Aug. 1 is going to be a piece of cake for these couples

The first same-sex couples to marry in the Twin Cities are savoring the moment – and the wedding cake.

General Mills is donating cakes to the first couples to marry at midnight, Aug. 1, the moment gay marriage becomes legal in Minnesota. On Wednesday, the first three couples and their family headed to the Betty Crocker test kitchen in Golden Valley for a wedding cake tasting.

For couples who have been waiting years for their wedding day, the cake wasn’t the sweetest thing about the experience.

Five-year-old Louie chose the wedding cake for his mothers, Margaret Miles and Cathy ten Broeke, who will be the first couple married at Minneapolis City Hall at midnight Thursday. He chose a chocolate fudge wedding cake.

“It’s the part he’s most excited about,” Miles said, smiling down at the demolished plate of white, yellow, chocolate and red velvet  cake slices.

As for his parents, they’re just excited that after 15 years together, their union is about to be recognized by their home state.

“We’re very mindful that while we’re being married, it really is a celebration for the community,” she said.

The 40 or so couples who marry after midnight in Minneapolis might not be getting a small, intimate wedding, but they will receive an outpouring of wedding gifts from the community. The cakes, the flowers for City Hall, the wedding photographers, the music and even the reception space have all been donated.

“For us, it’s not just our wedding, it’s a celebration of equality for all same-sex couples,” said Al Giraud, who will be marrying his partner of 11 years, Jeff Isaacson. They’ll be the second couple married in Minneapolis and their wedding day is also the birthday of Isaacson’s mother, Doris.

“The week has been overwhelming, the month has been overwhelming,” Isaacson said.

But since almost every other aspect of their wedding day is being organized by someone else, they said it was nice to have a moment to pick out a wedding cake personalized just for them.

“To have a Betty Crocker cake is very Minnesotan,” Giraud said. After extensive sampling, they settled on a layers of red velvet and white cake, which will be decorated with symbols of Minnesota – frosted lady slippers, the state flower – and marriage equality.

Queen of Cakes, a small Edina bakery specializing in wedding cakes, will be decorating each cake to the couples’ specifications.

“We’re going back to the bakery and start baking. We’re going to start ripping open those boxes of Betty Crocker mix,” said Queen of Cakes owner Terri Leckas. When she whipped up test batches over the weekend, “I walked into my cake shop and it smelled like baking at home. It was a really good feeling.”

The state of Minnesota, meanwhile, is ramping up for more weddings to come.

“Minnesota welcomes same-sex couples to plan a wedding, honeymoon or other getaway in our friendly state,” the Explore Minnesota tourism website proclaims, offering links to businesses eager to welcome new wedding business.