I am from Massachusetts and have NEVER seen or heard of a groom's cake until I started reading cake central forums. I wonder if it is common to a particular region of the country. Where are you from? Also, what do they do at the wedding reception with a groom's cake?

Groom's cakes are a southern tradition for weddings. The groom's cake is usually chocolate or another flavor different than the wedding cake. I can be decorated elegantly with strawberries or other fruits. Mose groom's cakes are decorated with either the groom's type of employment, hobbies, or the groom's college alma mater. All of the weddings I have gone to the groom's cake was served right along with the wedding cake. I have heard that sometimes the groom's cake is sliced and packaged in gift boxes for the guests to take home to remember the wedding(favors). I live in Texas and I have never went to a wedding that did not have a groom's cake.

I'm from NJ and also had never heard of a groom's cake until I came to this site.

I'm FROM GA...did time in TX...been paroled...I now reside in NC...

In GA and TX, people seemed more informed of the groom's cake tradition than here in NC...I hear a lot of ..."a do wut?"

Often times, it has its' own table at the reception and served along with the wedding cake.

Sometimes, it is served at the rehearsal dinner.

I am in Arkansas and groom's cakes are very common at almost every wedding. I went to a family wedding in Iowa a few years ago and made a groom's cake for the occasion. No one had ever seen or heard of a groom's cake there before, but...they ate ALL of my chocolate fudge cake/chocolate fudge icing groom's cake and not much of the traditional white wedding cake. Maybe I started a trend

I'm originally from Maryland and Grooms cakes are neither a tradition, or not a tradition. I knew about them and sometimes there is one, and other times there isn't. (I guess that's what you get for being between the North and South! LOL!) Just personal preference. I'd say in my experience there are more in that area without a grooms cake.

I'm a Texan. I've never gone to a wedding where there wasn't a groom's cake. It's interesting to hear that this is a southern tradition. In my experience the groom's cake is always small (relative to the actual wedding cake) and usually chocolate or red velvet. As well, it usually has its own table.

For crying out loud. Didn't anyone watch Steel Magnolias? How could anyone not remember Wheezer cutting the grooms cake which was a red velvet armadillo.

To be perfectly honest, that was the first time I knew what a grooms cake was!!! I'm originally from Calif. and now reside in MO and I've never seen one at a wedding.

Diane

I'm from Canada and I hadn't heard of grooms cakes until I came to CC...but I love the idea and hope to spread it around up here!!!

WOW!! I'm actually surprised at this. I guess I thought "everyone" had a groom's cake! LOL! Amazing isn't it?

I think it is a neat tradition to observe myself. Just a little history for you (upon searching the internet!):

In the past, the groom's cake was actually called the wedding cake, and what we now think of as the wedding cake was referred to as the bride's cake. Over time, the terminology was reversed, but superstition surrounding the groom's cake was not lost. According to an old myth, if a single woman sleeps with a piece of the groom's cake under her pillow, she will dream of the man that she will marry.

The first groom's cakes were reserved for guests to take home as a memento of the wedding. For this reason, they were usually made of dark, heavy fruitcake since it is durable and keeps for a long period of time. Contemporary groom's cakes, however, are not bound by old traditions. In fact, the groom's cake is a perfect opportunity to express creativity. Many grooms like to have the cake decorated or shaped into something that reflects one of their hobbies, or something the couple enjoys doing together.

Now, that is interesting indeed!

Steel Magnolias was the first thing that came to my mind also. I'm in Texas too and I've been to some with and without.

No we don't have grooms cakes in the UK. I only knew what they were as there was a big article on them in one of my cake magazines

im from alabama, and find it hard to believe that this is a "southern thang". although after finding out the myth about it, it doesnt surprise me that it originated here. we have lots of "southern tradition" i guess were just special.lol

I am in CA and have been many weddings but have never seen a grooms cake at any of them. I did know what they were from reading about them, Martha Stewarts show and of course the movie. But until coming here to CC I never thought of making one. Now they sound like fun and would love to someday be able to make one.

i love grooms cakes, they are fun. i am doing a superman one for my cousin in december. i have never been to a wedding that didnt have one (or two) i hope you spread the tradition.lol.

I'm from Canada (Ontario) and have never heard of Groom's cake until I ventured on this site. Maybe we should start a new tradition here!

I have heard of grooms cakes. Have went to weddings in the last few years that have them. I didn't have one at my wedding 7 yrs. ago. But a fun idea. Guys don't get much influence in the wedding planning sometimes. So it is good to include there intrests. If I would have known about these cakes I would have had one at our wedding. Of couse ours would have been NASCAR car related. EARNHARDT was his guy. And I would have loved it. Awesome idea whoever came up with it. Wish I would have known of it yrs. earlier

Sorry forgot to tell you I am from Nebraska

I'm from Mississippi, and I didn't realize until I started coming to this site that groom's cakes were a Southern tradition! Lots of times they are chocolate. I've seen one shaped like a grand piano and one like a guitar. They usually go on the "groom's table" and the ones I've seen are usually more fun than formal.

I, or should I say, my husband, had a groom's cake when we got married in 1991. His was a replica of Kyle Field, the football field at Texas A & M University. It was on his table, which was decorated with all his fun stuff, aggie stuff and pictures of him as a kid.

Groom's cakes are very much a southern tradition, but they are so much fun, aren't they? A chance for the groom to have his own special thing in a day that mainly centers around the bride. Southern weddings are not complete without them.

I am from Massachusetts also and have never heard of a grooms cake until I came to this web site. My daughter is getting married in October and her fiancee' loves the Miami Dolphins. So I am making the Miami Dolphins helmet cake for him to serve at the rehersal dinner. The cake is in here in the gallery. I can't remember who made it but "Thank you" and I hope it's OK for me to copy your cake.

I'm from Alabama but now live in California and got married here. I remember seeing several groom's cakes while in the South. When we were looking at different wedding photographers here, I saw a few pictures from local weddings that had groom's cakes and asked about it, because I was under the impression that it was a southern tradition. The photographer told me that there are some areas of Europe where it is also a tradition (and the people in the pictures were originally from these areas). Can't remember where in Europe the people were from (I guess not the UK). Any other European CC members seen this tradition on their home turf?

Groom's Cake! Good way to fit chocolate into a wedding....love the tradition! I do believe traditionally the groom's cake had some kind of nuts on it, pecans, walnuts, pistachios or something like that.... you know nuts representing seeds...bunch of kids....it has something to do with fertility in the marriage....now a days a groom's cake is anything you want it to be.....but hey it's chocolate and we gotta have it!!!

Oh yeah! I'm from Texas and it's not a wedding without a groom's cake and the more chocolate the better!!!!!!!
Keep on baking!


Cindy

never heard of them until CC. great idea not only for chocolate but for injecting a whole lot of fun and laughs into the proceedings!

born central IL, move Chicago, then FL, then NYC, then TX, then upstate NY, now NC

(next????)

I have had some brides request a groom's cake, Homer Simpson, sports teams, etc... and I suggest they serve the groom's cake at the rehearsal dinner. They seem to really appreciate the idea!

It's a southern thing baby! I thought it was common everywhere until I came here. I've seen them my whole life!

My parents are in Minnesota and I'm in North Dakota now. When I was little you didn't see groom's cakes in Minnesota but now they are becoming common and I've seen them in the area we're in too, I think the tradition has spread.
I'm doing 2 corsets (tasteful of course) for my future BIL to go on either side of the wedding cake. They aren't going to be chocolate though because he doesn't like chocolate. Something's wrong with the boy.

I as well had never heard of groom's cakes (apart from the armadillo in Steel Magnolias) until CC. We don't have them in Canada, though as a cake decorator maybe we should start suggesting .... lol

I am from Iowa, never have been to a wedding with a groom's cake, but have heard of them and of course I remember the bloody armidillo from Steel Mag! LOL

They don't have them here in Holland either. Also they call wedding cake a 'bruidstaart' - 'bride's cake'.