The Sweet Tradition of Cutting Your Wedding Cake
*Playlist updated for 2024-2025 wedding season
The wedding cake has long been a symbolic detail—the tradition of breaking the cake over the bride’s head dates back to the Ancient Romans. While many wedding traditions change over time, the ceremonial cutting of the wedding cake has remained a popular and meaningful wedding reception moment.
It provides both a fabulous wedding photography opportunities and symbolizes the couple’s first joint task as newlyweds. Find out all you need to know about this wedding tradition below.
Designing Your Cake
Trying to determine which bakery with bring your wedding cake vision to life? Here are some questions you might ask:
- What flavors of cake do you offer?
- What fillings are available?
- Do you offer a gluten free option?
- What shapes do you offer?
- Do you specialize in a particular flavor or design style?
- How early should I order? Deposit requirements and final payment dates?
- Is there a delivery charge? How much setup time is needed?
- Do you offer tasting sessions?
- Will you supply the cake stand? Cake knife and server?
- Will you provide storage box for the top tier?
Get the Best Shots
The cake cutting is often one of wedding photographers’ (and videographers) favorite moments to capture. Before the celebration, be clear and specific with them about how you want this moment documented.
- Do you want the traditional posed shot of the two of you cutting the cake together, or do you prefer a more candid one?
- Is a close-up of your hands on the knife important?
With the Mike Staff Productions Team Approach, you’ll never have to worry about your photographer & videographer competing for the best shot. When you book our wedding services, we guarantee our videographers, photographers, and DJs will work together to make sure your wedding will be remembered…for all the right reasons.
Wedding Cake And Your Budget
To maximize your budget, consider these budget savers.
- Order a small one or two-tiered cake and then supplement cake with a larger sheet cake (hidden back in the kitchen).
- Keep the add-ons simple.
- Use fresh flowers, not sugar ones.
- Reuse ceremony flowers for the cake table.
- Skip exotic fillings like guava and mango.
How To Cut The Wedding Cake
When it comes to cutting the wedding cake, many newlyweds don’t know where to begin.Follow these tips to cut your cake like a pro. Remember SMASHING the cake is optional!
- Using her right hand, the bride will usually hold the handle of the knife and the groom will put his hand over hers. Begin cutting the bottom tier of the cake using the pointed part of the knife and make two cuts. Making a vertical slice at the junction of those points will allow you to cleanly remove the small slice and place on a plate. From there, the bride and groom will then feed each other as a sweet start to their new life.
- If you will be serving the cake as dessert, cake cutting is usually performed after the grand entrance, before toasts begin. This will allow your serving staff to clear and cut the cake during dinner service. If you will give the cake to guests as they leave, cake can be cut at any time of the evening. You will likely need to order cake boxes if this is your plan.
What do we need for the wedding cake cutting?
Many couples have the serving set engraved with their names. They can be used later for birthdays, anniversaries or your children’s weddings. Your serving set can become a family heirloom passed down to every generation.
When Should You Cut Your Wedding Cake?
A very common question during wedding planning is when to cut the wedding cake! The big debate: before or after dinner. Well, if you’ve been to a wedding in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed the cake cutting ceremony is usually performed immediately following the grand entrance, before the wedding party toasts begin.
It’s all about flow & timing — cutting the cake before dinner allows your serving staff to clear and cut the cake during dinner service and have it ready once the dinner plates are clear. Whenever you decide to cut your cake, your Mike Staff Wedding DJ will know your plans in advance. Your DJ will arrive early and communicate with venue staff to ensure that everyone is on the “same page.”
Do we keep a tier?
Let your serving staff know if you plan on keeping or giving away any tier of the cake, otherwise, they may serve it to your guests. Don’t assume everyone knows. Traditionally, most couples keep one cake to celebrate their first anniversary and this means storing it in the freezer for one whole year. More recently, bakeries have begun to offer a replica cake tier on your one year anniversary.
If you will be storing the top tier, the following can help to preserve the flavor. Remove the decorations such as flowers and toppers from the cake and make sure the cake board is wrapped with a foil paper. Place the wedding cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes so as to make the icing hard. Once hardened, wrap the cake with an airtight plastic wrap. Wrap it with two or more layers of foil to prevent the frozen taste and store in a freezer storage container.
Wedding Cake Cutting Playlist
Your cake cutting is an exciting part of your reception, that will likely end up in your wedding video and album. You’ll want to choose a sweet song to narrate the moment – no pun intended. Cutting that tasty slice of heaven will only take few minutes, but it’s one of those wedding reception traditions that everyone will be waiting to see. This is definitely a moment you want to coordinate with your wedding DJ.
The wedding DJs at Mike Staff Productions put together a Spotify playlist featuring their favorite cake cutting songs for 2021. Whether you’re looking for something playing on the radio right now, a classic tune or something upbeat and ‘sweet’, you’re sure to find the perfect tune for this special reception moment in our playlist.
- Stuck On You – Meiko
- Better Together – Us The Duo
- Chapel of Love – The Dixie Cups
- Recipe for Love – Harry Connick Jr.
- Silly Love Songs – Wings
- This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole
- Sweet Creature – Harry Styles
- I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) – The Four Tops
- Butterflies – Kacey Musgraves
- Shallow – Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper
- Happy Together – The Turtles
- Landslide – Dagny
- Sugar – Maroon 5
- Back to You (Joey Pecararo Remix) – Selena Gomez
- You’re My Best Friend – Queen
- Come and Get Your Love – Redbone
- You Are the Best Thing – Ray LaMontagne
- I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher
- First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes
- Be My Baby – The Ronnettes
- Sugar, Sugar – The Archies
- Love and Marriage – Frank Sinatra
- The Girl – City and Colour
- Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
- Magic Moment – Drifters
- Puppy Love – This Wild Life
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight – Elton John
- Best Day of My Life – American Authors
- I Choose You – Ryann Darling
- Lover – Taylor Swift
- “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” – Cake
- Nobody But You – Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani
- Everyday – Buddy Holly
- Love You Madly – Cake
- Blessings – Florida Georgia Line
- Loving You Easy – Zac Brown Band
- Find Someone Like You – Snoh Aalegra
- Your My Best Friend – Queen
- “ily” – Surf Mesa & Emilee
- Big Parade – The Lumineers
- Lucky – Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
- Marry You – Bruno Mars
- I Like Me Better – Lauv
- I’ll Name The Dogs – Blake Shelton
- Adore You – Harry styles
- Such Great Heights – Iron & Wine
- Get You – Daniel Caesar
- Look At Us Now – Dylan Scott
- I Will Always Be Yours – Ben Rector
- Today Was A Fairytale – Taylor Swift
- One Man Band – Old Dominion
- It’s Been a Long, Long Time – Harry James
- Grow Old With You – Adam Sandler
- A Little Honey – Nathaniel Rateliff
- Big, Big Plans – Chris Lane
- Cut The Cake -Average White Band
- Starving – Hailee Steinfeld
- Sweet Thing – Keith Urban
- Candy To Me – Eddie Holland
- Silly Love Songs – Wings
- Clarity – Mac Miller
- Brand New – Ben Rector
- Brighter Than The Sun – Colbie Caillat
- Build Me Up Buttercup – The Foundations
- Cake By The Ocean – DNCE
- Honey Bee – Blake Shelton
- Honey – Mariah Carey
- How Sweet It Is – James Taylor
- I Want Candy – Bow Wow Wow
- Love And Marriage – Frank Sinatra
- Love On Top – Beyonce
- Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard
- Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
- Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
- Yummy – Justin Bieber
- 1, 2, 3, 4 – Plain White T’s
- Good Day for Marrying You – Dave Barnes
- I Choose You – Sara Bareilles
- You & Me – Dave Matthews Band
- You And I – Ingrid Michaelson
- When I’m Sixty Four – The Beatles
- The Way You Look Tonight – Michael Buble
- The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson
- That’s Amore – Dean Martin
- Sweetest Thing – U2
- Sweet Pea – Amos Lee
- Sweet Honey – Slightly Stoopid
- Stuck Like Glue – Sugarland
- Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
- Say Hey (I Love You) – Michael Franti & Spearhead
- My Best Friend – Tim McGraw
- Kiss Me – Sixpence None The Richer
- I Do – Colbie Caillat
- Homegrown Honey – Darius Rucker
- Good Life – OneRepublic
- Cuts Like A Knife
Mike Staff is the founder and CEO of Mike Staff Productions, one of the most highly acclaimed wedding services companies in the country, providing award-winning Wedding DJs, Wedding Photographers, and Wedding Videography for over 25 years.
