Editing Wedding reception (section)

===Food===
{{See also|Wedding breakfast}}
[[File:MomDadwedding1955 photos.jpg|thumb|The bride and groom cut the wedding cake at an American wedding reception in 1955.]]

The food served at a wedding reception is determined by the time of the wedding and local customs. Food may range from a non-alcoholic drink with [[wedding cake]] to elaborate, multi-course dinners. The type of food is chosen entirely at the discretion and budget of the hosts as costs for catering weddings have soared.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://go.weddingwire.com/newlywed-report|title=Wedding costs on the rise|work=[[Wedding Wire (magazine)|Wedding Wire]]|author=Thelma Louise|date=2020-06-11|access-date=10 June 2020|archive-date=2020-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626175102/https://go.weddingwire.com/newlywed-report|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some receptions, especially if the wedding party's culture or religious faith prohibits alcohol or dancing, focus on dessert.  Hosts may also choose to honor regional or local customs, such as by serving a culturally important cake like [[croquembouche]] in France, or featuring a [[cookie table]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/appetizer/in-pittsburgh-the-wedding-cookie-table-is-a-peculiar-and-wonderful-local-tradition|title=In Pittsburgh, the wedding cookie table is a peculiar and wonderful local tradition {{!}} National Post|last=Appetizer|newspaper=Nationalpost|date=2013-11-30|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-01-18|archive-date=2022-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524034438/https://nationalpost.com/appetizer/in-pittsburgh-the-wedding-cookie-table-is-a-peculiar-and-wonderful-local-tradition|url-status=live}}</ref> as is celebrated in [[Pittsburgh]]<ref>{{cite news
|author= Lieber, Ron
|title= The Wedding? I'm Here for the Cookies
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/dining/16cookies.html?em
|newspaper= [[The New York Times]]
|date= 15 December 2009
|access-date= 26 February 2017
|archive-date= 2 February 2017
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170202165348/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/dining/16cookies.html?em
|url-status= live
}}</ref> and some surrounding areas.

The wedding cake is often a multi-tiered [[layer cake]] that is elaborately decorated with white frosting. Some couples have a smaller display cake, which is supplemented by [[sheet cake]].

The [[groom's cake]] is a tradition observed mainly in the southern United States. In the Colonial and Victorian eras, the white-iced bride's cake was considered "too light" for male tastes, and a second cake choice—usually a dark, liquor-soaked fruitcake—was also offered. Today, chocolate is popular, although the groom's cake may be in any flavor and is usually shaped or decorated as something significant to the groom, such as a favorite hobby or sport.

If a full meal is served, the wedding cake is usually served after the meal. Otherwise, the cake may be served as soon as the family has received all of the guests.

Commonly, the couple ceremonially cut the first piece of the cake, and in a nod to [[confarreatio|an ancient Roman wedding rite]], may feed a bite to one another and perhaps sip a glass of wine or other drink with linked arms. Then the cake is served to the guests.  Like being asked to pour tea at a formal [[tea party (social gathering)|tea party]], being asked to serve the cake is generally considered an honor.<ref name=Martin1/>{{rp|428}}