ABSTRACT
When the second ‘cake-cutting’ is finally reached, bride and groom once again hold the knife jointly, with the company gathered round to watch unless they are already seated at table for a formal meal. Bride and groom force the knife into the cake and attempt to slice through to the outside. This is often difficult with a professionally made cake and
impossible with an amateur. Getting the icing hard enough to support the pillars carrying the weight of the upper tiers without being so hard as to be uncuttable is a well-known technical problem. But complete failure is inconceivable and any measure of success is greeted with applause. A toast to the bride and groom is then given, in the Scottish pattern by the man who is to be master of ceremonies at the meal. In a church marriage this is commonly the celebrant (Charsley 1991:157).
