When photographing a wedding one of the most important shots is the cutting of the cake. You must take care with this shot, it will be one of the most popular shots of the day. This should be posed with the groom between and a little to the back of the cake and the bride.

Aim to get the bride on the same plane as the cake and not standing behind as that makes the cake look bigger and you may also have trouble with depth of field. I would normally place the knife on the base tier of the cake, the bride holding the knife with her right hand, resting her left hand on top and the groom placing his right hand gently below the bride's, while his left arm should be placed behind the bride not around her, with fingers sticking out!

If feasible, use available light for this shot, particularly if there is daylight coming into the room. This may mean an exposure in the order of 1/ 15th of a second at f2.8 or f4. This is another reason it is essential that the couple are as near as possible in the same plane as the cake.

If it is not possible to use available light, use bounced flash, provided the walls or ceiling are of a neutral light colour. If they are brightly coloured, bounce the flash off a white reflector. Only as a last resort should direct flash be used as it burns out detail in the cake. Always try to use a slow shutter speed so as to pick up ambient light in the room. One fifteenth of a second at around f4 or comparable will capture the room lighting beyond the couple.

Occasionally the couple may need to lean slightly over the table to cut the cake. In this case you need to work at an angle to the table to get them both at the same distance from the camera.

The cake cutting ceremony is a vital part of every wedding, even the smallest registry office wedding. It will soon be consumed, so a good record is a must and will be a readily sought photograph by all guests and relations. This shot depicts the last paragraph of the first chapter in the story of their marriage.