orange color 4 tier mehndi cake at an Indian wedding reception

Indian Wedding Reception Cake Mishap

Indian Wedding Reception Cake Mishap is a story about a cake that was destroyed in the middle of the wedding reception. As you’re planning your wedding reception, one of the big decisions is what dessert to serve. There are so many options: dessert bars are all the rage, Indian sweets are loved by Uncles and Aunties, and the ever-traditional wedding cake is still in vogue too.

A lot of people decide to do all of the above! And this post is specifically about where to display the cake at an Indian wedding reception to avoid this mishap.

Wedding cake and cake design is a whole, huge industry and your wedding cake becomes part of your overall decor. I hope I’ve emphasized enough how important the cake is!

One couple was so proud and happy with their cake, that they decided to display it front and center in the middle of the dance floor all evening.

DISCLAIMER: The pictures in this post are NOT of the wedding we’re referring to in this story. No photos from that wedding are published in this article.

At most receptions, the cake is on a small table on its own, and usually on either side of the sweetheart stage, as you see in the photo below.

Photo: Braja Mandala Wedding Photography

The example above is what most people do as the beautiful cake is visible and safely tucked away.

But once there was a couple that was insistent that the cake should be displayed in the middle of the dance floor throughout the reception. They even practiced dancing around the cake table for their first dance (pretty impressive and what preparation!) But not everyone was prepped to the same level as the couple.

Their photo/video team for example. And the cinematographer (accidentally, of course) knocked it over while filming their first dance. After all that preparation, time and money spent on planning and organizing there are still so many variables you can’t control.  I talk to so many couples before and after their wedding and I don’t think I’ve found one yet, where everything went without a hiccup or two. All you can do is do your best to prepare and use forums like this to learn from others.

Lesson learned: It’s probably best to put the delicate cake to the side but in a place where it’s still visible. If you want, when it’s time to cut the cake, have it wheeled out to the middle of the dance floor for the cake cutting ceremony.


Most venue outside catering packages include cutting the cake, but not the cake itself.

And most couples get their cake from a bakery. But if you wanted, you could order it from the venue. A lot of venues, especially resorts and hotels, have excellent bakers in-house. Whether or not the cake contributes to the food and beverage minimum depends on each venue. Sometimes that can be negotiated too.

{Indian Wedding Venue Cake Requirements}

Another thing to note about getting your cake and working with your venue, is that all of your vendors MUST be professionally licensed businesses that carry workman’s comp and have liability insurance. They must also be able to provide copies of these documents to the venue.

The reason I’m mentioning this is because there was a wedding where the bride planned to have her aunt make her wedding cake. Her aunt is a very talented baker who makes large scale, beautiful cakes…as a hobby – that’s not what she does professionally. Two weeks before the wedding, the bride was on a call with the catering manager at her venue and happened to mention that her aunt was making the cake and the bride wanted to make arrangements for where she could store it at the venue.

That was when the catering manager informed her that they couldn’t allow that cake to be served. So at the last minute the couple had to scramble to find a baker who could make the cake they wanted. It all turned out fine, but how stressful! And completely unexpected.

By the way, this policy and the requirements don’t just apply to your cake vendor. They apply to all of your vendors. Venues have to consider liability issues with having all of these outside folks working on property, so that’s why they have these restrictions.

cake-Indian-wedding-venue

{Take Aways}

Indian Wedding Reception Cake Mishap is the account of a story from a real Indian wedding where the cake was destroyed in the middle of the wedding reception.

You can’t control everything at your wedding. But you can plan ahead and do the best you can. With something as fragile and expensive as a wedding cake, it’s probably best to put it in a place where it has the least chances of getting knocked over.

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Cover image: Greycard Photography

DISCLAIMER: The pictures in this post are NOT of the wedding we’re referring to in this story. No photos from that wedding are published in this article.

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