The wedding cake has always played an important part in the wedding ceremony. Around 1900 years ago the Romans began baking wheat and salt into small cakes to be eaten. During the ceremony the groom would eat part of a loaf of this barley bread and then he would break the rest over his bride's head to symbolize fertility or abundance. This was taken as a sign of good fortune and a blessing for long life and many children. The guests would try and obtain a crumb for themselves as they too believed they would then share in the good fortune and future prosperity of the couple.
A modification of this custom was to crumble cake over the brides head in a similar way in which we throw confetti today. This was not the rich fruit-cake we enjoy today but a plain confection made from wheat flour, salt and water. Many other cultures scattered wheat, flour or cake on the bride's head, and the guests would try and obtain a crumb for themselves as they too believed they would then share in the good fortune and future prosperity of the couple.
Luckily for todays brides no one expects to throw or break anything over her head, but guests do expect to be able to take part in the ritual by the sharing of the cake.
How the Wedding Cake evolved
In medieval times, guests brought small cakes and piled them on a table. The bride and groom then attempted to kiss over the cakes. If the bride and groom were able to kiss over the tall stack, it was thought to symbolize a lifetime of prosperity. Eventually, the idea of stacking them neatly and frosting them together was adopted as a more convenient option.
The shape of the modern three tiered iced cake is believed to have been inspired by the spire of Saint Bride's Church in the City of London. It is said that unmarried guests who place a piece of wedding cake under their pillow before sleeping will increase there prospects of finding a partner and bridesmaids who do likewise will dream of their future husbands.
Wedding Cake Decoration
Traditionally most people thought of a wedding cake as being white. White has always symbolised purity. It relates to the white wedding cake icing that first appeared in Victorian times used for Queen Victoria's wedding. This became known as 'Royal Icing'. Another way in which a white wedding cake relates to the symbol of purity, has its basis in the fact that the wedding cake was originally referred to as the bride's cake. This not only highlighted the bride as the central figure of the wedding, but also created a visual link between the bride and the cake. Today, that link is further strengthened as more brides decide to create a co-ordinated look for their wedding cake with inspiration being taken from the style and the colour of the wedding gown and complimentary colours being used to continue the theme throughout the entire wedding.
Previous to Victorian times, most wedding cakes were also white, but not because of the symbolism. Ingredients were very difficult to come by, especially those required for icing. White icing required the use of only the finest refined sugar, so the whiter the cake, the more affluent the families appeared. A white wedding cake became an outward symbol of affluence.
Cake Topper
The wedding cake is generally adorned with a cake topper. This traditionally comprises of small figures to represent the 'togetherness' of the couple and usually decorates the top tier of the cake. Nowadays couples can choose from a wider variety of cake toppers with many choosing handcrafted personlised figures designed to reflect them as a couple. Modern weddings have embraced more variety in design and significance. Wedding toppers today are often figures that indicate shared hobbies or other passions. Personalised cake toppers are becoming ever more popular and can be crafted from sugar or polymer clay. The latter is a very hardwearing material which enables the couple to keep the topper as a long lasting memento of their special day.
Other popular choices are single flowers or small sprays of flowers made of sugar which are designed to match flowers in the brides bouquet or compliment the chosen floral or colour theme running throughout the wedding. Fresh flowers should not be used as many are poisonous or contain pesticides which will contaminate the cake if they come into contact with it.
Modern brides also choose to go for a more contemporay look to their cake, opting for contrasting polka dots and stripes or ribbons and brooches to complete the individual look of their cake.
Cutting the cake
This task originally was delegated exclusively to the bride. It was she who cut the wedding cake for sharing with her guests. Distributing pieces of wedding cake to one's guests is a part of that tradition from the Roman Empire when guests clamored for the crumbs.
The wedding cake is now an important part of the ritual celebrations at the reception with the cake taking centre stage in the traditional cake cutting ceremony. This is symbolically the first task that the bride and groom perform jointly as husband and wife. The couple make the first cut together to symbolise their shared future. This is also one of the official photographs taken by the photographer which will be looked at for years (perhaps even generations to come), so it is very important that you are happy with the design and overall look of your cake.