eat!

Photo credits:  (c) Greg Ceo, Savannah Wedding Photographer www.savannahweddingphoto.com
Cynthia Creighton-Jones, Cape Creations Catering, Inc