Cake or Dance First?

[jcrow]

RoseAngel04''s post reminded me that i need to figure out the order of events for our reception that''s in less than a month

i totally thought that the cake cutting was always done at the end of the night. but my coordinator says no. she''s says i should either be announced, cut the cake, then dance OR be announced, dance our first (s) songs, then cut the cake.

so, i was wondering what you did, what you suggest or what you prefer. THANKS!!

 

[appletini]

We cut the cake first and then danced, plus this way everyone could eat the cake while they watched the first dance and then the second dance (father/daughter, mother/son).

 

[JCJD]

We were announced, danced, and later cut the cake. We had toasts while Grandma was cutting slices of cake for serving.

The thing about doing cake then dance is how much time will you have between these events? You don''t want people standing in line for cake instead of watching your first dance.

 

[MelissaSue]

You should cut the cake before dinner in most cases... because they want to serve it immediately following dinner and that gives them time to plate it all up and stuff..

Doesn''t matter if you cut the cake or dance first. I THINK we danced first then cut the cake.. You can also cut the cake before dinner and do your first dance after.. That is pretty common.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We got announced, did the first dance. Speeches during the salad course, cake cutting after dinner, cake served during the dancing. (I cannot remember when the father/daughter mother/son dances were. I think before the cake)

 

[jcrow]

guess i should add that apparently i live in the only part of the country that doesn''t really do much plated dinners for weddings, so we''ll follow suit with food stations.

 

[Rosebud8506]

our reception coordinator told us to cut the cake immediatly after being announced so that they had ample time to get the cake back to the kitchen. i have been to a few weddings where they did the cake after dinner - i guess it depends on where you hold your reception - but you could do it however you want.

 

[MINE!!]

We cut the cake first ..then danced... that way people could take their time with the cake and not have to wait around if people wanted to keep dancing...

 

[gingerBcookie]

right after we were announced we cut the cake, mainly because the cake was leaning severely and there were doubts it would make it through the reception

. We had our first dance right after dinner and opened the dancefloor immediately after. I always found weddings where the B&G dance right after announcement, then dinner, then general dancing was awkward cuz its dance, food, then dance. THe guests are just sitting watching you dance. All the excitement or romantic gooiness watching the couple dance just goes flat cuz ya gotta wait an hour or so before the floor is open to drag your honey out there. I don''t know why the rhythm just feels weird that way, to me anyway.

 

[JCJD]

ginger - AGREED! It worked for us because we did an hors d''oeuvres and dessert reception, and were the last to arrive at the reception, so our guests had plenty of time to grab some food and eat before we came in and started the dancing.

 

[MelissaSue]

on the other side of that coin though, I was just at wedding last month where it took the B&G FOREVER after dinner to do their first dance.. The bride was waiting for the DJ to get things started.. but he just didn''t do it.. It was probably an hour after dinner when they did their first dance, so no one else was doing ANYTHING at that point.. it took so long I actually asked the bride if she was DOING a first dance.. Thats why I wanted to do ours before dinner, because I didn''t want people waiting around for us to dance after dinner..

 

[jcrow]

we''re having butler passed hors d''oeuvres + open bar while guests are waiting on us. then we''ll be announced. followed by either cake or dancing at which time guests will start eating (food stations).

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think another reason it might be good to wait to cut the cake is so that everyone can get a good luck of your beautiful wedding cake. We got married at a country club and the service was seemless. There was hardly a wait between cutting the cake and serving the cake.

 

[FireGoddess]

We danced then cut cake. I''ve been at weddings where they''ve done it either way.

 

[tanyak]

Date: 10/23/2006 6:20:22 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I think another reason it might be good to wait to cut the cake is so that everyone can get a good luck of your beautiful wedding cake. We got married at a country club and the service was seemless. There was hardly a wait between cutting the cake and serving the cake.

Good point. We were introduced, did first dance (the only traditional dance we did). The we had our buffet dinner, did the speeches and cut the cake. The get-down dancing started then, so folks could get their cake and then dance or dance and go back and get the cake.

 

[diamondlove]

jcrow,

we are also going with food stations! I personally love the idea bc it''s ''different'' for our guests and there will be more entree options than a plated dinner. As for the order, most of the weddings I''ve attended recently have cut their cake towards the later half of the evening. I also think it''d be nice for people to have time to admire your cake a bit before it gets cut and taken to the back. If you do it too early-- people won''t get a chance to get a good look.

HTH!

DL

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 10/24/2006 12:58:00 AM
Author: tanyak

Date: 10/23/2006 6:20:22 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I think another reason it might be good to wait to cut the cake is so that everyone can get a good luck of your beautiful wedding cake. We got married at a country club and the service was seemless. There was hardly a wait between cutting the cake and serving the cake.

Good point. We were introduced, did first dance (the only traditional dance we did). The we had our buffet dinner, did the speeches and cut the cake. The get-down dancing started then, so folks could get their cake and then dance or dance and go back and get the cake.

Our "schedule" was the same as tanyaks. It worked well!

 

[Munchkin]

Not to add to your confusion, but traditionally, cutting the cake is the signal that is acceptable for guests to leave. It is sort of understood that prior to that point, it would be rude to leave. While many of our generation aren''t aware/don''t care, many older people still adhere to that guideline.

 

[anacgarcia]

i think i will cut it later because i don''t think they''re going to eat it anyway.. there''s a dessert included on the dinner, i think i''ll just have the cake for pictures and stuff..

 

[jcrow]

Date: 10/26/2006 9:38:16 PM
Author: Munchkin
Not to add to your confusion, but traditionally, cutting the cake is the signal that is acceptable for guests to leave. It is sort of understood that prior to that point, it would be rude to leave. While many of our generation aren''t aware/don''t care, many older people still adhere to that guideline.

this is exactly what i always thought and was told. but when i mentioned it to my coordinator, she seemed confused and said that traditionally it''s before or after the first dance.

i always recall people saying to wait for the cake cutting to leave. or maybe the bride and groom cut the cake for pics and later in the night it''s actually cut for the guests?

i think we''ve decided to be announced, have the first dance, parent''s dance & money dance and then cut the cake.