Cake pull question!!

Wow where do you live??? I have NEVER heard of this before at all and I've been to over 20 weddings. Tell me more about it I am intrigued!!

What is a cake pull?

Kinda like the cake version of the bouquet toss, I think. There are ribbons put in or under the cake and one of them has a ring on it. All the single bridal party females pick a ribbon and pull and whoever pulls the ring will marry next.

It's a southern/ New Orleans thing. Basically, you put charms with a ribbon/bracelet in the cake, and at the wedding (or sometimes the bridal shower) all your girls surround the cake and pull on a string to reveal their charm. The charms all have a special meaning (like a fortune cookie) and traditionally there would be a "ring" charm which means you're the next to get married. It makes for a cool photo-op and a cool bracelet souvenir for the girls. (photo from a quick google search). I just don't know how many is too many girls to include

I have never heard of this! After re-reading your original post and the comments, I'm not sure why you'd do this if no one is single?

I'm going to do it because it's one of those very traditional things (along with the parade). Wedding venue is a very famous courtyard in the french quarter, so it will be part of the experience. I want to include my 3 bridesmaids, my new SIL, and a couple friends who helped me out with the proposal/dress shopping who are not in my party. Also, want to honor a few other close friends. I'll only include charms that can apply to everyone (so not the "next to be married" one) and I think that the girls that participate, and other attending guests, will like learned about something new. I'd say about 70% of my guestlist is not from the city, and probably half have never been (including 2/3rds of my bridal party!)

Here are some of the meanings:

Heart - Your love is a true love.

Fleur de Lis - New beginning or rebirth, as well as a life of prosperity and happiness.

Seashell - Timeless, eternal beauty.

Mask - Something fun and unexpected will happen.

Pig - Abundance.

High chair - You're next to have a baby.

Cinderella's carriage - Happily ever after.

Anchor - Hope and life of stability.

Wreath - Happy home.

Moon - Opportunity.

Tree - Life of financial security.

Book - Life full of knowledge.

Following! This is so unique

I would think it would be better to figure out who you want to include first and then try to see if that number is doable around the cake.

I love this idea! No idea how many are too many. But, maybe rethink the high chair charm? You know your ladies but it could be a personal issue if someone is trying to conceive but can't. I know that this is probably included in the tradition but maybe just think about it?

Oh thank goodness...I read your title and thought you just misspelled "poll" and you were asking a poll on flavors. Sounds pretty cool and unique!

Hmm I'm born and raised in NOLA and have never heard of this in all the NOLA weddings I've been in or attended. Sounds interesting!

I didn't have a bridal party except MOH so I did it for the women in our families--6. They had no clue since none of them had heard of the tradition. I had the DJ call each of them up before the cake cutting. If you buy cake pull sets, they usually come in packages of 6 or 8. More than 8, you probably wouldn't be able to fit everyone around a traditional sized cake.

I hand-selected the charms since most of the women were already married with kids, so the traditional ring or baby charms wouldn't make sense. A friend of mine made the pulls with pearl bracelets.

A day late, but I have to comment since it's so hard to find NOLA brides! I feel like we have a cult down here and I'm struggling with some of the etiquette things on this site. I think NOLA has it's own set of etiquette rules! The last wedding I went to had 12- it seemed like too much.... I think 6-8 is plenty but it really depends on how many close friends you have that you want to include in your big day.

@hello Yeah, you're definitely right. It certainly carries over into wedding etiquette. Some of the things I see people on here freaking out about is totally normal here. It would be weird TO do some of the "proper etiquette" things lol.

Wow! So unique. Im surprised it hasn't spread to other parts of the country. I have never ever heard of this.

I've only seen this on TV and in mags. I'd love to attend a wedding one day where a cake pull is done. It looks like such a fun tradition.

This sounds really cool and special!

I have never heard of this! Sounds interesting

I've attended a wedding where the couple had all the single ladies come up for a cake pull and they had more than enough ribbon leftover... they had to do the cake pull TWICE because no one pulled the ring. A little awkward but meh. I was an adorable concept.