Wedding Cakes 101: Part VIII - The Tradition of the Groom's Cake

Finally, something for the Groom!

This week as we continue our series about wedding cakes, we discuss the Groom's Cake. The Groom's Cake is a popular wedding tradition that originated to give the bride an opportunity to honor her husband by giving him a special cake. In decades gone by, the Groom's Cake was normally a fruit cake. Fruit cake is heavy cake made with liquor soaked fruit and often associated with Christmas time. It's known for it's long shelf life (and bad taste). Oftentimes the couple would save the Groom's Cake to eat on together on their first anniversary.

Tuxedo Wedding Cake! Gotta love it :-)

Over the years the Groom's Cake has evolved to be a cake that reflects the grooms interests or hobbbies. Oftentimes, the cake has a theme of his favorite sport or his alma mater. The cake is normally a one or two layer cake and is sometimes chocolate. It is generally not served to guests at the reception. It sits on the sweet table next to the wedding cake. Small pieces are then packaged in tiny boxes which guests can pick up when leaving the reception.

The Groom's Cake comes in all shapes, sizes and designs. You can find Groom's Cakes shaped like footballs, golf clubs, initials and more.

Is your Groom a sports fan?

In recent years, more couples are serving the Groom's Cake at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. The bride presents the cake to the groom with a special toast, and then the cake is served to family and friends. When serving the Groom's Cake at the rehearsal dinner or the wedding reception, the groom himself or the groom's family should cut the cake.

If you decide to have a Groom's Cake for your wedding, it can be any flavor or design that you like. German chocolate and devil's food are the most common flavors for Groom's Cake, but the groom's favorite flavor is also appropriate. Wherever and however you decide to serve the Groom's Cake, make it fun. It's an opportunity to be creative and whimisical.

Story by Kori Ellis