The slice is right: Here are some tips on how to cut a wedding cake

We're entering the second phase of the summer wedding blitz. Which brings up the question: How do you cut the cake?

Oh, we know that the bride and groom have the cake-cutting ceremony and feed each other, often smashing frosting in each others' faces. Then the wedding guests can enjoy the rest of the cake.

If the wedding is catered, there's usually staff that does the slicing and serving. But in many Utah do-it-yourself weddings, the task may suddenly fall to an aunt or friend who is mystified when faced with a knife and massive cake layers.

Do you slice huge, pie-type wedges, no matter how big the tiers are? Do you start with the top layer or the bottom? How thick should the slices be in order to feed a crowd? Do you save any for the bride and groom for later?

There are a few different ways to do it.

Russ Oliver, owner of Granite Bakery & Bridal, says he gives clients a diagram to follow from the Wilton Co.'s cake-decorating books.

"People will say, how do you get 56 servings out of a 12-inch cake? Well, it's how you cut it," said Oliver.

Many brides today are opting for square-tiered cakes, which are easier to cut. "I have 37 cakes this week, and 35 of them are square," Oliver said. "Round cakes are traditional, and right now we don't have many traditional brides."

For square cakes, move in 2 inches from the outer edge of the cake and cut a straight line through the tier. Then slice that row into 1-inch pieces of cake. Then move in another 2 inches and slice again until the entire tier is cut.

"So each piece is 4 inches high, 1 inch thick and 2 inches deep, and that's plenty of cake," Oliver said. A 10-inch square tier will yield about 45 pieces of cake.

Each wedding cake tier is actually a double layer of cake, so the slices don't need to be very thick, said Jonan Williams, co-owner of the Eldredge Manor reception center in Bountiful. "We just go in 1 or 1 1/2 inches deep."

Oliver said some people prefer to cut round cakes in the same manner as square ones, in straight rows. However, several local wedding reception centers that were interviewed, as well as the Wilton Wedding Cake Cutting Guide, "Lion House Weddings" (Deseret Book, $25.95) and Janna Ellis, sales manager of Granite Bakery & Bridal, advise the following process: