Wedding Cake Pull Charms
Part of the beauty of any ceremony is in the details. In a previous entry I mentioned a wedding that I participated back in September that was beautifully planned with all sorts of personal touches in the ceremony, décor, and celebration. In that entry I talked about the great idea that they had in using miss-matched china for people to use for the buffet (and the guests could then take home their plate as a memento if they wished). Now I'd like to talk about another little personal touch that I really loved.
In addition to the cake petit fours, the couple baked their own small cake to be used for a special tradition called a cake pull. Around the base of the cake was a rainbow of ribbons (which nicely echoed the ribbons of the Maypoles that the wedding party had danced around outside after the ceremony). The newlyweds held up this cake and several of the guests gathered around, taking hold of the ends of the ribbons. Once every ribbon was claimed, each person pulled his or her own ribbon out of the cake to reveal a charm at the end. Each charm was different, and a list was passed around which deciphered the meaning of your particular charm, sort of like the fortune in a fortune cookie.
It was a lot of fun. The fortunes weren't from a generic list, the couple had made up many of them on their own based on the charms they used. Each guest kept his or her charm as a memento.
If you decide to do your own cake pull, you can either order special charms that can be baked directly into a cake, or you can buy the sorts of charms that you find in craft stores (make sure they don't have any lead in them though!) and put them either between the layers of your cake or under the bottom of your cake after it has baked.
Here is the list of meanings for the charms at the wedding I went to:
Five Point Star: Your next wish upon a star will come true
Nautical Star: You will always find your way
Castle: You will live happily ever after
Airplane: You will find an adventure in the sky
Shoe: May you always find one that fits
Mermaid: You are a free spirit
Ship: Adventure on the high seas awaits you
Saxophone: Your home will always be in harmony
Martini: You need a drink
Crystal Ball: There will be storms tonight
Angel: Someone will watch over you
Seagull: Don't dream it- be it!
Kitty: Magic and mystery will come your way
Fairy: Clap your hands if you believe in me
Key: You will have a happy and secure life
Money: You've got a lot of what it takes to get along
Recycling: You are an asset to your community
Sun: Your future's so bright...
Heart: Someday your prince/ss will come
Sunglasses: Life of leisure
