Italian wedding cake, first dance and party

After the delicious Italian wedding reception, you have to cut the Italian wedding cake, do your first dance and PARTY!

Once dinner finishes it’s time to move to the party but before you can hit the dance floor you need to cut the cake. In Italy, the Italian wedding cake is traditionally a millefoglie or thousand layer cake. It consists of many layers of fine pastry with a Chantilly-style cream between them and on top they put fruits of the forest. If you prefer a more traditional wedding cake there are plenty of specialist cake makers that can make a cake with tiers and icing with your preference of style and design.

You can decorate the table or area where you cut the cake to make it even more beautiful, flowers and candles don’t cost much but make a huge difference to the aesthetics. It’s quite common at the moment for people to light sparklers during the cake cutting.

As well as having a wedding cake quite often there will also be a dessert buffet. This offers other delicious Italian desserts, mini cakes, chocolate fountains and crowd favorites like tiramisu! Often it is also accompanied by a coffee corner for those that would like an espresso before starting the party. A very elegant solution is to offer some sweet dessert wine which many haven’t tried but everyone likes.

The first dance traditionally takes place after you cut the cake but I see couples having their first dance whenever they want. I have seen it at the start of the reception and during it and even during the cocktails. However, most people still have it at the end of the evening before the party. For my American clients, it is also common for them to have the father-daughter dance and the mother-son dance. I love these dances as the parents are often so emotional!

If you need to bustle your dress before you dance so you can move more freely then make sure the people that are going to bustle it for you know how to do it. It’s worth practicing once or twice before the wedding as it’s not much fun having to go to your room and stay there for 20 minutes as someone figures out how to bustle the dress – you will be missing the party!

Some dresses bustle better than others and some don’t look very nice when they are bustled. So while you are choosing the dress you may want to check how your dress bustles.

My photography of the party is purely documentary. I am there to capture people having fun and the atmosphere. Earlier in the day, we did the group photos, these usually include the parents, relatives and bridal party, and often we don’t have time to include other people. However, later in the evening you can take more photos with your friends as you are having fun!

My photography of the party is purely documentary. I am there to capture people having fun and the atmosphere. Earlier in the day, we did the group photos, these usually include the parents, relatives and bridal party, and often we don’t have time to include other people. However, later in the evening you can take more photos with your friends as you are having fun!