Why You Should Have a Wedding Cake at Your Indian Wedding

October 23, 2019 / in Planning & Inspiration /by Poonam

A heart to heart with Melbourne cake specialist, Narmi of My Cake Studio.

The traditional wedding cake is fast becoming a staple at an Indian wedding. Gone are those days of serving laddoos and gulab jamun. It’s all about the statement cake that sits in the middle of your wedding reception venue.

Young couples tying the knot are bucking the trends and opting to infuse personal touches in every aspect of their wedding. This includes having a wedding cake that translates their love story, allowing guests to celebrate everything special about the couple.

You CAN have your cake and eat it too! The perfect bridal trousseau, venue and wedding décor isn’t all that matters. That sweet touch at the end of the party is one thing that a lot of guests are going to remember.

We caught up with our expert Melbourne wedding cake decorator, Narmi of My Cake Studio to weigh in on the debate, making more couples see the value in serving cake at their Indian wedding.

Why You Should Have a Wedding Cake at Your Indian Wedding

Why should you have a wedding cake at your Indian wedding

It’s a well-known fact amongst cake decorators such as Narmi, that for centuries, wedding cake has been a time-honoured tradition amongst western society. A good luck omen to the couple and their guests in fact. Serving each other a slice of cake during your reception is super sweet, but also conveys a sign of commitment. You’ve said your vows, exchanged rings, completed your first dance and now you get to feed each other cake!

“Having a wedding cake at your wedding is no longer a Christian tradition. Couples are re-inventing their wedding style and want to serve something new. In my opinion it gives your wedding a personal touch and it’s a great photo opportunity too.”

The humble wedding cake takes centre stage at your reception. It sits on the dance floor, in front of the bridal party table. The perfect photo opportunity for bride and groom.

Narmi believes that your wedding is one of the only moments in your life that you get to celebrate your love in front of your close friends and family members. She loves to sit with all her couples and ensure that every single element of their wedding is translated in their wedding cake too.

It may sound crazy, but your wedding style/theme, colour scheme, floral décor and wedding outfits will all play influence in deciding the type of wedding cake you serve at your Indian wedding.

Narmi customizes the flavours, colour palette and frosting too. Every little touch counts to create the most spectacular wedding cake for your festivities.

But, no one eats the wedding cake, right?

Errr, wrong! So not true, and according to Narmi, this mentality needs to change.

Food is such an essential part of south asian weddings and not many guests don’t love dessert.

“If you think no one is going to eat it, then don’t serve one. But a cake adds a special touch to your wedding. Let your venue coordinator know before hand when you would like the cake to be served. It might be a good opportunity to serve it as coffee sized serves, as the only dessert option. Your guests will feel satisfied and won’t leave the reception without a feed of your amazing wedding cake!”

Many years back, south asian brides would have excluded the traditional wedding cake. Today though, most of us believe that there’s nothing quite like serving a slice of the delectable cake as a dessert at the end of your reception party.

If you have an inkling that perhaps your guests will leave the cake on the table at the end of the night, encourage them to take it home in custom mini cake boxes (which My Cake Studio can also arrange for). Have these set up on the side at your reception and your MC can make a special announcement before guests leave.

Narmi also suggested having cupcakes, tarts, cookies or macarons as a different option.

Serve a wedding cake that reflects you

The style and taste of your wedding cake is incredibly important. This is why serving a wedding cake that reflects your personality or wedding style is going to make the experience all the more special.

As far as flavours are concerned, fruit-based wedding cakes with clean and classic white icing was often the norm at weddings. I personally think it’s too heavy and dry, but cake flavours have evolved from the fruit cake days. Nowadays, multi-tiered cakes with various flavours are becoming increasingly popular with couples.

“It’s important for couples to meet me and also taste my cakes before making a decision. This is the most important day of their lives, so I suggest trying a tasting box. My tasting box provides you with a few flavours. You have to remember that taste is equally as important as the style of your cake. If you really can’t decide, you can always serve 2 different flavours to suit both partners. We can create a few tiers, each with a unique flavour.”

My Cake Studio offers you a choice of flavours and among these are citrus, chocolate, strawberry and coconut. Narmi also caters for vegans, with eggless options and swiss meringue buttercream as the icing. On the topic of icing as well, you can opt for something colourful and decorative such as florals, greenery, paisley patterns or whatever really suits your fancy.

A number of factors can determine how your cake should look. This is why Narmi offers a consultation prior to the wedding. Your wedding cake can be inventive or classic. The design however must reflect you. Think about all the elements of your wedding, including your attire, the colour scheme and the overall ambience of the venue.

Narmi believes that your wedding cake shouldn’t be boring. Be inventive, mix and match the icing, flavours and even the shape. Believe it or not, custom cake toppers are still trending too.

So, what are the alternatives?

Not many Indian brides or grooms realize that there are alternative options besides having a cake.

Quite often, couples are torn with their wedding budget and need to keep costs down. This could be a blessing in disguise though. Think of the opportunities! Narmi says that your wedding doesn’t have to be a dessert-free zone.

“The dessert table is still a popular option for a wedding reception. I can bake tarts, macarons, cookies or cupcakes. Some couples may even decide to opt for macaron towers or tiers of cupcakes.”

Budget budget baby

Yes, the dreaded ‘b’ word plays on your mind the minute you start planning your wedding. But fear not maharanis! Don’t miss out on a beautiful photo moment with your man because you can’t afford a cake. Narmi offers solutions to all her couples.

“I only use the best of the best ingredients. Quality ingredients for all my cakes which results in a high-end edible product for your big event. Every décor element is handmade too. For example, gold and silver leaf adornments, edible flowers and fresh fondant detailing. I love to add loads of details and textures obviously. All these elements will factor into the cost of your wedding cake for your Indian wedding.

There are numerous ways in which you can save on costs though. We mentioned for instance, the alternative choice to having a wedding cake. Macarons and cupcakes look just as good. Instead of cutting a cake, you can feed your partner a macaron or cupcake! I can also make a beautiful semi-naked, buttercream cake which would work well for a rustic wedding style.”

Whether you’re a sweet tooth or not, you have to admit that having a wedding cake at your reception party is literally going to be the “icing on the cake” at your big fat Indian wedding.

A big thank you to Narmi of My Cake Studio for your wonderful insights. If you would like to find out more about her work click here.

We hope that you will consider having a cake decorator for your wedding. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below what you thought of this article.

**This post is sponsored by My Cake Studio. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!

Poonam

Poonam is the founder and director of The Maharani Diaries. She has a passion for South Asian fashion and weddings. Drinking coffee is one of her favourite pastimes and she also enjoys donating her time for charity. You’ll often find her volunteering on the side for various community events.

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