Bad luck to make your own wedding cake?

[toomuchcoffee]

I'm a pastry chef getting married later this year, and I've heard somewhere that it is bad luck to make your own wedding cake.

Has anyone heard this before?

Has anyone made their own wedding cake without the bad luck?

Thanks

-Ry

[jackal10]

Its getting married that leads to tears, not the cake...

[Irishgirl]

Made my own wedding cake in 1992. Still married.

I guess it just depends on what you call bad luck. I'm not rich, have never won the lottery, but have never had anything truly terrible happen to me.

Stuff happens. Don't blame it on the cake.

[jumanggy]

Ooh, I've never heard that one before. I don't believe in superstition; if it looks like I do, it's only to appease the people around me who do (read: parents, grandparents, aunties). You may want to run your intentions by your family: if there's no reaction, then bake away!

[Peter the eater]

I've not heard that one either.

We made our own cakes in 1999 and I would recommend doing so if at all possible. I wanted to make all the food as well but I was forbidden, and in retrospect that was a good thing.

[etalanian]

I made my wedding cake in 1980. Still married. To the same wonderful guy. Go for it. I think it's GOOD luck, not bad!

Eileen

[alligande]

I have never heard that either, I did not make my cake, but I did decorate it in 1994. edited to say still married.

Edited January 21, 2008 by alligande (log)

[K8memphis]

We've been married for 29 years and I made my wedding cake...so it all depends on how you look at it if it's bad luck or not.

Edited to say: I just read this to my husband and he said, "Yeah."

Edited January 21, 2008 by K8memphis (log)

[K8memphis]

But seriously, you want to do it in such a way that it does not stress you out. Getting married is time consuming and a lot of energy goes into the event. (So be sure to eat well and rest properly too.) But you want to plan the cake to the letter and crumb so it can be a controlled thing and not freak anyone out.

[JeanneCake]

I made our wedding cake; still married after 18 years. But it was stressful to be doing it the day before the wedding with a lot of other details to attend to.

There are a lot of superstitions around weddings, aren't there ! Ignore this one, and congratulations!

[jumanggy]

Hah! I suppose marriages were tough to keep together in the olden days too; it's much easier to adhere to a set of disconnected rules

(Forgot to give my congratulations!) Congratulations!

[lapin d'or]

I've not heard that one either, made our wedding cake in 1989 and still happily married. My husband ended up helping make the sugar roses because I got so stressed out. He did a better job than me which was so funny because he had never touched icing before.

We did the traditional english fruit cake which can be ready days ahead so that was a lot easier than something that has to be prepared at the last minute. I still found it pretty stressful with everything else that had to be done.

Congratulation and all the best to you both.

[alanamoana]

i made my wedding cakes (two, because my husband wanted a groom's cake, so i made another tiered cake)...and i made a small dairy-free one for one of my sisters-in-law. that was only two years ago, so i can't attest to luck being good or bad, but i'm happy if that's any consolation.

[chefpeon]

Well, my first marriage to my high school sweetheart lasted 7 years, and we got a wedding cake from Albertsons. (Hey, I was 22, and couldn't boil water then).

I'm now married to my 2nd husband (and my last) and we've been married four years, and I made the cake. However, the cake was only 3 inches tall. Enough for one bite each. Since I'm so jaded about the wedding business (having been in it for 17 years), I decided we would have the worlds tiniest wedding. And that it was.

I don't think making your own cake is so much bad luck as it is extra stress. Of course, if you're a pro, or are experienced in cake making, make your own cake.

But if you don't know what you're doing in that regard, for the love of God, be smart and let a pro do it. I've had to fix many an amateur attempt in my day.

[pennylane]

I did it, and am still very happily married, though it's only been three years so far!

You can always get someone else to help you, then if you're not sure how people will take it you can always say that you made it with this other person or even that it was principally the other person who made it but with a little help from you. That's what I did!

[toomuchcoffee]

well, thanks for all the good advice and support.. Thank god rolled fondant and english fruit cake encased in a thick marzipan armour have a good shelf life.. I hope to have it ready a few days in advance.. I will be inviting other pastry chefs as well, just in case I get too stressed out!

-Ry

[pax]

Heh. If I had a bunch of pastry chefs coming to *my* wedding, I think I'd ask them all to make a batch of their favourite thing and bring it, as their present to me.

Then everybody could have a really gorgeous little taste of everything, lovingly and expertly made.

And no pressure on you.

Edited January 21, 2008 by pax (log)

[racheld]

I intended to, but a nice friend insisted on making it. We had stopped making cakes of any kind EXCEPT wedding cakes a couple of years before, and referred all the birthday business to her, so she made us a LOVELY wedding cake.

[suzilightning]

i checked all the resources we have at the library but could not find that superstition.

i made both the groom's cake and our wedding cake almost 26 years ago and we are still married.

if you feel like it - do it.

[djyee100]

I did a Google search on this superstition and found a few references here and there. In its most specific, traditional form, it's bad luck for the bride to make her own wedding cake. Some people have casually updated this cake superstition to include the couple. (Question: is that really an improvement?)

BTW, for anyone about to be married, don't do this Google search for yourself. You'll uncover a host of superstitions about the wedding ritual that will probably tempt you to call the whole thing off.

Thirty years ago one of my friends and her husband, both of whom like to cook, made their wedding cake and some of the food for the reception too. They said they enjoyed the cooking because it gave them some time together during the pre-wedding nuttiness. They're still (happily) married.

Edited January 22, 2008 by djyee100 (log)

[plk]

I made my wedding cake (actually it was a tier of cupcakes, so maybe there's a different superstition for that) and we're still married! We also made the food for the reception. The only thing I wouldn't do again was the freshly squeezed lemonade, because reaming 100 lemons is completely ridiculous. Maybe this superstition is more about the fact that a giant baking task is more stress than many people are prepared to deal with so close to the actual event. I didn't think it was that bad, but then I wasn't making a real cake either.

[prasantrin]

. . . Maybe this superstition is more about the fact that a giant baking task is more stress than many people are prepared to deal with so close to the actual event. I didn't think it was that bad, but then I wasn't making a real cake either.

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And if something happens to the cake, you're going to be dealing with that hours before you're supposed to be married (on one of those TLC shows, the groom made the wedding cake and it toppled while being transported). If you have someone else make it, then it's their problem.

But I think you should go for it.

[K8memphis]

Question for you, a coupla questions actually.

How many people are you expecting? This is an indoor reception I hope. Have you made a wedding cake before? I know you are a pastry chef, but we all have our areas of expertise. Do you have a dedicated* place to store your sugar baby for several days during 'delivery'? *Free from fresh cut onions and pickle relish?

[toomuchcoffee]

Question for you, a coupla questions actually.

How many people are you expecting? This is an indoor reception I hope. Have you made a wedding cake before? I know you are a pastry chef, but we all have our areas of expertise. Do you have a dedicated* place to store your sugar baby for several days during 'delivery'? *Free from fresh cut onions and pickle relish?

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It's not going to be a huge wedding... 50-60pax. (wondering if it's bad to call friends and relatives "pax")

The ceremony / reception is going to be about 1.5km from where I'm going to make the cake. I have several months to have a few dry runs at it, and it's not a complicated design. In terms of where to store it, I will be renting a portable walk-in cooler, (onion/chutny/relish/chive/fish free).

Thanks for the input!

[mattwb]

I'm a pastry chef getting married later this year, and I've heard somewhere that it is bad luck to make your own wedding cake.

Has anyone heard this before?

Has anyone made their own wedding cake without the bad luck?

Thanks

-Ry

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This is a myth perpetuated by bakers & pastry chefs!