The cake cutting ceremony at any wedding should be a special time, but for this bride and groom it went drastically wrong as their £450 cake toppled over before they even got to taste it.
Chloe, 28, and Aaron Bailey, 29, from Hampshire, had forked out £100 extra to have their dream three-tier wedding cake brought safely to the venue in Northbrook Park, Surrey, to avoid any risk to it.
However, the happy couple were forced to watch it fall ‘in slow motion’ after the table collapsed underneath it as they went to cut it last week.
Hilarious photos captured by wedding photographer Alisa Esfandiari, 28, show the couple posing with a knife ready to cut into the bottom tier – only for the table to visibly tilt as they make the first cut.
Chloe and Aaron rushed to put their hands on the edge of the table in a bid to keep it from falling over. But the cake stand slipped forward causing their customised topper and macarons to start tumbling down – followed by the dislodged cake moments later.
Chloe, 28, and Aaron Bailey, 29, from Hampshire, attempt to cut into the cake but the table starts to wobble
Chloe puts her hand over her mouth as the cake starts to slide off and Aaron attempts to save it – however the top decoration and macarons have already started to fall
Pictures show the bride stood with her hand over her mouth in utter shock while Aaron struggles to rescue the cake from where it landed in a heap on the floor.
The couple, who have been together for 13 years, simultaneously burst into laughter and later pose by their reassembled cake holding their ‘Mr and Mrs Bailey’ cake topper – and a stray macaron.
Chloe said: ‘What could we do? We just had to laugh it off. It was funny. We will remember that, definitely.
‘We barely cut the cake at all. Literally as soon as the knife went into the cake we felt movement underneath it. I think we cut very slightly into it and it went immediately, pretty much.
The cake lands on the fall while the bride looks on in horror and the groom attempts to save it still
The battered macaroons on the floor after they fell and from the cake and were damaged
‘For us it felt like slow motion, as if it were about five or 10 minutes. It’s just that panic of what on earth do you do? I think everyone else felt like that too.
‘It was disbelief initially. We were both just gripping on to the edge of the table thinking, ‘no, this can’t be happening’.
‘We’ve both been to so many weddings as well and nothing has ever happened like this before – so we just couldn’t believe it ourselves.
‘We were really shocked and had a moment of pause. The atmosphere of the whole room just changed and the room paused because they didn’t know if we were going to laugh or cry.
The happy couple after their wedding ceremony – not knowing what was to come with their cake disaster
‘I think we just looked at each other and thought, ‘what can you do?’. We just laughed. All the bridesmaids ran in and ate the macarons off the floor.
‘Someone picked up a macaron and handed it to us. We just ate it and laughed.
‘One of Aaron’s friends had the whole top tier in his hands once it had gone over completely. The best man had a handful of cream from where he tried to rescue it.
‘I don’t know who picked up the bottom and middle tier but we did assemble the cake again. It was slightly messier than it originally was, but that didn’t upset me.
Just as they cut into the cake the couple can tell something is wrong and they both look on open mouthed as the cake starts its descent
As the table starts to tilt Chloe looks shocked while her new husband Aaron tries to grab the table
‘We’ve got some of the cake still. We’d asked for the caterers to save us a quarter of each tier.
‘We’d bought it home and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s an amazing cake. I just feel gutted for the cakemaker but they’ve taken it in their stride as well.’
Photographer Alisa claims she was torn between rushing to help stop the cake and capturing the moment as it happened – but made a split-second decision to continue taking photographs.
Alisa, from Southampton, said: ‘Of all the weddings I’ve done, I’ve got a lot of stories but this cake cutting is one of the best.
The pristine cake before the accident – the three-tired cake was decorated with macrons falling down it
The couple pose for their wedding photos in the gorgeous setting before they watched their cake disaster unfold
‘That’s never happened before. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime things.
‘Chloe and Aaron thought it was so funny and really memorable. It was absolutely nothing bad, it was just a moment that was hilarious and so unexpected.
‘They were absolute legends about it and so great. Everyone loves the cake but actually the cutting of the cake just feels like a photo people have to get and there’s never really any emotion behind it.
‘I feel like this will be a really memorable part of their wedding day. From my perspective, I’m always looking for those natural moments and trying not to force anything.
‘I’d made the decision to put my flash on beforehand which would mean I have a faster shutter, whereas normally I’m all about natural light.
The couple can’t quite believe what has happened as they look on in shock and and start to laugh at the cake – which is on the floor
Just before the fall – The newlyweds look into each others eyes as they go to cut their dream wedding cake
‘The best man nodded to me to say they were ready, and I said, ‘look at each other and when you’re ready, cut the cake and have a kiss and that will be it’.
‘Everyone gathered around with their cameras ready to take a photo. As it started to wobble, there was a split second of ‘oh my god, this cake is going to fall’.
‘I had to decide if I should run in and help or just keep taking a photo. With anything you think, they’re going to want this captured. This is a memory.
‘I took loads and the best man and a few people rushed over to gather up the cake, but I was really glad I didn’t put my camera down.
‘We put the cake back on the table in a dishevelled shape. It actually stayed in a good form which just shows how good the cake maker is because it didn’t crumble at all.
‘They cut the cake up and everyone ate it. It didn’t put a dampener on the day which was really good.
Chloe still looks shocked at what has unfolded before their eyes while the groom is just in fits of laughter
Laughing – the happy couple manage to put the cake back together and Aaron holds on to their decoration topper
‘A lot of people would be gutted, but actually I think it made the whole thing very candid.
‘My job as a photographer is to capture it for real as to how it happened. I think I made a good choice. It was definitely a very memorable experience.’
Chloe claims she and Aaron had paid extra for the cake, which had three separate tiers of Bakewell tart, gin and tonic and caramel and salted toffee flavouring, to be brought safely to the venue.
A guest had previously pointed out that the table it was standing on looked wonky – but the couple couldn’t see anything wrong when they came to secure it.
The bride and groom pose with a stray macaron and their damaged cake as they laugh about the topple
Bridesmaids and groomsmen came to the rescue when the cake toppled off the table – pictured, posing with the damaged macarons
Chloe said: ‘The most ironic thing was we’d paid a little bit extra – about £100 – for the cake to come safely and be set up. They did that and did an amazing job.
‘They said alternatively someone could go and collect it on the morning of the wedding but we thought at the time, gosh, can you imagine if anything happened to the cake?
‘What if we sent one of the groomsmen or bridesmaids to go and get it [and it went wrong]? You just wouldn’t want to give anyone that responsibility.
‘But when one of our guests pointed out that the table was wonky, I’m just so pleased they didn’t touch it to try and fix it there and then because it’s just so much better that we made the cake go over.
‘If one of the guests had done that they would have just felt horrendous and so guilty. It might not have been quite so funny if someone else had done it.’