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The Cake Pull: A Southern Tradition

written by Sarah Levey July 17, 2016
The Cake Pull: A Southern Tradition

Since wedding season is quickly approaching, we thought it would be fun to tell you about a true Southern Wedding Tradition: The Cake Pull! Although the tradition is strong, many do not know the significance behind pulling that charm.

The Cake Pull is a ceremony between the brides and her maids during the Bridesmaids’ Brunch, which traditionally occurs the Friday before the wedding. What I love so much about this Cake Pull picture from my wedding weekend is that it is not styled or staged – Rachel was able to capture with her lens the moment just before the charms were pulled by my bridesmaids.

sarah bridal brunch (64 of 98)

Quick History – Victorian Era Ribbon Pull Tradition:

The Cake Pull gets it’s roots from an old Victorian tradition of “ribbon pulling” in England. Traditionally, charms of luck and good fortune were placed into the wedding cake by the bride specifically for her single friends and were pulled during the wedding just before the cake was cut.

The sterling silver charms for this tradition were attached to dainty ribbons – each charm having a special meaning.

Modern and Southern Application to the Cake Pull:

The bridesmaids and bride surround the cake, each grabbing the end of a ribbon with anticipation. Sterling silver charms are attached to each ribbon; set into the cake after it is baked but before it is iced. After a quick countdown, each bridesmaid pulls a different ribbon and whichever charm they receive indicates a different type of luck (see what each charm represents at the end of the post!) and may even predict their future.

During my wedding weekend, the Bridesmaid’s Brunch was held at my Aunt Linda Israel’s beautiful gulf-front home in Seagrove and was hosted by family and close friends. My aunt has fabulous taste, so I knew everything would be absolutely gorgeous and her beach home would provide the perfect backdrop to celebrate. A very fun time was had by all! I could not have asked for anything more – the brunch was a major factor in making our wedding weekend feel so magical.

The photos from the event, shot by Rachel, look like they are out of a magazine. My aunt and the other hostesses did an incredible job setting up for the event and making every last detail perfect – you can check out the photos further down in the post.

The Cake Pull Charms Tells All at my Bridesmaid’s Brunch:

One of my bridesmaids pulled the baby from the cake – meaning she would be the next to have a child. She was secretly pregnant during my wedding. It was too early to tell anyone so the two of us were the only ones at the wedding that knew this exciting secret, along with her husband. When she pulled the baby and showed it to me, neither one of us could stop laughing once we got over the initial shock. We spent a lot of time making sure no one knew that she was pregnant at that point, so the irony of her pulling the baby out of the cake was priceless! She and her husband now have a beautiful, healthy baby. Perhaps there is more to this tradition than just, well, tradition…

The caterer was Townsend Catering. They handled the bar, all food, and came to serve too; my Aunt Linda prefers to work with Townsend Catering for her events and now I know why. It was absolutely delicious and the employees could not have been nicer.

The beautiful charm cake was made by Kim of Kim’s Cakes –

sarah bridal brunch (14 of 98)

“Kim’s Cakes, formerly Southern Style Desserts, has moved to Santa Rosa Beach. We are located in The Wedding House and have been servicing the Destin area for over 14 years. We provide the best wedding cakes along the Emerald Coast. “By Appointment Only” allows Kim’s Cakes design team to sit down and customize a cake or dessert perfect for you… there is no occasion too big or small for. Not only do we have amazing designs, the taste is what you will remember us by!” -Kim’s Cakes

All the rest of our lovely pictures below the fold! Read more too see them all by clicking “continue reading.”

What Charms Represent

  • Hot Air Balloon or Eiffel Tower: A Life Full of Adventure and Travel
  • Baby: You Will Have the Next Child
  • Butterfly: Eternal Beauty
  • Star: Your Wish Will Come True
  • Anchor: Adventure is Around the Corner
  • Four Leaf Clover: Good luck!
  • Flower: Blossoming love
  • Heart: New Love!
  • Fleur-de-Lis: Love and Prosperity
  • Kite: Fun and Leisurely Life
  • Star: Your Wishes Will Come True
  • Wishbone: Success is in your Future
  • Ring: Upcoming Marriage; You are Next!

sarah bridal brunch (34 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (32 of 98)
sarah bridal brunch (95 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (46 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (17 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (77 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (52 of 98)

sarah bridal brunch (85 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (93 of 98) sarah bridal brunch (13 of 98)

bridesmaids brunchcake charmscake pullsouthern weddingstraditionswedding shower
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Sarah Levey

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34 comments

Anita Israel September 5, 2016 - 11:31 am

Thanks for the great article on taking care of swimsuits! Plan to use all of them starting now. Love the pictures.

Reply
Elizabeth Weitz January 9, 2017 - 9:16 am

That is so cool! I love this and hope to see it in Colorado. <3 Cake Pull and charms whats not to love.

Reply
Shelly January 9, 2017 - 9:49 am

What a fun tradition! I love this — and your images ROCK!

Reply
AMBER January 9, 2017 - 10:22 am

I had never heard of this tradition before! Adorable!

Reply
Christy January 9, 2017 - 10:54 am

So fun! I’m from Texas which some would venture to say is not the “south” but I beg to differ. That being said, I have never heard of a cake pull! Such a cool tradition!

Reply
Andrea Burolla Photography January 9, 2017 - 11:37 am

What a fun tradition, I’ve never even heard of it but it sounds like a great one to participate in especially for the bridesmaids. Traditionally do the bridesmaids wear the charms during the wedding?

Reply
Valerie January 9, 2017 - 12:21 pm

Omg! I haven’t seen this tradition since I was a little girl (I’m Filipino Canadian)! I was just talking about this with some other people saying how it needs to make a comback!

Really enjoyed this post!

Reply
Kayla Feldman Photography January 9, 2017 - 12:35 pm

Oh this is such a cool tradition! I had never heard of it before but now I want to do one!

Reply
Courtney January 9, 2017 - 12:56 pm

This looks like so much fun!!

Reply
Jennie January 9, 2017 - 1:11 pm

Wow, I’ve never heard of this before–so cool!

Reply
Ashley Kidder January 9, 2017 - 1:28 pm

This is such a neat tradition! Also, that house is to die for! Gorgeous!

Reply
Katie January 9, 2017 - 2:14 pm

I have never heard of this and now I love the concept! Hope that more of these traditions make a come back.

Reply
Ashleigh January 9, 2017 - 3:14 pm

I love learning about traditions! This seems so fun

Reply
Allison January 9, 2017 - 3:50 pm

Had a bride friend of mine do this, it was so much fun!

Reply
Alissa January 9, 2017 - 3:53 pm

This is such a fun tradition and the photos are AMAZING!

Reply
Erin January 9, 2017 - 4:30 pm

This is such a fun tradition! I want to incorporate in my future wedding!

Reply
savannah January 9, 2017 - 4:31 pm

What a fun tradition – I’ve never heard of it being from Colorado. I would have loved to do something like this at my bridal shower. <3

Reply
Sharee Davenport January 9, 2017 - 5:55 pm

I hadn’t ever heard of this before! What a neat tradition.

Reply
Jennifer January 9, 2017 - 7:27 pm

How fun is this?! I love hearing about all the different traditions. This is the first time I had heard about this.

Reply
edira January 9, 2017 - 7:50 pm

What a fun tradition! You guys look amazing <3

Reply
Meredith January 9, 2017 - 7:51 pm

So fun! I’ve never heard of this tradition, but I love these southern touches!

Reply
Ashley January 9, 2017 - 9:31 pm

I have never heard of this before but i love it!!

Reply
Brittany Slaughter January 9, 2017 - 9:33 pm

the south gets all the best traditions! so sweet!

Reply
Valerie January 9, 2017 - 9:48 pm

I’ve never heard of the cake pull but I love it!

Reply
Brittney Hannon January 10, 2017 - 12:57 am

How fun!! I’ve never heard of that tradition before! Sounds like a very memorable experience for you and your girls!

Reply
Tinashe Chaponda January 10, 2017 - 10:13 am

Showed this to my friend who is getting married soon. She loved it haha.

Reply
Sarah Levey January 10, 2017 - 1:35 pm

Yay! It is a fun tradition. I’m not a big charm-bracelet girl, so we used cheap little charms. It is so fun to see what is ‘predicted’ given what charm you get. The look on my (secretly) pregnant bridesmaid was priceless when she got the baby charm! Please let me know if your friend decides to do this…I would love to do a follow-up post if she doesn’t mind sharing her photos!

Reply
Naomi January 10, 2017 - 12:01 pm

I have never even heard of a cake pull. Very cool!

Reply
Jaymie January 10, 2017 - 12:09 pm

Wow I have never heard of that before. I love this <3

Reply
Jill January 10, 2017 - 1:01 pm

I’ve never even heard of this tradition. So cool! Also–I wish my stomach looked like that if I ate cake!! <3

Reply
Sarah Levey January 10, 2017 - 1:29 pm

Jill the irony is that I tried SO HARD to gain weight for the wedding…I was consuming as many calories as possible and kept losing weight (I was going through treatment). I felt so sorry for myself because I couldn’t gain weight.
Now that I am off treatment my weight is up. I wish I could still eat like I use to! But I’m learning I definitely cannot. The grass is always greener, I guess 🙂

Reply
Nicole January 10, 2017 - 3:20 pm

Oh wow! I actually have never come across this tradition like ever. Looks so fun, thanks for sharing!

Reply
LStyleBar January 10, 2017 - 6:24 pm

First time hearing about the cake pull, love it! Great post!

Reply
Lindy January 10, 2017 - 10:15 pm

I’ve never heard of this! Such a cool tradition!

Reply

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