Charm Cake

With wedding season soon approaching, I'm sure many of you will host or attend a bridal shower in the next few months. So naturally, I'd like to begin a series of posts about the celebrations that surround weddings.

Enter bridal showers.

For my sister's shower that I co-hosted last February I stumbled upon a neat idea: the charm cake!

I first heard about the charm cake from an old roommate from Louisiana. Since my sister was marrying someone from the south, I thought it would be a fun way to incorporate the groom and his background.

What is a charm cake you ask?

Traditionally, the cake is served at the bridesmaids' luncheon, in our case the bridal shower. Each guest pulls one ribbon from the center of a Bundt cake to find a good-luck charm and message dangling from the other end. Charms are available by mail order, often complete with fortunes, ribbons, and bags.

Our charms were a mix from Robert's Crafts and a jewelry store the University Mall. We chose to have the bride and her sisters and sisters-in-law draw the ribbons.

Ribbons can be color coded so single, married, and very young women will choose charms -- such as rings or baby carriages -- that are appropriate for their situations. Other popular charms include a coin (for luck), an airplane (for travel), and a telephone (for a special phone call). To assemble, bake your favorite Bundt cake, put the charms in the center, and drape the ribbons over the cake; fresh flowers provide decoration while hiding the charms.

(Description adapted from Martha Stewart site.)

As you can tell we adapted it to our liking. I'm sure any little changes made will only personalize your event and make it even more special for the bride and her guests!