If your venue handles the food, it’s fair to ask whether the cake is part of that deal. Couples ask it. So do parents planning a 50th birthday and committees ordering king cakes for a Carnival party. The answer changes from venue to venue, and the details behind it matter as much as the yes or no: who cuts the cake, who brings the plates, and where the cake sits in the room.
Yes, guests can bring commercially prepared cakes and desserts to Fleur de Lis Event Center, though outside catering is generally not permitted. The wedding cake is not included in Fleur de Lis wedding packages, allowing couples to choose their own baker. Fleur de Lis Event Center provides cake cutting and serving, including plates, forks, and napkins, at no additional charge.
Here’s how venues typically handle it, how it works at Fleur de Lis Event Center in Mandeville, and what to ask on any tour.
How venues usually handle outside cakes
Most venues fall into one of three camps. Some provide the cake or require you to use their own bakery. Some allow an outside cake but charge a cake-cutting fee, usually per slice or per guest, to cover the staff time, plates and utensils it takes to serve it. Others allow an outside cake and treat cutting and serving as part of the package.
Many venues also require outside cakes to come from a licensed commercial bakery. That’s a food-safety and liability issue: the venue is serving that cake to your guests and needs to know where it came from.
Can you bring your own cake to Fleur de Lis?
Yes. Outside catering generally isn’t allowed at Fleur de Lis, but commercially prepared cakes and desserts are. You can bring them from the bakery of your choice, including:
- Wedding cakes and groom’s cakes
- Cupcakes and cookies
- King cakes
- Dessert displays
The wedding cake isn’t part of a Fleur de Lis wedding package, so couples choose their own baker. We don’t keep a fixed preferred-vendor list. If you don’t have a baker yet, our team can help you find one as part of planning.
What happens to the cake at a Fleur de Lis wedding
Bringing the cake is your part. At a standard ballroom wedding, most of what comes after is ours:
- Delivery. The week before the wedding, our coordination team contacts your baker directly to confirm the delivery time and explain where to unload. You don’t have to pass messages back and forth.
- The table. We set up and decorate the cake table. In the Pontchartrain Ballroom, it normally sits in front of the illuminated architectural backdrop wall.
- Stands. You can use our cake stands, when available, at no added rental charge, so check with us before your baker quotes you for one.
- Cutting and serving. We cut and serve the cake at no additional charge, and we provide the cake knife and serving set, plates, forks and napkins.
- The top tier. If you want to save it, staff will box it for you.
Your bridal coordinator also places the cake cutting in your timeline, so it happens when you want it.
One honest limit: we coordinate the delivery and set up the table, but complex structural assembly, like stacking separated tiers or building an elaborate cake installation, belongs to your baker. Ask your baker whether they assemble on site.
Other desserts are welcome too
Many couples add a groom’s cake, a cupcake tower or a dessert table next to the wedding cake. Those are allowed as long as they’re commercially prepared. If you’d rather not source every dessert yourself, ask about our current dessert add-ons, such as a chocolate fountain. These are optional and priced separately.
Can you bring outside cakes for birthdays, showers, and other events?
The same basic rule applies to non-wedding events: commercially prepared cakes and desserts can come from outside. The service details, such as who cuts the cake and what’s provided to serve it, can differ from the wedding package, so confirm them when you book. It’s a two-minute conversation that saves a scramble at the party.
During Carnival season, that includes king cakes. If your family or organization is planning a Mardi Gras event, tell your event contact ahead of time how many are coming.
Questions to ask any venue about outside cake
These questions turn a quick “yes, you can bring a cake” into an actual plan:
- Are outside cakes and desserts allowed, and do they have to come from a commercial bakery?
- Is there a cake-cutting or plating fee? (At a Fleur de Lis wedding, cutting and serving are included.)
- Who provides the plates, forks, napkins and cake knife?
- Do you have cake stands, or does the baker need to bring one?
- Who talks to the baker about delivery time and where to unload?
- Who sets up and decorates the cake table, and where will it go in the room?
- Can staff save the top tier for us?
- Are other desserts, like cupcakes or a dessert table, allowed too?
Where will the cake table be located at Fleur de Lis?
The cake table is one of the most photographed spots at a reception, so it’s worth seeing in person. If you’re planning a wedding or celebration in Mandeville, Covington, Slidell or elsewhere on the Northshore, schedule a tour and ask us to show you where the cake goes in the room you’re considering. Tours are offered Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday mornings. Call 985-626-9118 or book online.
Related: What Does an All-Inclusive Wedding Venue Actually Include? | Getting Married at Fleur de Lis
