Common Wedding Dessert Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
When it comes to the details, dessert’s often an overlooked part of your wedding day. Even great planners and caterers can miss coordinating and communicating some of the details like who’s going to take the leftovers at the end of the night?
Whether you’re offering cookies, cakes, a variety of treats served on a dessert table, or a dessert cart or food truck, ensuring it goes off without a hitch is easy to get right when you plan ahead.
Here’s how to make sure your desserts arrive at your venue, stay fresh, and are enjoyed by all—without any unnecessary stress.
1) Getting Desserts to the Venue
There’s more to transporting wedding desserts than meets the eye. If you’re working with a vendor, relying on a friend or family member, or taking care of it yourself as the bride and groom, each approach has its own considerations.
Vendor Transporting:
If you’ve hired a dessert vendor or caterer, they’ll often handle the transportation. Make sure to confirm the details well in advance—what time they will arrive, how they will deliver the desserts, and where they’ll be stored once they arrive. (The where is so often missed because the rest of the food always takes priority.)
It’s also wise to ask about their emergency plans in case of road delays or weather-related issues. (Especially true for Colorado mountain weddings where there are road closures all the time!) A professional vendor should have all of this well in hand, but it’s worth double-checking for your peace of mind.
Friend or Family Transporting:
If you’ve chosen to make your own desserts or enlisted help from friends or family, be sure the person in charge of transportation understands the responsibility. Confirm they have a reliable vehicle, know the route, and have a proper timeline in place.
If the desserts need to stay cold (ice cream, chocolate covered strawberries, anything with buttercream frosting), check that they have a way to keep them cool, while avoiding damaging the desserts. (Side note, if you’re having a summer wedding outdoors in Colorado, save yourself the drama and get a non-buttercream cake.)
Bride and Groom Transporting:
Generally, we don’t recommend picking up and transporting the desserts yourself. You have enough to worry about on your wedding day without taking on that responsibility. If you do decide to transport the desserts, plan every detail, from storage containers to the route. Avoid last-minute runs to the venue, and if possible, delegate the task to someone you trust.
2) Storage at the Wedding Venue
Once the desserts arrive at the venue, the next step is ensuring they are stored safely until it’s time to serve them. Different desserts require different storage solutions, so plan accordingly.
Cold Storage:
If your desserts include anything perishable—like cream pies, cheesecakes, or cakes with buttercream frosting—you’ll need access to refrigeration or a cold storage area. Having seen our fair share of wedding and event venues, few have adequate cooler space. So be sure to ask your venue or caterer in advance if they do and how much space is available. (Remember, the majority of this space will be taken up by the rest of the food on your big day.)
If your venue doesn't have enough refrigeration space, consider renting portable coolers or coordinating with your caterer to bring refrigerated storage.
Dry Storage:
For non-perishable wedding desserts like cookies, brownies, or donuts, dry storage is typically all that’s needed. However, you need a storage area that’s clean, free of pests, and at a temperature that won't cause any ingredients (like chocolate) to melt or spoil.
3) Signage for Your Dessert Table
Clear signage at your dessert table can improve the guest experience and keep things organized. There are three key types of signs to consider:
Dessert Menu:
A dessert menu is a great way to let guests know what’s available and allows those with dietary restrictions to make informed choices. Include labels like "gluten-free," "dairy-free," or "nut-free" where necessary, and consider including a brief description of each dessert to add to the anticipation.
Individual Item Signs:
While a dessert menu provides an overview, individual signs in front of each treat helps minimize confusion. This is especially useful if you have several different flavors or types of cookies, pastries, or other baked goods that might look similar but taste different.
Sometimes, your dessert caterer or wedding coordinator can take care of your dessert menu signage, so check with them first before adding another to-do onto your plate.
Hands-Off Signs:
If you plan to reveal the dessert table at a specific time, consider placing small signs that say "Please enjoy after dinner" or "Desserts available at 8 p.m." This ensures no one gets into the treats too early and that all guests have a chance to enjoy them.
One way to avoid overeager guests diving into desserts too soon is waiting to put them out until dinner is wrapping up. Of course if you’ve hired a food truck or cart for dessert, this will naturally stop people from sneaking desserts too early.
4) Leftovers: Plan Ahead
Weddings often result in more desserts than guests can eat. Before the big day, make a plan for dealing with any leftovers. It may seem like a minor detail, but having a strategy in place will save you or your family from scrambling at the end of the night.
Who Takes Them?
Decide ahead of time who will be responsible for packing up and taking home the leftover desserts. Whether it's a family member, the newlyweds themselves, or any wedding guest who wants some, making this decision in advance helps avoid any confusion. Whomever it is though, let the event staff know so the desserts go home with the right person/people.
How Will They Take Them?
Once you’ve decided who, then comes the how. This one is so, so, so important. Most caterers aren’t going to bring to-go containers, and it’s highly unlikely the venue will have anything for you either. So if a family member or friend is transporting leftovers back home, make sure they have containers or bags, and again communicate this to the catering staff.
As the couple, you can provide little treat bags for folks and a little sign letting them to take home leftovers. Or, some really prepared dessert caterers (like yours truly), will provide to-go baggies free of charge.
When to Pack Them Up?
Timing is important. You don’t want the dessert table dismantled while guests are still enjoying the reception. Coordinate with your wedding planner or catering team to decide when it’s appropriate to begin packing away the desserts—usually after the main reception activities like dancing are winding down.
That being said, there are always those guests who are going to skip dancing and leave early, so it doesn’t hurt to put out some of those treat bags ahead of time.
5) Additional Considerations for a Flawless Dessert Service
To make your dessert service seamless, there are a few more tips that can help:
Dessert Staff:
If your budget allows, having dedicated staff to serve desserts or oversee the dessert table can make the experience smoother for guests. For example, we always have a dedicated trolley attendant that automatically comes with our cookie cart rental.
Staff can help manage portions, ensure the table stays tidy, and answer any questions guests might have about the treats. This is really helpful if you’re doing any kind of interactive dessert station like an ice cream bar or s’mores station.
Consider Your Timeline:
Dessert service typically happens after the main meal and speeches, but you don’t want to wait too long to unveil your sweet spread. We’ve seen weddings where the dessert service lasts a mere 15 minutes before catering staff start clearing away all the cake!
If possible, give people a little more time to enjoy the last course of your meal. This is much easier to do with a dessert table or even a food cart/truck.
Work with your planner to ensure desserts are served while your guests still have an appetite for them.
While this post was written with weddings in mind, the principles can apply to any event, from corporate parties to birthday celebrations and charity fundraisers. With these tips in mind, you can ensure your wedding desserts will be as memorable as the rest of your big day—sweet, smooth, and seamless from start to finish!
