You’ve already chosen the cake so the hard part is done. With that said, we thought we would give you just a few helpful tips on what to do with that cake at the reception. That way when it’s time for the cake cutting ceremony you will definitely know what to do and when to do it.

The wedding cake should be displayed on a table that is all its own. The table should be decorated in a fashion that not only reflects the style of the wedding but draws your guests’ attention to that table. This will ensure that they know exactly where to look when it’s time for the big cake cutting ceremony.

When to cut the cake is as different as your reception. Previously couples always chose to cut the cake at the end of the reception. (Hence the purpose of those take home cake bags and boxes)

However it is now quite popular for a lot of couples to choose to cut the cake right after the meal is finished to serve as or go along with dessert. This is an especially good idea if you plan on dancing the night away. That way you can get all of your formalities out of the way. If you are not hosting a full dinner reception then you would simply cut the cake during the end of the cocktail hour.

Be sure and have your DJ or band director let everyone know that it is time to cut the cake so all eyes will be on you.

Make sure they caterers know also, after the first piece is sliced they will remove the cake and cut it for serving.

Also let them know if you are choosing to save the top tier. (if you are on a budget and or not really looking forward to storing cake for a year, consider saving just a slice not the entire tier)

Don’t forget to have your knife and serving set nearby.

The bride should be the first person to pick up the cake knife. She should do so with her right hand followed by the grooms hand over hers.

The base of the cake is usually the part that the first piece is cut from.

Together the bride and groom cut a wedge of cake together.

Then place the slice of cake on a plate with the server.

The groom will feed the bride first followed by the bride feeding the groom.

Sometimes, this is when some couples choose to do the "smash feeding". Just be considerate of one another and your pricey clothes!

Lastly relax and enjoy this tradition together, cutting the cake symbolizes your support of one another and ability to work together.

While September used to be the seventh month in the Roman calendar it is now the ninth month of the year. Being the ninth month of the year, for most of us it brings the start of autumn.

Recruit your friends and family. Remember right after the engagement when many people offered "To help any way I can" this is their time to shine! You can ask them to whip up a couple dozen batches, store some frozen ones or help bake them the night before the wedding.

Just like you would label each jar of candy at a candy buffet, you’ll want to label each vessel of cookies. Be careful in letting your guests know the contents of the cookies. Nut allergies are serious and you should warn your guests if there are cookies being served that contain nuts. Your best option is probably just to forgo any cookies that contain them all together. It’s also a nice gesture if you can, to supply cookies that are lactose or gluten-free.

Also be sure to make a small sign letting your guests know what this is and what they are expected to do. Never forget to take the time and make your instructions cute. After all this is your wedding. Try something like: "Please help yourself to a few cookies to take home and eat. We appreciate your being here and making our day extra sweet!"

What you choose to display your cookies in should continue to reflect the tone of your wedding. Be sure to have tongs on hand so that the guests are not tempted to place their hands inside the containers.

Several cookie holder ideas are:

• Vintage cookie jars
• Clear glass canisters
• Baskets
• Different size galvanized pails (check for food safety!)
• Old tea tins
• Pretty tea trays

Have on display containers for the guests to take the cookies home in. Whether they be paper bags, take out boxes, or cake boxes the possibilities are endless.

Lastly, if you really want to send your guests over the moon you could send them off with mini glass bottles of milk. Again if you choose to go this route, give your guests options. Skim, Whole and Lactose-Free should be enough choices.

The newest sweet treat buffet to emerge into wedding receptions is the cookie buffet. Near the same idea as the candy buffet, the cookie buffet offers guests the option to peruse some different sweet treats to take home with them.

This idea is also very budget friendly. You can make the cookies yourself instead of choosing to purchase them. Many cookies are fairly inexpensive to make. You can also make many different cookies using the same base ingredients and just changing a few of the "extras" in them. Be sure to realistically think about how many you will need to make. For typical sized cookies 2-3 per guest is a good choice. You decide to increase or decrease depending on the cookie size you wish to make and your budget. For 150 guests 3 cookies a piece is 450 cookies. That’s roughly 38 dozen!

If the idea of making several dozen cookies seems daunting, we have a few tips for you.

First of all make a lot of the dough up ahead of time. And only choose a few varieties five or six different flavors is plenty. Cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for nearly eight weeks or more! You can make several batches of cookie dough ahead of time and form it into logs wrapped in parchment paper. Or purchase freezable zip log bags.

Your best bet for a time saver is to make "drop cookie" dough. Drop cookie dough basically means that there isn’t any rolling or cutting that must be done to the cookies themselves. You just "drop" a blob of dough onto the sheet and while baking it spreads out. We aren’t saying that you might not want to do one or two cookie logs, as they can easily be sliced and baked. However, you definitely don’t want to have the task of rolling out every batch of cookie dough.